Recipe

These easy shrimp tacos are a fast dinner recipe for weeknights or entertaining. They taste stunning drizzled in a creamy cilantro sauce!

What’s better than shrimp tacos? Their carefree vibe makes any dinner more festive, even if it’s just any old Tuesday. Combine these tacos with chips, salsa, and a classic margarita and we can’t think of much better. (Except please also add refried bean dip. Please and thank you!) What we love about this easy shrimp taco recipe is that it’s both fast family dinner recipe for weeknights and entertaining: making it a double whammy.

Want to fire up the grill instead? Go to Grilled Shrimp Tacos.

Why these are the best easy shrimp tacos?

There are a hundred ways to make a shrimp taco recipe. For this one, Alex and I wanted to create the quickest way to get from 0 to shrimp tacos. So it turned out to be a triple threat: quick and easy to make, delicious, and healthy!

The shrimp is juicy and savory, spiced with Old Bay and cumin, the cabbage is crunchy and tangy. The creamy cilantro sauce brings it all together: it’s almost like a ranch dressing with cilantro, and you might want to bathe in it. Honestly, I might want to change my answer to the question “What’s the last meal you want to eat” to this recipe. And it all comes together into an easy weeknight dinner.

Notes on how to make shrimp tacos!

Here are a few notes on making this shrimp taco recipe:

1. Saute the shrimp on the stove with minced garlic and a few spices. Sauteing shrimp is super fast: it takes only 2 to 4 minutes to cook! This method of how to cook shrimp is customizable and even works outside of tacos too. Though the flavors are Mexican-style, they’d work for serving with rice or couscous, or over a salad.
2. The taco sauce takes only 5 minutes and doesn’t even dirty a blender! Many shrimp tacos recipes call for a sauce with lots of ingredients, or one that leaves your kitchen a mess. This one is quick and simple!
3. The “coleslaw” is made using a shortcut. To make this recipe speedier, we’ve cut out the traditional coleslaw, which can involve lots of chopping and mixing. Instead, thinly slice some cabbage and red onion, and then just spritz it with a lime wedge when serving. It’s a shortcut we use again and again in tacos!

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How to char tortillas

One more taco trick for these easy shrimp tacos! Charring your tortillas warms them and adds a delicious charred flavor. You can do this if you have a gas range. (If you don’t have a gas stove, here are a few other ways to warm your tortillas.) Here’s what to do:

• Place a tortilla on the grates above an open gas flame on medium heat.
• Let it cook a few seconds per side, flipping with tongs, until the edges are slightly blackened and the tortilla is warm.

How to buy sustainable shrimp

Finally, a little note on how to buy sustainable shrimp. Alex and I try to buy sustainable seafood where possible. In researching how to buy sustainable seafood, Alex and I have learned to look for wild-caught fish if possible. Also if you live in the US, look for US caught if you can. 90% of the seafood we eat in the US is imported. Imported seafood runs the risk of being overfished, caught under unfair labor practices, or farmed in environmentally harmful ways.

Also, how your fish is caught matters. Look for hook and line as one example of a sustainable gear type. Bottom trawling is considered the most destructive and least sustainable method.

And that’s it: how to make shrimp tacos!

This recipe was a huge hit in our house (especially with our 2 year old!) Dress it up with frozen margaritas, jalapeno margaritas or skinny margaritas and it’s simply sublime. Even better, try it with micheladas. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Want a meal plan?

This recipe is included in our Pescatarian Meal Plan! Check it out for recipes for 1 month, including a meal planning spreadsheet download.

This shrimp taco recipe is…

Gluten-free, dairy-free, and pescatarian.

Quick Shrimp Tacos! (Fast & Easy Dinner)

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(47 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 8 tacos 1x

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You can read Full Here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/shrimp-tacos-with-cilantro-sauce/

This mushroom pizza is a white pizza that’s covered with mozzarella cheese, goat cheese, and fresh herbs. It’s perfection!

