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Easy Vegan Weeknight Nachos with Creamy Cashew Queso

Cheesy, Crunchy, Fresh Deliciousness.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 621kcal

Ingredients

FOR THE QUESO:

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • ½ cup hot water
  • 1 4 oz can diced green chilis
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional- adds more cheesy flavor)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or: salt to taste)

FOR THE NACHOS:

  • 1 13 oz bag sturdy tortilla chips
  • 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tbsp shallot-infused olive oil (or: oil of choice +½ teaspoon onion powder +½ teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 7 oz bag vegan cheese shreds (or: shredded mexican cheese blend for non-vegan)
  • 2 bell peppers , diced

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

  • ½ cup salsa verde (or: your favorite salsa)
  • 2 tablespoon vegan sour cream (or: regular sour cream for non-vegan)
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro
  • a few pickled jalapeno slices

Instructions

  • Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Blend: Add cashews, water, green chilis, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, and salt to blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Toast: Spread chips out onto a large lined baking tray. Bake for 5 minutes.
  • Toss: In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the oil, beans, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt. When the chips have toasted for 5 minutes, remove from oven and turn oven down to 300 degrees.
  • Bake: Add the beans, bell peppers, queso, and cheese to the chips. Bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until cheese appears melted.
  • Top: Once nachos have finishes baking, add desired toppings such as salsa, vegan sour cream, pickled jalapeno slices and cilantro.
  • Store: Nachos are best when they're fresh. However, if you do not add the cold toppings, you can store the nachos 1-3 days in the fridge. They are best reheated in the oven at 300 degrees for ~10 minutes.

Notes

  • The queso comes together best with a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix or the kitchenaid blender above (this is what I have). If your blender is not high-speed, it may help to soak the cashews in the hot water for about 15 minutes before blending. 
  • I like to thin my sour cream with a little water to squeeze it over the nachos since I have noticed vegan sour cream does not seem to squeeze out of a bottle very well otherwise. 
  • These nachos are also great without the queso if you are really pinched for time.
  • Likewise, you can skip the toasting step to save another 5 minutes. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of sheet tray | Calories: 621kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1200mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 3.1mg
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