Dip Archives - Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make

Vegan cold and creamy pasta

Natural Goodness — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:56:01 +0000

Sometimes we want pasta that feels ‘fresh’ or cold and creamy and with no tomato flavour. If you are one of those people, then this pasta is for you!

This versatile sauce can be used with any pasta, but my personal favorite is rigatoni. I love this sauce with vegan meats or salads as well.

Now, onto the recipe:

Get your ingredients:

Boil a full kettle and put the pasta to boil in a pot for the amount required (read your label, often 10-15 minutes). Don’t use the full kettle if you are planning to soften the cashews with boiling water. Put the cashews in a plate, and use the remaining boiling water and cover the cashews with it for 10 minutes (if your blender is very strong, this is not needed)

While the cashews are being soaked, heat a small sized pan with a 1-2 tbsp of olive oil or any oil of your preference for a minute or so at medium high.

I recommend using frozen everything lol… if you do, it makes it easier to ‘chop’ things. In this case, crush with your hands, but carefully, the coriander, and the chives, or chop them while the onion is cooking.

Add the coriander and chives and stir them constantly, then reduce the strength to medium-low, just enough so they don’t burn while you blend the other ingredients. Turn off in about 4 minutes

Put the tofu, the cashews, a small piece of chili, 1 teaspoon of veggie stock powder and about 300ml of water in your blender and blend at full strength until smooth

Add the pasta to a deep plate, then the tofu sauce, squeeze more lemon, add the solid onion/coriander/etc from the pan and mix, then and add the nutritional yeast

Optional, add some sliced tomatoes to the sauce

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/2M4EZcCUupU

Vegan cold and creamy pasta

Delicious tofu and cashew pasta

Course Main Course

Keyword Pasta, tofu

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 12

Total Time 17

Servings 2 people

Equipment

1 High speed blender I have a Ninja

Ingredients

1 teaspoon veggie stock powder
100 g diced onion I use frozen onion
30 g diced garlic I also use and prefer frozen
200 g extra firm tofu
60 g cashews
20 g coriander
20 g chives
20 ml olive oil
20 g nutritional yeast
200 g preferred pasta Rigatoni works better for this recipe
1 medium lemon
1 medium tomato
300 ml water

Instructions

Boil a full kettle and put the pasta to boil in a pot for the amount required (read your label, often 10-15 minutes). Don't use the full kettle if you are planning to soften the cashews with boiling water
Put the cashews in a plate, and use the remaining boiling water and cover the cashews with it for 10 minutes (if your blender is very strong, this is not needed)
While the cashews are being soaked, heat a small sized pan with a 1-2 tbsp of olive oil or any oil of your preference for a minute or so at medium high.
I recommend using frozen everything lol… if you do, it makes it easier to 'chop' things. In this case, crush with your hands, but carefully, the coriander, and the chives, or chop them while the onion is cooking
Add the coriander and chives and stir them constantly, then reduce the strength to medium-low, just enough so they don't burn while you blend the other ingredients. Turn off in about 4 minutes
Put the tofu, the cashews, a small piece of chili, 1 teaspoon of veggie stock powder and about 300ml of water in your blender and blend at full strength until smooth
Add the pasta to a deep plate, then the tofu sauce, squeeze more lemon, add the solid onion/coriander/etc from the pan and mix, then and add the nutritional yeast
Optional, add some sliced tomatoes to the sauce
Enjoy!

Video

https://youtu.be/2M4EZcCUupU

Notes

The sauce can be stored for about 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge
“Reheating” can be done but it will reduce the quality of the sauce and the pasta itself, you could make just enough pasta for your current needs, store the remaining sauce and use it later with fresh pasta
This sauce is great with many salads and other dishes

The post Vegan cold and creamy pasta appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Easy vegan pesto

Natural Goodness — Thu, 14 May 2020 21:34:25 +0000

This easy vegan pesto is nut-free, dairy-free, cruelty-free, cheap, and delicious! I really enjoyed the taste, I think it really goes great with pasta!

I remember trying pesto in Italy and it is one of those things that are sooo amazing that you really want to know how to make it!

Some friends asked me recently if it was difficult to make and when I researched, it turns out to be SO easy to make, that I decided to make a vegan version, and because I love saving money, I even decided to try it with cheap sunflower seeds. The result is really really good! let’s make some pesto my friends!

Let’s make vegan pesto

Get your ingredients

Vegan pesto ingredients

Start by blending the sunflower seeds, the oil, the water and the garlic

Ninja blender with seeds and garlic

Add everything except 1/5 of the basil if you want “to feel the bits” and blend for another minute.

Ninja blender with basil

Add the reserved basil and pulse for about a minute until you get the desired texture:

Ninja blender pulse

Enjoy!