Please tell us you are a mushroom lover? When Alex and I went to Big Sur, California last year, we had one incredible mushroom pizza with a breathtaking mountain view. And it tasted so good, we knew we needed to recreate a version for our blog! Our rendition of this pizza is pretty different from the original, but it tastes fantastic: and looks just like the one we had there! It’s a white pizza — meaning no tomato sauce — and of course we couldn’t resisting adding tangy goat cheese dollops. Keep reading for the recipe and all our secrets to the best mushroom pizza!

Want a side with that? Try one of our 10 Best Sides to Go with Pizza.

How to become a mushroom lover (gradually!)

Let’s start by talking about mushrooms. I used to be a passionate mushroom hater. Yep, I didn’t give them a chance until I was well into my 20’s. But I decided to give giant meaty portobellos a chance. After that, I gradually snowballed into eating all the mushroom recipes. I’ve since learned these fungi are key in bringing a savory, meaty umami flavor to recipes. Now I’m officially a passionate mushroom fan! (Oh, and also a huge fan of truffles! Try this Truffle Pizza to have your mind blown. Or Truffle Fries…)

What kind of mushrooms on pizza?

Now, what kind of mushrooms go on pizza? Literally any kind of fresh mushroom will work here, but not canned. Here’s a few notes on the right ones to add:

• Use fresh mushrooms, mixed varieties if you’d like. This recipe uses a mix of fresh mushrooms for texture contrasts. We typically use whatever our local grocery has in stock, or stock up at our farmers market. This mushroom pizza has a mix of baby bella (cremiini) and shiitake mushrooms, but feel free to try oyster, strips of portobello, or white button.
• Don’t use canned! What kind of mushroom should not go on pizza? Canned. Those slimy ‘shrooms in a can are what caused my 20 plus years of irrational dislike. They’re absolutely not recommended on pizza!
• Don’t use raw! Can you use raw mushrooms on pizza? Definitely not. When put into a hot oven, they dry out and become shriveled in the high heat. To eat mushrooms on pizza, saute them first. This recipe calls for sauteing them with fresh herbs and adding a spritz of lemon juice at the end. It’s pretty heavenly!

Tips for making mushroom pizza

This mushroom pizza is a white pizza, meaning there is no tomato sauce! Of course, you could use tomato sauce if you’d like: because who’s going to argue with that! Our Easy Pizza Sauce is our tried and true method for an Italian-style pizza sauce that will literally blow your mind. (Promise!) But if you’re into the white pizza idea, it’s even easier! Here are a few tips on this mushroom pizza:

• Do you need a white sauce for white pizza? Not necessarily. Traditionally, an Italian white pizza is truly anything without tomato sauce: so we start ours by brushing the crust with olive oil. Then just add the cheese and toppings!
• Always always cook mushrooms before topping a pizza! This makes sure they’re perfectly juicy and don’t get dried out. These mushrooms are sliced and sauteed with some chopped fresh herbs, and then sprinkled with a little lemon juice.
• Add goat cheese for creaminess. Top that dough with mozzarella cheese and mushrooms, dollops of tangy goat cheese (a must), and some more fresh herbs, and you’ve got an incredibly tasty pizza that will wow your friends and family.

Related: Easy Calzone Recipe

How to grow fresh herbs

This mushroom pizza recipe uses a handful of fresh herbs: and it’s so much more fun to grow them yourself! We grow herbs all summer long, and it’s one of the most satisfying things to run out to the garden and harvest a few herbs. You don’t even need garden space: you can just grow herbs in pots as long as you have a sunny ledge! And adding herbs to your cooking is a healthy flavor addition, without adding calories.

For this recipe, we used a mixture of thyme, oregano, and chives: but you could use any that you like. Of course basil would be a natural option: even a small amount of chopped rosemary! Just be sure to use rosemary in moderation: it has a very strong flavor! For all of our tips on fresh herbs, see this post on How to Grow Herbs.

