Best Jackfruit Tacos (Vegan Carnitas!)

The best vegan tacos? In just 20 minutes, jackfruit transforms into a plant-based version of pulled pork carnitas. These jackfruit tacos will blow your mind!

Have you ever eaten jackfruit? It’s gaining popularity here in the United States as a plant-based substitute for pulled pork. And let me tell you that Alex and I were very skeptical about this concept. Fruit instead of meat? It wasn’t until I gave up and tried a jackfruit tostada at a local restaurant that I was convinced. Wait a minute: isn’t that meat? Could there be an error? It turns out this tropical fruit mimics pulled pork in ways we never dreamed of. And one of the best ways to eat it? Jackfruit Tacos: A quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe. Vegan comfort food at its finest!

Where does jackfruit come from?

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit native to India and widespread in Southeast Asia. It’s now popping up around the world as a plant-based alternative to meat. Why? Unripe jackfruit absorbs flavor and has a stringy “meat-like” texture when cooked. Jackfruit is also high in nutrients, including fiber and antioxidants.

Related: What is jackfruit?

Does jackfruit really taste like meat?

You really have to try to believe it with jackfruit! For these Jackfruit Pulled Pork Tacos, we added savory flavors like onion, garlic, cumin, tomato paste, and adobo sauce to create something that tastes like meat along the way. from the pan. We also used cocoa powder to achieve a dark flavor and color. Check out the photo below to see how to do it!

Another way to use jackfruit is with this BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich. You can almost fool your friends and family into believing this is a Port Pulled Barbecue! We highly recommend this as another way to use jackfruit.

Where can I buy jackfruit?

You can find canned green jackfruit online or at your local supermarket canned fruit aisle. It is usually sold fresh, frozen, and canned. Important: Be sure to use canned green jackfruit for this recipe! Don’t buy ripe jackfruit. Ripe jackfruit is a yellow fruit that is packaged like the whole fruit and doesn’t look like pulled pork. So it doesn’t work with these jackfruit tacos.

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

Order on: Canned Green Jackfruit | Amazon

How to make jackfruit tacos

Now that you know how to buy green unripe jackfruit (if you skipped that part, see above!), let’s get to the good part. Somehow, the addition of secret savory spices gives the jackfruit a meaty quality that closely resembles real meat. How did we do that? Here are all our secrets! Even better, these jackfruit tacos are a quick and easy dinner recipe: you can make them in just 20 minutes!

How to Prepare Jackfruit Tacos:

• Do the pulled pork. Canned green jackfruit should be separated into characteristic shreds. You can do it with your hands.
• Sauté the chopped onion and garlic. To balance the tart flavor of the jackfruit with some savory, sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes.
• Add the secret spices. Add the spices! Our secret blend is: adobo sauce (made from a can of chipotle peppers), tomato paste, cocoa powder, cumin, oregano, and some salt. This mixture not only gives the jackfruit a fleshy taste, but also a fleshy color. Cook until sautéed, about 5 minutes.

Then toss it in a tortilla and top it with your favorite salsa! And if you like, add vegan sour cream for extra richness or pickled jalapeños for a kick.

What is adobo sauce?

What is adobo sauce? Chipotle in adobo sauce are sold here in the United States in most major grocery stores that line up alongside Mexican products. The small box includes Chipotle pepperswhich are smoked and canned Spanish spice and marinade mix, tomato puree, vinegar, garlic and some other spices. The result is a smoky flavor that’s fantastic for adding body to vegetarian dishes. In general, we only use adobo sauce and not the chilies in our recipes because it is very strong on its own.

This jackfruit taco recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce, which provides a mild flavor. But you can add up to 1 ½ or even 2 tbsp depending on your seasoning preference. We made it with 1 ½ tablespoons adobo sauce and our toddler Larson loved it! (It’s usually fine, just a little spice, but not much.)

Looking for more taco recipes?

And there you have it: How to Make Jackfruit Tacos! If you’re looking for more taco recipe ideas or Mexican recipes, here are some of our favorites:

This jackfruit taco recipe is…

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