This Vegan Roasted Poblano Sauce recipe is creamy, tangy, slightly spicy, and made with just a handful of simple ingredients! The roasted poblano flavor really shines, making it perfect for drizzling over tacos, nachos, roasted veggies, or Buddha bowls. It's also delicious served as a simple dip with tortilla chips!
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Creamy and flavorful: Cashews and nondairy milk make it silky smooth without any dairy.
- Versatile: Serve as a dip with your favorite tortilla chips, or drizzle over nachos, tacos, or burrito bowls!
- Bright and fresh: Poblanos, lime juice, and garlic bring a lively, Tex-Mex flavor that can brighten up any dish.
Key Ingredients
- Poblano peppers: Where the bulk of our flavor comes from! Poblanos are generally considered mildly spicy. However, their heat can vary quite a bit so the spice-level of this sauce may vary from batch to batch.
- Cashews and plant milk: These make our sauce rich and creamy! Cashews are great in non-dairy recipes like this because they blend up super smooth and thicken the sauce beautifully.
- Garlic and lime juice: These pair perfectly with the roasted poblano flavor, and are staples in Tex Mex recipes.
- Maple syrup: Just a touch of sweetness to balance the tangy lime and mild heat from the peppers.
How to Make Creamy Roasted Poblano Sauce
- Roast the poblanos in the oven until tender and slightly charred.
- Let them cool, then remove the skins, stems, and seeds.
- Blend the roasted poblanos with plant milk, soaked cashews, garlic, lime juice, maple syrup, and salt until smooth.
- Drizzle over tacos, nachos, roasted veggies, or bowls, or serve as a dip with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- The spice level of this sauce can vary depending on your peppers. Taste after blending and adjust as needed! If it’s too spicy, add more maple syrup to balance the heat, or a splash of lime juice to brighten the flavors and make the spice less intense.
- This nondairy poblano sauce will thicken after refrigeration. If serving from the fridge, stir in a bit of nondairy milk or water to thin it out.
Serving Suggestions
- I love using this Roasted Poblano Sauce on Tex Mex meals like tacos, nachos, or quesadillas. It pairs perfectly with my Air Fried Avocado Tacos and my Jackfruit Quesadillas!
- For a quick but satisfying meal, toss this sauce with some seasoned rice and beans.
- This recipe is perfect for parties or game day. Serve it with tortilla chips as a creamy, flavorful dip!
- Drizzle this vegan poblano sauce on burrito bowls or Buddha bowls for a pop of flavor!
Substitutions & Variations
- My go-to milk for this Poblano Dip recipe is cashew milk, but any mild-flavored nondairy milk will work! Use whatever you have on hand.
- The thickness of this sauce is easy to adjust. For a thicker dip, use less plant milk. For a thinner sauce that’s perfect for drizzling, simply add a little more until you reach your desired consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
How spicy is this Roasted Poblano Sauce?
Poblanos are generally considered mild, but can vary a bit from pepper to pepper. Taste test as you go and adjust with a bit of maple syrup or lime juice to tone down the spice if needed!
What can I use this Poblano Sauce on?
It’s perfect on tacos, nachos, burrito bowls, roasted veggies, or as a dip for tortilla chips. You can also mix it into rice and beans for a quick meal!
Is this recipe oil-free and Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB)?
Yes, this Creamy Poblano Sauce is oil-free, vegan, and made with whole food ingredients.
Other Vegan Tex Mex Recipes You'll Love
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Roasted Poblano Sauce
Creamy, tangy, and slightly spicy, this vegan Roasted Poblano Sauce is made with just a handful of simple ingredients. The rich roasted pepper flavor shines through, making it perfect as a dairy-free dip with tortilla chips, or for drizzling over tacos, nachos, roasted vegetables, and burrito bowls. Note that From Start to Finish is an estimate, and that the majority of this time is spent roasting the peppers and then allowing them to cool. Most of the hands-on time starts at step 4!
Ingredients
- 2 poblano peppers
- ½ cup raw cashews - soaked in very hot water for 20-30 minutes (OR in room temperature water overnight)
- ¼ cup plant milk (I used cashew, but any type will do!)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup lime juice (or the juice of 2 limes)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and place your poblano peppers on the prepared baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 25 minutes, flipping the peppers halfway through. They should look blackened and blistered when they are done. If they don't look blackened and blistered, let them roast a few more minutes until they do.
- Remove from oven and carefully place the peppers in a bowl. Cover the top of the bowl with a cloth or towel to trap some of the steam in. Let the peppers sit about 20 minutes.
- Once peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the stems, seeds, and skins. I like to do this by simply peeling off as much of the blistered skin as I can (it should come off relatively easily), and then removing the seeds and stem by slicing the pepper vertically from top to bottom so that it becomes one long strip. When you do this you should be able to pull the stem and most of the seeds off fairly easily. Wipe off any remaining seeds. Discard the skin, stems, and seeds.
- Drain your soaked cashews. Toss the poblano peppers, cashews, garlic, plant milk, lime juice, maple syrup, and salt in a high powered blender. Blend on high until nice and smooth! (This typically takes my vitamix about 90 seconds).
- Enjoy your roasted poblano sauce however you please!
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and are calculated for one serving.
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[…] Roasted poblano sauce: for a little extra kick! If I’m in a pinch I will sometimes just use store-bought salsa, but the homemade roasted poblano sauce is always better! […]