happy sunday! we’re back after a little hiatus from prep sauce sunday. i’m super excited to be here with you once again 😊and if you’re new here, prep sauce sunday is intended to help you get through the week, one sauce at a time. most, if not all the sauces i share here are super versatile. meaning, you can use them as a sauce, dip, or dressing, that way you can use it multiple times, for multiple meals throughout the week.
this week we’re making a favorite that i’ve been making almost since this blog’s existence, a chipotle cashew creama. if you’re not familiar with crema, it’s a rich, thick cream used to top all sorts of dishes - enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc. it sits somewhere between sour cream and creme fraiche. like all the other prep sauces in this collection, it’s a sauce/cream that comes together really quick. at its’ base are raw, soaked cashews - that’s what makes it super rich and creamy. we add a chipotle pepper which provides most of the flavor and a bit of heat too. next, we add lime juice and some vinegar to give it that tang that crema is known for. last, we throw a little garlic and nutritional yeast to round out the flavor and make it really robust.
so what can we use this crema for? just about anything is my answer. we love using it on a ground beef/cauliflower rice taco bowl situation. drizzled over fish tacos is another favorite. you can use it for dipping raw veg or tortillas for snacks, you could definitely add a tablespoon or 2 to a basic oil & vinegar salad dressing to your salad some major flavor. it can be used and repurposed for just about anything savory. i hope you get to make this one!
xo!
method
in the container of an upright, high-speed blender, place the drained cashews, water, chipotle pepper, lime juice, nutritional yeast, vinegar, flax, garlic, and salt. blend on high, scraping down the sides the of the container as you go until silky smooth.
taste and adjust seasoning if needed, adding more salt, lime juice, or vinegar.
store crema in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
ingredients
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup filtered water, plus more if needed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground flax
salt, to taste