Creamy vegan cashew cheese, roasted veggies, spicy sauerkraut, and grain-free tortillas come together to make these Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas with Vegan Cheese. The perfect paleo and vegan twist on quesadillas!

Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas with Vegan Cheese

These Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas changed how I feel about quesadillas. Flashback to when I was 18 and began a long stint of waitressing in Mexican restaurants where I saw one too many cheap cheese quesadillas get topped with lumpy sour cream and devoured. (And one too many disgusting bean burritos, but that’s another story.) Soggy tortillas filled with a literal pound of low-quality cheese? No thank you. I kept my distance since then.

Flash forward 6 years and I’m cooking up a storm here in my kitchen, experimenting with cashew cheese and coconut flour tortillas. I had a thought: could this be the start of an appetizing quesadilla? I was cautiously optimistic. The cashew cheese was enough to hold the quesadilla together, and the nutritional yeast was enough to give it that comforting cheesy flavor, but it needed something else to make sure it was an entirely different animal than CHZ DILLA (the code for ringing in a quesadilla in my heyday.)

I opened my fridge and saw a jar of my beloved Spicy Sauerkraut and it donned on me: this was the perfect missing ingredient. Spicy, crunchy, tangy…sauerkraut is everything quesadillas have been missing!

What kind of Sauerkraut do you use?

You guys know I’m a big fan of fitting lots of fermented foods into my diet, but not just any kind. I’m always reading labels to find good-quality Sauerkrauts that don’t have unnecessary preservatives. I’m a huge fan of Bubbies naturally fermented food–especially their Spicy Sauerkraut that I put on literally everything. It has a deliciously fresh and robust taste and an ingredient list that is equally as wonderful and simple. I grab a jar every time I’m in my local Sprouts because it adds the perfect zest and punch to any meal, making it the perfect addition to these cheese quesadillas!

If spicy isn’t your thing, I’m not sure we can be friends, but Bubbies is still there for you! They have a range of pickles and krauts that will please any palette, each as equally wonderful as the last!

What you need to make Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas

Aside from making your cashew cheese and adding your spicy sauerkraut (the star of the show) you can mix and match these quesadillas with whatever veggies you have on hand. If you’re a carnivore like me, you can also add a scoop of some shredded chicken breast to add some protein.

I made my quesadillas on grain-free coconut flour tortillas, but these would also be great with corn or flour tortillas if you can tolerate them. Here’s everything you’ll need:

• Grain-free tortillas
• Coconut oil
• Garlic
• Red onion
• Zucchini diced
• Red Bell Pepper
• Bubbies Spicy Sauerkraut

For cashew “cheese”

• Raw cashews
• Nutritional yeast
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Salt

You can top your quesadillas off with any of your favorite toppings–I love avocado and jalapenos, or even a little extra sauerkraut!

How to make creamy Vegan Cashew Cheese

Even as vegan products are becoming more mainstream I find some people are still skeptical of the idea of making a vegan cheese out of cashews, but I promise its delicious AND super easy! You just need to soak your cashews for a bit to soften them up (about 2 hours in hot water, or overnight) and then you blend them with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth! The cheesy flavor comes from adding nutritional yeast–a natural food that has a nutty, cheesy flavor.

It’s really that easy! Then you’ll just spread your vegan cashew cheese on your tortillas along with your other ingredients and get cooking!

PRINT

Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas with Vegan Cheese

Creamy vegan cashew cheese, roasted veggies, spicy sauerkraut, and grain-free tortillas come together to make these Veggie and Sauerkraut Quesadillas with Vegan Cheese. The perfect paleo and vegan twist on quesadillas!

COURSE Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

PREP TIME 10 minutes

COOK TIME 25 minutes

TOTAL TIME 35 minutes

SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS

• 8 grain-free tortillas
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup red onion diced
• 1 large zucchini diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 cup Bubbies Spicy Sauerkraut

For cashew "cheese"

• 1 cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for at least 2 hours then drained
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt
• For topping: Sliced jalapeño, avocado, and cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

For cashew cheese:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

For Quesadillas:

1. In a large skillet heat coconut oil over medium heat, then add the garlic, red onion, zucchini, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened but still a bit crisp. Remove from the skillet into a medium size bowl.

2. Mix the veggies with the Bubbies Sauerkraut.

3. Clean out the skillet then grease with additional coconut oil and return to medium heat. Spread a scoop of cashew cheese over a tortilla, then add a large scoop of the sauerkraut mixture. Spread a bit of cashew cheese over another tortilla and then place the tortillas together as if making a sandwich. Fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until crispy. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas,  adding more oil as needed.
4. Serve topped with Sliced jalapeño, avocado, and cilantro.