Vegan pesto in bowl

Recommendations

Quantities are for an oily pesto (yes… let’s indulge with fat if we are going to sin, let’s do it properly, shall we?) but feel free to use less oil, or make it oil free and add more water, reduce. the oil, the seeds, or whatever. Basil has a strong flavor in my opinion, so, I would not use too much of it! I would rather add more water or lemon juice.

Nutritional yeast can cause facial blushing if you eat too much! so easy on it. It is delicious and makes everything super cheesy, but we have to be careful! especially if you are not used to eat it!

This recipe keeps well in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for months!

For substitutions: obviously, feel free to use pine nuts, cashews, almonds, or walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. I love sunflower seeds, and I think they go great with this recipe. Feel free to use some coriander as well, or to add or reduce the garlic quantities! I think I like it a bit more garlicky than normal, but feel free to experiment, and let me know your results!

Also, if you want to make a vegan pesto without nutritional yeast, you can use 1 tbsp of white miso paste to give it a bit of a cheesy, cultured flavor, characteristic of cheese.

If you want to make this WFPB compliant, skip the oil, and add the same quantity in sunflower seeds, and make your own broth. If you remove the yeast flakes, this will be a raw vegan pesto recipe!

Also, please note that for Whole30, sunflower seeds are not encouraged, so you’ll have to reduce the portion or skip it.

The original pesto is well known because you “feel the bits” of nuts. and basil, but I am a practical person so I just blend everything and enjoy it. Trust me, I made this recipe 4 times in the last 2 weeks because it is just the best vegan pesto recipe!

What goes great with pesto?

What about a vegan steak? or a dip for sweet potato rounds? perhaps some tofu with almond sauce, as well? Also great with pizza or lasagna!

And, of course, that delicious glass of wine!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

Nut-free, dairy-free, on a budget, and delicious
Zesty cheesy, and garlicky!
Super easy and ready under 10 minutes!
Goes great with spaghetti or any pasta and some cheeky wine during the weekend
It is a vegan pesto without pine nuts, trust us, you won’t miss them!

If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes

Easy vegan pesto

Easy, quick, on a budget and delicious vegan pesto!

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword dairy free pesto, nut-free vegan pesto, vegan pesto

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 10

Servings 3 people

Calories 280kcal

Ingredients

200 g Basil leaves Only the leaves! remove the stems
1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
1/2 tbs Bouillon powder Known as broth or veggie stock powder. Use homemade for WFPB
3 Garlic cloves
1/4 cup Olive oil Replace with more sunflower seeds for WFPB
1/4 cup Lemon juice
3 tbsp Yeast flakes Optional, for cheesiness! substitute with 1 tbsp of miso paste if you don't like yeast flakes!
1/2 cup Water

Instructions

Get your ingredients
Start with blending the oil, water, seeds and garlic
Add everything except 1/5 of the basil if you want "to feel the bits" and blend for another minute.
Add the remaining 1/5 of the basil leaves and pulse, pulse, pulse until you get the right consistency
Enjoy!

Video

https://youtu.be/Mi3PHmsce2o

Notes

Calories are estimated using this tool
Substitute sunflower seeds with pine nuts for a more “original’ pesto recipe. I really liked it with sunflower seeds though! I have tried with pumpkin seeds and it was not as good. Probably because sunflower seeds have more fat!
This is freezer-friendly and keeps in the fridge for about a week
Easy with the pasta and pesto, it is one of those meals that leaves you very satisfied, but at the same time a little bit tired, ideal for those special ocassions or to enjoy it with some wine!

The post Easy vegan pesto appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Easy 30 minutes vegan goat cheese

Natural Goodness — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 20:09:16 +0000

So, I made a sunflower seed cream and I thought maybe I can try to make yet another vegan cheese! and yeah, indeed, adding vinegar + lime juice + miso paste creates a very tangy and delicious cheese that feels like goat cheese!

Vegan goat cheese log vertical

Are you into vegan cheese? have a look at vegan mozzarella, queso dip, and light queso dip!

What are the ingredients or vegan goat cheese?

Sunflower seeds I think they work better than cashews in this case, they are more “savory”
Lime juice and vinegar, to make it tangy, and a bit sour
Miso paste, for that cultured taste!
Psyllium husks if you want it a bit less creamy and with more body
Unrefined coconut oil to make a solid block and give it a form
Basil leaves to give it that fresh taste

Making vegan goat cheese

Get your ingredients

Vegan goat cheese ingredients

Soak the sunflower seeds for about 6 hours or boil them for 20 minutes. Melt the coconut oil (if you are making the log version)

Put all the ingredients but the psyllium husk in the blender, and blend until creamy (about 1 minute), then blend again for 1 minute to make sure it is really creamy!

Blending vegan goat cheese

Add the psyllium husk and blend until it is integrated (30 secs to 1 minute at high speed). Put it immediately into molds! or it will start to set! leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes so it solidifies.

If you want to make a “log version” you can use parchment paper to create the log, simply put the cheese straight from the blender when it is not yet set and give it form with your hands.

