Portobello Fajitas & Homemade Vegan Sour Cream
So, ever since I told you guys that I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives, Kenny and I have been eating a lot more meatless meals. This film really made me think about my animal consumption in general, and I am changing the way I think about my diet. One of the things that I thought I would miss the most was fajitas. I LOVE chicken fajitas. So, I recreated them in the obvious way one might eat vegan fajitas. Portobellos!
Oh man, these are SO good! I promise you won’t miss the meat at all. These tacos are so filling and satisfying, yet will leave you feeling lighter at the end of the meal. Mexican food is definitely one of our favorites in this house, and fajitas are by far our favorite thing to order at a Mexican restaurant. We can’t get enough of the stuff.
I’ve made homemade fajitas plenty of times before, but always with either chicken of steak. Using portobellos in place of the meat was a first, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Dare I say I actually like it more than the meat version?
If you’re not really a fan of mushrooms, you can sub in black or pinto beans, or even scrambled eggs. But trust me on this one, the portobellos give off this nice meaty type of flavor and texture that is insanely good.
Oh oh oh! And I forgot to tell you about this vegan sour cream! I. am. in. love. This stuff is really simple to make, and actually tastes similar to real sour cream. Kenny loved it with these fajitas. It is made with a cashew base and just a few other ingredients. It is definitely worth making if you are trying to keep this dish completely vegan. I just played around with the ingredients until I got just the taste I wanted.
This just goes to show that fajitas can still be ah-mazing without the meat. And you get to feel accomplished because you made them yourself.
Oleeeeeee, ole ole ole! (I’ll stop singing now)
Ingredients
- 5 portobello mushrooms
- 2 bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 large onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 8-10 corn tortillas
- *optional toppings- avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, etc.
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
- 2-3 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2/3-3/4 cups of water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- First, make the sour cream. Drain the soaked cashews and put all of the ingredients for the sour cream into a blender. Blend on high until smooth. You may have to scrape down the sides to make sure it is coming together. Add water as needed.
- Pour into a container and place the sour cream in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits and cools.
- In the meantime, preheat a large skillet (I like using cast iron for this) on medium-high heat. Clean off the tops of your mushrooms, remove the stems, and scrape out the insides. (scraping out the gills is optional, but it helps remove more dirt)
- Add 1 tbsp of the oil and mushrooms to the pan. Season with the chili powder and cumin. Stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms are a dark brown color. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the other 2 tbsp of oil, peppers and onions to pan next. Stir occasionally for 7-8 minutes, until the onions are slightly caramelized and the peppers start to get a slight char on them.
- Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add the garlic. Stir for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from pan and mix with the mushrooms.
- Serve in corn tortillas with all of your favorite toppings!