This was my first attempt at vegan nachos and I’m very happy with the results.

The “cheese” and taco filling were both made from scratch, starting with raw cashews for the cheese and TVP for the taco filling. I don’t follow recipes to the letter, but the inspiration for the cheese was sort of from this recipe.

One major variation from the recipe was the prep for the cashews. Instead of soaking them in boiling water or overnight, I decided to try cooking them like beans in the instant pot. They came out PERFECTLY softened for blending into a smooth creamy texture. Definitely using that technique again in the future.

Blended Cashews

The TVP taco filling didn’t follow any particular recipes, I just rehydrated/rinsed/drained it thoroughly, threw it in a pan with some vegetable stock and loads of spices, and cooked it until the moisture was mostly soaked up. I added some tomato paste at the end to get the color and flavor I was going for and bam, taco filling.

Ingredients:

  • Raw cashews
  • TVP
  • Water
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Tomato paste
  • Lemon juice
  • Cholula hot sauce
  • Low sodium soy sauce
  • Dried spices
  • Tortilla chips
  • Refried beans
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Green chilies
  • Olives
  • Jalapenos
  • Guacamole