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Plant Based Instant Pot

May 4, 2019 · 25 Comments

Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso

Appetizers· Fall· Recipes· Recipes by Course· Recipes By Seasons· Spring· Summer· Vegetable Recipes· Winter

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This Instant Pot cauliflower queso is what everyone wants me to bring to parties and cooking demos. The cauliflower is the bulk, the carrots give it color, and the cashews make it extra creamy. Serve it on baked tortillas chips, pasta, or slathered over baked potatoes.

Kathy's Famous Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso

Cauliflower Is Magic

You can make grilled cauliflower steaks, vegan cauliflower wings, and use it to make silky smooth sauces and dips.

The trick to making cauliflower sauces is to steam them just until a fork will pierce it and you can blend it in your blender. This is what keeps the cauliflower taste to a minimum.

When you overcook cauliflower the cells burst and that’s what makes it have an overwhelming smell. If you cook it until it’s just beginning to soften it tastes much milder.

Do I Have to Have All These Different Chili Powders to make Cauliflower Queso?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is you can use what ever chili powder blend or single chili powders you have on hand.

What I would do is blend everything except the chili powders first. That way you can taste as you go while you experiment with the chili powders.

I suggest starting with small amounts and moving from there. Remember you can always add more, but you can’t take it out if you added too much!

Kathy's Famous Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso

Can I Make the Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso without Nuts?

You can leave the cashews out if you are allergic or just don’t eat nuts. It just won’t be extra creamy, but it will still taste amazing!

The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester

This recipe comes from my book, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot. Be sure to get a copy for yourself!

Cauliflower Queso Recipe Variations

  • skip the carrots to make a white vegan cheese sauce
  • make a pasta sauce by leaving out the chili powders and stir in Italian seasonings or fresh basil
  • Leave out the chili powders and add in chopped pimentos to make a pimento cheese dip

More Recipes to Try

  • No Oil Vegan Instant Pot Tamales
  • Plant Based Instant Pot Potato Salad: Extra Veggies and No Added Oil
  • The Best Instant Pot Chai Tea Concentrate
Kathy's Famous Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso
Kathy's Famous Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso

Kathy’s Famous Spicy Instant Pot Queso

Kathy Hester
This is a plant based creamy cheese sauce that even non-vegans love. It’s creamy like Velveeta and it’s 98% veggies with a few spices and nutritional yeast added in. Eat it on baked tortilla chips, steamed veggies, whole grain pasta, or spiralized veggie “pasta”
4.44 from 37 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Additional Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8 servings
Calories 87 kcal

Equipment

  • Frontier Co-op Nutritional Yeast Mini Flakes, 1 Pound Bulk Bag
  • Guajillo Chile Powder 4 oz – Ground Chili Peppers For Cooking Sauce, Paste, Salsa, Tamales, Enchilada, Mole, Sweet Heat Chili and Mexican Recipes by Ole Mission
  • Frontier Co-op Smoked Paprika Organic, 16 Ounce

Ingredients
  

For the Instant Pot

  • 2 cups water
  • 4 cups cauliflower florets 1 small head of cauliflower
  • 1 cups thick cut carrot coins about 2 small carrots
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews

For the Blender

  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • liquid drained from 2 cans RO*TEL or about
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste, optional
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon jalapeno powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

The Chunky Parts

  • 2 – 10 oz cans diced tomatoes and green chilies drained
  • 1/4 cup minced cilantro
  • 1/4 cup minced pickled jalapenos

Instructions
 

  • Add the water to the Instant Pot liner and put a silicone or other vegetable steamer inside.
  • Add the cauliflower, carrots and cashews to strainer in that order. 
  • Cover and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
  • Carefully release the pressure manually.
  • Pour the cooked mixture into a strainer over the sink and drain the water.
  • Add the drained mixture to your blender with the liquid drained from the cans of diced tomatoes and green chilies and blend well.
  • Add the smoked paprika, salt, chili powder, ancho powder, chipotle powder, jalapeno powder, guajillo powder, and mustard powder to your blender.
  • Scrape out the blender contents into mixing bowl and stir in the tomatoes and green chilis chopped cilantro if using and pickled jalepenos if using. 

Video

Notes

If you are salt -free add an additional 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. This will add in a bite that’s similar to salt.
Don’t like spicy? Leave out the chipotle powder and maybe even the jalapeno to make it extra mild.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 87kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 338mgPotassium: 421mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3164IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 2mg
Keyword cauliflower queso, plant based queso, vegan queso
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
« Instant Pot Refried Mayocoba Beans
Instant Pot White Beans with Tomatillos »

Comments

  1. Jenni says

    July 9, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    5 stars
    I can testify to the deliciousness of this dip! Dang!