And that’s it: all about mushroom pizza!

Would you try it? Let us know in the comments below if you do: we’d love to hear!

Mushroom Pizza with Fresh Herbs

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(30 votes, average: 4.03 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 7 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x

Scale

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You can read Full Here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/mushroom-pizza-with-fresh-herbs/

You’ll never believe this creamy soup is vegan: it has the perfect velvety texture and is full of flavor. Here’s how to make our best vegan corn chowder!

“WHOA.” That was my sister, who had just taken a bite of this vegan corn chowder. She said the same thing again when Alex and I mentioned it was vegan. Yes, this corn chowder has just set a new bar for vegan soup recipes. It’s so seriously creamy, with a savory undertone that seems undeniably meaty. Contrast that with the sweetness of the corn and, well, it’s pretty darn perfect. It’s similar to the corn and potato chowder in our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking: but this one is all about highlighting beautiful summer sweet corn. Keep reading for this tasty plant based dinner recipe.

How to make vegan corn chowder

How to make a vegan corn chowder, when most recipes have milk or cream? And most recipes aren’t even a vegetarian corn chowder: they also have bacon! It’s certainly a challenge to make up for all those textures and flavors, so we had to pull out our plant based tricks for this one.

What makes this vegan corn chowder creamy?

To keep this chowder dairy free, it has to use something other than milk or cream to bring body and creaminess. Here are our secrets:

• Soaking and blending cashews. If you eat vegan or plant based, you’ve likely tried this trick: soaking cashews and then blending them makes for a creamy texture that’s oddly similar to dairy. We use this trick all the time, like in our cashew cream, vegan nacho cheese, and creamy vegan tomato soup (and more cashew recipes).
• Blending part of the soup itself. If you’re making such a beautifully flavorful soup: why not use some of the soup itself to make it creamy? In the recipe below, you’ll take out about 4 cups of the soup and blend it with the cashews to create an ultra creamy base.

How to make a vegetarian corn chowder taste savory?

Simply making this corn chowder creamy is just one element of the puzzle. Often corn chowder is cooked with bacon, which adds an intensely savory element to the soup. But how to make a both vegan and vegetarian corn chowder that has a strong enough flavor to stand up to the bacon expectation? Here are our secrets:

• Soy sauce. Adding soy sauce adds a salty, savory umami to this corn chowder.
• Smoked paprika. Also called pimentón, smoked paprika gives vegan and vegetarian recipes a smoky undertone.
• Garlic. Garlic always adds a umami to meatless recipes; in this recipe we used both fresh garlic and garlic powder to make it super savory.

How to cut corn off of the cob without making a mess

Alex and I love sweet corn recipes. However, every time I see a recipe that calls for cutting corn off the cob, I wince a little imagining the spray of flying yellow specks all over our kitchen. Cutting corn off of the cob can be a little messy, and this vegan corn chowder calls for 6 ears of corn! Here are a few ways we like to cut corn without making a mess:

• Bundt pan method. In this method, you place the corn cob right on top of the raised center part of a bundt pan. When you slice downward, the Bundt pan catches all the corn kernels. Here’s How to Cut Corn Off the Cob.
• Inverted small bowl instead larger bowl. Same method as above, but if you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can use an inverted small bowl inside a larger bowl. (Here’s a video.)
• Mandoline. If you have a mandoline, you can use it to cut corn off the cob. It slides right off without making a mess.

This vegan corn chowder recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.

Vegan Corn Chowder

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(30 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 to 8 1x

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You can read Full Here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/vegan-corn-chowder/

This tomato basil soup is so easy to make! In under 30 minutes, you have a classic plant based soup with a rich basil flavor.

