Nut Free Vegan Queso with Rotel

Making cheese dip with velveeta cheese and a can of Rotel is common place where I come from. Like every “taco” night include that queso. Every pot luck had it simmering away in a crock pot.

It is easy, and back in the day I thought it was delicious.

This vegan queso isn’ that…but it does have a can of Rotel in it, and it is delicious!

Rotel, diced tomatoes and chilies

If you are not familiar with Rotel, its basically just canned tomatoes and chilies. It comes in a variety of spicy heat levels, from mild to habaneros. So you can choose which level of spice you like!

I keep a few cans of rotel in my pantry mostly out of habit, but also because it is delicious and easily adds that spicy zip to queso, chili, enchiladas, and more! You could use a can of diced tomatoes and a small can of diced chilis if that is all you can find! It would work as well.

I make a lot of varieties of vegan queso, cashew being my base staple, and even already have a white “cheese” sunflower queso recipe on the site, but I wanted to make something more cheddar like, with some kick and some bite.

So I pulled out a can of Rotel and decide to use some sunflower seeds to make this vegan queso more affordable, allergy friendly, and super easy!

As much as I adore my original cashew queso recipe , I think this is a new family favorite. I like that it is a little spicier than my other quesos, but just as creamy, cheesy gooey, and delicious! Even my husband who normally isn’t a fan of spicy stuff, loved this queso….so if it’s Dave tested and approved, then trust me (errr him,) its good!!!

So give this vegan sunflower seed queso a try! I think you will be happy you did!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, plus water for soaking

• 1 can of Rotel

• 1 Rotel cans worth of water (just fill the can after you dump out the tomatoes)

• 2 tablespoon tapioca starch

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons sauerkraut, no liquid (you can sub wit 2 teaspoons miso paste as well)

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

• 1 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons smoke paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place sunflower seeds in a microwave safe container and cover with water. Microwave for 3 minutes. You can also soak the seeds in hot water for a few hours if you do not own a microwave.

2. Drain the water from the seeds. Add the seeds and remaining ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor .

3. Blend until completely smooth and liquefied, with no bits of seeds still visible.

4. Transfer the mixture to a medium sized pot and heat over med /low heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens to a queso consistency. Remove from heat once it has reached desired consistency. It will continue to thicken as it heats. if you get it too thick you can add a bit more water to thin it back out.

5. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can reheat this queso a microwave, or on the stove top. Once again, if it seems too thick when you reheat, you can add a splash of water or plant milk to thin it back out.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Easy Vegan All Purpose Cheese Sauce

Vegan Smoky Sunflower Cheddar

Vegan Cashew Queso

Vegan Smoky Sunflower Cheddar

Hard vegan cheeses are easier than most people think. Agar is vegan gelatin that you can easily find online or in your local asian food market that helps the cheese to solidify. You can find it in powdered or flake form.

Because so many people have allergies to tree nuts and coconut, I wanted to include a seed cheese option. You can easily swap out sunflower seeds in most nut cheese recipes with great success! You can just exchange equal amount of seed for nuts and follow the recipe as written!

I love this recipe because you can slice and even shred this cheese. If you are not a fan of smokey cheeses, just eliminate the liquid smoke and you will still be left with a tasty cheddar, perfect for sandwiches, cheese plates, tacos, and more.

Also this recipe uses triple filtered coconut oil. I buy mine at Trader Joe's. Triple filtered coconut oil does not have a coconut flavor like regular coconut oil, so if you choose to use regular, you may find the cheese will have a hint of coconut flavor to it. It may also be labeled as refined coconut oil. They are the same thing!

So if you are allergic to nuts, or have not been a fan of coconut milk cheese, I hope you will enjoy this option!

This cheese is also perfect for sending in school lunch boxes to avoid any allergy issues with you kids friends! I always worry about our kid’s friends with nut allergies when they visit our house, and am so glad I have an option to serve them and still keep it vegan!

