Dive into a pile of vegan nachos with cashew queso. They are loaded to the max with vegan chorizo, black beans, tomatoes, and guacamole.

Enjoy them with friends as an appetizer. Or make a meal of them! Vegan and gluten-free optional.

Nothing says messy indulgence like a gargantuan pile of nachos.

Every bite brings a different flavor…

Cashew queso, vegan chorizo, black beans, guacamole, the peppery bite of jalapeño…

As if that wasn’t enough, you have the variety of textures – crunchy, creamy, and chewy to take the experience up another notch.

Layers of goodness

The key to perfect nachos is in the layers.

You don’t want a huge pile of chips on bottom, and then all the toppings blanketing them.

That’s a sure fire way to end up with sad and soggy chips on an empty platter when all is said and done.

No one wants that.

So remember the layers.

Start with an even row of tortilla chips, then cashew queso, chorizo & beans, chopped fresh vegetables…

And then top them with another layer of chips, and so on and so forth.

Continue adding like some kind of geological dig in reverse until you have a mountain of nachos to ascend.

Creamy cashew queso

I’ve been making a version of this creamy cashew queso for years.

The cashews give the sauce a full-bodied fattiness you really want in your vegan cheese.

I’ve drizzled it over breakfast nachos, and poured it on top of chili cheese tater tots.

There’s just one recent change. Lately I’ve been adding a steamed carrot to the mix.

The carrot doesn’t add a lot in terms of flavor. But it does mean you’re squeezing in an extra vegetable at dinnertime. Plus, it gives the queso a very pleasing pop of orange.

If you don’t have a carrot on hand, no worries. The cashew queso is every bit as good without it.

(If you can’t have cashews, check out this old school flour-based queso instead. It’s the cheesy topping for fried puffy nachos. Or try a ladling of creamy cauliflower queso.)

Vegan chorizo & black beans

For the meaty portion of the nachos, I like to use a mixture of vegan chorizo, black beans, and spices.

There are lots of plant-based chorizo options available.

Lately, I’ve been using Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, which comes in a tube and is gluten-free. It has a regular spot on my Trader Joe’s grocery list.

(Remember to throw away the plastic casing. That’s not edible.)

I’m also fond of chorizo seitan from Upton’s Naturals and the Herbivorous Butcher.

(Keep in mind that seitan isn’t gluten-free, though, if that matters to you.)

Use whatever you prefer & have available! Or you can skip it and do spicy black beans instead.

All of the vegetables

Finally, fill out the nachos with green onion, cilantro, jalapeño pepper slices, and guacamole.

For an even more heavily loaded platter of nachos, consider adding dollops of vegan refried beans with pinto beans, refried black beans, black olives, pickled red onions, or non-dairy sour cream.

Get your napkins ready. It’s go time.

Step by step instructions

(For full ingredient amounts, keep scrolling to the recipe box at the bottom of this post.)

Start by putting the following into a high-speed blender:

Steamed carrot
Raw cashews
White miso paste
Nutritional yeast flakes
Vegetable bouillon
Cumin
Ancho chile powder
Granulated onion
Salt

Blend until smooth.

Then move to a medium-sized pot. Stir on a medium heat until it has thickened like a gravy.

Brown vegan chorizo in a skillet.

Then add black beans, cumin, ancho chile powder, and water.

Warm until the spices are evenly distributed and the water has cooked down.

Then put tortilla chips on a plate & pile on the above toppings along with guacamole, tomatoes, green onion, and cilantro.

Dig in!

(Looking for a non-shared option? Do a build-your-own vegan nacho bar instead!)

Storage ideas

Obviously nachos are best fresh. I don’t recommend making a full batch of nachos ahead of time.

However, you can easily make the queso & vegan meat ahead of time.

Store them separately in covered containers in the refrigerator. Then reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

The queso thickens as it cools. So you’ll want to add a splash of water to get it to your preferred consistency.

Both the vegan taco meat & queso freeze well. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply move them to the refrigerator to thaw.

Content, recipe, and photos updated July 2020. Originally posted April 2017.

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