Nacho (Un)cheese

Over the years, I've tried making many different vegan (dairy-free) nacho cheese/queso recipes, but I never found one that I really liked. A few months ago, I finally found a recipe that had potential. After making some changes to it, I settled on combo of ingredients that create a really good knock-off cheese dip. Now, it doesn't taste exactly like the Velveeta queso, but it's got a cheesy flavor with the same consistency and appearance of regular queso. It's a hit in our house. Give it a try!

Nacho (Un)cheese

1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews (preferably soaked for at least 6 hours, but not necessary)
1 4oz jar pimentos, drained
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until completely smooth. Add more water, if need be, to thin out the sauce. Heat if desired.

Optional: For a true queso knock-off, add one can of Rotel (drained) to mixture and heat to desired temp. If you don't have Rotel, salsa will work. I add jalapenos sometimes.

Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas, and/or veggies…or whatever sounds good to you .

Enjoy!!!