What’s more classic than tomato basil soup? It’s cozy and bright, the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese or crusty bread. Alex and I created this recipe to use up an overabundance of basil from our bushy basil plant. It’s straightforward and easy to make, but tastes like much more than the sum of its parts: tangy and garlicky, with an herby basil finish. It’s also a dairy free and vegan soup, so it fits many diets. Of course, you can add a splash of milk or cream to make it a creamy soup too! Here’s how to make it — and a few more tomato soup variations!

Ingredients for tomato basil soup

This easy tomato basil soup is the definition of a classic soup: the main steps are chop, saute, simmer, blend. Alex and I created it as a way to use some of our garden basil. (See this post on How to Grow Basil if you’re looking to grow your own.) Like most tomato soups, it uses canned tomatoes. And it takes under 30 minutes to make! Here’s what you’ll need for this soup:

• Canned fire roasted tomatoes (see below)
• Onion
• Red bell pepper
• Garlic
• Fresh basil
• White wine vinegar
• Veggie broth
• Olive oil

Tips for how to make tomato basil soup

There’s not much to making this tomato basil soup! But here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

• Use fire roasted tomatoes OR best quality tomatoes and simmer longer. Fire roasted tomatoes are the key to big flavor in less time! This variety tastes sweeter out of the can than the typical tomato, so you can get away with simmering it less. If you can’t find it, use the best quality tomatoes you can find. Taste and if the flavors need more developing, you can simmer a little longer.
• Use an immersion blender to simmer in the pan, but be careful! An immersion blender or stick blender let you leave the soup in the pan and blend it. But watch out: you can end up with red spatters everywhere! Be careful because the soup can spit. You can also simply transfer the soup to a standard blender: just take care when pouring hot soup into the blender.

How to serve tomato basil soup

Tomato basil soup needs a great pairing to make a filling meal! It’s full of vegetables and nutrients, but it’s not filling enough on its own to function as a meal (there’s not enough protein to keep you full with this alone). Here are a few ideas on what we’d serve with it to make it into a meal:

• Make it a creamy soup. Stir in a bit of heavy cream or cashew cream to make it more filling.
• Serve with crusty bread and cheese. We love a good artisan bread or sourdough.
• Serve with grilled cheese. A classic combo! Might we recommend our tomato basil grilled cheese or avocado grilled cheese.
• Serve with grilled cheese dippers! These pesto grilled cheese dippers are a family favorite.
• Add a tuna melt or Swiss melt. This Swiss melt would be a fantastic cozy accessory.

5 great tomato soup variations

This tomato basil soup is the most classic of our tomato soup recipes. But if you want to try something a little fancier, here are a few other tomato soup variations we love:

1. Tomato Artichoke Soup: Our “famous” tomato artichoke soup is modeled after the famous soup at our local neighborhood restaurant, Cafe Patachou.
2. Tomato Basil Gnocchi Soup: Imagine the best tomato basil soup. Then imagine it with doughy gnocchi inside! This easy soup takes just 30 minutes and features delightful pasta dough balls.
3. Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup: Here’s our favorite creamy vegan tomato soup: the creaminess comes from blending it with cashews into a tangy puree.
4. Tomato Lime Indian Soup: This tomato soup has a unique twist: it’s a tangy and creamy soup flavored with yogurt, onion, garlic, cardamom and cumin.
5. Tomato Dumpling Soup: This one’s similar to our tomato basil gnocchi soup, but stars homemade Parmesan ricotta dumplings.

Need an immersion blender?

An immersion blender is also called a “stick blender” or hand blender. It’s useful for making pureed soups like this tomato basil soup because you can place it right into the pot instead of transferring hot soup to a blender and then back.

It’s also nice for small batch blending like for salad dressings like our raspberry vinaigrette. Because the quantity of ingredients is fairly small, it can be hard to get it to blend in a standard-size blender. So, it’s nice to have an immersion blender for this type of job! (We don’t own a small blender, so this is what we do.) Here’s one we recommend: Immersion blender | Amazon

This tomato basil soup recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.

