I can very confidently say that Tuesdays are my favorite days of the week. I mean, c’mon, it’s pretty much EXPECTED that you end your long day’s work with some tacos. In my three years being vegan, I’ve messed around with some taco filling ideas that I could serve up along with the chicken or ground beef at our family dinner table.
A number of people that I’ve encountered recently have asked, “What in the world would go in a vegan taco?” Well my friends, did I whip up just the article for you.
I seem to be the person in my friend group that people can come to for a recipe or cooking hack, and truthfully, it’s my honor to be the foodie of the friend group.
If you’re a fellow friend group foodie or you’d just like to take a more plant-based approach to the week’s Taco Tuesday spread, here are four vegan taco filling ideas.
The OG Breakfast Taco: Veganized
Tofu and black beans serve as the hearty filling of this taco. Protein filled, you can stuff this classic taco-gone-vegan with salsa, corn, and cilantro for a pretty dang good start to the day. Or serve this normally as a dinner, because we ALL know that breakfast foods taste better at night. And, as always, in the wise words of Ron Swanson, "There has never been a sadness that can't be cured by breakfast food."
Roasted Cauli Taco
Roasted cauliflower atop a bed of shredded cabbage, drizzled liberally with sweet chili sauce. Not the first typical taco filling that would come to mind but most definitely worth a try if you’re in the market for a filling, veggie-dominant Taco Tuesday recipe.
Taco tip: if you are cooking for your omnivorous family, this cauliflower filling nicely accompanies some baked fish to satisfy those non-vegans, too.
Vegan Chorizo Taco
A friend of mine recommended this unique product to me on a recent Trader Joe’s run. This filling is SO simple to prepare, as the chorizo is already perfectly spiced. Sauté some onions and garlic, pop some of the Trader Joe’s Vegan Soy Chorizo into a pan to cook through, pour in a can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted tomatoes from TJ’s are the bomb), and you’ve got yourself a hearty taco filling. If you intend on trying any of these recipes, I'd go for this baby right here.
Sweet Potato, Caramelized Red Onion, and Arugula Taco
I first had this combo at a potluck dinner party a year or two back, and I thought it’d be a perfect filling for a Taco Tuesday meal. Roasted sweet potatoes along with peppery arugula make for a perfect balance. A drizzle of apple cider vinegar on the top of the mixture straight out of the oven gives it a nice bit of tang.
The options for vegan taco fillings out there truly are endless. Just get inspired, get in the kitchen, and get cooking. I hope this article made you look forward to next Taco Tuesday. Let's make Meatless Tuesday(?) a thing!