Name: Dairy Free Nacho Cheese Dip
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 jumbo carrot; 3 cup raw cashews; 2 to 3 medium jalapenos (to your level of desired hotness); ¾ cup lemon juice; 3 teaspoon salt; 3 cloves garlic; 1 cup water; ½ cup nutritional yeast; ½ bunch cilantro

Jump to Recipe

Dairy free, no junk and tastes just like nacho cheese! It all comes together in your blender, so no cooking. Make it about an hour or two ahead because the flavor gets better after it sits. Enjoy it alone with raw veggies or corn chips, or pour it on top of tacos and burrito bowls.

This plant-based, dairy-free recipe is full of nacho cheesy dip flavor. The nutritional yeast provides the tangy “cheese” while the other ingredients create a tasty mix of flavors that transform this cashew based-dip into something that tastes like actual cheese. This dip is not meant to be heated, but rather, served cold or at “blender” temperature. Watch how many jalapenos you add at the beginning as they can vary in heat level.

If you can’t eat dairy, then nachos are probably a food you miss. I learned this recipe when I was working at a cafe inside the Google campus in California. I used to make this cheese sauce for the snack case every day and I was so impressed by how much it reminded me of regular cheese! It gets better as it sits too, so make it ahead and let the flavors develop for at least an hour.

What Makes This Dip Taste Like Nacho Cheese

There are plenty of plant-based recipes trying to taste like dairy, and they don’t come close to the real thing. Real dairy is full of fat, water, protein, and it has an inherent flavor. So when we create a dairy free version, we have to take all those properties into account.

Most of the flavor in this recipe comes from nutritional yeast, which is popular in dairy free cooking. But to create a deeper flavor, and also make is nacho-y, there is a jalapeno pepper, lemon, garlic and cilantro. In my opinion, its the cilantro and the jalapeno that absolutely make this recipe work.

The main ingredients are:

cashews - provides the bulk of the recipe, and the creaminess
carrot - this helps add color and mask the cashew flavor
jalapeno pepper - adds spice and flavor, this recipe calls for 1 to 3 jalapenos depending on how hot you like it, and peppers can vary widely in how hot they are. I start with 1 pepper to see how hot my dip is, and then adjust accordingly.
nutritional yeast - has an inherent cheesy flavor, this yeast can take over the flavor of your recipe quickly, so always start sparingly and add just enough to create a cheesy flavor, but not overpower the rest of the ingredients.
lemon, salt, garlic and cilantro - balances all the flavors

How to Make Dairy Free Nacho Cheese

Add all of the ingredients to a blender except nutritional yeast and cilantro. Blend until smooth.
Add nutritional yeast and blend again. Give it a taste and add more jalapeno if desired.
Rough chop the cilantro, discarding the stems, and add leaves to the blender. Blend for 10 seconds or until small green flecks are seen throughout.
Chill for at least an hour before serving to allow all the flavors to develop. Serve with tortilla chips or chopped veggies!

Variations for Nacho Cheese Recipe

you can replace the lemon juice for some liquid from a jar of pickled jalapenos - this will make your dip spicier
Add 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder instead of the raw garlic

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Author: Andrea Sprague

Dairy Free Nacho Cheese Dip

This plant-based, dairy-free recipe is full of nacho cheesy dip flavor. The nutritional yeast provides the tangy “cheese” while the other ingredients create a tasty mix of flavors that transform this cashew based-dip into something that tastes like actual cheese. This dip is not meant to be heated, but rather, served cold or at “blender” temperature. Watch how many jalapenos you add at the beginning as they can vary in heat level.

Prep time: 10 MinTotal time: 10 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

1 jumbo carrot
3 cup raw cashews
2 to 3 medium jalapenos (to your level of desired hotness)
¾ cup lemon juice
3 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic
1 cup water
½ cup nutritional yeast
½ bunch cilantro

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to the blender except nutritional yeast and cilantro. Blend until smooth
Add nutritional yeast and blend again. Give it a taste and add more jalapeno if desired.
Rough chop the cilantro, discarding the stems, and add leaves to the blender. Blend for 10 seconds or until small green flecks are seen throughout.
Chill for at least an hour before serving to allow all the flavors to develop. Serve with tortilla chips or chopped veggies!

Notes

This is a lovely raw dip that has a tasty "cheesy" flavor. Be careful with the nutritional yeast as a little goes a long way and too much can take over the flavor of the dish. Start with half the amount in the recipe and give your dip a taste.

Also this dip gets better after sitting for a few hours! So make it ahead of time and store in the fridge. Then blend again to warm it up or leave it on the counter for 30 minutes to remove some of the cold from the fridge.

Nutritional information is per serving and does not include the coffee

Raw Nacho Cheese Dip