Tomato Basil Soup

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(9 votes, average: 4.78 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Are you looking for a fast and easy dinner recipe, where all you have to do is “set it and forget it”? Alex and I created this Instant Pot spaghetti recipe for busy weeknights, and times when you just don’t want to have to think about dinner. All it takes is just throwing all the ingredients in the pressure cooker! And the flavor? Take it from one of our readers, Erin, who said: “Oh my, I scraped the bowl clean on this one! The flavor was awesome and it was so easy, it was exactly what I needed right now.” Side bonus: it’s plant-based, too. No matter the way you eat, it’s sure to become a favorite in your household! Keep reading for the recipe.

How to make Instant Pot spaghetti

This Instant Pot spaghetti recipe couldn’t be much easier: it’s a matter of throwing a few ingredients into the Instant Pot and waiting for the 5 minute cook time. Yes, 5 minutes — and a quick release! Luckily, pressure cookers work for cooking pasta: it comes out a little different than cooking pasta on the stovetop, but it’s just as tasty. We loved how easy it was to simply place ingredients in the Instant Pot and not have to worry about boiling water for pasta. There are a few things to keep in mind when cooking pasta in an Instant Pot.

1. Be sure to fan the spaghetti. Noodles that are directly next to each other in the Instant Pot stick together when they’re cooked. So for this recipe, you’ll need to fan out the noodles so they’re going different directions: this helps them to cook evenly! See the photo below.
2. Use fire roasted tomatoes, or the best crushed tomatoes you can find. This Instant Pot spaghetti recipe calls for crushed fire roasted tomatoes. Fire roasted tomatoes have a sweet flavor that’s perfect for spaghetti sauce! If you can’t find fire roasted, use the best quality of crushed tomatoes you can find. If you can find fire roasted tomatoes diced but not crushed, you could also whiz them up a few times in the blender.
3. Use whole fresh basil leaves. This recipe uses fresh basil to bring big flavor to the sauce. Of course you can omit if you can’t find it, but we highly recommend it if at all possible. We grow our own basil, which makes it easy to have on hand in the warm months: here’s How to Grow Basil.

As a note: if you have hungry eaters, are feeding a crowd, or want leftovers: you can double this recipe! It works doubled in a 6 quart Instant Pot. It’s a tight fit, but it cooks with the same timing!

What people are saying

When we shared on Instagram that we were working on an Instant Pot spaghetti recipe, we got lots of requests for recipe testers! Here’s what people have been saying about this recipe:

• “My husband is a total carnivore and he loved this; he said it’s a definite keeper! I expected him to comment that it needed meatballs or sausage, but he liked it just the way it was.” -Amanda
• “Oh my, I scraped the bowl clean on this one! The flavor was awesome and it was so easy, it was exactly what I needed right now.” -Erin

What to serve it with?

Let’s say that you’re rushing to get dinner on the table: what to make as a side dish while this pressure cooker spaghetti cooks? We’d recommend serving with a green salad: whether it’s a salad from a recipe or just a throw together salad. Here are a few of our favorite salads or salad dressings:

• Grab some greens and add our healthy ranch dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, or honey mustard dressing
• Make our Incredible Chopped Salad or Radish Chopped Salad Recipe
• Or, try this Best Tossed Salad Recipe

Another option: saute some brocolli with minced garlic while the Instant Pot cooks! Let us know what you’d serve it with in the comments below.

This Instant Pot spaghetti recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free (using the olive oil option).

Instant Pot Spaghetti

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(70 votes, average: 3.97 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 3 to 4 1x

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Looking for a fast and easy dinner recipe that tastes like it took all day? This creamy goat cheese pasta is done in 20 minutes and sure to be a favorite.

