Description

Meet your new favorite vegan Quinoa Black Bean Tacos recipe! These plant-based tacos are made with a hearty and filling black bean quinoa taco meat, and topped with a creamy and cooling vegan Cilantro Lime Crema. A 30-minute, one-skillet dinner made with pantry ingredients – perfect for meatless Monday AND Taco Tuesday!

Ingredients

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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry quinoa (see Recipe Notes, Below)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (or water)
one 14-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lime, juiced
kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
for serving, as desired: charred corn tortillas, sliced avocado, cilantro lime cashew crema (below), chopped cilantro, salsa of choice, lime wedges, etc.

for the cilantro lime cashew crema:

1 cup raw cashews (see Recipe Notes, below)
1 clove garlic
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
optional: 1 small jalapeno, deseeded (as desired) and roughly chopped
1 large, juicy lime, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
½ lemon, juiced
¾ cup water
kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season

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Instructions

Prep note: Once you begin cooking, these tacos come together very quickly! I suggest starting by getting all of the chopping, measuring and other prep odds and ends out of the way so cooking is a smooth process: dice the onion, mince the garlic, grab your spices and tomato paste, measure the quinoa and veggie stock, and rinse the black beans. Place everything within an arm’s reach from the stovetop.

Sweat the onion: Add the olive oil to a medium skillet (with lid) over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.
Toast the aromatics: Stir the garlic into the skillet. Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the spices (chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika) and tomato paste. Stir, coating the onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, until very fragrant.
Cook the quinoa: Add the quinoa to the skillet, stirring to combine with the onion mixture. Let the quinoa toast for about 1 minute before adding in the vegetable broth. Increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add in the black beans. Cover the skillet and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes (see Recipe Notes, below). Once the quinoa cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid. Squeeze the lime juice over top and fluff the mixture with a fork. Set aside for taco assembly. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="6871,6872"]
Prep the cilantro lime cashew crema: Meanwhile, as the quinoa simmers, prep the cilantro lime cashew crema. Add all listed cashew crema ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend to combine, adding a tablespoon or two of water as needed to reach your desired consistency. Set aside, or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Assemble and serve: Add some of the quinoa and black bean mixture to a tortilla with sliced avocado. Top with a drizzle of cilantro lime crema. Finish with some chopped cilantro, a spritz of fresh lime juice, and any salsas or toppings your taco-lovin’ heart desires. Enjoy!

Notes

Cooking quinoa: Quinoa can be kind of finicky to cook properly. Once you bring quinoa to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer (as directed in Step 3, above), it’s important that the simmer be pretty gentle. If it simmers too vigorously, the liquid will cook out too quickly, resulting in quinoa that’s very “al dente” or undercooked. It’s all very heat-dependent, so knowing the nature of your stove will be helpful. If you run into this issue, feel free to add in a couple extra splashes of vegetable broth to give the quinoa enough liquid to absorb.
Storage and freezing: The black bean quinoa taco meat stores beautifully. Once cooled, pop it in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. It also freezes pretty well. To freeze, allow the vegan taco meat to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. To serve, reheat in the microwave until warmed through. The texture will likely be a little less fluffy, though you can always doctor it up with flavorful and textured toppings.
10-minute meal prep: These tacos come together really quickly once you get to cooking! To make this an even faster weeknight dinner…
- Dice 1 small yellow onion. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Prep the cilantro lime cashew crema according to Step 4 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.