Vegan Quesadillas with a homemade cashew queso are here! They are cripsy, loaded with black beans and veggies. The cashew cheese is smooth and flavourful and holds all the filling ingredients together. Topping these quesadillas with a homemade guac is a MUST, as well as a spicy salsa to unleash even more flavours! Hope you enjoy, friends.
how to make cashew cheese
I have a love-hate relationship with vegan cheese. I’ll be honest, most of the stuff you buy in the stores, I find to be quite disappointing. There are some brands that I do enjoy (Miyoko’s and Field Roast Chao) but I know the price and the availability of these products aren’t accessible to everyone. So I made cashew queso for these quesadillas so that you have options. The main ingredients of the homemade cashew cheese are cashews, potatoes, plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, and some other spices. Pretty simple, especially if you’ve been in the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle for awhile.
The potatoes need to be boiled until they are soft, and the cashews need to be soaked, but other than that all the ingredients just get thrown into a high-speed blender. The homemade cashew cheese is thick and smooth. It’s flavourful thanks to the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and sea salt. The cheese also stores nicely in the fridge, so you can make it ahead of time, or if you have leftovers you can enjoy more quesadillas the next day. This cashew queso also holds together the filling ingredients nicely, so not everything falls out as soon as you take a bite!
here are a few reasons why I love this vegan quesadilla recipe, so listen up!
- The cashew queso can be made ahead of time, so if you are looking for quick lunches or dinners, this homemade cashew cheese can be made before the dinner process starts. It simply needs to be store in the fridge. Then these vegan quesadillas become an easy 30-minute meal. This is such a quick lunch or dinner. These dairy free quesadillas are perfect for the hustle and bustle of summer. We all want to be at the beach for longer, and then sometimes dinner plans go out the window but by pre-making the homemade cashew cheese, dinner will literally take no time at all. Who can say no to that!?
- This vegan quesadilla recipe can be gluten-free simply by using gluten-free wraps. My favourite gluten-free wraps are from La Tortilla Factory and my favourite sprouted wheat tortillas are from Silver Hills. Both are delicious and both work great in this recipe.
- The Picky Husband LOVES his cheese. I have a feeling lots of people feel that way. To be honest, I was never obsessed with cheese, I ate it and enjoyed it but it wasn’t super hard for me to give up. The Picky Husband, on the other hand, I don’t know if he will ever stop loving dairy cheese. That’s ok, we have the right to make those choices for ourselves with no judgement. But I will say he is a trooper when it comes to being a supporter of whatever I cook up in the kitchen. And he actually really liked these vegan quesadillas. He wasn’t weirded out by the cheese, loved the flavour and gave them a thumbs up! So are these vegan quesadillas Picky Husband Approved?! Heck yes, they are!
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These vegan quesadillas are a new staple in my life. The perfect quick summer lunch/dinner so we can all be enjoying the outdoors more. I love the creaminess of the cashew queso, the crispiness of the tortillas, and the way the filling remains intact after each bite. Homemade guacamole on top takes this vegan quesadilla recipe to the next level. I mean who doesn’t top quesadillas with a ton of salsa and guac? It’s just an absolute must.
Vegan Quesadillas
Ingredients
cashew cheese
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
- 1/2 cup white potatoes (chopped into 2 inch cubes)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup unsweetened plantbased milk (make sure it isn’t a vanilla flavour)
- sea salt
other ingredients
- 1 cup black beans
- spinach (handful per quesadilla)
- green onion
- salsa
- tortillas (4-5 tortillas if you are folding them in half or 8-10 if you are stacking one on the bottom and one on top)
guacamole
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 small clove of garlic
- sea salt
- juice of 1/2 lime
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for at least 2 hours.Chop 1 small potato into 2-inch cubes (should measure roughly 1/2 cup).Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the potato cubes and boil until potatoes are soft- roughly 14 minutes (test by poking potatoes with a fork). Drain the water and set aside.
- Add all the cashew cheese ingredients to a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth. The mixture should be thick but smooth.
- Heat a cast-iron (or pan of choice) over medium heat. I didn't add any oil to the cast iron but if you are using a different type of pan you may need to.
- Either use one tortilla, add the cheese sauce (roughly 2 tablespoons) to cover the whole surface and then add the toppings only to one half and fold it over. Or use 2 tortillas (one for the bottom, and one for the top). If using 2 tortillas, add 2 tablespoons of cheese on each tortilla. Either way, add a handful of black beans, spinach, and green onion. Toast each side till golden (roughly 3-5 minutes each side).
- Prepare the guacamole by mashing 1 ripe avocado in a bowl. Add lime juice from 1/2 lime, sea salt, and 1 small garlic clove (finely chopped, or pressed).
- Once the quesadillas are cooked, top with medium-spicy salsa and guacamole. Best when fresh, although the cheese will store in a container in the fridge for a few days if you have leftovers/ making ahead of time.
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I am a quesadilla fan through and through! These look SO yummy. Can’t wait to try the cashew cheese and load up on guac and salsa!
The tower of guac and salsa is a must!!