Veggie Tacos with Vegan Cashew Chipotle Sauce

This is a story about the creation of a delicious vegan taco sauce, but it starts with a perfect weekend.

So, not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty sure I just had the best weekend ever. An at home, no visitors, doing stuff around the house kind of weekend. It was fannnnntastic.

It started on Friday morning, when AJ and I went up to North County to meet our friends Chris and Annie to ride some dirt bikes. This was my first experience riding dirt bikes, and it was quite the adventure.

You’d think that all my time spent on a mountain bike and on a street bike would come together and give me mad skilzz as a new dirt bike rider, but that was definitely not the case. I found out pretty quick that both tires move around on the dirt a lot, and it’s something you have to get used to.

All in all I survived the day, albeit not entirely unscathed.

We headed back into town and I was about ready to go to bed, but instead AJ invited a bunch of our friends over for a very impromptu birthday BBQ for yours truly. We made tasty food, drank some beer (and Smirnoff Ice…) and had a blast. It was definitely one for the books.

Saturday was way more chill, for me at least.

Apparently AJ didn’t have enough of the motos on Friday, so he went out to Buttonwillow to do a track day on his street bike. I stuck around the house and swept, mopped, cleaned, baked a cake, and played with the dog.

Before I knew it, though, it was 6:15 and AJ was home and famished. As per usual, I had forgotten to start dinner ahead of time. Whoops.

Enter: vegan veggie tacos!

These super simple tacos are filled with grilled veggies and a bit of fresh spinach, and topped with this creamy vegan chipotle sauce, made from cashews! They are surprisingly filling, yet keep you from feeling too loaded down after eating a couple.

This sauce is truly something else. I actually envisioned this sauce before I actually imagined what it would go on.

I knew it had to be creamy and spicy, but with a complexity you can’t get from fresh peppers. I knew canned chipotles in adobo sauce would be wonderful for this.

I also knew that I wanted it to be vegan, because if I can get away with cooking vegan then I definitely go that route any chance I get. I knew cashews would be the perfect fit, because of how versatile they are.

Cashews are an amazingly creamy base for a variety of vegan recipes, from cheese sauces to cheesecakes!

This sauce is so easy! Here’s how you make it:

1. Soak cashews.
2. Blend.
3. Add other stuff, and blend.

See? I told you it was easy.

You could use this sauce to top SO many things, like burritos, nachos, stir frys, soups, burgers, and more.

I definitely have some left over, and I’m excited just thinking about all of the delicious things I can put it on. I mentioned to AJ that we could share the leftovers with friends and he said in all seriousness, “No. I want to keep it all for myself.” Try it, and I bet you’ll feel the same way!

Grilled Veggie Tacos with Vegan Cashew Chipotle Sauce

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Raquel Smith
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Description

These vegan tacos are made with fresh produce and a cashew-based chipotle sauce that is deliciously creamy, with no dairy. This spicy sauce perfectly tops tacos, scrambles, burgers, and more!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Sauce:

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2 Tbsp adobo sauce, from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• pinch salt, plus more to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp)

For the Tacos:

• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/4″ strips
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 small zucchini, sliced into half moons
• 7 thick asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
• 4 thick flour tortillas (use corn if GF)
• 2 handfuls spinach

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Instructions

For the Vegan Chipotle Cashew Sauce:

1. Heat the water until just simmering. Add the cashews and let soak at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
2. Put the cashews and their water in a blender and blend on medium for about 30 seconds, then turn up to high. Blend until the sauce no longer feels gritty between your fingers.*
3. Add the chipotle adobo sauce (add peppers only if you want it very spicy!) and the rest of the sauce ingredients. Blend until incorporated, then add salt to taste.

For the Grilled Veggie Tacos:

1. Combine all the chopped veggies in a grill basket. Grill over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until lightly charred, tossing frequently.
2. Heat the tortillas in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 30 seconds per side, or until very warm and supple.
3. To assemble, place a bit of spinach into a warmed tortilla, then top with some grilled veggies and finish with the chipotle sauce.

Notes

If you don’t have a premium blender, I’d suggest blending only for 1 minute at a time to avoid burning it out. If needed, turn your blender off for 2-3 minutes, then continue blending.

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Grill
• Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, tacos, tex-mex

For more meaty meatless mains, we have a tasty collection of recipes for you to make:

• Black Bean Burgers
• Spiced Tacos with Mushrooms, Onions, and Peppers
• Spicy Portobello Sandwiches

What about you? Did you try these super tasty vegan tacos? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and please rate the recipe!

Don’t forget to Pin It!

Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on June 18th, 2014. Last updated: April 22, 2022 at 20:36 pm.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Raquel Smith

Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).

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