My Gluten-Free Vegan Raw Creamy Jalapeno Dressing is an easy and healthy recipe made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients. It's a perfect plant-based staple recipe to keep on hand that can be used for so many things and it's ready to enjoy in about 5 minutes!
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- It's A Versatile Plant-Based Dressing - No Fake Sour Cream, Fake Mayonnaise or Fake Cream Cheese!
- Ready In About 5 Minutes!
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - No Fake Vegan Dairy!
Many Vegan Creamy Jalapeno Dressing recipes use fake vegan dairy products, such as processed vegan "sour cream", vegan "mayonnaise", and even jarred jalapenos (yuck!) which are not real food ingredients.
Just because a store-bought product is "vegan", it doesn't mean it's healthy.
For example, here are the ingredient lists for some commonly used processed vegan products:
- Kite Hill Plain "Cream Cheese": Ingredients: Almond Milk (Water, Almonds), Salt, Rowanberry Fruit Extract, Enzyme, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Cultures, Lactic Acid.
- Hellman's Vegan Dressing: Ingredients: Canola Oil, Water, Modified Food Starch (Potato, Corn), Distilled Vinegar, Less Than 2% of: Sugar, Salt, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA, Natural Flavor, Paprika Extract.
- Mezzetta Jalapeno Peppers: Jalapeno Peppers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Sea Salt, Calcium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Turmeric, Metabisulfite
You can feel good about making my healthy, plant-based recipe because it's raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, soy-free, low-carb/keto, paleo-friendly, and Medical Medium® Compliant!
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to use organic if possible.
- Cashews
- Filtered/Purified Water
- Cilantro
- Onion
- Jalapenos
- Lime Juice
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it!
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
Here is how to make this recipe and I'll show you how easy it is with step-by-step instructions below:
Step 1: Combine and Blend All Ingredients
Firstly, add all ingredients to a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, and blend until it's creamy and smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
If you don't have a Vitamix, see the FAQ section below of how to make it with other options.
Step 2: How To Store the Creamy Jalapeno Dressing
Secondly, store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
A glass mason jar works really well to store the dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions:
I have used this dressing for so many things, such as:
- Poured over steamed broccoli
- Dip for raw veggies like cucumbers, red pepper slices, my Raw Broccoli balls
- Salad dressing
- Sandwich spread on a veggie wrap
Yes! There are a couple of extra steps to take but it can be done using a different high-speed blender or even a food processor.
Just following the steps for soaking the cashews in the next FAQ, "Do I Need to Soak the Cashews"?
I haven't tested making this recipe with a regular blender, but you could also try this as another option after following the cashew soaking instructions in the next question below.
The texture using either of these three options may be slightly grainy, as opposed to using a Vitamix, but the taste will be the same.
It is not mandatory, but soaking the cashews will make them soft and once they are blended, they will be extra smooth and creamy. It's well worth the extra time!
If you choose to soak the cashews, here's how:
1. Soak the raw cashews in filtered/purified water for about 30-60 minutes, which will make them soft.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews.
3. Add the cashews to a Vitamix, high-speed blender or food processor with the other ingredients and process until it gets as smooth as possible.
I used (2) full jalapenos with seeds, so as the recipe is written, it's pretty spicy.
You can reduce the jalapenos and even remove the seeds if you would like a milder dressing.
You can store the dressing in an air-tight container (my favorite is a glass mason jar) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You will need to give it a stir before using because the sauce will thicken after being refrigerated.
If it gets too thick, just add 1-2 tablespoons of water until it gets to the consistency you prefer.
In my opinion, yes!
There's nothing like making homemade salad dressings because not only can you use fresh ingredients, but you have control over the quality of ingredients...like no GMO's, pesticides, preservatives, additives, etc.
For example, here's the ingredient list for a store-bought creamy jalapeno dressing:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Litehouse Mild Jalapeno Ranch Dressing and Dip Ingredients: Canola Oil, Buttermilk Cultured, Water, Peppers, Jalapenos, Egg Yolks, Sugar, Vinegar Distilled, Salt, Onions, Green Onions, Cider, Vinegar, Garlic Dried, Spices, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Peppers Chili Powder, Onions Dried, Milk Nonfat Powder, Blend (Whey Dairy, Sodium Caseinate, and Milk Nonfat Powder) Dried Bell Peppers
It contains dairy and seed oils.
You won't find the nutrition and health benefits in a commercial-made dressing like you will in this powerhouse of plant-based goodness.
In this recipe, it is best to use raw and unsalted cashews instead of salted and roasted.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Cashews: You will need "raw" cashews and not roasted + salted. An optional step is to soak the cashews before adding them to your Vitamix which will make them soft and the dressing extra smooth.
- Soak the cashews in filtered/purified water for about 30-60 minutes.
- Drain and rinse them before adding to your Vitamix.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the recipe and blend until smooth.
You can also use this step if you will not be using a Vitamix, for example:
- Food Processor - After soaking, draining, and rinsing the cashews, add them to a food processor and process with the remaining ingredients until the dressing is as smooth as possible.
