Spicy Jackfruit Tacos (1-Pot Meal!)

Friends, the time has come to share this STUNNER of a new recipe with you.

Say hello to these SPICY Jackfruit Tacos that come together in less than 45 minutes in 1 pan! Huzzah!

Origins of Tacos

Who exactly invented the taco? It’s still a bit of a mystery! But a professor who has spent much time researching the topic theorizes that tacos were invented by Mexican silver miners in the 18th century. (source)

Tacos became popular throughout Mexico and were introduced to the US by Mexican immigrants in the 19th century.

These jackfruit tacos are not traditional but are inspired by the concept of serving flavorful ingredients in a corn tortilla!

How to Make Jackfruit Tacos

The base for these tacos is jackfruit, which is rinsed, sorted, and chopped. The flavor comes in waves from onion, garlic, lime, chipotle peppers in adobo, and smoky spices.

The key to this recipe is infusing tons of flavor, adding enough moisture on the front end so the jackfruit “marinates” while cooking, and then turning up the heat near the end so you get a bit of a caramelized effect. Major swoon!

Once it’s cooked, it’s time to dig. We went with corn tortillas, refried black beans, pepitas, cilantro, cabbage, and hot sauce.

We hope you LOVE this dish! It’s:

Spicy
Smoky
Flavorful
Comforting
Easy to make
& SO delicious!

While we enjoyed the jackfruit as taco filling, it would also work well with things like Vegan Nachos, Burritos, Taco Salads, and more!

If you’re into this recipe, be sure to check out our Vegan Barbacoa, Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas, and these 14 Mexican-Inspired vegan recipes!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Spicy Jackfruit Tacos (1-Pot Meal!)

Spicy Vegan Jackfruit Tacos made in 1 pan in about 30 minutes! A DELICIOUS, easy-to-make filling that's perfect for tacos, taco salads, burritos, nachos, and more!

Author Minimalist Baker

Print SAVE SAVED

4.92 from 72 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Course Entrée

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Mexican-Inspired, Vegan

Freezer Friendly 1 month

Does it keep? 4-5 Days

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

JACKFRUIT

• 2 (20-ounce) cans jackfruit in water or brine (NOT in syrup)
• 2 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil (if avoiding oil, sub water)
• 1/2 large white or yellow onion (thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp ground smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 2-3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or maple syrup or organic brown sugar)
• 1-2 small chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from a can // roughly chopped)
• 3 tsp adobo sauce (use more or less to preferred spice level)
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos*
• 2/3 cup water (plus more as needed)
• 3 Tbsp lime juice

FOR SERVING optional

• Corn or flour tortillas
• Shredded red cabbage
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges
• 1 (15-ounce) can refried pinto or black beans
• Salsa
• Chimichurri
• Extra Hot Habanero Sauce

Instructions

• Thoroughly rinse and drain jackfruit. Then begin sorting. The pieces come in chunks or triangle shapes. Cut off the center “core” portion of the jackfruit that’s tougher in texture and separate it from the rest of the fruit. Then chop into smaller pieces. For the remaining portion of the jackfruit that appears more stringy, use your hands to pull into small shredded pieces. You’re basically trying to get the jackfruit into small, shredded/chopped pieces. Rinse the jackfruit once more in a colander, drain, and thoroughly dry.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil of choice, onion, and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes or until onions are golden brown and softened.
• Add jackfruit, salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder, coconut sugar (starting with 2 Tbsp // or less if making a smaller batch), chipotle peppers and their adobo sauce (starting with 1 pepper and working your way up), coconut aminos, water, and lime juice. Stir to coat and reduce heat to low – medium. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• For finer texture, as your jackfruit is cooking, use your spoon to mash the jackfruit into smaller pieces, or use two forks to shred the jackfruit as it cooks down. This will create a more realistic “meat-like” texture.
• Once the jackfruit has been properly simmered, taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more paprika or cumin for smokiness, chili powder for heat, chipotle pepper or adobo sauce for spice, coconut sugar or maple syrup for sweetness, coconut aminos for saltiness / depth of flavor, or lime for acidity.
• Turn up heat to medium-high and cook for 2-3 more minutes to get a little extra color/texture. Then remove from heat.
• Enjoy as is, on top of salads or nachos, or in enchiladas, burritos, taquitos, or tacos! We prefer corn tortillas, refried black beans, jackfruit, cabbage, cilantro, and hot sauce!
• Store leftover jackfruit up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer. To reheat, heat on a skillet until hot and moisten with more water if it appears dry.

Video

Notes

*Can sub 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) tamari or soy sauce per 1/4 cup coconut aminos if not GF. Tamari tends to have a stronger flavor and is more salty, so we recommend starting low and working your way up.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
*Adapted from our BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches.

Nutrition (1 of 4 servings)

Serving: 1 serving Calories: 148 Carbohydrates: 19.4 g Protein: 1.2 g Fat: 7.6 g Saturated Fat: 0.9 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.14 g Monounsaturated Fat: 5.08 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 808.4 mg Potassium: 178 mg Fiber: 4.9 g Sugar: 10.2 g Vitamin A: 1293 IU Vitamin C: 5.38 mg Calcium: 51.36 mg Iron: 1.79 mg