Fresh, creamy and spicy, this vegan cilantro lime jalapeño crema is addictive and perfect drizzled over nachos, tacos, tostadas, burrito bowls and more. Made with cashews, this works as a sour cream, dip, dressing or aioli and is dairy-free, vegan and plant-based.
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This cilantro lime jalapeño crema recipe is inspired by the creamy jalapeño ranch dip at Chuy's restaurant. This vegan, dairy-free version uses my base cashew sour cream recipe, one of the most versatile recipes on my website. Let's heat things up!
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🧄 Ingredient notes
Cilantro lime jalapeño cashew cream is a quick homemade spicy, herby crema that's easy to make.
- Raw cashews - unsalted raw, not roasted, cashews are important for this sour cream to be as fresh and clean tasting as possible. Cashews have a subtle sweetness and transform into an unbelievably rich cream when blended.
- Jalapeño pepper - jalapeño peppers are small-medium green chiles that have medium heat. They rank 2,500 to 8,000 SHU on the scoville scale, spicier than poblanos but less spicy than serranos. The peppers are flavorful and add a mild heat to this crema. When cutting hot peppers, I recommend wearing gloves, to prevent burning your hands.
- Fresh cilantro - fresh cilantro (coriander) gives a punch of flavor to this creamy dip. Use a combination of leaves and tender stems. This is a great recipe to use up cilantro stems, but be sure to use leaves also for the best flavor.
- Fresh lime juice - fresh lime juice adds freshness, acidity and brightness to cut through the richness of the cashews.
📋 Substitutions and variations
Here are some substitutions you can try for this recipe:
- Raw cashews - you can use roasted cashews as a substitute for raw cashews, but the flavor and taste will be different. Be sure to soak them first to hydrate and soften them, since roasted cashews are drier than raw cashews. If your roasted cashews are salted, then omit the added salt and taste it after blending. Add more salt, as needed. If you don't want to use cashews at all, try one of these alternative sour cream recipes and add the jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice instead of lemon juice when blending
- Jalapeño pepper - Instead of fresh jalapeño chile, use another hot, spicy chile you enjoy, such as: serrano (keep in mind it will be spicier)
- Fresh cilantro - Instead of fresh cilantro/coriander, use fresh parsley or a combination of cilantro and parsley. You can also use dried or frozen cilantro, but the flavor and color will not be as bright and fresh.
- Fresh lime juice - use bottled lime juice instead. Or, use lemon juice.
- Apple cider vinegar - use white wine vinegar, distilled vinegar or extra lime juice instead of ACV.
- Sea salt - use twice the amount of kosher salt (I recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt) instead of sea salt, as kosher salt is about half as salty as sea salt. If you are SOS-free, omit the salt.
Want to switch up the flavors? Here are some variations to try with this recipe:
- Habanero Crema - use the spicier habanero to make habanero cashew cream
- Chipotle crema - add chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, lime juice instead of lemon, extra water when blending instead of habanero to make chipotle lime crema
- Nut-free - make this nut-free by using sunflower seed kernels instead of cashews as a creamy jalapeño sauce, aioli or crema
- SOS-free - make this SOS-free by omitting the salt
🔪 Instructions
Step by step instructions for making plant-based creamy jalapeño crema in a blender.
Soak your cashews in very hot water for 20 minutes to soften them and make them easier to blend. Then, drain and rinse cashews.
See my Soaking Cashews 4 Ways post for alternate ways to soak your cashews.
Add drained cashews to high speed blender jar with jalapeño pepper, lime juice, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, salt and fresh, cool water.
Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, if necessary.
Store in an airtight container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Or, freeze for up to 3 months.
⭐️ Expert tips
Add cool water when blending cashews! I made the mistake of using hot water when making this recipe once. The cashew cream thickened so much I could barely get it out of the blender jar. So, be sure to use fresh cold or cool water when blending up your crema.
🍳 Equipment
- High speed blender - for blending a completely smooth vegan cashew sour cream
- Electric kettle - for quickly boiling water to soak the cashews so they will soften
🥡 Make ahead and storage tips
Prepared cilantro lime jalapeño crema can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
❓ FAQ
Vegan crema can be made from several different bases. Cashews are very popular because of their creamy, rich, neutral and slightly sweet flavor. Sunflower seed kernels are popular as a nut-free option. And, silken tofu or soy products are also used as a base for vegan crema.
Yes, Chuy's creamy jalapeño ranch dip contains dairy, so it is not vegan or dairy-free.
Jalapeño peppers are small-medium green chiles that have medium heat. They rank 2,500 to 8,000 SHU on the scoville scale, spicier than poblanos but less spicy than serranos.
Yes, they serve it at the table for free with chips.
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Drizzle this vegan creamy jalapeño sauce on any of these delicious plant-based dishes. It can serve as a dip, sauce, dressing, crema, sour cream, aioli or spread.
- Loaded Vegan Nachos
- Burrito bowls
- Chilaquiles
- Vegan Chorizo Potato Tacos
- Nachos
- Avocado Tostadas
- Tacos
- Creamy Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas
- Use it as a salad dressing
- Baked potatoes
- Roasted potatoes
- Aioli for sandwiches
🗺 Cultural influences
This recipe is inspired by my background as a native of Houston, Texas, where TexMex cuisine abundant, authentic and celebrated. It's a vegan take on Chuy's Restaurant's creamy jalapeño ranch dip.
Mexican crema is a creamy, sour condiment similar to sour cream, but thinner in consistency and a little sweeter. It is sometimes combined with other flavors, such as chiles or herbs.
See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you loved this vegan cilantro lime jalapeño crema recipe, then try these other wfpb vegan sauces and condiment recipes!
Love this recipe?
Please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a comment below, so I know which recipes you like the best. This helps me know what to make more of!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cilantro Lime Jalapeño Crema
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews 130g
- 1 cup boiling water for soaking cashews, this water will be thrown away
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup cool water to add to the blender
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems 35g
- ½ fresh jalapeño seeds removed 15g
Instructions
Soak the Cashews
- Place cashews in a heat-proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Bring water to a boil in your electric kettle (or on the stove). Pour hot water over cashews so they are covered. Let the cashews soak on the counter for at least 20 minutes, but up to 2 hours. Then, drain and rinse. They are ready to use for your recipe.1 cup boiling water
Make the Sour Cream
- Drain and rinse soaked cashews. Then add cashews to a high speed blender, along with all remaining ingredients (lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, cool water, cilantro, jalapeño).1 cup raw cashews, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ¾ cup cool water, ½ cup fresh cilantro, ½ fresh jalapeño
- Blend until smooth and creamy, about 60 seconds. Stop blender and scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. You may need to blend longer, if you still have pieces of cashew in the blender. Blend until it is completely smooth and no little chunks of cashew are present.
- Taste crema and adjust spiciness and thickness, as desired. If you want it thinner, add 1 tablespoon of water and blend. Keep in mind that this cream thickens as it cools. If it is not spicy enough for you, add more jalapeño and blend again. Keep in mind that this crema gets a little spicier as it rests in the refrigerator.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Freeze leftover cashew cream for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Justin F says
This sounds so good! I'm going to try it this week. And THANK YOU for offering the ingredients in grams as well. Precision is often key to properly duplicating a recipe, so I do appreciate that.
Abi Cowell says
You're so welcome! I agree and try my best to provide multiple methods of measuring with as many recipes as I can.
Jennifer says
We are not vegan but need to cut out dairy for a while. Our daughter was very sad she would miss sour cream so I made this to swap out the sour cream. I thought it was delicious & it was also sour cream addict teen daughter approved! Thanks!