Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream

Delicious plant-based Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream made with “tempeh taco meat”  and a creamy cashew-based sour cream.

Do you feel like you’re being pummeled with pumpkins?

If you do, don’t worry, I put orange on the back-burner for this post to share a classic.

I was in Michael’s recently picking up some photography props and commented to the cashier about the Halloween display already in plain sight.

“Oh”, the girl said, like that was nothing, “The entire Christmas spread is set up in back.”

Woah, now. One holiday at a time!

And it just so happens that today is one of my favorite holiday that comes around on a weekly basis…

It’s Taco Tuesday, so let’s make Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream!

When I first joined the workforce after college, I went through a major Taco Bell phase.

The kind of enduring phase that leaves you with an embarrassingly large ziplock bag stuffed with leftover hot sauce packets.

I guess it was the convenience of the whole thing, and tacos were a succinct meal decidedly more fun than a sandwich or salad.

On multiple occasions I eagerly took intricate taco orders for my coworkers and left the office guilt-free to hit the drive-through.

FYI, walking through the office around lunchtime wafting the smell of spices and fried food while handing out tacos will make you everyone’s best bud.

So, wouldn’t it be cool if they handed out Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream at a taco drive-through?

Well, they hand them out at my house…

What You Need to Make Romaine Tempeh Tacos

Here’s what you need to make tempeh tacos filling:

• tempeh
• tamari lite
• lime
• chili powder
• cumin
• garlic powder
• Himalayan sea salt
• black pepper
• tomatoes
• bell pepper
• red onion
• avocado oil

For serving

• romaine lettuce leaves
• sliced avocado
• cilantro
• hot sauce

That’s it!

How to Make Romaine Tempeh Tacos

To make the tempeh taco meat, rinse and pat your tempeh dry, then crumble with your hands into small pieces and place in a large bowl.

Add the Tamari lite, water, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper to the tempeh bowl.

Mix until well-combined and all tempeh crumbles are coated.

Add in the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and mix well.

Next, add the avocado to a large pan over medium-high heat.

Once it’s warm, add the tempeh crumble mixture, then cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for ~10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the mixture gets too dry, add a splash of filtered water and mix to wet the pan.

While the tempeh taco meat is cooking, rinse and pat dry your romaine leaves and line them up for assembly.

To assemble your tempeh tacos, spoon tempeh “taco meat” mixture into romaine leaves, then top with avocado, cilantro, and hot sauce.

What You Need to Make Cashew Sour Cream

On of my favorite toppings for these tacos is Cashew Sour Cream.

Here’s what you need to make it:

• cashews
• lemon
• apple cider vinegar

That’s it!

The creamy Cashew Sour Cream makes this entire dish pop and I was honestly surprised at how incredibly easy it was to blend up.

The creamy flavor of cashews pairs perfectly with apple cider vinegar to make a plant based “sour cream”.

You’ll probably have lots of leftover sour cream with this recipe, so some ideas for multiple use are: as salad dressing, dip, and on baked potatoes.

It’s the dip that keeps on giving.

How to Make Cashew Sour Cream

To make the cashew sour cream, add the cashews to a bowl and cover them with water.

Soak them for 4- 6 hours, then drain and rinse.

Place the soaked cashews in a high-speed blender with the filtered water, lemon, and apple cider vinegar.

Blend them on high until they’re smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.

Add more water for a thinner consistency and a pinch of salt, if desired.

Transfer the sour cream to an air-tight container and chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. 

How to Serve Romaine Tempeh Tacos

These tacos are high in protein, low in fat, perfectly spiced, and packed with veggies.

I love the way that crumbled tempeh naturally echoes the texture and consistency of ground beef.

This makes it one of those recipes you might be able to convince (or trick) your definitely not plant-based friend to try and love.

Enjoy these Romaine Tempeh Tacos as a fun light Mexican meal whenever the mood (or your Taco Bell cravings) strike!

The tempeh taco meat is easy enough to make for weeknight meals and can also be prepped in advance and thrown into wraps on the go.

If you can’t and won’t ever see romaine lettuce as a sub for a tortilla, feel free to wrap these in your favorite tortilla instead.

Thinking even more outside the bun, try this tempeh taco meat on tortilla chips or mixed into a taco salad bowl!

Enjoy!

More Vegan Tacos

• Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos

• Veggie Sausage Breakfast Tacos

• Dark Chocolate “Choco-Tacos”

• Roasted Carrot Tofu Tacos

I Want to Hear From You

If you make this Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream recipe, let me know!

Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.

Give me a shout on Instagram and use #floraandvino to show me your creations.

Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later.

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XO Lauren

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