Loaded Nachos with Vegan Cauliflower Queso

These loaded nachos with vegan cauliflower queso are the perfect crowd-pleasing snack or meal. So loaded and so delicious that vegans and omnivores alike will adore them and keeping coming back for more. Featuring some nut-free cauliflower queso, black beans, sweet potatoes, avocado, salsa, and walnut meat.

I’m not much of a TikTok user, but I’ve had my moments in the past month. And in one of those moments, I was watching Lizzo make brussels sprouts nachos with walnut meat and they sounded gooood. Unfortunately, I did not have brussels sprouts in my fridge at the moment, so I used tortilla chips and topped them off with some air fried sweet potatoes. Then I used the ingredients she described for the walnut meat and that walnut meat sure was good as hell 😉

Why Cauliflower Queso

I’m obsessed with the natural creaminess of cauliflower at the moment, so I also made my own nut-free cauliflower queso! You always see cashew queso around and I love them, but thought I’d give this veggie-centered queso a try. It’s a winner. My parents asked what it was made of and they seriously couldn’t tell that I snuck an entire head of cauliflower in there.

What’s On My Loaded Nachos

The best part about nachos is you can do them however you’d like. The possibilities are endless, but the messier, the better. Spread the toppings wide, not high. You want everything on every chip for the ideal spread. My loaded nachos with vegan cauliflower queso also feature black beans, sweet potatoes, avocado, salsa, cilantro, and some walnut meat. Some other fire additions would be corn, salsa verde, or some jackfruit.

The various components of this are simple to make and there are only a few key ingredients. My favorite flavors to use whenever I make anything inspired by Mexican cuisine include plenty of lime, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper. With just a handful of flavors, you can seriously do so much!

Loaded Nachos with Vegan Cauliflower Queso

Print Recipe
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • tortilla chips
  • 1 cup cooked black beans
  • tons of cilantro
  • 1 avocado

Cauliflower Queso

  • 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp cayenne
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • ½ tsp red chili powder *optional, but recommended for some extra spice
  • salt to taste

Walnut Meat

  • ½ cup walnuts
  • ¼ cup chopped bell peppers
  • ¼ red onion, chopped
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ a jalapeño pepper, chopped *sub ¼ tsp cayenne
  • pinch of cayenne optional
  • pepper to taste
  • salt to taste

Sweet Potatoes

  • 1 small sweet potato, chopped
  • ¼ tsp cayenne
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • drizzle of olive oil

Tomato Salsa

  • 1 tomato, diced
  • ½ red onion, diced
  • lime juice from half a lime
  • ¼ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • black pepper
  • salt

Instructions
 

Cauliflower Queso

  • Heat a pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook cauliflower for about 5 minutes. Then add 1/2 a cup of water, increase heat to medium high, let it come to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. It should be soft enough to process well.
  • Blend with all other ingredients! Reduce or omit the red chili powder if you anticipate that it will be too spicy.

Walnut Meat

  • Toast walnuts, bell peppers, and onions on a pan over medium heat (no oil necessary) for 5-7 minutes, until walnuts are nicely toasted.
  • Process walnuts, bell peppers, and onions with cumin, jalapeño pepper, black pepper, salt, and cayenne (if using). Do NOT process for long because then it might turn into nut butter consistency. You want the walnuts to have a crumbly texture.

Sweet Potatoes

  • Cube a sweet potato into small ½-inch cubes. Toss with cayenne, salt, pepper, and just a drizzle of olive oil. Air fry for 10-12 minutes at 400 F.

Tomato Salsa

  • Finely chop all ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Add more cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste if necessary.

Assembly

  • Spread tortilla chips on a sheet pan. Add sweet potatoes, black beans, and walnut meat. Drop dollops of cauliflower queso everywhere. Finish off with tomato salsa, plenty of cilantro, and avocado.

For more Mexican-inspired recipes, check out…

BBQ Jackfruit Quesadillas with Kale and Cashew Cream

BBQ Chipotle Sofritas with Rajma

4 comments

  • Cauliflower makes things so creamy! This would make a lovely weekend spread. Thanks Amy!

  • Wow, this nacho platter is so impressive! The texture of that cauliflower queso is spot on, and using walnuts to replace a ground beef mixture is fantastic! This is going to be my new weekend indulgence.

  • GENIUS!!! I looooooove cauliflower comfort food, and all these toppings are so darn fun.

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