Can you ever have too many easy dinner recipes? As much as we cook and create everyday easy dinner ideas, we still have nights we’re not sure what to make! But here, we’ve got a truly tasty recipe that I don’t think could be any easier if it tried. This 20-minute creamy goat cheese pasta is so tangy and creamy, sweet from the tomatoes and lightly peppery from the fresh basil. The secret to the creaminess is that goat cheese, which brings a body to the sauce that’s almost like a vodka sauce. Combined with chewy penne, it’s out of this world! And best of all, you barely have to think to make it.

Related: Creamy Instant Pot Pasta

How to make goat cheese pasta

This pasta is extraordinarily easy to make: it’s actually the stovetop version of our Creamy Instant Pot Pasta. So if you have a pressure cooker and want an even easier recipe (just dump and cook!), head over to that recipe. For the stovetop version, it’s simply a matter of cooking up some penne, and making a quick marinara sauce at the same time.

Because this goat cheese pasta recipe is so quick to make, it’s imperative to use fire roasted tomatoes if you can find them. Fire roasted tomatoes are sweeter right out of the can, and don’t taste bitter like many tomatoes do, requiring them to be simmered for hours. If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes, just look for the best quality crushed tomatoes you can find. Crushed canned tomatoes is the key here. You could also blend up some diced fire roasted tomatoes if you can find those.

Another key to this recipe is fresh basil: this and goat cheese are the only ingredients you might not already have in your pantry. Adding whole fresh basil leaves to the sauce adds a peppery undertone that’s quite unlike any dried herb you can buy. You can use the remaining fresh basil leaves as a garnish for the pasta when it’s done! (Here’s our trick on How to Store Fresh Basil!)

To make the goat cheese pasta sauce, you’ll simply simmer the tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, spices and basil with a little spinach; we added spinach for a boost of nutrients. You’ll just simmer that while you make the pasta — the timing doesn’t really matter. But if you’re making it separately, we’d say at least 10 minutes. Then you’ll stir in 4 ounces of goat cheese when it’s done, to make it into a creamy, tangy sauce!

Related: How to Grow Basil at Home

Is goat cheese healthy or better for you than cow’s cheese?

So, goat cheese: is it healthier than cow’s cheese? Actually, yes! There are many benefits of goat cheese over a standard cow’s cheese like cheddar or mozzarella. Here are some reasons to make this goat cheese pasta:

• Goat cheese has more vitamins and minerals than cow’s cheese. Goat’s milk is richer in essential nutrients than cow’s milk (like vitamin A & B, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium).
• Goat cheese has slightly less calories than cow’s cheese. Goat cheese has just 75 calories per ounce—less than cow cheeses like mozzarella (85), Swiss (108), and cheddar (115).
• Goat cheese is easier to digest. Goat cheese has less lactose than cow’s milk and a slightly different protein structure. That means even people who are lactose intolerant many times can digest goat cheese!

(Source: Prevention)

On local goat cheese

If you can find it for this goat cheese pasta, try to buy local goat cheese! Supporting local vendors is so important for the local economy: and what’s more fun than supporting local goats! We have a local goat cheese vendor at our farmers market that we love called Caprini Creamery. It’s run by husband and wife team Kristy and Mike and they are incredibly dedicated and talented. Their goat cheese is AMAZING — and they even let us visit their farm to check out their operation. Larson absolutely adored the baby goats! So consider checking out your local farmers market or groceries for any local goat cheese options.

How to cook pasta to al dente?

Lastly, let’s talk al dente! Cooking pasta too long is a common mistake in the kitchen. To cook pasta to al dente, check the package instructions and then start tasting your pasta a few minutes before that! (The timing listed on many packages results in rubbery pasta.) You want to catch the pasta right when it goes from crunchy to tender. It should still be slightly firm inside–but not crunchy!

This goat cheese pasta recipe is…

Vegetarian.

Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta

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(200 votes, average: 3.90 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3 to 4 servings 1x

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The best vegan tacos? In just 20 minutes jackfruit turns into a plant based version of pulled pork carnitas. These jackfruit tacos will amaze you!