Once this is done, you can even give it some texture and making it more smooth by using your hands with some drops of water:

Enjoy the creamy cheese!

Close up vegan creamy goat cheese with sweet potato

Or the solid version!

Vegan goat cheese log version

Solid vegan goat cheese

Recommendations

Use a good quality high-speed blender. I use the bullet blender from Nutri Ninja. This will make the cheese smoother!
You do need to have at least a 4/5 cup of seeds to get the blender going. But you can make first the “cream” by putting the seeds with some water, and then remove as much as you want to use it for other stuff (I like it in coffee!) and then add a proportion of the other ingredients if you use coconut oil, you need to use much less water, just add little by little until the blender starts going. The quantities are approximate and vary from blender to blender. I use about 1/5 cup with the bullet blender
You can use brown miso paste (like I did for the creamy version because I bought it wrong lol) but it will turn a little bit brown
All the not optional ingredients are really not optional this will taste completely different without the lime juice, vinegar, and the miso paste (perhaps this last one can be skipped though…)
This is a delicious creamy side, it will not taste that close to goat cheese, but it does feel very creamy and it is very delicious!
If you add the psyllium husks and coconut oil, make sure you put it into your molds immediately after blending as it will start to set!
Soaking the seeds makes them more tender than boiling them, but if you have a powerful blender, it will not make a big difference (I usually just boil them, who has time to soak them anyway? lol)

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

Tangy, cheesy, fresh, quick to make, dairy-free, nut-free!
Very cheap! this can be part of a plant-based on a budget recipe!
You can include it in your Whole30 diet if you skip the miso haha
Although internationally this taste more like creamy vegan goat cheese, If you are Mexican, this will probably feel like a vegan requeson

Vegan goat cheese

This is a vegan version of goat cheese. Also feels like requeson if you are Mexican!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine International

Keyword goat cheese, snacks, Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings 4

Calories 180kcal

Equipment

High speed bullet blender or food processor

Ingredients

4/5 cup Sunflower seeds
2 tbsp Lime juice
2 tbsp White vinegar Cider vinegar will also work, it'll make it a bit more "sweet", though!
1 tbsp White miso paste For a cultured flavor. Skip for Whole30
1/3 cup Water Or just enough to blend the seeds, you'll need much less if you use coconut oil and psyllium husk

To make it solid:

1.5 tablespoon Psyllium husks Optional, for a more gelatinous consistency
4/5 cup Refined coconut oil Optional, to make it solid to form blocks

Instructions

Make sure you have all the ingredients
Soak the sunflower seeds for about 6 hours or boil them for 20 minutes
Melt the coconut oil
Put all the ingredients but the psyllium husks and blend at high speed for 1 minute, then blend again until it is smooth (Note! you can blend first the seeds with the water and then add the rest of the ingredients if you want to use the creamy sunflower seed for other purposes and make less of this recipe)
If you are making the solid version, you'll need much less water due to the coconut oil! make sure to add just enough to get your blender going, I use about 1/5 cup, but this depends on the blender!
Add the psyllium husks and blend for another minute
If you added psyllium husks and coconut oil, I recommend you to leave it in the fridge for about 30 minutes so it gets the proper consistency! put it into molds immediately after blending or it'll start to set!
Also, if you want to make the classig log version, you can use parchment paper to give it form, and your hands with some drops of water to smooth the surface of the cheese
If you added the psyllium husk and the coconut oil, you will get this result
Enjoy

Video

https://youtu.be/D10zFi-qMJs

Notes

You can substitute the sunflower seeds with cashews, but, in my opinion, sunflower seeds have a more adequate flavor for this recipe
I love adding some basil leaves to decorate the cheese! it also gives it a great flavor
This goes great with crackers, spreading it on bread, adding it to soups, with sweet potato rounds!
Soaking the sunflower seeds can work better if you don’t. have a powerful blender, also, I find that my Ninja bullet blender works wonders to make it very smooth! if you have one, definitely use the bullet blender
This is a very cheap, nut-free, dairy-free, agar agar free, probiotic free vegan goat cheese!
If you don’t add the psyllium husks or the coconut oil, this will feel like creamy goat cheese, if you add them it will be more solid and characteristic of “normal” goat cheese
Calories area approximate, depends on how much water you need to get your blender going, if you actually use the coconut oil, it will certainly have more!

The post Easy 30 minutes vegan goat cheese appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Peri Peri sauce

Natural Goodness — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:50:32 +0000

On the look for not Mexican spicy sauces, I came across peri peri sauce, and I fell in love . This worked perfect on burritos and tofu scramble! I will be making batches of this delicious sauce quite often!

peri peri sauce above

Once I tried the peri-peri sauce in Nando’s and to be honest, although it was good, I found it a bit sweet. So I decided to investigate how to make this traditional (Portuguese? African?) sauce and I was really delighted by the combination of flavors which is very different from sauces made in my home country. This was the perfect excuse to use the food processor of my Ninja blender lol

Do you enjoy sauces? have a look at: salsa verde, Mexican red sauce, and red pepper coulis!

