Creamy cauliflower queso is entirely nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It’s made with a base of cauliflower and white beans.
Of all of the recipes on Cadry’s Kitchen, the most popular is my creamy cauliflower queso. I’ve been making this queso for years.
Unlike some heavy, weigh-you-down quesos, this one gets its creamy, velvety texture from cauliflower and Great Northern beans. (Cannellini beans will also work!) Nutritional yeast flakes and miso paste give it cheesiness and a rich depth of flavor.
Ladled over baked fries or used as a dip, guests would never know that there’s cauliflower hidden inside of it!
It comes together in just about 20 minutes and is so easy to make! (FYI: It also freezes and thaws well if you want to make some now and save the rest for future gatherings!)
So that’s why I am so excited to have a new video to share with you of how to make this creamy cauliflower queso!
You can see for yourself how simple it is to make. And I hope you’ll be inspired to get in the kitchen and try it for yourself.
This kid-friendly queso is wonderful on tortilla chips or spread inside quesadillas. Kristy from Keepin’ It Kind used it for nacho potatoes, and River from Wing-It Vegan made a mouthwatering chili con queso.
And if you’re looking for more ideas of where to use the Cauliflower Queso, look no further than Vegan Yack Attack!
When I was in Los Angeles recently, I was able to meet up with Jackie from Vegan Yack Attack, along with Chris and Kristy.
We discussed the LA vegan food scene, and bonded over blog-talk. It was so awesome to catch up with these wonderful people.
And today I’m guest posting on Vegan Yack Attack with a recipe for Southwestern Chili Cheese Burritos.
The filling burritos are made with Spicy Southwestern Chili, a layer of quinoa, and a generous helping of Cauliflower Queso.
While you’re there, you’ll want to check out all of Jackie’s enticing recipes!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Cauliflower Queso
Ingredients
- ½ head cauliflower approximately 2 heaping cups, broken into florets
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- ½ small yellow onion approximately ¾ cup, diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup non-dairy milk* + up to ¼ cup more if necessary
- 1 cup Great Northern Beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoon white miso paste
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce Trader Joe’s brand is my favorite
- 1 Tablespoon pickled jalapeno slices
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cauliflower florets in 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil and lay evenly across a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Roast cauliflower for 20 minutes, stopping once to toss for even roasting.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, heat a skillet under medium heat, add remaining 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil to pan. Sauté onions and garlic in pan for 5 or 6 minutes, until very soft, fragrant, and translucent. (Turn heat to low if they start to stick.)
- In a high speed blender, combine roasted cauliflower, onion and garlic mixture, and the remaining ingredients. (Be careful not to be too heavy handed with the salt since miso, hot sauce, and pickled jalapeno slices are already salty.) Blend until the queso is completely smooth and velvety. If you’d prefer a more liquidy queso, add up to ¼ cup more of non-dairy milk and blend until fully combined.
Jessica
This sounds amazing! I have a question: my mother is trying to do a completely oil-free diet for heart health, so how could I tweak this to leave out the olive oil? So glad to finally find a vegan queso that doesn’t have cashews or tahini.
Cadry
Oh, it wouldn’t be hard at all to do this oil-free! Since the cauliflower is roasted on parchment, you can just leave the oil off and it won’t stick. Just check and make sure it’s not burning, and turn it a little more often if needed. (If you’re concerned, you could even just steam the cauliflower instead.) As for the teaspoon of oil that’s used to saute the onions and garlic, use a teaspoon of water instead. Once the skillet is hot, put the teaspoon of water in it, and saute. Let me know how it goes!
Cadry
Hi again, Jessica!
I remembered that I have another oil-free, cashew-free, and tahini-free queso on my site as well. http://cadryskitchen.com/2013/09/18/back-in-thyme-puffy-nachos-with-spicy-black-beans/
Best of luck!
Kathryn
My husband loves this stuff!! I made it to put on bean chili tacos. Super delicious.
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Kathryn! Thank you for letting me know!
thepeacepatch
I’m thinking I might need to try a fusion thing…queso calzone maybe though I really want to try making stromboli. Queso might be a fun filling to play with! Thanks Cadry! 🙂
Cadry
Oh, a queso calzone sounds delicious! Let me know how your experimenting goes! One of the fun things about recipes is tweaking them to fit your vision.
Amanda
I love that you called nutritional yeast flakes “vegan magic dust” – it’s so true! Your recipe sounds delicious, Cadry. I can’t wait to try it!
Cadry
Yay! Thanks, Amanda! Sometimes I wonder what I did before I knew about nutritional yeast flakes. They make everything better! 🙂
Kale Crusaders
Wow, Cadry, you are a natural in front of the camera! Your video reminded me how much I used to love to watch cooking shows on TV. Ironically I wasn’t much of a cook back then. Funny how things change! Keep up the fabulous work!
