Cinco de Mayo Recipe Round Up!

Cinco de Mayo…much like Saint Patrick’s day, these foreign celebrations give the West an excuse to dive into bevy’s that usually fall mid week and pretend like we know what we’re celebrating. 

Hey- ZERO judgement from me. I’m a sucker for any celebration and this year with Cinco de Mayo landing on Taco Tuesday…game over!

But before we hit the delicious recipes, let’s give a brief background to what Cinco de Mayo is and why it’s celebrated. Next time your sassy friend says you don’t even know what you’re celebrating, you can throw this info down the same way you just shot the tequila like a pro. 

May 5th is not Mexican Independence day which is actually September 16th. Cinco de Mayo  is a celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla.  A battle in 1862 in which the Mexican army won a battle against French forces led by Napoleon the 3rd. The battle took place southeast of Mexico city and although the French didn’t completely withdraw from their presence in Mexico for another 5 years, the day is still celebrated as a symbol of Mexican resistance to foreign domination.

Of course, there is much more history and information that goes along with it but I wanted to give you just enough so that after 2-3 margy’s you can still sound like you know what you’re talking about. 

The recipes!

Let’s kick off the celebration with a sugar free Frothy Orange-Lime Margy.

Aquafaba is the liquid that accompanies canned chickpeas. Many of us throw this liquid out without a second thought but it is actually a prime ingredient for replacing egg whites in baking and crafty cocktails. When shaken or whipped, the aquafaba begins to take similar form and texture to whipped egg whites. I find that on it’s own, it tends to carry a bit of a smell which is why I only use 1 tbsp for 2 servings. The beautiful frothy topping to this cocktail is definitely worth it. 

Frothy Orange Lime Margarita

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Prep Time 5 mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine American, Mediterranean, Mexican

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 limes juiced
• 1 orange juiced
• 1 tbsp aquafaba
• 2 oz tequila I'm a blanco girl but anjeo works great too!
• ice

Instructions

 

• Juice the lime and orange either by hand or with a juicing-tool placing the liquid in a shaker cup
• Add 2 oz of tequila, 1 tbsp aquafaba and lots of ice
• Place a couple cubes of ice in each glass
• Place lid on shaker cup and shake vigorously for 30 seconds
• Pour margarita over ice. Garnish with lime or orange wedge. Option to sprinkle with cayenne

Keyword cocktails, healthy cocktails, margarita

Blackened Cauliflower Tostadas or Tacos

I love a good tostada. It’s like a crunch pizza or an open faced crunchy panini. A tostada is a baked or deep fried tortilla. It is a traditional Mexican dish that acts like an open faced taco or 1 loaded mini nacho. 

This recipe can be made as tacos or give tostadas a try. Here’s how you can make a tostada at home:

Make your own tostada:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray like spray on olive or coconut oil. 
2. Lightly spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray and place them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Option to lightly season them with salt.
3. Bake for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy. Allow to slightly cool before assembling your tostadas.

Blackened Cauliflower Vegan Tostadas

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Course dinner, Entre

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 can refried beans
• 3 cups kale
• 2 cups purple cabbage
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt rock, Himalayan or sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp olive or coconut oil
• 8 tostadas
• 2 limes

Home Made Vegan Sour Cream

• 1 package medium firm or soft organic tofu
• 1/4 cup onion
• 1 lemon peeled
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp water

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400
• Break up and chop cauliflower into small florets placing them into a bowl. Lightly toss with coconut or olive oil followed by slowly adding blackening seasoning while tossing ensuring cauliflower is lightly coated.
• Place cauliflower on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in oven for 15 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, light toss and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
• In a small sauce pan add refried beans and slowly heat mixing every few minutes
• Thinly slice cabbage and kale.
• Place kale in a frying pan with a splash of water bringing to medium heat. Saute kale until slight wilted
• Place all sour cream ingredients into a blender and blend for 40-60 seconds.
• Once cauliflower is cooked, begin to assemble tostadas by spooning a tbsp of refried beans onto each tostadas spreading evenly with the back of the spoon.
• Add sautéed kale, cabbage and cauliflower to tostadas topping with the vegan sour cream and serving with a lime.
• Option to serve with hot sauce, guacamole or pico de gallo.

Keyword entre, mexican, summer meals

Yam Black Bean Taco Bowl

Not a huge fan of eating with your hands? No worries, assemble this delicious and hearty yam black bean taco bowl. This recipe can also be prepped for lunches to keep the Cinco de Mayo vibes going strong!

Yam Black Bean Taco Bowl

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Course dinner, Entre, lunch

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 yams
• 1 can black beans 14oz- preferably washed and soaked over night but if not- that's ok!
• 2 avocados
• 1 cup tomatoes
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• 1 head romain
• 2 limes
• 1 tbsp coconut or olive oil

Vegan Chipotle Sauce

• 2/3 cup vegan sour cream store bought or see tostada recipe above
• 1 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be found in most grocery stores, even Walmart
• 2 limes juiced
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375
• Chop yams into 1' cubes and toss with coconut or olive oil. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes or until soft-slightly crispy
• Wash black beans, and chop tomatoes, avocado, romaine, and cilantro
• Prepare Vegan Chipotle sauce by juicing limes and whisking all ingredients together
• Begin to prepare the bowls by evenly distributing the ingredients starting with the romaine. Add chopped tomatoes, avocado, black bean, and baked yams topping with cilantro and sour cream, serving with lime wedge. Enjoy!

Keyword black beans, mexican, salad bowl, taco bowl, yams

Sugar Free Vegan Horchata

This is not exactly the traditional Horchata but it can be made quickly and represents the same flavour profile. Traditionally Hortchatas are made with rice, sugar, and cinnamon. The rice is soaked over night with sugar and cinnamon then blended and strained into a smooth sweet milky liquid. Because I’m not a fan of high sugar drinks and because we want to celebrate our Cinco de Mayo asap, I’ve swapped out a few of the traditional process to make it a little easier and a lot healthier.

Vegan Horchata

not exactly traditional but smooth, slightly sweet and a healthy option for a simple dessert.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Course Dessert, Drinks

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups unsweetened vanilla rice milk
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 2-3 drops liquid stevia or monk fruit

Instructions

 

• In a blender or shaker cup add rice milk, cinnamon and stevia/monk fruit. Shake well or blend for 30-40 seconds.
• Divide ice between glasses pouring Horchata over the ice.
• Top with additional cinnamon and garnish with cinnamon stick.

Keyword healthy dessert, vegan dessert

Have the most wonderful Cinco de Mayo amigos!