Let’s make peri peri sauce!

Get your ingredients!

2 African red bird’s eye chilies
2 Bell peppers I tend to combine some sweet chilies to give it more flavor
1/3 cup Basil
1/3 cup Coriander
5 g Tarragon leaves Too minty! more eclipse the flavors of the other ingredients
1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Lemon juice
1 tbsp Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
4 Cloves of garlic

Peri peri sauce ingredients

Chop the peppers and the garlic
Mince the african chilies

Chop the peppers and the garlic, and mince the African chilies.
Add everything to the food processor:

peri peri sauce ingredients in a blender

Blend at low to get things going on your food processor, and then at high. Scrape the sides and blend again. I prefer to use a food processor as I don’t want this to turn into a completely liquid sauce, but rather I want it to have texture!

Enjoy!

What is peri peri sauce?

It is a sauce that gets its spicy characteristic flavour from African bird chilies. But I would say that all the ingredients make it taste so special. The basil, coriander and tarragon definitely make it taste very herby, and the peppers give this sauce a very fresh round flavour.

This sauce is also known as piri piri, or pili pili sauce.

Peri peri sauce uses

Pretty much everything… If you are looking for recipes that can use it have a look at our , tofu scramble and vegan steak. I have tried it with burritos, beans, crackers (yep! crackers), salads… you name it!

I am going to try it with soups and pasta and report back at some point…

Where can you find african bird’s eye chilies?

If you live in the UK, I have found them in Sainsbury’s (not 100 % sure they are always African, though!).

Friends from Holland and Paris have told me that they sometimes find them on local markets. If you can’t find them I would say that you can also try any spicy chili that you have at hand. I have tried this with chile serrano (Mexican chili) and it tastes very good as well. Careful with the amount! I use 2-3 small chilies only because they are too spicy!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

Spicy, garlicky, tangy, herby, flavourful
Made from mostly whole foods
Skip vinegar, oil, paprika, and salt for a whole foods version
Feel free to include this as part of your whole30 plan!

Peri Peri sauce

Fresh, whole, spicy sauce! delicious on tacos, burritos, salads and maybe on everything!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine portuguese

Keyword fresh, sauce, spicy, Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 10

Servings 4

Calories 180kcal

Cost 5

Equipment

Food processor or Blender

Ingredients

2 African red bird's eye chilies
2 Bell peppers I tend to combine some sweet chilies to give it more flavor
1/3 cup Basil
1/3 cup Coriander
5 g Tarragon leaves Too minty! more eclipse the flavors of the other ingredients
1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Lemon juice
1 tbsp Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
4 Cloves of garlic

Instructions

Make sure you have all the ingredients
Chop the peppers and the garlic
Mince the african chilies
Add everything to the food processor
Blend at slow speed, then at high speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and blend again for another 20 seconds or until everything is well integrated
Enjoy!

Video

https://youtu.be/OSx1tx5SF-I

Notes

Be careful with the heat of bird’s eye chilies! I add only 2 or maximum 3, because they are really spicy
I like to combine sweet chilies and peppers, it gives this sauce a great taste!
Tarragon is the only herb that I use only a little for this sauce. Why? because it is a bit too minty for a spicy sauce :). If you don’t mind that, feel free to add more!
If you use a very powerful blender or bullet blender, you are likely going to end with a “juice” instead of the whole sauce you see in the pictures
If you don’t like vinegar, do not add it, but then it will spoil sooner in the fridge
If you don’t like raw sauces, you can blend the sauce in a blender instead of a food processor until it is quite liquid and then cook it
If you are looking for something like the Nando’s sauce, this is not it :D. Nando’s sauce has some sugar and it is a very liquid and cooked sauce!

The post Peri Peri sauce appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Tofu sour cream

Natural Goodness — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 22:45:30 +0000

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

This tofu vegan sour cream recipe is the best, healthiest, and easiest version to make non dairy sour cream!

I made a delicious lentil soup the other day, and I really wanted to have a replacement for dairy cream. After trying with various options, I believe this is the best one for all things were you would normally use cream. I use this for my vegan steaks, for my bean stew, for a tofu scramble! basically, I want to pour it on everything! Are you looking for other dairy replacements? for example mozzarella? check out the game changer vegan mozzarella I recently made!

Be very careful with quantities! too much lime juice and it will be super sour, too much vinegar and it will be very tangy. It is better to add them little by little until it is perfect for you. I personally like it super sour and tangy so, I actually adjusted the recipe!

If you are looking for more tofu recipes, have a look at the tofu scramble or the spicy almond sauce tofu recipe!

What adjustments can I make?

