Ooey, gooey, Mexican cheese made in the food processor with whole, plant foods in minutes! Add black beans, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and mushrooms for the BEST Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas you’ll ever eat.
I’ve had cheesy vegan quesadillas on my mind for awhile now. I know this sounds a little crazy, but sometimes I will have recipe ideas in the middle of the night or when I wake up in the morning! I guess it’s just such a big part of my life right now, I’m constantly thinking about plant based food. Don’t worry, I have a life outside of food, too. 🙂
Well, I had been ruminating on this recipe for a while, when I finally decided to just give it a try. I really did not want to rely on store bought vegan cheese shreds. They don’t taste all that great, they can’t be good for you and they are expensive. I had this crazy idea of processing cashews until they were almost like a ‘cashew butter’ and then adding some Mexican spices and seasoning in.
Well, let me tell you. It worked. It worked so much better than I could have dreamed! The Cheesy Vegan Quesadilla of my dreams has arrived.
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How do you make the Mexican Cheese?
First add your cashews to a food processor and process for a full 3-4 minutes, until they start to turn to cashew butter (upper right photo). This really takes some time, so be patient! It will happen.
Once that happens, stop the food processor and add the nutritional yeast, spices + salt and salsa.
Process again, and it will quickly turn into delicious, creamy, Mexican cheese (bottom right).
The cheese will be quite thick, which is what you want, but if it seems dry and doesn’t look like the photo, simply add more salsa until the desired spreadable consistency is reached.
What else goes in Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas?
Add in a sprinkle of black beans and vegetables of choice.
I went with:
Zucchini
Yellow summer squash
Tomatoes &
Mushrooms
Can I make these without oil?
Yes, you can. Just use a large, quality skillet and cook them with no oil.
If you don’t use any oil, make sure the heat isn’t too high so they don’t burn. Low and slow is the way to go when not using oil!
I hope you LOVE these Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas with Black Beans and Vegetables as much as we did. They will be a staple for summer when it’s too hot to turn on the oven but I still want delicious food to eat!
They are
Gooey with Mexican vegan cheese
Flavorful but not overly spicy
Filled with vegetabes
Healthy
& Kid approved
If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram. Enjoy!
Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas with Black Beans and Vegetables
Ingredients
Mexican Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons mild salsa
The rest
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 small zucchini, chopped small
- 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped small
- 2 small tomatoes, chopped small
- 3 mushrooms, chopped small or sliced
- 8 tortillas (8-10 inch size), whole grain, gluten free or white if preferred*
Instructions
Mexican Cheese
- In a food processor, add the cashews and process for 3-4 minutes until they start to get buttery. This will take 3-4 minutes, so be patient! (see photos above for reference)
- Add in the nutritional yeast, spices, salt and salsa, and process again until smooth and creamy. If it seems too dry, add a little more salsa. Set aside.
Assemble and Cook the Quesadillas
- Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly spray with oil, or put a little vegan butter in the pan and spread it around. (May omit both for oil free)
- Spread some of the Mexican cheese (about 1/3 cup) on a tortilla, and sprinkle with desired amounts of black beans and vegetables. Add another tortilla on top and pat it down.
- Carefully place the quesadilla in the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Very carefully flip it over and cook on the other side until nice and golden. Remove from skillet and cut into quarters. Repeat these steps with remaining tortillas and ingredients.
- Serve warm with more salsa and/or vegan sour cream.
Notes
- For oil free tortillas, Whole Foods carries the Engine 2 brand that are oil free. Ezekial also has sprouted tortillas that are quite good and oil free.
- Feel free to be creative with the vegetables! Use what you have on hand. Other good options would be corn and spinach.
So delicious and a hit with my quesadilla-loving friends. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m glad everyone liked them!
I was so hesitant to make these vegan quesadillas for my cheese-loving family. But, I’m glad I finally did because they loved them! Thank you, Nora, for creating & sharing your delicious recipes!
You’re welcome! I’m glad everyone enjoyed!
I made this recipe tonight and I am blown away!!! In my opinion these are better than any non vegan quesadillas. I love Nora’s recipes, everyone is a keeper! I was a hungry vegan the first couple months until I stumbled upon her website, now I have so many delicious options, I’m eating better than ever!!!
Thanks for this wonderful comment!
The only thing I would done differently is find your blog sooner and start eating these delicious meals a LONG time ago. HOLY COW. As a new vegan, this meal was EXACTLY what I needed to satisfy my cheese craving. Like for real, this dish made me question if I had somehow messed up and added in real cheese ? it was THAT good. Will probably make it again every night for the next month ?.