    Reply
  2. Vaneta says

    July 10, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    5 stars
    I have the cookbook and have made this recipe. This is far better than other recipes floating around the internet. My omnivore hubby likes this too. I think it is great not only as a cheese dip but on baked potatoes. Great recipe!

    Reply
  3. Brianna says

    July 14, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    Is there a substitute for the nutritional yeast?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      July 14, 2018 at 11:55 pm

      If you can’t have it, you could try adding some mushroom or tomato powder. But the nutritional yeast does give it a cheese-like flavor.

      Reply
  4. Phyllis says

    July 17, 2018 at 9:51 pm

    Do you just set the tomatoes in the Ro-tel aside? Just use the liquid? Looking forward to trying this.

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      July 17, 2018 at 9:56 pm

      Yes, you can see me do it in the video in case that helps.

      Reply
  5. Colleen C says

    August 11, 2018 at 2:10 am

    5 stars
    I made this tonight, but as I do not like spicy hot of any degree, I only used 1 tsp of chili powder in place of all the different chili powders. To boost the flavor, I blended the green chilies in, upped the nutritional yeast a tad, then added apple cider vinegar and the juice of one lime. It was great – super quick and easy. I can see the ‘base’ of the first three ingredients being really useful, and so quick in the IP. Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Natalie says

    September 7, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    I haven’t made this yet, but my hubby is allergic to nuts, has anyone tried this without the cashews? Is there anything that can be substituted? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      September 7, 2018 at 10:22 pm

      You can leave out the nuts and you don’t need to add anything else.

      Reply
  7. Jean Owen says

    November 2, 2018 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    Can you freeze the queso?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      November 2, 2018 at 5:42 pm

      I wouldn’t recommend it, just because the cauliflower smell will be stronger with a reheat.

      Reply
  8. Jen says

    May 10, 2019 at 3:17 am

    I am going to try this tonight but I don’t have a steamer shelf for my IP. Can I just put them into the pot with the water? Thanks,

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      May 10, 2019 at 2:43 pm

      That will work too! I like using a steamer because when I take it out everything is drained and ready to go.

      Reply
  9. Lindsey says

    May 13, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    I wonder if this would work with sunflower seeds instead of cashews?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      May 16, 2019 at 1:39 am

      I haven’t used them so I can’t say for sure.

      Reply
  10. JoAnne says

    May 15, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    I made it yesterday. What took me so long! So good! I like spicy and this didn’t disappoint.

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      May 16, 2019 at 1:39 am

      I’m so glad you liked it!

      Reply
  11. Ashley says

    May 20, 2019 at 5:49 pm

    I just made this and it’s great! I’ve tried a lot of “cheeze” sauce recipes and this one is by far the best! Thank you for sharing it!

    Reply
  12. Audrey says

    March 23, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    I thought i had carrots, but i was out. I threw in an orange bell pepper and cooked it with the cauliflower. I blended the pepper with the cauliflower and it tasted great, color was perfect. Eve better with the nutritional yeast and the chili. I made plain cheeze sauce and also with rotel. I cooked extra cauliflower because i plan to make an alfredo sauce later in the week. I would post a pic but i don\\\’t see where to do that on here. Thanks Kathy!

    Reply
  13. Anissa says

    June 15, 2021 at 10:23 am

    Kathy, can you use frozen cauliflower?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      June 15, 2021 at 12:15 pm

      You sure can!

      Reply
  14. Cathi says

    January 25, 2023 at 10:06 pm

    I can’t get Rotel products here right now. How can I substitute them and not lose flavor?
    Thanks Kathy

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      February 3, 2023 at 8:57 pm

      Just add a little lime juice and some green chilies to regular diced tomatoes.

      Reply
  15. Carla says

    November 12, 2023 at 7:39 pm

    This is really good! I can\’t have nuts or seeds so I left them out. Next time, I want to make it thick and creamy. Would you suggest 1 can of white beans or zucchini?

    Reply
  16. Jennifer Hall says

    April 2, 2024 at 4:29 pm

    I didn\’t have 100% of the spices, but the result was delicious & spicy! I\’ve made a similar Instant Pot \”queso\” with buffalo flavor from hot sauce, cannellini beans, cauliflower & cashews and was ready for a change. One of the things I\’ve learned is that even if I don\’t have all the ingredients…try the recipe anyway! This is soooo good! Thank you!

    Reply
4.44 from 37 votes (33 ratings without comment)

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