Sunflower seeds are also relatively inexpensive! This cheese will cost you easily less than half of what you would pay for vegan cheese in the store. I use small snack size bowls to mold this cheese and can yield three wheels of cheese for around $4-5! If that is not a reason to start making your own cheese, I don’t know what is!!

So let me know what you think of this inexpensive, allergy friendly vegan cheese! I hope you love it and it becomes a staple in your house like it has ours!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cups raw sunflower seeds

• 1 and 1/2 cups plant milk (we used almond milk)

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup sauerkraut without the liquid

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons agar powder

• 1/4 cup refined or filtered coconut oil

• Juice from 1/2 lemon

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak sunflower seeds in hot water for a few hours, or cover in water in microwave safe container and microwave on high for 3 minutes

2. Drain seeds and them add along with coconut oil, sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, starch, and seasoning to a food processor or blender. Blend for about a minute .

3. Add the milk and agar powder to a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, whisking continuously unit the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Once thickened allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes, but keep whisking.

4. Add the milk and agar mixture to the food processor or blender and mix on high for several minute, unit the mixture becomes creamy smooth.

5. Transfer the mixture to several small bowls or cheese molds. Place in the refrigerator uncovered for serval hours to allow the cheese to firm up.

6. Store firm cheese in an air tight container in the fridge for about a week.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Sliceable Smoky Garlic Cashew Cheese

Smoky Coconut Milk Chile Cheddar Cheese

Easy Vegan All Purpose Cheese Sauce

Smoky Coconut Milk Chile Cheddar Cheese

I love experimenting with different vegan cheese flavors and bases. I really love using coconut milk because it’s easy and affordable.

I am often asked if these cheeses have a strong coconut flavor and the answer is, not really. I always used refined coconut oil which has little to no coconut flavor at all, and all of the spices and other ingredients in the cheese mask the flavor of the milk very well.

I love this particular chile cheddar for its deep smokey, peppery flavor without a lot of heat. You could always bump up the heat in this cheese by adding a few slashes of your favorite hot sauce. My kids and husband are not big fans of eye watering, nose running pepper heat, so this cheese has all the flavor without any of the pain.

We added reconstituted dried chiles and a can of small green chiles for the perfect smokey and tangy combo. This vegan cheese will slice, shred, and even remelt, making it perfect for quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, sandwiches, or just snacking!

This is a quick set cheese and is so simple to make, there is no reason to keep overpaying for store bought vegan cheese! You can have delicious vegan cheese, start to finish in about 2 hours, and for a quarter of the grocery store price!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk

• 2 tablespoons agar powder

• 2 teaspoons light miso paste

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 small can green chiles (4 oz can)

• 2 dried chili peppers

• 1/4 cup refined coconut oil

• optional: a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place dried chiles in a medium sized bowl. Pour enough boiling water over the peppers to cover and place a plate on top of the bowl. Let the peppers soak for about 20 minutes

2. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, and agar and peppers.

3. Pulse a few times to mix it all up.

4. After the peppers are done soaking and have softened, remove from the water. Cut the pepper open and remove the stem and the seeds. I just run a paper towel down the inside of the peppers to wipe out the seeds.

5. Drop the whole peppers into the food processor. Open the green chiles and dump them onto several folded up paper towels or a clean kitchen towel just to absorb some of the liquid. Add them to the food processor as well. Pulse until the peppers are broken down.

6. Now add the milk, and agar to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens to the constancy of a thin pudding. This only takes a few minutes.

7. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor, and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as agar begins to solidify at room temperature.

8. Transfer to the mixture to several small bowls or cheese molds. I can fill three small bowls with this recipe.

9. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for a few hours.

10. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week or so.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Coconut Milk Colby Jack Cheese

Coconut Milk Pepper Jack

Smokey Cashew Cheddar

smokey coconut milk chile cheddar vegan cheese