This Queso Dip For Kids Counts As A Vegetable
Your average queso spread is a nutritional nightmare, a shellacking of dairy and oil that fills guts without much to offer beyond saturated fat. Dinner wrecker, that.
This one, designed with toddlers in mind, is different. Taking inspiration from vegan cheese spreads, a whole can of beans goes in there–as does some cashews–to provide fiber and protein; the use of a bit of cream cheese ensures a creamy texture kids will love. Don’t worry: there’s still a bunch of shredded cheese going in here–and you can add even more, if you choose. In short: the taste and texture are on point with what you’d find in a Tex-Mex restaurant–you just won’t have any guilt or regret about serving it to your child on a weeknight. Makes a great side on taco night, or as an afternoon snack on lazy weekends!
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep, Cook, and Assemble
- Dump the entirety of the can of beans–legumes AND their liquid–into a small pot and heat until boiling; reduce to a simmer and let the beans cook 5-7 minutes. Allow a few minutes to cool.
- If topping with ground beef: while the beans cool, heat some oil in a pan to Medium; add in meat and cook for three minutes, then flip and cook another two minutes. Chop into small morsels. Set pan aside.
- In a blender, add in the beans, a splash of the cooking liquid from the pot, a splash of milk, the cashews and a spoonful of minced garlic; blend until a puree forms. If the mixture remains too thick for your blender ot process, add a splash of water or two to break up.
- Pour the blended bean mixture into your pot and add the tomato sauce,cream cheese, and a couple of shakes of taco seasoning; cook on Medium, stirring often, until cream cheese has melted into the mixture.
- Turn heat to Low, then add in your shredded cheese one handful at a time, stirring until it is melted and integrated into dip.
- Top with beef crumbles (if using) and a big spritz of lime.
Serve
We default to spooning the dip on tortilla chips or crackers; you can also layer on top of a burger or deli meat in a sandwich. Just move quick: it will congeal and harden pretty soon after being removed from heat.
Adapt
Nothing stopping you from using another bean lying around–say, black beans or chickpeas. You can add vegetables–as our hummus does–by steaming carrots until soft, then tossing in the blender when you puree the white beans.
User Reviews
This was good–and sneaky! My kids thought we were having nachos….