Skip the salt for a neutral flavor (like normal sour cream, but I enjoy adding just a pinch for an extra savory taste!)
I have made some testing with white vinegar, and some of my friends think it taste more like sour cream! I personally enjoy it more with apple cider vinegar!
Add coriander/garlic to turn this into a delicious vegan dip for totopos or crudites
Replace the tofu with 150 g of overnight soaked cashews and 100ml of water for a vegan tofu free sour cream. I actually recommend that for pasta recipes or for those people missing the creamy fat from normal dairy cream.

Let’s make tofu sour cream!

Get your ingredients

tofu sour cream ingredients

Add everything to the blender

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Tofu sour cream

We hope you like this recipe, it’s:

Creamy, tangy, healthy, delicious
The best non dairy sour cream
Customizable into a dip with coriander/garlic, maybe dill!
Spicy vegan sour cream if you add chili flakes! or fresh chili puree!
Not freezer-friendly, unless you use cashews or nuts. However, it keeps for a week in the fridge, though!
Gluten free and oil free vegan sour cream!
Super quick to make! 5 minute vegan sour cream! talk about convenience!

Tofu sour cream

The best vegan sour cream!

Course Appetizer, Dip, Side Dish

Cuisine International

Keyword best vegan sour cream, tofu sour cream, Vegan

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 0

Total Time 5

Servings 4 people

Calories 70kcal

Author Roberto

Cost 4

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

300 g Firm silken tofu J-Basket brand works very well!
3/4 tbsp Lime juice Not lemon juice!
3/4 tbsp Apple cider vinegar White vinegar gives it a good flavor too
20 g Coriander Optional, to make a dip
1 teaspoon Garlic powder Optional, to make if more flavorful

Instructions

Make sure you have all the ingredients
Add everything to the blender
Blend for about 30 seconds (until very smooth). Taste and see if it needs more lime juice, apple cider vinegar or salt

Video

https://youtu.be/NLy2D1Vsq40

Notes

If you are looking for a soy free cream, you can substitute the tofu with 150 g of raw cahews soaked overnight and 100ml of water. If you do that, you will need to blend for much more time until it is really creamy! or try our sunflower seed cream.
I love to add coriander and garlic, here is where you can get creative! Let me know what you tried!
Do not replace lime juice with lemon juice! the result will be very different
Firm silken tofu is key here to obtain a smooth creamy result. Normal firm or extra firm tofu can make this crumbly!
The combination of vinegar + lime juice is excellent to produce the tangy flavor characteristic of “dairy” products
As always, calories depend on the tofu. This should be a very light and high protein because tofu is just like that

The post Tofu sour cream appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Chamoy

Natural Goodness — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 23:18:26 +0000

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

Did you try Chamoy while being in Mexico? or, are you a Mexican feeling homesick (I am raising my hand here lol) If so, I bet you know it is the only sauce made for that fruit, the only one. If you are missing it and wondering: Is it easy to make Chamoy? you bet! just 5 ingredients and a blender. This is a very traditional Mexican recipe that combines spiciness with sweetness and even a bit of sourness from the limes. Join me to discover this great sauce!

Into Mexican desserts? try out tamal de elote dulce! or check all our desserts here!

Disclaimer: This post has some affiliate links that help me to earn a small omission to continue creating great posts for you.

What can I use Chamoy for?

With mangos, apples other fruits, and jicamas. My friend, if you tried it before, you know what I am talking about!
How to make Chamoy apples? just buy an apple, cut it however you prefer, and add this thick sauce to it!
If you are lucky enough to have tajin, then use it on top of this!
Mangonadas, oh yes, yes! I love Mangonadas, that’s basically crushed ice with mango juice and mangos combined with Chamoy, it is soo addictive, here is the recipe!
With beer (micheladas with Chamoy)
With tequila shots (dangerous stuff, you’ll be drunk before you know! but it is soo good!)

chamoy mango apple

What are the traditional ingredients?

Apricot jam, prunes, chile ancho, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and water (some people also use -jamaica-, I mean hibiscus flowers!). This recipe is for a thick Chamoy! feel free to add more lemon juice or water to thin it
You can adjust the recipe, for example, it is very common to do a tamarindo Chamoy version of this recipe, just add some tamarind pulp!

We hope you enjoy this sauce. It’s:

Spicy, sweet and sour!
Easy to make at home, even if you live in Europe (like me!)
Super addictive!

Looking for more Mexican recipe inspo? how about salsa roja, or a tofu scramble?

Where can you buy Chamoy?

If you are not in Mexico or the US, probably in a Mexican shop, or online (e.g. Amazon) :(. But, as you can see, it is super easy to make, and most supermarkets should have all the ingredients!

Let’s make chamoy!

