Vegan Mexican Recipes easy to follow, delicious, and healthy.

Desserts, Gluten-free, Vegan Mexican Recipes

Mexican Christmas Apple Salad

This Mexican Christmas apple salad is the perfect way to end your Christmas feast. After a meal of Christmas roast, tamales and pozole, this refreshing salad will hit the spot. Crisp apples, pineapple, grapes, and chopped pecans are mixed with a sweet almond crema.

This has to be one of my favorite childhood food memories, except that we added marshmallows to ours and it was almost sickly sweet. This healthier version is refreshing and sweetened with maple syrup. We would have this salad on Christmas of course, but my grandmother would make a different version for New Year’s with carrots and raisins which was also delicious. Depending on where in Mexico you are some people add raisins, carrots, celery, and even maraschino cherries.

Traditionally this recipe uses crema or even mayonnaise, but I have made a crema with soaked almonds, water, almond milk, and maple syrup. You can also make the crema with cashews or use your favorite vegan yogurt. I prefer using almonds because they’re more affordable, but they are a bit more work because you have to peel them.

Year after year, the longer I’m vegan the less I miss meat and the more I can appreciate veganizing traditional Mexican recipes and fulfilling all of my childhood food memories in a cruelty-free and healthy way. If you haven’t been vegan for long I just want to let you know that your palate does change, that you do adapt, and that it becomes easier and easier.

The Recipe: Mexican Christmas Apple Salad

As optional ingredients, you can add carrots, raisins or celery.
I recommend that you make and eat on the same day.
You can use your favorite vegan yogurt to make this recipe even quicker
Enjoy!!

Mexican Christmas Apple Salad

Mexican Christmas Apple Salad, crisp apples, pineapple, grapes, and chopped pecans are mixed with a sweet almond crema.

4 from 2 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: mexican fruit salad, vegan mexican christmas

Total Time: 1 day

Servings: servings

Calories: 189kcal

Author: Dora S.

Ingredients

3 cups Diced gala apples (you can peel or not peel according to preference)
3/4 cup Crushed pineapple, canned or fresh (drained)
1 cup Green grapes, cut in half
½ cup Chopped pecans

Sweet Almond Crema:

½ cup Almonds, raw
¼ - cup Water
¼ cup Almond milk, unsweetened
1 tsp. Lemon juice, fresh
1 tsp. Maple syrup

Instructions

Bring 1 pint of water to a boil in a small sauce pot and pour over the almonds. Let soak overnight.
The following day peel the almonds by pressing an almond between your thumb and forefinger and pressing lightly. The skin should just pop off.
In a blender, place the almonds, almond milk, lemon juice, and maple syrup and blend at high speed until completely smooth and cream like (to get a super smooth sauce you will need a high powered blender).
Place sauce in a small container and refrigerate for 30 min.
In a large bowl combine the apples, pineapple, grapes, and chopped pecans. Pour sauce over it and mix well.
Serve.

Notes

You can use cashews instead of almonds if you prefer. Some people add raisins, maraschino cherries, carrots, and even celery. If you want to go a little crazy you could add vegan mini marshmallows. I recommend that once you've tossed the fruit salad you serve it the same day.

Nutrition

12/29/2018/0 Comments/by Dora S.

Desserts, Drinks, Vegan Mexican Recipes

How to Make Champurrado

These cold winter nights call for a nice hot mug of champurrado. Champurrado is a pre-Colombian drink made with fresh masa, water, piloncillo, and Mexican chocolate. It is especially good with perfectly tender tamales.

Champurrado History

Champurrrado ingredients are quite simple but the combination is irresistible. Before the Spanish arrived in Mexico with their cows and their milk, champurrado was made with water.

It is said that the great Aztec emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin enjoyed this beverage which he drank in ceremonial vessels made of gold, sweetened with agave honey, and spiced with a bit of chile.

Fray Bernardino de Sahagún documented the consumption of atoll or atolli which was drunk by the indigenous warm or cold, for breakfast or sometimes as a meal in itself. It was also used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes.

Atole vs Champurrado

So what is the difference between atole and champurrado?? Atole is also a drink from pre-Columbian times that can be sweet or savory depending on the region in Mexico where you are. Traditionally, it is made by dissolving ground dried corn in milk or water and adding fruits or different flavorings to it. Champurrado is simply atole with chocolate added to it, in other words, chocolate atole.

How to Make Champurrado

Making champurrado is quite easy, the piloncillo and cinnamon are simmered in water until completely dissolved, then a Mexican chocolate tablet is added. Once the chocolate has melted into the piloncillo mixture the fresh masa is added. The masa thickens the chocolate creating a thick, sweet, and chocolatey drink. Then everything is frothed with a molinillo and served hot.

The Recipe: How to Make Champurrado

This authentic Mexican champurrado is made with water instead of milk, just like in pre-Columbian times.

If you want to use milk I recommend you use almond-coconut milk.
The recipe calls for fresh masa, but if you can’t find it you can use masa harina.
I’ve used Ibarra chocolate, but you can use your favorite Mexican hot chocolate.
Enjoy!!

Champurrado

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: champurrado, chocolate, vegan mexican

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: cups

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Dora S.