Have you had jackfruit before? It’s starting to become more popular here in the US as a plant based substitute for pulled pork. And let me tell you, Alex and I were very skeptical about this concept. A fruit standing in for meat? It wasn’t until I gave brave and tried a jackfruit tostada at a local restaurant that I was sold. Wait a minute: this isn’t meat? Could there be some mistake? Turns out this tropical fruit magically mimics pulled pork in a way we never dreamed. And one of the best ways to eat it? Jackfruit tacos: a fast and easy dinner recipe for weeknights. Vegan comfort food, at its finest!

Where is jackfruit from?

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit that originated in India and is common in Southeast Asia. It’s now popping up all over the world as a plant-based meat alternative. Why? Unripe jackfruit soaks up flavor and has a stringy, “meat-like” texture when cooked. Jackfruit is also packed with nutrients, including fiber and antioxidants.

Related: What is Jackfruit?

Does jackfruit really taste like meat?

You truly have to try it to believe it with jackfruit! For these jackfruit pulled pork tacos, we’ve added savory flavors like onion, garlic, cumin, tomato paste, and adobo sauce to create something that tastes close to meat out of the pan. We’ve also used cocoa powder to get a dark flavor and color. Check out the photo below for how it comes out!

Another way we’ve used jackfruit is in this Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich. You can almost fool your friends and family into thinking it’s pulled port barbecue! We’d heartily recommend this as another way to use jackfruit.

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You can find canned green jackfruit online or in your local supermarket in the canned fruit aisle. It’s typically sold fresh, frozen and canned. Important: make sure to use canned, green jackfruit for this recipe! Do not buy ripe jackfruit. Ripe jackfruit is a yellow fruit that is packaged as the whole fruit, and does not work as pulled pork. So it won’t work for these jackfruit tacos.

Alex and I accidentally bought frozen ripe jackfruit, and trust us: it definitely does not work in tacos! Ripe jackfruit can be used in smoothies or ice cream, but not for vegan pulled pork. If you can’t find jackfruit in your local grocery, here’s a link to order it online:

Order it: Canned Green Jackfruit | Amazon

How to make jackfruit tacos

Now that you know to buy green, unripe jackfruit (if you skipped that part, see above!), let’s get to the good part. Somehow adding secret savory spices to jackfruit gives it a meaty quality that is truly similar to actual meat. How did we do it? Here are all our secrets! And even better: these jackfruit tacos are a fast and easy dinner recipe: you can make them in just 20 minutes!

Here’s how to make jackfruit tacos:

• Make the pulled pork. The canned, green jackfruit needs to be pulled apart into the signature shreds. You can do this with your hands.
• Saute minced onion and garlic. To balance the tangy jackfruit flavor with some savory, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes.
• Add the secret spices. Add the spices! Our secret blend is: adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers), tomato paste, cocoa powder, cumin, oregano, and a bit for salt. This blend not only adds a meaty flavor, but adds a meaty color to the jackfruit as well. Cook for about 5 minutes until saucy.

Then throw it in a tortilla and top with your favorite salsa! And if you like, add Vegan Sour Cream for richness or Pickled Jalapeños for a zing.

What is adobo sauce?

What is adobo sauce? Chipotles in adobo sauce are sold in most mainstream grocery stores here in the US, available next to the Mexican products. The small can includes chipotle chiles, which are smoked and canned in an adobo sauce, a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and some other spices. The result is a smoky flavor that’s fantastic for adding body to vegetarian dishes. Typically in our recipes, we use only the adobo sauce and not the chilis, because it’s very potent on its own.

This jackfruit tacos recipe calls for 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, which results in a mild spice level. But you could add up to 1 1/2 or even 2 tablespoons, depending on your spice preference. We made it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of adobo sauce, and our toddler Larson loved it! (He typically is ok with just a little spice, but not much.)

Best Jackfruit Tacos

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(73 votes, average: 4.03 out of 5)

 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 8 tacos 1x

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