Get your ingredients:
3/4 cup Apricot jam (if you are in the US, I like this one because it does not have added sugar)
2 teaspoon Chile ancho flakes (substitute with 1-2 natural unveined unseeded chilies if you can find them, you can get them from Amazon US as well)
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tbsp sugar (or another 2 tbsp of the jam if you want no sugar added!)
1 teaspoon salt
4 prunes (optional)
2 tbsp tamarind pulp (optional)

Chamoy ingredients

If using chili flakes, you can put them in 1/4 cup of boiling water and let them sit, so they are easier to blend. The same applies to the prunes! especially if your blender is not very powerful.

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend for about a minute until they are well integrated

Chamoy ingredients in blender

Enjoy!

Chamoy animated

Chamoy

Traditional Mexican recipe used as a sauce for fruit, micheladas, chamoyadas, mangonadas, etc!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chamoy, chamoyada, mangonada, Mexican Vegan, side, Vegan

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 0

Total Time 5

Servings 4 people

Calories 220kcal

Author Roberto

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

3/4 cup Apricot jam Feel free to make your own!
2 tablespoon Chile ancho flakes Substitute with 1- 2 natural chilies if you can find them where you live! unveined and unseeded
1/3 cup Lime juice Or the juice of 4 big limes
2 tbsp Sugar I use brown sugar. Make sure it is vegan friendly! Replace with another 2 tbsp of jam if you want this to be "no sugar added"
1 teaspoon Salt
4 Prunes Optional
2 tbsp Tamarind pulp Optional, makes it a bit more sour!

Instructions

Make sure you have all the ingredients
If you are using fresh chilies, make sure to remove the seeds and veins unless you want it very spicy! If you are using chili flakes, a good trick is to put them with a little bit of water the day before so they are softened and then, they'll integrate better when blending
If you are using prunes and your blender is not too powerful, I suggest that you put them in a little container with some boiling water for 10 minutes to prepare them for the blender
Add all the ingredients in the blender and blend in high for about 1 minute. Check if everything is very well integrated and blend again if required
Enjoy!

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvuswxfTjWM

Notes

Calories depend on the apricot jam used! read the label and the resulting chamoy will have a little bit less than that due to the lemon juice
For selecting the best jam: I like St. Dalfour Jam because it uses fruit juices instead of sugar, but you don’t have to buy this brand! my recommendation is to check that the jam does not contain added sugar
Chile ancho flakes are commonly found in supermarkets, just ask and they are very likely to have it in stock. Of course, it tastes better with fresh chile ancho, but I know it can be difficult to find (I live in London and, I have this issue!)
Lime juice. I love being practical, just like you, so, if you don’t want to extract the juice of the limes, just buy the juice in the supermarket, it is usually cheap and very convenient for a lot of recipes!
This recipe is great as a side dish with fruits like mango and apples. It is ideal for chamoyadas, mangonadas, micheladas!
The traditional recipe includes the prunes! but I honestly prefer it without them. For a twist, you can make this sourer if you include pulparing pulp. Depending on where you are coming from in Mexico, there can be other variations for the recipe

The post Chamoy appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Low-calorie vegan queso dip

Natural Goodness — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 13:50:04 +0000

Are you looking for the perfect Superbowl snack? This is a delicious low-calorie queso dip that will help you if you are looking for something tasty and very low in calories

Into vegan cheese? check all our vegan cheese here!

Low calorie vegan queso dip

Aubergines turned out to be a great substitute for cashews or pumpkin seeds when you are making these dips. They still make you feel very full, but with very few calories, one medium-sized aubergine has only 110 calories! If you are interested in more details about aubergines (eggplant) read this thorough article by Healthline.

If you are not looking to cut down in calories, you can also try this pumpkin seed queso that is also delicious!

This recipe is

Spicy
A great snack
Cheesy
Feels very Mexican
Can be adapted to whole30/paleo diets

Now I leave you with the recipe:

Low calorie vegan queso dip

Delicious vegan queso chipotle dip, ideal for your Superbowl nights, or for meeting with friends while cutting a lot of calories!

Course Dip, Snack

Cuisine International

Keyword Mexican Vegan, Plant based, Queso dip, Vegan

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 0

Total Time 25

Servings 4 people

Calories 80kcal

Cost 5

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

2 Medium-sized aubergines (eggplant)
1 teaspoon Vegan stock powder (bouillon) Make your own from vegetable scrapes for making it whole30 compliant
1 teaspoon Chipotle flakes Use a fresh chipotle for making it whole30 compliant
1/3 teaspoon Garlic powder (or 1 medium garlic clove roasted) Use the garlic clove to make it whole30 compliant
1/2 Cup Warm water Not boiling!
1 teaspoon Yeast flakes Optional
2 teaspoon Olive oil Optional (substitute with 1/4 cup of water for making it whole30 compliant)

Instructions

Cut the aubergines in circles
Add the oil to the pan and the aubergines. Roast until they are golden brown
Remove the skin of the aubergines (eggplants) and let them to cool down for 5 minutes
Add the aubergines, bouillon, chipotle flakes, garlic powder, yeast flakes and water in the blender
Blend for about 1 minute, add more water, little by little if it turns difficult to blend
Enjoy immediately with your favorite totopos!

