Vegan Pulled Jackfruit Tacos
These Vegan Pulled Jackfruit Tacos are so tasty and moist and yummy and did I say tasty? You’d swear they were made with juicy pulled pork that got to cook slowly for hours, when in fact, they only take minutes to make…
The first time I had jackfruit (or even heard of it, for that matter) was in a vegan restaurant, as part of a delicious sandwich that I had picked off their menu. After taking a couple of bites, I started to analyze what was in my sandwich and had a moment of real panic! What I saw looked exactly like pulled meat. Not only that, but it was just as crazy tasty and moist, too! For a second there, I thought that I had made a royal mistake and assumed that the restaurant in question was purely vegan when in fact it was not.
I literally stopped eating, looked at the menu, identified the ingredient in question — jackfruit — looked it up on the Internet and found this great article that told me everything I needed to know about jackfruit. Phew! Verification made, it was all good. I was indeed eating a true plant-based meat alternative. And a crazy, unbelievably good one, at that!
I fell in love with it right then and there, and of course, it didn’t take long before I started cooking with it for myself… and once you’ve tasted it, I’ve no doubt that you will feel just the same!
Trust me, this is only the first of many recipes on here featuring this magical ingredient!
Be careful when purchasing your jackfruit: for this taco recipe, it’s imperative that you get the young green jackfruit in brine, NOT the sweet, ripe kind in syrup. After draining, this is what the pieces of jackfruit look like right out of the can. Some recipes out there will have you remove the seeds and trim off the firm ends from each chunk, but that is complete nonsense. Those parts are totally edible and even add the the overall texture of the dish. So by all means, leave them be.
For the most part, jackfruit has a stringy texture that is naturally very similar to pulled meat… Personally, I find that the best way to preserve that stringy texture is by shredding / tearing the jackfruit with my fingers, as opposed to slicing it with a knife.
So go ahead and do that… tear all the chunks of jackfruit into smaller, shredded pieces. See how it already looks so much like pulled meat?
Once that’s done, heat a little bit of oil in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and sauté them until they are slightly softened and slightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Next, add the pulled jackfruit and spices, stir well and cook for about a minute to develop the flavors of the spices,
Now pour in the water, lime juice and liquid smoke and bring to a slow simmer…
Cover the pan and let your jackfruit simmer until practically all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Then, remove the lid and continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated, smashing the jackfruit a little bit with a wooden spoon just to finish breaking it up, especially the seeds.
Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before using. This will give you plenty of time to work on the rest of the stuff you need to make your beautiful yummy jackfruit tacos come to life!
To assemble the tacos, warm the tortillas according to the package directions or using your favorite method. I used soft corn tortillas but feel free to use your favorite! Hard shells would also work really well, if you preferred that…
Then, fill each tortilla with a generous scoop of the jackfruit mixture and garnish with some chopped red onions, tomatoes and shishito peppers, some cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Or you can garnish them with your very own favorite taco toppings!
Pulled Jackfruit Tacos
Ingredients
To make the pulled jackfruit
- 2- 14 oz cans green jackfruit in brine, drained well
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
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- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
To assemble the tacos
- 8 small soft corn or flour tortillas
- Diced red onion
- Diced tomatoes
- Sliced shishito peppers
- Fresh coriander
- Lime juice
Instructions
- Shred/tear the jackfruit into little pieces with your fingers. Do not discard the core or seeds as they are perfectly edible and even add to the overall texture of the mixture.
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and sauté until softened and slightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the jackfruit and spices, stir well and cook for about a minute to develop the flavors of the spices, then pour in the water, lime juice and liquid smoke.
- Bring to a slow simmer, cover the pan and simmer until practically all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated, smashing the jackfruit a little bit with a wooden spoon just to finish breaking it up, especially the seeds.
- Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before using. This will give you plenty of time to work on the rest of the stuff that you need to make your tacos come to life!
- To assemble the tacos:
- Warm the tortillas according to the package directions or using your favorite method. Then, fill each tortilla with a generous scoop of the jackfruit mixture and garnish with the chopped onion, tomatoes and peppers, some cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. Or you can use your very own favorite taco toppings!
Notes
Nutrition
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