If you're craving a delicious, crispy, and cheesy appetizer without the guilt, these vegan jalapeño poppers are perfect! This dairy-free, oil-free version of the classic party snack is packed with bold flavors, a creamy filling, and just the right amount of heat. Plus, they are baked instead of fried, making them a healthier choice without sacrificing taste.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Oil-Free & Baked - A healthier alternative to traditional deep-fried poppers.
- Easy to Make - Simple ingredients and straightforward steps.
- Great for Parties - A crowd-pleasing snack for any occasion.
- Daniel Fast Approved!
Vegan Jalapeño Poppers Ingredients
- Jalapeños
- Sprouted corn tortillas (we like the Food for Life brand)
- Raw cashews
- Onion (white or yellow)
- Garlic
- Nutritional Yeast
- Cumin
- Low-sodium vegetable broth
- Green chilies
How to Prepare
- Prepare the cashews. You can either soak them overnight or do a quick boil. If using the quick boil method, put cashews into a small pot with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Toast corn tortillas on a baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until crispy. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
- While corn tortillas are toasting, prep jalapeños, splitting in half and removing the tops and seeds. Place in rows facing up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a small pan over medium heat, dry sauté onion until just softened and fragrant—about 3 to 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cumin, and continue to cook for another minute, adding a dash of water if needed to keep them from sticking. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a high-speed blender, add soaked and drained cashews, garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and green chilies, and blend on high until creamy and smooth. If the sauce is too thick, thin with more vegetable broth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt to taste, nutritional yeast for more cheesiness, or cumin for smokiness.
- Turn the oven up to 400°F (204°C).
- Spoon the cheese mixture into the jalapeños, generously filling. You’ll have leftovers, which you can reserve for nachos, as a topping for rice and beans, or more poppers later. Crush the toasted tortilla chips into crumbs and sprinkle them over the jalapeños. Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 12 to 15 minutes or until the jalapeños are soft and the cheese has deepened in color.
- Serve immediately. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat poppers in the microwave for a minute, or in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 7–10 minutes.
What goes with these poppers?
Jalapeño Poppers are a favorite in my house. Sometimes, we have them as a snack, while other times, it's a part of a meal by being paired with a Southwestern Salad or the Vegan Taco Salad. These vegan poppers are full of flavor and heat.
Pairing these poppers with the refreshing and slightly sweet Margarita Nice Cream is also a winner.
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This tasty cheese sauce is very flavorful and can also be used inside of the Hearty Breakfast Burritos, or on top of Cuban Black Beans and rice. The vegan cheese sauce can also be used as a nacho cheese dipping sauce with Oven-Baked Corn Tortillas.
How hot are these jalapeno poppers?
The heat level depends on how much of the seeds and membrane (the white part inside the pepper) remain before adding the cheese sauce. If jalapeños are too hot for you, you could also add the cheese sauce to more mild peppers, such as Anaheim (less heat) or even sweet baby bell peppers (no heat).
I have Minimalist Baker to thank for this recipe. I modified it a bit to remove the oil, add a little more cumin, and heat the cumin by adding it to the hot pan with the sautéed onion and garlic. This brings out more of the smoky cumin flavor.
We hope you love this jalapeno poppers recipe. Please rate and leave a comment below. Be sure to share a picture on Instagram and tag us @danielsplaterecipes so we can see your creation!
Jalapeño Poppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 corn tortillas we used Food for Life brand found in the freezer section of your grocery store
- ¾ cup raw unsalted cashews soaked overnight in water or quick boiled
- ½ medium white or yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ cup vegetable broth plus more as needed
- 1 4- oz. can of green chilies
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
- 12 medium jalapeños halved and seeds/stem removed
Instructions
- Prepare the cashews. You can either soak them overnight or do a quick boil. If using the quick boil method, put cashews into a small pot with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Toast corn tortillas on a baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until crispy. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
- While corn tortillas are toasting, prep jalapeños, splitting in half and removing the tops and seeds. Place in rows facing up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a small pan over medium heat, dry sauté onion until just softened and fragrant—about 3 to 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cumin, and continue to cook for another minute, adding a dash of water if needed to keep them from sticking. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a high-speed blender, add soaked and drained cashews, garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and green chilies, and blend on high until creamy and smooth. If the sauce is too thick, thin with more vegetable broth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt to taste, nutritional yeast for more cheesiness, or cumin for smokiness.
- Turn the oven up to 400°F (204°C).
- Spoon the cheese mixture into the jalapeños, generously filling. You’ll have leftovers, which you can reserve for nachos, as a topping for rice and beans, or more poppers later. Crush the toasted tortilla chips into crumbs and sprinkle them over the jalapeños. Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 12 to 15 minutes or until the jalapeños are soft and the cheese has deepened in color.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Kelsie
These are so tasty, not too spicy and are just as good the next day.
Robin
Yayyy!!!! These are so good!!
I made a small batch with dinner one night - as noted in the recipe there is plenty plenty of the vegan cheese sauce - and have been serving a couple on the side with other meals since with the leftover sauce.
It adds a treat feeling to the meals and you can even reheat them in a toaster oven to have a little warm treat with a lunch salad or as a snack. Totally satisfying!
We did not add the corn crisps - a sprinkling of smoked paprika adds a nice finishing touch in this case.
Of course this sauce is really good on anything so it can be used like a dip with veggies or a spread like hummus.
I am glad to have this in my repertoire as a fun party food to bring to potlucks, BBQs or serve as hors d’oeuvres
These aren’t too spicy, very yummy💚🔥💚
Thank you Sersie and Gigi!
Gigi & Sersie
Robin - Yay! We're so glad you enjoyed them. Yes, there are a lot of uses for that leftover cheese sauce. Thank you for your feedback!