Jackfruit tacos are an easy, meatless meal any night of the week. Vegans and non-vegans alike will be pleasantly surprised by this flavorful jackfruit recipe.
Tacos are my single girl food. You know, the food you make when your partner, kids, or roommates are out of town and you can sit down and be really honest you and only you feel like eating? I never tire of them and am always looking for ways to up my taco game.
But if you’re sharing for some reason, these jackfruit tacos are a cheeky addition to the vegan weekday schedule and non-vegans in your life. They’re ready in under 30 minutes and couldn’t be easier to put together – it really is more assembling than cooking.
What is jackfruit?
If you are unfamiliar with jackfruit, it is a large fruit believed to be native to India. Today it grows in tropical regions such as Southeast Asia and Brazil. It can be bought frozen in its ripe, sweet form and used in dessert recipes or smoothies, or you can find it in its young, green, immature form packaged in cans.
Both are edible, but not interchangeable per se. For today’s recipe, we’re going to focus on unripe canned jackfruit.
Young, green, unripe jackfruit has the texture of stringy, plucked flesh, but doesn’t really taste like meat per se; In fact, it tastes more like artichokes! But much like tofu, jackfruit takes on the flavor of the sauce, marinade, or condiments you prepare it with, making it an incredibly versatile meat substitute and an obvious choice for veggie tacos, sandwiches, salads, and wraps.
Where to buy jackfruit
Canned jackfruit is available at most Asian grocers and well-stocked grocery stores with a health food focus (like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or Amazon).
How to prepare your jackfruit
Be sure to buy unripe, green, or young canned jackfruit for this recipe. (Ripe jackfruit is sweeter and has a different texture; it won’t work in this recipe.)
After removing them from the can, rinse the jackfruit pieces well to remove that salty, salty taste.
Next, chop up your jackfruit before you start cooking. Remove the larger pieces from the can and simply shred them up with your fingers or a fork, much like pulled pork or canned chicken or tuna, which it loosely resembles.
Don’t worry if you have small bits of kernel on some of the chunks. You can leave them as is or quickly shred them with a kitchen knife. They are also edible. And you won’t even notice them once you boil the fruit down.
Ways to Use Leftover Pulled Jackfruit
If you end up with a leftover jackfruit filling, it’s great to fold into a breakfast burrito, salad or wrap. But if your crew is anything like mine, you’ll run out of leftovers with these quick, new family favorites!
More Meatless Entrees to Try!
- Cauliflower Chickpea Curry
- Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
- Pesto pasta with spinach and avocado
- Eggplant with parmesan
- Easy Tuscan Bean Soup
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Check out this BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Taco recipe
How to store and reheat jackfruit
You can store leftover jackfruit in the fridge or freezer. It keeps for weeks in the freezer, but only a few days in the fridge.
Canned jackfruit does not need to be cooked per se. But it’s nice to warm up this recipe for the taco filling. You can reheat any leftover jackfruit by sautéing it over medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes. You can also microwave it straight from the fridge for about a minute, or a few extra minutes if it’s frozen.
Leftover Jackfruit is the perfect addition to any meatless, vegan or vegetarian meal.
From the editors of Simply Recipes
BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Tacos
ingredients
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2 (14-ounce) cans jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 small yellow onionfinely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
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2 cloves garlicchopped
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1 jalapenoseeded and finely chopped, optional
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3/4 Cup barbecue saucestore bought or homemade
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2 teaspoon ground cumin
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1 teaspoon ground coriander
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1/2 teaspoon paprikasmoked or regular
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1 teaspoon Finely grated Orange peel
Serve:
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10 to 12 (6 inch) Corn Tortillas
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1 ripe avocadothinly sliced
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4 radishthinly sliced
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1/3 Cup coriander leavesroughly chopped
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1/3 Cup Red cabbageshredded
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1/3 Cup corn gritspreserved, frozen and thawed or fresh off the cob
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1/4 Cup sour creamOptional
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1 limecut into wedges
method
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Chop up the jackfruit:
Place the drained jackfruit in a bowl large enough to work in. Using your fingers or two forks, break the jackfruit pieces into shredded pieces.
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Cooking onions:
In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño (if using) and cook another minute, until garlic is fragrant.
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Cooking jackfruit:
Add the chopped jackfruit to the pan and stir well. Add barbecue sauce, cumin, oregano, coriander, smoked paprika, and salt to pan.
Stir to evenly distribute the spices and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes or until the jackfruit is browned and slightly crispy on the edges. Fold in the orange zest.
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Assemble the tacos:
In a separate, lightly oiled pan, warm the tortillas and place a large spoonful of cooked jackfruit in the center of each. Garnish with avocado, radishes, cilantro, cabbage, corn, and sour cream (if using). Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 461 | calories |
| 17g | Fat |
| 80g | carbohydrates |
| 6g | protein |