Cadry
What a sweet thing to say! Thank you! I used to love watching cooking shows on TV too. I sometimes flip past them when I’m at the gym now (we don’t have cable at home), and they’re fun to watch until they start cooking something grizzly.
It’s nice to see you back again!! I look forward to more anthropomorphic food cartoons! 🙂
flickingthevs
I didn’t even know you had a YouTube channel – clearly I’ve been missing out!This has all of my favourite things in – awesome. One question though, we don’t have great northern beans here, reckon butter beans would do the trick?
Cadry
It would probably work with butter beans; although, I’ve never tried it. It seems like butter beans have slightly less moisture than Great Northern beans or Cannelini beans. So you might want to add a little more water, depending on how liquidy you like your queso. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Herbivore Triathlete
I love a good cheese sauce. I am definitely going to make this. I bet it’s good on pretty much anything. Totally jealous that you guys all got to hang out!
Cadry
I hope you like it! You’ll have to let me know how it goes! It was such fun getting to reconnect with Jackie, Kristy, and Chris. They are all such incredible people. If you go to the next Vida Vegan Con, maybe we’ll all get to hang out then! 🙂
Herbivore Triathlete
If it’s on the West Coast chances are I won’t be there 🙁 Hopefully it will be closer to the East Coast!
Cadry
I know they have been checking out Austin, Chicago, and Las Vegas, but I haven’t heard about anything on the East Coast. Regardless, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
Herbivore Triathlete
Chicago would be do-able! Let’s hope for Chi-town.
Cadry
I’m all for that! That would be easy driving distance for me!
Herbivore Triathlete
Me too! 🙂
Richa
looks ahmazing. i might just pass this video to hubbs so he can make some goodies for the superbowl!
Cadry
Good idea! This would be a terrific addition to the appetizer tray for a Super Bowl gathering.
Kristy
Great video! And I don’t need to tell you how much I love your queso. 🙂
Can we all just meet up at Tony’s again, like, tonight? We miss you guys!
Cadry
Thanks, Kristy!! We miss you too! Another session at Tony’s with lots of laughter and donuts afterwards would be awesome! Hopefully it won’t be too long until we’re able to make it happen again.
Barb@ThatWasVegan?
You had me at queso, but once you mentioned serving it over baked fries, I almost fell out of my chair!
Cadry
That could be dangerous in your condition! I should have posted a warning! 😉
Becky
That queso looks fantastic, and nice work on the video!
Cadry
Thanks, Becky! 🙂
acookinthemaking
This sounds so yummy. I’ve been thinking about cauliflower recently and this may be just the push I need to go get some!!
I wish I could watch the video but it’s blocked at work 🙁 When I go home though I will definitely subscribe to your YouTube channel–that is too cool!
Cadry
Cauliflower is kind of amazing in the way it can be a chameleon. It’s the cashew of vegetables!
I don’t blame your office for blocking this video. The things I do with Great Northern beans in it are pretty scandalous. 😉 Kidding! I hope you enjoy it when you get home!
cookeasyvegan
Nice video, Cadry! I really love recipes that taste creamy and rich but are filled with healthy ingredients instead of fats. The recipe sounds very versatile and delicious. I have to say that the last time I made a cauliflower cheese sauce for mac ‘n’ cheese, my granddaughter wouldn’t eat it, even though I thought it tasted great. I’m definitely going to try again!
Cadry
Thanks, Andrea! I’ve had several people tell me that their kids gobbled up this queso, but I remember that your granddaughter was a tough critic! Maybe she’d be more into the cashew-based quesos. I am a big fan of both. Sometimes a queso made with cashews & hemp seeds or nutritional yeast and flour hit the spot. Other times I’m glad for something that is a little less caloric and more nutrient-dense.
theunintentionalvegan
This would be perfect for my Super Bowl party. I’ll definitely be whipping up a batch (or two!) – also, love the vid!
Cadry
Awesome! Let me know what you think! And I’m so glad you liked the video!
Lisa @ Je suis alimentageuse
YUM. I’ve been looking for a good veg queso recipe. Cauliflower and beans?!?! Genius. Pinning and sharing over on my FB’s blog page tomorrow =)
Cadry
Excellent! Glad to hear it, Lisa, and thank you!
Randi (laughfrodisiac)
Amazing! First of all, you are too adorable. Second, I’m mad I used my head of cauliflower last night in my pizza because I need to make this asap! I love that it mixes cauli and white beans so I can make it anywhere, no real specialty ingredients needed. You rock!
Cadry
Aw, thanks, Randi! I hope you like it if you decide to make it!