Healthy Recipes/ Recipes/ Sauces & Condiments/ Vegan

Green Enchilada Sauce & Cilantro Cashew Crema

Two quick vegan sauces to dress up tacos, enchiladas, salads, and dips!

For me, spring always brings a need to eat cleaner and be more mindful, so I’ve challenged myself this spring to cut down on dairy, wheat, and gluten, but to be mindful of not feeling restrained or boxed in. A happy side effect? I’m now inspired to incorporate a lot more plant-based meals, snacks, and sauces like these two!

With this new balance comes a responsibility to myself to ensure I’m creating meals that don’t allow me to miss gluten or dairy. This enchilada sauce is spicy and creamy. It’s inspired by a similar one my Dad makes that I absolutely love. The sauce is simple enough to make on a week night and its bright flavors compliment any Mexican-inspired dish, from veggie tacos to enchiladas and burritos.

The cilantro cashew crema is my substitution for cheese in my tacos. It’s creamy while warm and spreadable when cool, and it gets a punch of flavor from fresh, herbaceous cilantro. It’s also delicious as a dip for bell peppers, cucumbers, and celery.

These sauces went in my lush purple cabbage + kale slaw and on my nourishing vegan sweet potato, caramelized onion, black bean, and kale slaw tacos – recipe coming soon!

Green Enchilada Sauce & Cilantro Cashew Crema

Print Recipe

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes each

Ingredients

Green Enchilada Sauce:
4 tomatillos
1 poblano
1 jalapeno
1/2 avocado
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch of cilantro
2+ tbsp lime juice, to taste
~1/4+ cup water, just enough to blend
salt, to taste
...
Cilantro Cashew Crema:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
scant 3/4 cups water
1/2-3/4 tsp salt, to taste
Juice of 1 lime + the entire part of 1/4 a lime
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 bunch of cilantro
3-4 garlic cloves
optional - 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

For the Green Enchilada Sauce:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the tomatillos, poblano, jalapeno on a baking sheet and bake until blistered and softened, 7-10 minutes.

Place the poblano in a plastic bag (a grocery bag works) and wrap the bag around the chili to allow it to steam for about 5 minutes. Cut the stem off of the jalapeno and place in a high-speed blender with the tomatillos.

Add 1/2 avocado, garlic cloves, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to the blender. Add a bit of water, up to 1/4 cup, just to get the blender going.

Take the poblano out of the bag and rub the skin off to remove. Cut the stem off and remove all of the seeds. Place the flesh of the poblano in the blender.

Blend until completely combined and smooth and silky. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Cilantro Cashew Crema:

Place cashews, water, salt, lime, lemon juice, cilantro, and garlic cloves in the blender. Add the nutritional yeast, if using. Start blending on low, gradually moving to high-speed, and blend until the crema is completely smooth. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.