Video

https://youtu.be/fJgwLiRV1is

Notes

Calories are approximate, it depends on how much you eat, and it does not include the totopos! I still think this is a great dip if you are cutting on calories!
I recommend eating this immediately. You can keep it in the fridge for about a week, but it will turn a bit “gelatinous” so you may need to blend it again, or heat it at low strength in the microwave.
This is very light in calories! aubergines give it the perfect texture!
If you are looking for a seed based queso, try our recipe with pumpkin seeds.

The post Low-calorie vegan queso dip appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Baba ganoush

Natural Goodness — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 21:20:19 +0000

Jump to Recipe

Have you ever tried baba ganoush and thought. How do I make baba ganoush? In case you thought it is difficult, my friends, I am here to tell you that you only need to “roast” the aubergine anyway you can and then mix it with all the other ingredients! That’s how simple it is! You do not even need a blender if you have a mortar and pestle!

Baba ganoush

What is baba ganoush?

Baba ganoush is a Levantine appetizer, that has become very popular. It is basically roasted (or broiled) aubergine mashed or blended with garlic, tahini, salt, pepper and optionally other spices. We found that it goes very well with coriander!

It is usually combined with vegetables such as carrot sticks, radish, celery, or perhaps pita bread or us personally enjoy it with sourdough bread or crackers!

How does it taste? Very creamy, a little bit tangy due to the lemon juice/tahini and it feels so filling that you would think it has a lot of fat! but in fact, it is one of our favorite low-calorie food!

I also use it as a side with some dishes like cauliflower rice or scrambled tofu and I find it amazing!

Baba Ganoush calories per 100g

There are around 170 calories for every 100g on “standard recipes”. I add a bit less tahini which is the ingredient that can increase the calories, and I think it still tastes great!

What are the properties of aubergines (eggplant)?

Aubergine is full of fiber, so it is quite filling, and then helpful if you want to lose some weight (because it keeps you full!)

It is full of vitamins and minerals as well, and it has been associated with lowering cholesterol. It has vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. In addition, it is high in copper, magnesium, and manganese.

A 100g serving of raw aubergine provides:

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate	Fiber
15	0.9 g	2.2 g	2.2 g	2.7 g

For full information about aubergine nutrition, visit the BBC good food site!

Are you into more eggplant recipes? these are some of my favorites!

Low-calorie queso dip
Aubergine with walnut dukkah
Oven grilled eggplant

Baba ganoush

Different ways to make baba ganoush!

Course Appetizer, Dip

Cuisine Levantine

Keyword Baba ganoush, Vegan

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings 4

Calories 130kcal

Cost 3

Equipment

Blender or food processor (not 100 % required!)

Ingredients

1 Big eggplant (aubergine)
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon Olive oil
1 Medium-sized garlic clove
3 tbsp Tahini
4 tbsp Lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
20 g Coriander (optional!)

Instructions

Cook the aubergine choosing any of the following methods
Putting it in a tray in the oven for about 10 minutes at 150 degrees celsius (Grill mode, not fan mode!). You'll need to flip the aubergine at around 6 minutes
Pre-heat a pan at medium fire, add the olive oil and then the aubergine for about 12 minutes, you'll need to flip the aubergine around 7 minutes from when you start
Cook the aubergine directly in the stove (not very recommended tbh!) but some people like doing it this way. It should take about 6 minutes at medium fire. Btw, you should remove the green part of the aubergine!
Roast the garlic/coriander in a pan for about 4 minutes or if you used the pan method, add it 4 minutes before you finish (it is not necessary to roast it! depends on your preferences)
You know the aubergine is ready when the aubergine is softened and golden brown.
Remove all the skin (it should come off easily). This step is optional! But take into account that making it with the skin will result in a purple-ish baba ganoush with a slightly earthy flavour (I like it, some people don't!). Also, notice that the purple skin is full of antioxidants, hence if you have a high-speed blender, I suggest that you blend everything and eat the whole food 🙂
Add all the ingredients (tahini, aubergine, salt, lemon juice, and coriander) to the blender or a food processor until smooth
Optionally, you can use a mortar and pestle and mix all the ingredients there

Video

https://youtu.be/EkD9ykgVEIs

Notes

The whole point is to “roast” the aubergine, that’s what it gives it that special flavour! If you have other method I am sure it will work just as well
I add coriander, some other people enjoy it with paprika, basil, romero, parlsey, etc.
Be careful with tahini, too much of it will make it quite heavy!
It goes very well with sourdough bread! I enjoy it equally with carrot sticks, raddish, cucumber, tortilla chips, etc.
It can be part of a side dish, for example, cauli-flower rice!
It is relatively low in calories as aubergine have very few. It tends to make you feel full due to the aubergine fiber contents

The post Baba ganoush appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Spicy hummus oil-free

Natural Goodness — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 11:18:28 +0000

I made my first spicy hummus oil-free the other day because the ones that are in stores contain too much oil and it is absolutely not needed for a great tasting hummus!

