Vegan Chipotle Mayo Recipe

Whether you follow a vegan lifestyle or simply want to eat healthier, this cashew-based chipotle mayo will become your new go-to secret ingredient for transforming ordinary meals into knock-your-socks-off dishes. Inspired by the bold flavors of Mexican cuisine, this chipotle mayo embraces the essence of chipotle peppers and infuses the silky blended cashews to give you a delicious balance of heat and tang. Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "A great sauce can make or break a meal. I love making sauces with lots of flavor that actually have healthy ingredients so you can lather it on thick with as much as you want. Cashews are used in vegan cooking quite a bit because they give you a creamy, thick consistency without the use of cheese, mayonnaise, or oil. This sauce is great with sandwiches, burrito bowls, tacos, tostadas, salads, sweet potato fries, or veggies."

To make this recipe we only need a short list of ingredients. Pick up some raw cashews to start. "You want to look for cashews that are unsalted and unroasted. These are the type that will give us the creamiest base for this chipotle mayo," Hahn shares. Then we'll need some fresh cilantro and a lime from the produce aisle, a can of chipotle peppers, cumin, salt, and sriracha from the dry goods area and a container of soy milk. "When buying soy milk, I make sure that it is organic and that the only 2 ingredients are soybeans and water. We don't need any of the additives that are sometimes included in plant-based milks," Hahn shares.

To make our vegan mayo smooth we need to soak the cashews to soften them up. "Some people recommend soaking them in water overnight, but I find that soaking for 15 minutes in boiling water is just as effective. So put the cashews in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water and let them sit. After 15 minutes, drain the water and discard. "If you want to soak them for longer than 15 minutes that is fine too," Hahn remarks.

For this recipe we want to use cilantro leaves and only the tender small stems. So go ahead and strip some leaves off of the stems so that you have a tablespoon. Then scoop out 3 of the chipotle peppers from the can and add in 1 teaspoon of the sauce that they are packed in. "The chipotle peppers do add quite a bit of heat so if you want to tame the mayo down, you can reduce to one or two peppers," Hahn explains. "Also, since you won't be using the whole can, I usually transfer the remaining peppers to a small container with an airtight lid and stick it in my freezer for the next time I only need a few peppers for another recipe," Hahn goes on to say.

Now we just need to add the drained cashews, cilantro, chipotle peppers with sauce, soy milk, cumin, salt, lime juice, and sriracha to a blender. If you have a high-powered blender this should only take a couple of minutes. If your blender is not high-powered you may need more blending time, like 3 or 4 minutes. "You just want to check to make sure the cashews have broken down and the mixture is creamy," Hahn remarks. The chipotle mayo will last for up to 5 days in the fridge if kept in a sealed container. Try it with these portobello fajitas for the ultimate vegan meal!