FOK's DIY Vegan Queso

Sometimes I come across a recipe that changes up the game.  This is one of those recipes.  There are probably 4 or 5 go-to cheezey sauce recipes in my arsenal.  A couple of the best ones include unsalted cashews and lots of nutritional yeast.  So, imagine my delight and surprise when I found a recipe that doesn't use any of the calorie-dense nuts and only a mere 1/4 cup of nooch.  WhooHoo!  We Win!  

A huge thank you to the folks at Forks Over Knives for posting this on their instagram account. I've made only a few changes to this recipe, cutting down on prep time, and taste tweaks. I use this queso as a tortilla chip dip, poured over my steamed broccoli, rolled up with my pinto beans in a burrito, drizzled over my chili and baked potato, as a dip for my home fries, spooned on top of a black beans and rice Buddha bowl, or anytime my food needs a kick of color and a bit of spice-it-up!  To read the recipe from its original source, click HERE.

Get ready.  Get set.  Go!

1 cup regular rolled oats

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sea salt (I use No Salt seasoning-sodium free)

1 7-oz. jar roasted bell peppers, undrained

2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion (I'm lazy so I use 2 teaspoons of dried onion bits)

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (so far I've only tried with the vinegar option)

1 -2 teaspoons bottled hot pepper sauce (didn't have hot pepper sauce so I used Sriracha. Finally got my favorite Cholula hot sauce and will try it next batch)

Directions:  Bring 2 cups water to boiling.  Meanwhile, in a blender place the first four ingredients (through salt). Pulse to combine. Add the next four ingredients (through hot sauce) and the boiling water.  Cover; blend on low until combined.  Increase speed to high; blend 5 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it blends. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Yummers!!