Hummus is protein-rich and has a lot of benefits. Have a look at this link from healthline for more information about chickpeas nutrition.

If you are looking for more “dip” recommendations, check our sour cream sunflower seeds based or the delicious queso dip without cashews!

Spicy hummus oil-free

Delicious oil-free spicy hummus

Course Appetizer, Dip

Cuisine International

Keyword Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 10

Servings 4 people

Calories 150kcal

Cost 3

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

200 g Cooked chickpeas
20 g Coriander
1 Garlic clove
1 teaspoon Chili flakes (or two chopped fresh chilies)
4 teaspoon Lemon juice
1 tbsp Tahini (optional!)
Salt to taste (1/2 teaspoon makes it for us)

Instructions

Put everything in the blender and blend until it is creamy
Add some chili flakes on top to decorate
Enjoy

Notes

If you cook the chickpeas yourself, one good trick is to add coriander and chili flakes to the boiling water plus some stock, this will give them a lot of flavour!
Once you try making your own hummus, there is no way back! it is just much better and tastier!

The post Spicy hummus oil-free appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Vegan sour cream sunflower seed based (no cashews!)

Natural Goodness — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 21:19:52 +0000

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

I prepared this sunflower seed sour cream (no cashews!) on Saturday because I made chilaquiles (a Mexican dish).

Sunflower sour cream

Sunflower seeds are very versatile, I suggest that you give it a try also on milk or a cheesy queso dip like this.

As for chilaquiles, I encourage you to try this recipe video. I am not yet very good at it, but you can see the result at the end of the recipe :D.

Let’s make sunflower sour cream!

OK, so get your ingredients:
1 cup of sunflower seeds soaked overnight (note that the 1 cup is before soaking!)
1 tbsp of lemon juice or lime juice
1 – 2 tbsp of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1 ounce of coriander (optional)
1 medium sized onion (optional)
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon veggie stock powder (buillon)

Sunflower sour cream ingredients

Put everything but start with only 1/4 cup of water. Blend it until smooth. Add more water if you want a more “liquid” sour cream.

Blending sunflower seed sour cream

Enjoy!

Cracker with sunflower seed sour cream

Sunflower seed cream recommendations

Use it as a substitute for dairy cream in tacos, enchiladas, pretty much anything Mexican that calls for dairy sour cream
Coriander gives it a great taste! so does onion and veggie stock powder, try it and post what variation you did! I am always curious to read your experiments!
It is freezer friendly and keeps for about one week in the fridge
As most seed-based recipes… it separates! don’t worry, stir it with a spoon to integrate it again
You can use it to give a bolder flavor to rice, beans, soups!

Are you looking for a vegan sour cream but don’t love sunflower seeds? try substituting sunflower seeds with cashews. If you are looking for a lighter option or you simply don’t like seeds/cashews, try our delicious recipe for tofu sour cream!

Thinking what else you can use this sunflower seed cream for? how about a high protein bean stew or maybe a spicy tomato soup, or a Mexican vegan steak!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

Creamy, tangy, healthy, delicious
Customizable into a dip with coriander/garlic, maybe dill!
Budget friendly! sunflower seeds are super cheap!
Freezer-friendly. It keeps for a week in the fridge
Gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, nut-free, soy-free, cashew-free vegan sour cream!

Vegan sour cream sunflower seed based (no cashews!)

This is a great recipe based on sunflower seeds and lemon juice.

Course Dip

Cuisine International

Keyword Sour Cream, Sunflower seeds, Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 10

Servings 4

Calories 200kcal

Equipment

High speed blender

Ingredients

1 Cup Sunflower seeds soaked for 1 day (or the remainders from making sunflower milk, you can keep them in the freezer until you have enough)
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Water
1/2 Medium sized purple onion (others work too, I just like this type!) Optional
1 Ounce Coriander Optional
2 clove Garlic Optional
1 teaspoon Vegetable stock Optional, or 1 pinch of salt!

Instructions

Blend everything but reserve 1/4 cup of water
Continue blending until you got the texture that you want. Add some water, until you get the right texture, remember that it can separate and it is normal when using seeds. Just integrate again if this happens

Video

https://youtu.be/B_LOf3jPGkQ

Notes

The apple cider vinegar + the lemon juice gives the cream the “tangy” flavor characteristic of sour cream
This can be a great substitute for sour cream in chilaquiles! check the picture and decide yourself!

It can also be a great dip to use with crackers, corn chips, etc.
You can obviously use cashews, but sunflower seeds are cheaper and also great for this purpose

The post Vegan sour cream sunflower seed based (no cashews!) appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.