Rajas con crema is one of those true Mexican comfort dishes. Poblano peppers are roasted over an open flame, peeled, cut into strips, then sauted with onion, garlic, and corn. A thick, slightly sour "crema" is poured over the whole thing. It is spicy, creamy, and incredibly satisfying. Of course, the best way to eat this is in a taco. These vegan rajas con crema tacos will even impress your omnivore friends.
There's something about the smell of roasting poblano peppers that evokes so many food memories and recipes. Before going to culinary school my dad had me work at his restaurant for 6 months. Let's just say the cooks weren't too happy to have me around. I peeled a lot of potatoes and cracked a lot of eggs. I'll never forget the time they had me roast and peel tray after tray of poblano peppers. They of course could do it without even thinking, no gloves, quickly, one after the other. I think it took me about 3 hours to get them done, and by the end I was almost crying (or maybe I was crying) because my hands were burning. I'm sure they had a kick out of that.
Poblano chiles are readily available almost anywhere in the United States. I am even able to find them here in Hawaii! They are very versatile and can be used in soups, tacos, pasta, enchiladas, stews, and they can even be stuffed and fried. They are relatively mild on the heat scale depending on where you live. Roasting and peeling them is not complicated, as you can see in this video. This is a perfect summer dish for using up all of the sweet, tender corn at your farmer's market. If you are staying away from nuts, you can omit the "crema" and serve with a salsa instead.
The heat here in Hawaii is starting to rise and ice cream, paletas, and aguas frescas have been on my mind lately. What recipes would you like to see?
The Recipe: Vegan Rajas con Crema Tacos
This recipe is pretty straight forward. You can skip the roasting of the poblano peppers if you're in a hurry, but they will not be as tender as if you had roasted them. The crema can me made without oil by substituting it with unsweetened almond milk. I use the almonds with the peel on because I prefer the flavor, but if you are looking for a really white crema, you can use blanched almonds instead. Enjoy!
Vegan Rajas con Crema Tacos
Ingredients
Filling:
- 5 Poblano peppers,roasted, peeled, seeded, cut into strips
- 1/4 Water
- 1 Onion, white, large, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 ears Corn, kernels sliced off
- ½ cup Vegetable stock or broth
Crema: (see note)
- ½ cup Almonds, raw
- 1 clove Garlic
- ¾ cup Water
- ¼ cup Almond milk, unsweetened or vegetable oil (see note)
- 1 tbsp. Lemon juice fresh
Instructions
To make the filling:
- Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat, add water. Add the onion and sweat for 2-3 minutes or until it is tender and translucent.
- Add corn, garlic, and ½ cup of vegetable stock, cover and let steam until corn is tender, about 3 – 4 minutes.
- Add the poblano peppers and let cook for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Almond Crema:
- Place the almonds, garlic, water,almond milk, and lemon juice in the blender and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the almond crema over the cooled filling and mix well.
- Serve with warm corn tortillas.
Video
Notes
Here are some other delicious taco recipes you can try as well:
Spicy Zucchini Black Bean Tacos
Carrot and Sweet Potato Tinga Tacos
Loved this recipe. My store didn’t have 5 poblanos so I added a couple Anaheim peppers too. Normally I use cashews but I followed the recipe and the Crema was delicious with almonds. Thanks for creating this recipe!!! I’ll need it as we’re leaving Tucson for Washington.
The photo shows unpealed peppers in the pan with the onions. I so rarely peal them. Apparently you sometimes don't peal them either
I try to peel them, but if I don't have time I'll use the as is
This recipe sounds so delicious! The rest of my family won't eat peppers so I'm wondering how well it reheats from the fridge or the freezer. Thoughts?
It reheats pretty well. I've never tried freezing them though
I tried this with limited ingredients and quite happy with the results. I love that the crema is so smooth (used oil) and could totally be diversified by adding other ingredients.
I don't live in a place where you can find poblano peppers ?? so I had to use friggitelli (a type of non spicy green Italian pepper) but just added some chili powder to the mix to add some spice.
Unfortunately, fresh corn isn't really eaten here either but I found some canned... Ok, not the best, but holds the cravings.
It worked out just fine.
Looking forward to making these for dinner with friends next week!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Made a few adjustments only because I did not have ingredients. Used lime instead of lemon and soy milk instead of almond. I made baked potatoes and topped them with it and some pinto beans. I actually liked this better than normal rajas as I did not feel like a blimp afterwards.
Thanks for sharing. so glad you liked it!!
Thank you for this recipe! It was just as decadent as compared to the traditional version! I missed having this.
I'm so glad it worked out for you. It was one of my favorites before going vegan.
Could this be made with unsweetened soy milk instead of almond?
Yes
OMG Thank you for this amazing recipe! It is so delicious I Followed the recipe and I could eat it every day! It’s definitely going on my list of favorites thank you !
about to make this version for my non-dairy friends.. is there a reason that the almond crema needs to be poured over cooled filling? Or could it be poured over the hot filling? I want to serve the mixture warm. Just want to be sure I understand! Thank you - your website is wonderful!
Just let the filling cool slightly. It should still be hot, but not boiling hot.
Made this and it was incredibly delicious. Added a Serrano pepper to the crema mixture and gave it a little kick. This is the second recipe I use off your site, and haven't been disappointed. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes.
Thanks for commenting Miguel! Glad you liked it.
I made these tonight and made homemade tortillas, I'm in taco heaven. Thank you!
awsome...my favorites always
congratulations once more
pil...dorita