Wow! Thank you for such a great comment! 🙂
I just made these & they were delicious! I made a few modifications – I put 1/4 tsp chipotle seasoning in place of 1/4 tsp of chili powder, used only 1 whole wheat tortilla & flipped it in half (was more than enough and very filling) and used grilled diced portobello mushrooms, onions, and zucchini as the veggies! I also served it with fresh avocado & salsa. SO flavorful and satisfying! Will definitely be making this again.
We made these last night and they were creamy, delicious, flavorful and filling. They were gooey and “cheesy” and will be on our regular rotation. I couldn’t finish all of mine because it was so filling! I took the leftovers to work for lunch the next day and it reheated like a dream!
So glad you enjoyed them! One of my favorites for sure!
I friggin love this so much. My teenager, who is all about meat, cheese and bread even loves it 😀 I keep the cheese in a container and easily use it within a few days. I’m going to try making a few and freezing them for later
Do you think this was be too thin if the cashews we soaked overnight and drained first? I don’t have a good processor but I do have a normal blender. Or if I could cut a step and purchase cashew butter and then add remaining ingredients to it? Thank you so much in advance. This recipe looks amazing!
I think that might work in a blender. It might turn out a bit thinner, but I think it would work. I haven’t tried it with cashew butter but I have a feeling it could work! Thank you! I hope it turns out however you try it, let me know. 🙂
Ok, so I never leave a comment/review but I tried this recipe today and it was sooooo gooooddd!!! Like wow! I did switch up the veggies and used different colored peppers, jalapeños, onions and cilantro but that’s only because I was craving a real Mexican dish like all day today haha! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Your entire website is a keeper! I’ve even book marked it because I will be coming back for more good recipes! Thank you!
Just made these for dinner the cashew cheese is so good tastes like regular queso! My co worker who is not Vegan shared this with me he and his husband like to eat some Vegan meals for variety and I made these for me and my husband and we loved them my husband is very picky and he thought they were delicious. I’m a vegan and I don’t even care about actual cheese when you can make cashew cheese this good. Will make these again!
Just had it for dinner, it was very delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe !
Do you know of another nut that can replace the cashews? My daughter is allergic to both dairy and cashews, but I’d love a better way to make “cheese” for her.
I think raw almonds would probably work, if she can have those. Maybe even sunflower seeds, but I haven’t tried it. Thank you!
I absolutely love this recipe!
I used a yellow and an orange pepper instead of tomatoes and I heated the veg & bean filling through beforehand purely because the quesadillas need to be made one by one so wanted to speed up the process. Love love loved it though, will definitely recommend!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one!
These quesadillas turned out SOO much better than I expected! Followed the recipe, and I never thought I’d be able to taste that queso fresco cheesiness after becoming vegan! Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi – I am thinking about making these for a camping trip. Can I make the cheese ahead of time? Does it hold up well in a fridge or freezer?
Hi there! Yes, you could make the cheese ahead of time and keep it in either a fridge or freezer. It holds up well either way. Great idea!
Just made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious! Always excited to try a new dish especially when it tastes this good. Thank you!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed the quesadillas!
Excellent recipe, I will definitely be making this frequently!
I’m so glad, thank you!
SO delicious! This is a new favorite. My non vegan boyfriend couldn’t believe how delicious these were. In his own words, “Wow- wait, that was all vegan?”
Yay! So glad you both enjoyed them.
Love your recipes Nora! Thank you for sharing them with all of us!
Thank you Johanna! I appreciate that SO much!
I made this today, and messed up a bit by not grinding the cashew up by themselves first. It still worked out and was good, however I will do it again following the actual recipe … lol
Oh good Darla! Yes, it will go much easier if you first process the cashews for a bit, then add the rest. 🙂
Delish! I made this tonight and this will definitely be a regular in my house 🙂 thank you for the recipe!
Just made this tonight!!! So good!!!! Didn’t look as good as yours but it is a keeper! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the quesadillas! They are shockingly delicious!
This looks scrumptious, very creative. I”m wondering if this cashew cheese could be adapted for use with pizza, or what you do for pizza cheese. I’ll definitely be taking a look at your other recipes! Thanks so much … it was fun to have this arrive in my email!
Thank you Joy! I haven’t tried a version of this cheese for pizza yet, but I think it would probably be really good (with different spices, maybe more like a mozzarella). In this recipe for BBQ pizza, I share a stretchy mozzarella type cheese recipe for pizza that I love.
These look so good….just curious about the veggies. Are they able to cook and soften or do they remain crispy?
If you chop them very small, they will soften enough inside to not be crispy. 🙂 Thank you!
I’m going to try these tomorrow.
I hope you enjoy them!
Your photos are beautiful. This recipe looks fantastic!
Thank you!