Vegan Chipotle Sauce with Sunflower Seeds (no nuts)

Spicy, creamy and full of flavor, this vegan chipotle sauce using sunflower seed kernels is allergy friendly, since it's nut-free. Cheaper than cashews, sunflower seeds blend up into a thick, rich sauce. Drizzle this dairy-free, oil-free, soy-free sauce on burrito bowls, tacos, nachos or potatoes.

chipotle sunflower seed sauce in bowl with spoon

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This recipe was inspired and adapted from my sunflower seed sour cream recipe.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

A few notes on the main ingredients for this allergy-friendly, nut-free vegan chipotle sauce recipe.

Ingredients for vegan chipotle sauce: raw sunflower seed kernels, cool water, lemon juice, chipotles in adobo sauce, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic cloves

Raw sunflower seed kernels - use raw, not roasted sunflower seed kernels. Sunflower seed kernels have a stronger, more bitter flavor than cashews. So, they need a little more "help" to mask that raw sunflower seed flavor. The chipotle, garlic, sugar and extra acid in the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice all help with this.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeños which often are packaged in adobo sauce and canned. The peppers and the sauce are full of flavor and heat, so use with caution if you're sensitive to spice. Add one, blend, then taste. If you want it spicier, add more. Be mindful that the heat in this cream intensifies as it sits overnight. I call for 2 peppers in this recipe, which is spicy.
Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar - adds acidity and brightness
Cane sugar - unlike cashews, which have a natural sweetness to them, sunflower seed kernels are bitter, so they need some sweetener to balance that out

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutes for the ingredients:

Raw sunflower seed kernels - use roasted unsalted sunflower seed kernels, if raw are unavailable. Be sure to soak them first for at least 20 minutes since they are drier. If you want to use cashews, follow my recipe for vegan chipotle cashew crema.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - Instead of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, you can use chipotle tabasco sauce, chipotle pepper powder or a dried morita chipotle pepper that has been de-stemmed, de-seeded and rehydrated in hot water.
Lemon juice - you can use lime juice or sour orange instead, but it will change the flavor profile of the sauce
Apple cider vinegar - substitute with distilled vinegar or white wine vinegar. Alternatively, use more lemon juice instead.
Garlic cloves - use ½ teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic instead. Or, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic.
Cane sugar - maple syrup, coconut sugar, raw sugar or agave nectar
Sea salt - if you choose to substitute with kosher salt, you may need to increase it, as kosher salt is about half as salty as sea salt.

Want to switch up the flavors? Try one of these tasty variations:

Plain sunflower seed sour cream (non-spicy)
Taco Dip: mix in 1 package of taco seasoning instead of chipotle peppers when blending.
Chipotle Mayo - Use this recipe to make vegan low fat chipotle mayo using silken tofu
Chipotle Cashew Crema - Use this recipe to make vegan chipotle crema using cashews instead of sunflower seeds
Habanero Crema - Instead of chipotles, try this recipe for habanero crema

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for how to make nut-free vegan chipotle sauce with sunflower seeds in a blender.

Note: If you are NOT using a high speed blender (Vitamix, Blendtec, Ninja, etc.), then I recommend you soak your sunflower seed kernels before blending. Here's my guide on how to soak sunflower seeds.

Step 1: Add everything to a high speed blender and process until completely smooth.

Step 2: You can add your chipotle peppers in adobo sauce whole (no need to chop them).

Step 3: This is what the sauce looks like when blended. In my BlendTec Twister Jar (which is smaller and designed for blending thick recipes) I ran the smoothie option twice to get this consistency.

chipotle sunflower seed sauce in bowl with spoon, beside sunflower seed kernels, cloves of garlic and chipotle peppers

Step 4: At this point, it's ready to be eaten with nachos, tacos, burrito bowls, baked potatoes or whatever else you want a spicy creamy sauce with! Keep it stored in the refrigerator, where it will thicken as it cools, for up to a week. Or, freeze for later!

🥡 Make ahead and storage tips

You can store sunflower seed chipotle sauce in an airtight container the refrigerator for up to one week.

You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Mason jars make excellent containers for freezing sauces and beans.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

This chipotle sauce can be used as an aioli or crema and is delicious drizzled on potatoes, tacos, rice or a Southwest pasta salad. Spread it on sandwiches or tortas, instead of mayo or on large flour tortillas as a sauce for a wrap.

Vegan Burrito Bowl with Chipotle Sauce on top

❓ FAQ

What are sunflower seed kernels?

Sunflower seed kernels are the inside of a sunflower seed when you remove the shell. The kernel is what is edible. You can buy the kernels already shelled and that is what we're using for this recipe.

My chipotle sauce is gritty, what did I do wrong?

If your chipotle sauce is gritty, you need to blend it longer to get it smooth. If you're not using a high speed blender, you may need to blend it up to 3 minutes to process all the seeds thoroughly.

🗺 Cultural influences

This recipe is inspired by my background as a native of Houston, Texas, where TexMex cuisine abundant, authentic and celebrated.

Chipotle peppers are used throughout Mexican cuisine, where they originated.

See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.

Love this recipe?

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