Silken Tofu Nacho Cheese

Tofu cheese is here to add some pizzazz to your dinner- queso style! We use this tofu nacho cheese as a topping for Mexican dishes, to dip chips and veggies in, and as a flavor boost in soups and scrambles.

This is an easy tofu cheese that’s ready in ~ 5 minutes and is good for you! Even if you don’t like tofu, don’t be scared–this doesn’t taste like tofu!

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Time for tofu queso!

Ok, hello velvety silken tofu cheese sauce of our dreams! This is a very easy one blender, 5-minute operation! Use this as a tofu nacho cheese and stack your chips and toppings sky high. Use this as a sauce on your tacos. Use this simply to dip your chip. However you use it, we know you’re gonna be making this recipe on the regular- it’s such an easy way to add more flavor to your weeknight meals!

Here’s what you’re going to need ingredient-wise to get this fiesta started:

• Silken tofu- NOT regular tofu
• nutritional yeast
• chipotle peppers in adobo sauce~ for heat & flavor
• lemon juice
• white wine vinegar
• olive or avocado oil (optional)

And we’ll add all this to a blender and voila! We are strolling in queso town friends!

One thing to note: this queso does have a mild color in comparison to other vegan queso recipes. Many recipes call for roasted carrots to add orange color to the queso. When we make this recipe, we’re usually making it as a component of our dinner- as in, we have other things to cook and don’t want to fuss with roasting carrots.

We crafted this recipe to be super simple, add to your blender and go!

I don’t want to peel, chop, and roast carrots on top of cooking everything else- especially as they don’t add much flavor. Pardon the lack of color, but this recipe lives for flavor + convenience!

You could add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric to this tofu queso to help dial up the orange color but turmeric can change the flavor, even in small quantities.

Our favorite tofu cheese recipe

Why tofu cheese? Well, yes there are really sensational cashew queso recipes out there, but cashews are expensive and used on repeat in many vegan & vegetarian recipes. We want some variety in our lives. We love you cashews, but not 7 days a week!

This queso is certified to be your fav because it’s really customizable. Any recipe you prepare in a blender gives you plenty of chances to taste, adjust, and taste again.

If you are here for the spiciest of spicy, add a couple of jalapenos or more chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you’re after something super salty and tangy and snackable- hit it with extra salt & vinnie! This would also be AMAZING with a touch of liquid smoke to give it a smoky quality!!

Why a silken tofu cheese?

Tofu offers up an extra boost of protein and calcium- which mom says we’re supposed to eat- and it’s very affordable! For those of you with nut allergies or restrictions, rejoice as this vegan tofu cheese is completely nut-free!

Silken tofu has higher water content than regular tofu and is very, very creamy. For stir fry, curry, or other dishes with cubes of tofu- you’ll want to purchase the regular tofu variety. BUT for creamy, blended or pureed tofu recipes, silken tofu is definitely our first choice!

Our favorite is Firm Silken Tofu for this queso, although you can use the soft variety; soft silken tofu will have an airier/fluffier mouthfeel compared to firm silk tofu. Get the firm stuff!

Usually, the grocery store will sell silken tofu in both the refrigerated and non-refrigerated Asian foods section. It comes tucked away in a tiny vacuum-sealed box, not a plastic view-through container like regular tofu.

Silken tofu is more difficult to chop, cook with, and handle in general as it tends to fall right apart so it’s great in blended or pureed recipes. For this recipe that isn’t going to bother us one bit- just something to note if you plan to further experiment with it.

Psst. It’s also a vegan keto cheese!

Yep, this vegan cheese is keto-friendly! Many varieties of vegan cheese have large amounts of tapioca starch to create that stretchy melty texture- but tapioca starch is high in carbs and a no-no on a keto diet.

This tofu cheese is a creamy, nacho cheese sauce that doesn’t have any tapioca starch thus none of the carbs that come along with it. Bada bing bada boom!

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