Hola amigo! Here we are again sharing some delicious meatless alternatives to your favourite dishes. Keeping you inspired and motivated to maintain a life without meat is what Sunday Shares are all about. This time, we have some tasty lookin’ vegan taco recipes to excite ya senses. These Mexican hand-held meals with their endless amount of topping combos are one of our foodie favourites. Corn tortillas are great for a vegan diet as they’re made with only two ingredients – corn and water. Bet you won’t be able to stop yourself heading to the kitchen after reaching the end of this list…
1. Smoky Lentil Vegan Taco by Naturally Nourished and Alanna at The Bojon Gourmet:
What’s cheap, super high in protein and veggie and vegan-friendly? Yep, lentils. Did you know, gram for gram they actually have more protein than beef – buy some now. So these smoky lentil tacos are great for a vegan diet; minus the feta in this picture. Alanna has kindly given some ideas for vegan toppings including: tomato salsa, avocado, fresh coriander (a.k.a cilantro) and shredded cabbage. All you need to make these is the following ingredients; and you can find the method here.
- 1 cup (210 g) French green lentils (optionally soaked in cool water for up to 8 hours)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) coconut oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ⅓ cup (70 g) chopped drained oil-packed sun dried tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika (or regular smoked paprika plus cayenne to taste)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) GF tamari (or soy sauce if gluten isn’t an issue)
- Corn tortillas
- Chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- Tomato salsa
- Sliced avocado
- Lime wedges
- Cotija, queso fresco, or feta, crumbled (or another melting cheese melted onto the tortillas in a skillet prior to assembling)
- Cilantro
- Shredded cabbage
- Sour cream
2. Fajita Tacos with Cashew Cheese Sauce by Alexa at Fueled Naturally:
Check out these nutty tacos. Alexa fills them with a delicious mixture of sautéed bell pepper, onion and aubergine (a.k.a eggplant). But more important, her cashew sauce sounds particularly appealing. Cashew nuts are rich sources of vitamin B and important minerals so dip with it, drizzle it or even pour it – the choice is yours. Buy some cashews here. To make these, all you need is the following; and you can find the method here.
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 red onion
- 1 eggplant
- 12 corn tortillas
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Cherry tomatoes
- Purple cabbage
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4 hours)
- 1 cup carrot, chopped
- 1 cup potato, chopped
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3. “Chicken” Tacos by Sam at It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken:
FYI, that isn’t meat! Yep, we were almost fooled too when we came across them. That is Jackfruit. The fruit that’s the jack of all trades. It’s an amazing Asian fruit very high in dietary fiber and other nutrients. It can be used in sweet and savoury cooking. Its texture can replicate pulled or shredded meat almost exactly. Which is why it’s so popular in veggie and vegan cooking – buy some now. Here, Sam spices it up with a mixture of chilli powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Not forgetting a little zesty lime juice. For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients; and you can find the method here.
- 2 20oz cans green jackfruit in water or brine , drained, rinsed, and chopped (see instructions)
- 1 tablespoon light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1 yellow onion , sliced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 1/2 lime , juiced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 taco shells , hard or soft (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 avocado , sliced
- 1/4 red onion , thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro , roughly chopped
- lime wedges
4. Vegan Teriyaki Cauliflower Tacos by Lauren at laurencariscooks:
Full of fresh flavours and vibrant colours, these tacos would make a great meal or snack! By oven-baking the cauliflower, Lauren’s got it a crispy edge and soft melty middle. Sounds like she’s hit the nail on the head with that method! And we bet she’s got a good baking tray for all the jazz – buy one here. The sweet and tangy teriyaki sauce sounds drool-icious. Paired with all the fresh toppings like spring onion and sesame seeds, we just had to share these! To have a go yourself, you will need the following ingredients…
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Cold Water
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup (115ml) Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1/2 Lime - juice only
- Black Pepper for seasoning
- 6 Wraps of your choice
- 1 Cauliflower
- Red Cabbage
- Spring Onion
- Sesame Seeds
- 1 Avocado
- 3-4 sprigs Fresh Cilantro
- 1/2 Lime juice only
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- Water as needed
5. “Pulled Pork” Tacos by Ania at Lazy Cat Kitchen:
Oh Jack! He’s at it again! These “pulled pork” tacos look delicious. You’d be mad not to try them out. Using a mixture of warm spices and sweet maple syrup, Ania has created some sweet n spicy BBQ tacos. She’s even gone all out and used some fancy-sounding liquid smoke in this recipe – buy it here. These are definitely ones to pull out when you’ve got some friends to impress. You could even invite your meat-eating friends round and see how long it takes for them to realise it’s not meat (haha). You will need the following; and you can find the method here.
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 2-3 pinches ground cloves, adjust to taste
- 1 tsp sambal oelek (Indonesian chilli paste) or chilli power, to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tins of young (green) jackfruit in water
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp white pepper (black is okay too)
- 2 tsp liquid smoke**
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Soft Tacos (makes about 10 x 12 cm / 4.5″ diameter)
- 185 g / 1½ cups all purpose white flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
- 15 ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 spring onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tsp lime juice
- ½ tsp sugar
- salt & pepper, to taste
- Romaine lettuce, shredded
- quick-pickled red onions (details in this recipe)
- vegan sour cream (details in this recipe)
- small bunch of coriander