This pumpkin cashew queso is a creamy and absolutely delicious dairy free snack. Made with whole food and plant based ingredients for an easy and healthy cashew cheese recipe that will make you feel good from the inside out! Vegan, paleo, and whole30 compliant.
If you’ve been following me for awhile it will come as no surprise to you that I have big LOVE for dairy free cashew cheese. There are many types of dairy free cheese out there, but based on my experience I’m pretty certain that cashew cheese is the best.
I shared a classic mexican cashew queso dip recipe on Nyssa’s Kitchen in the past, but this fall I was inspired to create a second vegan cheese recipe with PUMPKIN because whyyy not. I’m pretty sure more vegan queso is never a bad thing.
And you guys I am SO excited to share the recipe with you because I think it might have turned out even better than the OG recipe. The pumpkin lends a nice rich sweetness to the cheese dip that is absolutely phe-nom-e-nal.
And with the holiday season upon us it would make the perfect addition to any party snack platter! One bite and I know you’re going to be sold.
Ingredients for this pumpkin cashew queso
This creamy pumpkin cashew queso is made with a few simple plant based ingredients in your high speed blender. Seriously simple and seriously delicious.
To make this recipe you will need:
- Raw cashews – This is the main ingredient in the recipe. When blended, soaked raw cashews turn into the dreamiest creamiest sauce that provides the perfect base for a recipe like this. The raw part is really important. Raw cashews surrender into a smooth sauce when blended much more easily than roasted cashews. If you only have roasted cashews on hand you CAN use them but you may want to let them soak a little bit longer before blending – also the final dip may not be quite as creamy and smooth.
- Hot water for blending with the cashews
- Pumpkin puree – High in vitamins & antioxidants, this nutrient dense ingredient adds a major nutritional boost to this recipe.
- Mustard (both dry from your spice cabinet and dijon mustard work) – I know this ingredient sounds a bit unexpected, but since there is no actual cheese in this dip you need some serious flavor boosters to get the right flavor profile. Mustard helps aid in the “cheesy” vibe that we’re going for. Trust.
- Lime juice – For some bright zip and zing.
- Chili powder – Just a little to amp up the cheesy-mexican flavor.
- Smoky chipotle powder – Chipotle powder is essentially just smoked red jalapenos. Just a smidge of this spice adds a hint of smoky flavor & a little bit of spice. If you don’t have it you can easily skip it – the chili powder will add enough mexican flavor to the cheese dip.
- Nutritional yeast – This is where most of the “cheesy” flavor REALLY comes from in this queso dip. Commonly used in a lot of vegan recipes for it’s flavor boosting super powers. Nutritional yeast has a savory, nutty, and definitely “cheesy” flavor profile.
- Hot sauce – You can use your favorite hot sauce, or skip it all together if you don’t want much heat in your queso. But it does also help brighten up the flavor and add an extra layer of ZIP to the dip.
- Sea salt
- Red onion + cilantro – For garnish! Because they’re pretty and also add some nice fresh bite.
How to make pumpkin cashew queso
This queso is SO easy to make. The only advance planning you need to do is to soak your cashews for at least an hour before starting. Then everything except the garnishes is thrown into a high speed blender and blended until smooth and creamy as can be. Warm it up a bit if you like, top with the garnishes, and get to DIPPING!
Is this creamy pumpkin cashew queso healthy?
Yes! 100% healthy. Made with no dairy and no processed ingredients, this creamy cashew queso dip is a delicious plant based alternative to a traditional mexican cheese dip. It’s gluten free, grain free, vegan, paleo, and whole30 friendly! BOOM. Plus it’s a total crowd pleaser – some of my taste testers have claimed they love it even more than a classic queso dip.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this pumpkin cashew queso with your favorite chips (I always reach for a bag of Siete Foods grain free tortilla chips for a health supporting option that also tastes so aaaaamazing!), cut veggies, or even alongside your favorite tacos!
What does pumpkin cashew queso dip taste like?
This creamy cashew queso dip is…
- Extremely flavorful
- A little spicy
- Creamy + satisfying
- Authentic tasting without being too heavy
- Perfect for dipping all the things
- 100% dairy free
- Easy to make
A few notes on the recipe
- This vegan cashew queso needs to be refrigerated after making. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 5-6 days.
- It can be eaten cold or warm.
- To reheat, gently warm on the stove top in a small sauce pan, stirring frequently to keep it from sticking to the pan. It can also be warmed in the microwave but it’s a little bit trickier to do. If you warm it up in a large chunk of time the texture will get a little weird around the edges. So, for the best result warm it in 20-30 second increments, stopping to stir in between. A little tedious, I know – but you’ll thank yourself when you have that perfect first bite!
- To keep this dairy free cashew queso Whole30 and paleo friendly make sure your hot sauce does not contain any soy or added sugar.
Pumpkin Cashew Queso {vegan + paleo + whole30}
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: about 6 servings 1x
Description
This pumpkin cashew queso is a creamy and absolutely delicious dairy free snack. Made with whole food and plant based ingredients for an easy and healthy cashew cheese recipe that will make you feel good from the inside out! Vegan, paleo, and whole30 compliant.
Ingredients
For the cashew queso
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in just boiled water for at least an hour
- 1/2 cup just boiled water
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard OR 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked chipotle powder
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- about 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce – (for a whole30 / paleo friendly recipe read your hot sauce ingredients!)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
To garnish
- chopped red onion
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
- Drain and rinse cashews and add to blender along with just boiled water, pumpkin puree, mustard, lime juice, chili powder, chipotle powder, nutritional yeast, hot sauce, and sea salt.
- Blend on high for a minute or two, until very smooth and creamy. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add more boiling water a little at a time until it blends smoothly, but is still quite thick.
- Once fully blended, taste and add more salt or hot sauce if desired.
- Top with chopped red onion and fresh cilantro and serve warm with chips or veggies for dipping!
- Will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 5-6 days.
Notes
- This vegan cashew queso needs to be refrigerated after making. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 5-6 days.
- It can be eaten cold or warm.
- To reheat, gently warm on the stove top in a small sauce pan, stirring frequently to keep it from sticking to the pan. It can also be warmed in the microwave but it’s a little bit trickier to do. If you warm it up in a large chunk of time the texture will get a little weird around the edges. So, for the best result warm it in 20-30 second increments, stopping to stir in between. A little tedious, I know – but you’ll thank yourself when you have that perfect first bite!
- To keep this dairy free cashew queso Whole30 and paleo friendly make sure your hot sauce does not contain any soy or added sugar.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: snack
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: mexican
Keywords: pumpkin, cashews, spicy, whole30, paleo, vegan, dairy free, appetizer, holiday, game day, vitamix, blender
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