The BEST vegan nachos with cashew queso

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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.

(Looking for something a little different? Try barbecue jackfruit nachos!)

In this post:

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Ingredients
Step by step instructions
Tips for best results
Make it your own
FAQ
Storage instructions
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Carrot: Steamed carrot gives the queso a 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.)

Raw cashews: Raw cashews give the sauce a full-bodied fattiness you really want in your vegan cheese. I recommend buying raw cashew pieces, because they cost less than whole cashews. Since you’re blending them anyway, no reason to pay more for whole cashews.

Remember: If you don’t have a high-speed blender, soak the raw cashews ahead of time.

Bouillon: Bouillon adds umami and salt to the queso. Better Than Bouillon no chicken base is my go-to, or use a half cube of whatever vegetable bouillon you prefer.

Nutritional yeast flakes: Nutritional yeast is essential for adding cheesy flavor. This inactive yeast can be found in the health section of grocery stores, or it’s sometimes by the flours. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s.

(Get more information about it in the post, “What is nutritional yeast?“)

White miso paste: This mildly-flavored and slightly sweet fermented soybean paste adds salt and umami. Look for it near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

Seasonings: Cumin, ancho chili powder, granulated onion, paprika, and salt. Ancho chili powder is made with just one ingredient – dried ancho chilies.

Oil: Use whatever neutral-flavored cooking oil you like to heat the soy chorizo and bean mixture. Avocado oil is my go-to.

Vegan chorizo: Also known as soyrizo or soy chorizo, this vegan meat adds a lot of flavor all on its own. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s, but it’s sold in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores. It comes in a tube and is gluten-free. (Remember to throw away the plastic casing it comes in. That’s not edible.)

Black beans: Canned black beans are very convenient for this dish. Just drain and rinse before using. If you’d prefer, you can use beans that have been made from scratch. You’ll need 1.5 cups of cooked beans.

Tortilla chips: Large, uncrushed tortilla chips in triangles or circles are best for nachos.

Tomatoes: Use chopped full-sized tomatoes or sliced cherry or grape tomatoes. (Cherry and grape tomatoes tend to hold onto their sweetness when out of season, unlike the full-sized variety.)

Green onion: Also known as scallions, use both the green and white parts for this recipe. Remove the root end before slicing.

Cilantro: Fresh cilantro adds freshness to nachos. If you don’t like cilantro, feel free to leave it off.

Avocado: Use diced avocado or a batch of guacamole.

Step by step instructions

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Blender with carrots, water, and cashews.

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

Steamed carrot
Raw cashews
White miso paste
Nutritional yeast flakes
Vegetable bouillon
Cumin
Ancho chili 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.

In a separate skillet, brown vegan chorizo.

Then add:

Black beans
Cumin
Ancho chili powder
Water

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

Overhead nachos, cashew queso, and sliced lime.

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

Dig in!

Tips for best results

For the best vegan nachos, remember to layer the chips and fillings.

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.

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.

Make it your own

Overhead platter of nachos with cashew queso and guacamole.

You can make vegan nachos your own by varying the toppings.

If you can’t have cashews, make flour-based queso instead, or try a ladling of creamy cauliflower queso.
Soy chorizo can be replaced with seitan chorizo. I especially like the kinds from Upton’s Naturals and Herbivorous Butcher. (Keep in mind that seitan isn’t gluten-free, though, if that matters to you.)
Instead of tortilla chips, use tater tots or french fries.
For a spicy kick, add splashes of hot sauce and jalapeño pepper slices.
Add even more toppings, like dollops of vegan refried pinto beans, refried black beans, black olives, pickled red onions, and/or non-dairy sour cream.

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

FAQ

What are vegan nachos made of?

Vegan nachos are made with cashew queso, soy chorizo and beans, scallions, cilantro, and a heaping helping of guacamole on top of tortilla chips.

Is ancho chili powder the same as chili powder?

No. Ancho chili powder is made with just one ingredient – dried ancho chilies. This spice is flavorful but not hot.

Standard chili powder is made with a blend of spices like cumin, garlic, and cayenne. Because a chili powder blend will have varying amounts of cayenne, heat levels will also vary.

You can replace ancho chili powder with standard chili powder, but the seasoning and heat levels will be a little different.

Are tortilla chips vegan?

Most plain tortilla chips are vegan. They’re typically made with stoneground corn, oil, and salt. But as always, check the ingredient label. Watch out for ingredients like cheese, casein, milk or milk powder, or whey.

What if I don’t have a high-speed blender?

If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the raw cashews for several hours ahead of time, so that you can have a perfectly creamy queso. Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder before adding them to the blender. If you have a high speed blender, soaking/grinding isn’t necessary.

Storage instructions

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 airtight containers in the fridge. 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.

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