Baked and Stuffed Avocados With Cashew Queso and Sausage

Prepared and photographed by NutraMilk nutritionist, Florencia Tagliavini.

Recipe inspired by One Green Planet.

INGREDIENTS

For cashew butter

• 2 cups (300g) cashews
• 1/8 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt (optional)

For the Salsa Pico:

• 2 medium tomatoes, small diced
• 1 small red onion, small diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, rinsed and small diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, lightly packed
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt

For the Queso:

• 2 cups butternut squash
• ¾ cup cashew butter made with the NutraMilk
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp. coarse salt
• 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 sliced jalapeño (red or green)
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 3/4 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk made with the NutraMilk
• 1/4 cup canned or fresh and cooked hatch chili

For the Avocados:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 2 vegan Mexican chipotle-style sausages
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 cups vegan queso
• 1 cup salsa pico
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, for garnish
• 1 jalapeño, sliced, for garnish
• A pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

• Making cashew butter
  • Place cashews and salt in the NutraMilk container.
  • Press Butter cycle, set for 5-6 minutes.
  • Press Start.
  • Open the container lid.
  • If necessary, set for an additional 1-2 minutes for a creamier butter.
  • Leave ¾ cup for recipe and store the rest for later use.

To Make the Salsa Pico:

• Add all of the salsa ingredients and stir gently to combine in a medium-sized bowl. Set this aside.

To Make the Queso:

• Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise (use one half for recipe) take out seeds and bake in the oven (350F) for about 1-1.5 hours, until tender. You can also steam or boil squash.
• Add butternut squash and all queso ingredients to the NutraMilk along with the ¾ cup cashew butter and press ¨Mix¨ for a minute or so until sauce is smooth.

To Make the Avocados:

• Slice and half the avocados to make 6 portions.
• Remove the pits and place the avocados onto a baking sheet. Set this aside.
• Remove the casing and crumble sausage by hand into a bowl.
• Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, then add the red onion and sear for about a minute.
• Add in the crumbled sausage and sauté it for 3 minutes more. The more charring you get the more flavor it will have; however, be careful not to burn it! Remove this from the heat and allow it to cool.
• Make sure the avocados will stand up on own by gently pressing them down they won’t tip over.
• Add roughly 1 tablespoon of cashew queso, then top that with 1 tablespoon of sausage-onion mixture in the center of each avocado.
• Bake them for 10 -15 minutes, then remove from oven and top with the salsa pico. Garnish with the cilantro and jalapeños as desired, sprinkle them with a touch of salt, and serve them immediately.

Notes:

This recipe does not have to be baked. You can simply stuff the avocados and eat them straight away. Delicious either way!