Vegan Rajas con Crema Tacos

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.

Poblano, onions, and white corn sauteeing in a cast iron skillet.

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.

Crema being poured over a cast iron skillet of onions, poblano, and corn.

Vegan Rajas con Crema Taco filling with a wooden spoon in a cast iron skillet.

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.

Vegan Rajas con Crema Tacos on a blue dinner plate.

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 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
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4.67 from 21 votes

Vegan Rajas con Crema Tacos

Vegan Rajas con Crema tacos, roasted poblano peppers sautéed with onion, garlic, and corn and bathed in an almond crema.
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Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 213kcal
Author: Dora Stone

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 5 Poblano peppers,roasted, peeled seeded, cut into strips
  • ¼ Water
  • 1 large Onion, white 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

If you are a no-oil vegan use unsweetened almond milk for the crema, but if you don't mind oil use a mild vegetable oil for a super smooth sauce.
If you don't have a high powered blender soak the almonds the night before, peel them the next day, and use only 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water. 

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 636mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 741IU | Vitamin C: 129mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @dorastable or tag #mexicangonevegan!

Here are some other delicious taco recipes you can try as well:

25 Vegan Tacos for 5 de Mayo

Chickpea and Spinach Tacos

Spicy Zucchini Black Bean Tacos

Carrot and Sweet Potato Tinga Tacos

Potato and Chorizo Tacos

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23 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These were absolutely delicious! I’d never had rajas before so I didn’t know what to expect, but they might be my favorite type of taco now!

  2. 5 stars
    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.

  3. The photo shows unpealed peppers in the pan with the onions. I so rarely peal them. Apparently you sometimes don’t peal them either

  4. 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?

  5. 4 stars
    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!

  6. 5 stars
    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.

  7. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! It was just as decadent as compared to the traditional version! I missed having this.

  8. 5 stars
    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 !

  9. 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!

  10. 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.

4.67 from 21 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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