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Instant-Pot Vegan Cauliflower Queso

3.8

(6)

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Photo by Kathy Hester

Cauliflower is a magical vegetable. It’s tasty on its own, but it can transform into oil-free creamy sauces and even replace meat. In this recipe, it’s the base for my favorite creamy, cheesy queso sauce. This is great on chips but even better on top of burritos and enchiladas. Best of all, you can get the pickiest of eaters to eat their veggies this way.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

Instant Pot ingredients:

2 cups (214 g) cauliflower florets (about 1/2 head small cauliflower)
1 cup (237 ml) water
3/4 cup (96 g) thick-cut carrot coins
1/4 cup (34 g) raw cashews

Blender ingredients:

1/4 cup (24 g) nutritional yeast
Liquid drained from 1 (10-oz [283-g]) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (I like Rotel)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp jalapeño powder, optional
1/8 tsp mustard powder

Mix-in ingredients:

1 (10-oz [283-g]) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained (I like Rotel)
1/2 cup (75 g) chopped bell pepper (optional)
2 tbsp (30 g) minced red onion (optional)
1/4 cup (4 g) minced cilantro

Special Equipment

Instant Pot pressure cooker

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    For the Instant Pot, add the cauliflower, water, carrots and cashews to your Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then carefully do a quick pressure release by moving the valve to release the pressure.

    Step 2

    Pour the cooked mixture into a strainer over the sink and drain the extra water.

    Step 3

    For the blender, put the drained mixture along with the nutritional yeast, liquid drained from the canned tomatoes, smoked paprika, salt, chili powder, jalapeño powder (if using) and mustard powder into your blender. Blend until smooth.

    Step 4

    For the mix-ins, scrape out the blender contents into a mixing bowl and stir in the tomatoes and green chiles, bell pepper (if using), minced onion (if using) and cilantro.

    Step 5

    You can serve this at room temperature or keep it warm on the lowest slow cooker setting.

Nutrition Per Serving

PER 1-CUP (240-ML) SERVING: Calories 107.7
protein 6.5 g
total fat 4.2 g
carbohydrates 12.7 g
sodium 162.6 mg
fiber 3.9 g
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From The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot: 80 Easy and Delicious Plant-Based Recipes That You Can Make in Half the Time © 2017 by Kathy Hester. Reprinted with permission from Page Street Publishing. Buy the full book from Amazon.

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