- Regular Blender - I haven't tested making the recipe with a regular blender, but you could also try this as another option after following the cashew soaking instructions in the FAQ section above.
The texture using either of these two options may be slightly grainy, but the taste will be the same.
Cilantro: Use fresh cilantro and it's not necessary to chop since it will be blended in the Vitamix. Just drop it into the Vitamix.
Onion: I like to use a white onion for this recipe, but you could use whatever you have on hand or your favorite variety. However, I do not recommend using a sweet onion since this is a savory recipe.
Jalapenos: I always use (2) jalapenos because I like mine spicy, but you could use more or less to your preference. In addition, the heat of jalapenos varies so you may need to adjust the number you use to achieve your preferred spiciness.
Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice will give the best flavor and nutrients since it hasn't been pasteurized, but you could also use organic store-bought lime juice. You can also substitute lime juice with lemon juice.
Water: I highly recommend using filtered/purified water to cook your quinoa instead of tap water – especially if you are following the Medical Medium protocol. For example, I use a Berkey water filter system when cooking in all my recipes.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (3) cups. Nutritional information is calculated for ¼ cup which is (1) serving.
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Gluten-Free Vegan Raw Creamy Jalapeno Dressing
Equipment
- Vitamix or high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups organic raw cashews
- 1 ¼ cup water (filtered/purified)
- ½ cup organic fresh cilantro
- ½ cup organic onion
- 2 organic jalapenos
- 1 tablespoon organic lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- Soak the cashews in filtered/purified water for about 30-60 minutes.
- Drain and rinse them before adding to your Vitamix.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the recipe and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Jalapeno Recipes
- Jalapeno Kale Chips
- Tomatillo and Jalapeno Dip
- Jalapeno and Lime Hummus
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Laura says
Where is the FAQ info on how to prepare this if you don't have a Vitamix?
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Laura! I'm sorry about that...I just updated the post to show how to make it with a food processor.
As mentioned in the update, I haven't tested making it with a regular blender, but if you try this option, I would follow the instruction for soakings/draining/rinsing the cashews in advance which will make them soft and easier to blend.
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Sidney says
Is there something that can be substituted for the nuts?? I am on the 21 DF and I can only have 8 cashews a day!! 🙁 I would love to make something like this because it's so easy to get my veggies in!
Karielyn says
Hi there Sidney! I don't know if you like tahini or not, but that might be a good substitute for the nuts. I know it sounds weird, but you might could also try raw zucchini or even cauliflower. Both of those have a neutral taste (really none at all) and I've used them to make dips, hummus, creamy cauliflower sauces, vegan cheese dips and even a vegan cheesecake! You would need to use a Vitamix or high speed blender to blend it up to a smooth consistency though.
In this recipe, the jalapeno will be the main flavor so even if the zucchini or cauliflower taste came through, the jalapeno would take over.
I hope one of those suggestions will work...the dressing is really, really good 🙂
Teneko says
This dressing / dip is an amazing find. I am heavily lactose intolerant and had heard of cashews being used for "creamy" dressings. Had some really good cashew tamari dressing at a local place and wanted to find something I could make at home. This recipe really helped me! What I ended up with isn't the same as the one from the co-op OR even this one, but thank you so very much for giving me the ratios, concept, and a starting point!
First time I made it, I used macadamia nuts, but they were roasted and salted. I suspect the recipe intended for me to use raw macadamias. Well, the dressing tasted off, but I tried again with some variations:
1 1/4 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup additional raw cashews
1 1/4 cup water
2 small round limes (fresh squeezed)
1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
1 teaspoon or so onion powder
2 whole cloves of fresh peeled garlic
3 fresh jalapenos (2 were partially de-seeded and de-pithed and the third was whole for heat)
You're right - the Vitamix is indispensable. I love that thing.
The resulting dressing / dip will fit perfectly into a 3 cup storage container...not that it lasts long enough to keep it filled up!
I used this on (gluten free dairy free) fish tacos on top of my apple cider vinegar cabbage slaw, and it was the perfect complement.
It's also great with fried eggs and beans for breakfast, and just for snacking on way too many tortilla chips to be included on a "healthy family" blog. >_>
Baby steps! You can consider this dressing a "gateway drug" to raw healthy eating. haha
Karielyn says
Hi Teneko! I love this version you've made and I like how you used limes instead of lemons and that you even added extra jalapenos! I thought I was the only one who liked it super hot lol!
I see you also use the pink Himalayan salt...that's awesome!
And you're right, it is so versatile and much healthier than mayonnaise or other store-bought dressings.
Cashews are amazing for dressings and even for raw cheesecakes which you might also like if you are lactose intolerant. I have several dairy-free/vegan cheesecake recipes and everything on my site is dairy-free.
Hope you find something else to try out and thanks for sharing your recipe 😉
Livvy says
Ooooh!!! This dressing was so GOOD!!!! I can't wait to make it again 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi Livvy! So glad to hear you enjoyed it...thanks for trying out my recipe! 🙂