Vegan Taco Bowl with Cashew Cheese Sauce
This Vegan Taco Bowl with Cashew Cheese Sauce will satisfy all of your Mexican food cravings and make cooking plant based, meatless meals easy. Eating meatless doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. The simple ingredients in this vegan buddha bowl make it one of my favorite cheap plant based meals.
Serve this vegan taco bowl with a side of low carb Cauliflower Spanish Rice with Salsa.
Black beans, quinoa, and cashew queso make this a high protein buddha bowl and one of my favorite healthy vegan bowls to cook. This vegan protein bowl is balanced with nutritional ingredients and delicious Mexican flavors.
Vegan Taco Bowl with Cashew Cheese Sauce Ingredients:
- Quinoa - I love creating buddha bowls with quinoa as a base ingredient! You can flavor quinoa in so many unique ways.
- Vegetable broth (or water) to cook the quinoa in. I like using vegetable broth because I think it adds extra flavor to the quinoa. You can also use chicken broth, if you aren't concerned about making it vegan.
- Taco Seasoning Blend - chili powder, cumin, and paprika give this Mexican buddha bowl it's taco flavor.
- Cashews - I make the cheesy cashew sauce using cashew nuts along with a mix of spices. Trust me, I LOVE cheese, but I don't miss it with this healthier vegan cashew queso.
- Toppings for the Bowl - roasted sweet potato, steamed broccoli and black beans.
How to Make a Vegan Taco Bowl with Cashew Cheese Sauce
Let's make one of my favorite vegan taco bowls! First, prep the sweet potatoes by peeling and cutting into cubes. Mix the potatoes with olive oil and spices and pop them in the oven to roast.
Next, start cooking the quinoa. For the Mexican style quinoa, I sauté red onion in a saucepan and sprinkle with taco seasoning before adding the quinoa and broth to cook.
While the sweet potatoes and quinoa cook, make the cashew cheese sauce in a blender. Next, steam the broccoli and heat up the black beans. I buy broccoli that can be steamed right in the bag in the microwave, but you can steam broccoli on the stovetop as well.
Finally, it is time to assemble and enjoy your vegan Mexican buddha bowl! Add a base layer of quinoa, mix the cashew nacho cheese sauce in with the quinoa then top with broccoli, sweet potatoes, and beans. Top with additional cashew cheese sauce, if desired.
How to Steam Broccoli
First, prepare the broccoli by chopping it into florets. For this recipe, I prefer smaller bite-sized pieces. Next, fill a pot with 1 inch of water. Add the broccoli florets to a steamer basket, and place it in the pot. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover. Let steam for 5 minutes until the broccoli is crisp-tender and bright green.
More Vegetarian Recipes to Cook:
- Pesto Quinoa with Italian Roasted Tomatoes
- Roasted Veggie Loaded Baked Potato
- Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Walnut Parmesan
- Three Bean and Beer Chili
Vegan Taco Bowl with Cashew Cheese Sauce
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
- Saucepot
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, and paprika
Quinoa Ingredients
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- ¼ teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt
Cashew Cheese Sauce Ingredients
- ½ cup cashews
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup water or broth
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 teaspoons siracha (or other hot sauce)
- ½ teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt
Additional Taco Bowl Ingredients
- 12 oz bag of broccoli (or 1 head of broccoli), steamed
- 15 oz can of black beans, drained, rinsed and heated
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F.
- On a sheet pan, mix sweet potatoes, olive oil, and spices together. Cook for 10 minutes then take out of the oven and flip/stir. Cook an additional 10 minutes after flipping/stirring.
- In a saucepan, sauté red onions for 3 minutes until translucent. Add in spice mixture and cook on low for an additional minute. Then add broth and quinoa to saucepan and cook according to quinoa package instructions. : bring to boil, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Leave covered and take off the heat for 3 minutes. Fluff quinoa with fork.
- In a blender, mix all of the cashew cheese sauce ingredients and blend until the texture is smooth and creamy. Add more water, if the sauce is too thick.
- Assemble the Spicy Vegan Taco Bowl! Add a base layer of quinoa, mix some cashew sauce in with the quinoa then top with broccoli, sweet potatoes, and beans. Top with additional cashew cheese sauce.
Notes
- You can add additional toppings, such as: sliced avocado or sautéed onions, peppers, and mushrooms.
- If you don't want to use cashews, you can substitute with another nut. Walnuts are a good substitute for cashews.
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