Vegan Cilantro Crema – nut-free, made with silken tofu. Rich and creamy without a whole lot of calories or dairy. Spoon it over tacos, enchiladas or even baked potatoes ….you’ll find a million things to do with it! For a SOY-FREE version, see recipe notes!
This recipe for Vegan Cilantro Crema really couldn’t be any easier. It’s nut-free, low calorie and made with silken tofu. I love it because it feels rich and creamy without a whole lot of calories or dairy. Spoon it over tacos, enchiladas or even baked potatoes ….you’ll find a million things to do with it! See the SOY FREE VERSION in the notes.
It’s a healthy take on Mexican Green Sauce – like the kind you see at real authentic taco stands in Mexico. Sometimes its called creamy jalapeño sauce, or creamy green sauce. You get the idea. 😉
Keep it vegan, or sub sour cream (or a combo of sour cream and mayo) for the silken tofu.
You can keep the Vegan Cilantro Crema textured as you see here.
Or blend it until it is silky and smooth and vibrant green….. your call!
When we were catering, I’d blend it smooth like this when putting it in a squeeze bottle. Kind of handy to have in the fridge. 
Enjoy this on Vegan Mexican Dishes! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
Vegan Cilantro Crema
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: sauces and condiments
- Method: blend
- Cuisine: mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This recipe for Vegan Cilantro Crema really couldn’t be any easier. It’s nut-free, made with silken tofu. I love it because it feels rich and creamy without a whole lot of calories or dairy. Spoon it over tacos, enchiladas or even baked potatoes ….you’ll find a million things to do with it! See the SOY FREE VERSION in the notes.
Ingredients
- 12-ounce package silken tofu (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1–2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 fat garlic clove
- 1/2 bunch cilantro (tender stems ok)
- 1/2 a jalapeno (sliced)
Instructions
- Place the silken tofu, oil, lime juice, garlic and salt into a food processor and blend until very smooth, scraping down sides if need be, blending more.
- Add the jalapeño and cilantro and pulse repeatedly until desired consistency. Sometimes I’ll blend this until very smooth like pictured above and vibrant green ( great for squeeze bottles) and sometimes I’ll leave a little texture ( see other photo). BUT, keep in mind, you want the silken tofu base – very very smooth, however you choose to go. 🙂
- Taste, adjust salt lime and jalapeno to toast. Add some chili flakes if you like.
- For a little more richness add another tablespoon or two of olive oil.
Notes
SOY FREE: You could also make a cashew cream or hemp cream instead of using the silken tofu. Blend 3/4 cup soaked cashews with 3/4 cup water. Or use 3/4 cup hemp seeds with 3/4 cup water. Blend until smooth, then add remaining ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ tablespoons
- Calories: 29
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 98 mg
- Fat: 2.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.8 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Can i sub dill or something instead of cilantro? I got the anti-cilantro gene unfortunately but it otherwise looks so delicious!
Yes, or a combo of dill and flat-leaf parsley?
This is very creamy and yummy, would be great on many things. Can’t believe its non-dairy, so good, and easy. Will be a go to Mexican sauce for me.
The first time I made this I used plain, almond milk yogurt in place of the tofu and it was awesome! Trying it with the tofu tonight & I’ve promised myself I’ll have it with a vegan sour cream too, just to have it with a little more tang 😃
Awesome! Glad you liked this. 🙌
I made it with cashews. I baked yucca fries with onion, garlic, and rosemary. Used the crema as a dipping sauce. It was out of this world! I also used it with roasted vegetables. It was awesome with sweet potato. About to make another batch.
Love that!!!
Sooo delicious!!!! Wow!!! I have been very impressed with your vegan recipes! Thank you!
Thankyou Darlene!!!
This was very easy and so delicious! I doubled the lime b/c I enjoy acidity. Put it over some vegan nachos! Can’t wait to make the baked potato recipe and put the leftovers on there 🙂
Thanks Lisa!
In the last paragraph you say lemon but the recipe calls for lime. Making this tonight!
Thanks for catching that Ali!
Hello! I am looking forward to trying this recipe! I would like to use the hemp seed substitution method mentioned in your notes. How long would I have to soak the seeds in water before blending with other ingredients? Eagerly awaiting your response! Thank you for sharing!
No need to soak hemp!
So good! Doubled it but used a combination of tofu and soaked cashews because that’s all we had. My husband and I gobbled this stuff up like nobody’s business on quesadillas last night, and thought how good it would be with black beans for a creamy enchilada filling. Thanks!
Great to hear Karen!
Do you have a soy free version of the Crema ?
I updated the recipe – try making with hemp or cashew.
Delicious 🙂
How long will this keep for? Loved it, but have alot leftover and want to in-corporate into weekday lunches.
4 days refrigerated.
Can I freeze the left over crema?
Im not sure this will freeze well, but you can try?
This is seriously so delicious. I find myself looking for recipes just so I can add this as a topping. My new favorite!
I’m so glad you like it!
Omg!!!
I’m new to a plant-based diet. Omg! Who knew… silken tofu is a game changer. Paired this with the Chipotle Portobello tacos 🤯
Just make these tacos… with the crema & pickled onions. Chile’… I just shook my head the whole time. It was gone in minutes #iwillnotapologize
We just made this tonight and my husband loved it!
Great to hear! Thanks for the rating!
This is amazing on the vegan tacos with smokey chipotle portobellos!!!
Love this lower calorie version- no nuts or avocado- perfect for our family and healthy needs.
This is so good!
FYI this is actually a popular Peruvian sauce: ají verde. Just vegan-ified. Pro-tip, supplement the silken tofu for vegan mayo
Does it taste better?
Just made this for some tacos we’re having tonight and it is super easy and yummy! I’m thinking it would double as a great salad dressing too.
Do you think I could freeze this?
hi, I’m wondering how long this will keep in the fridge? Thank you so much, Alicia
1 week!
This was really good on the chipotle mushroom tacos. I didn’t have tofu so I made a non vegan version substituting Greek yogurt and 1/2 and avocado for in its place. It was amazing.
Thanks for all your comments and ratings, very appreciated Jane! Love how you adapted!