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Delicious spinach pesto and spicy pulled jackfruit tacos with kale and avocado.
This hearty taco recipe features soft corn tortillas, flavourful green pesto with spinach, pine nuts, and zucchini, spicy and meaty pulled jackfruit, fresh kale, and creamy avocado – doesn’t these sound like the perfect combo? These simple Pulled Jackfruit Tacos are perfect for a Mexican night, or as a quick dinner on any weeknight. These tacos are vegan and gluten-free, easy to make, but are still full of flavours and awesome textures. Try them!
I have to start with a confession today: I don’t really like TACOS. Wait, no! It’s not that I don’t like them, I just don’t get them. You see I didn’t grow up eating tacos, I actually only heard of tacos a few years ago, then tried my first one maybe a year or two ago. In Hungary where I grew up Mexican food is not really a thing, so it’s not that surprising that TACOS are something very strange to me.
Okay, I have to admit I have still no idea how to eat them. Those hard taco shells break at the first bite and everything falls on your plate. And the soft shells get super soggy after a few minutes and yes, those are also hard to eat (and hard to describe why they are so hard to eat…). I feel like I probably should watch a few tutorials on how to eat them properly, since if I could get over these difficulties I think I could finally fully enjoy them. Because trust me, I love tortillas, I love all those filling options, it’s only that I’m really unsure how not to look like a mess on taco nights.
So yes, I still struggle eating these babies, but I won’t give up, tacos are on our menu more and more often. Wonderful fillings like pulled jackfruit, crispy tempeh or just a basic guacamole definitely worth a bit of trouble. And then sometimes I do the most outrageous thing and eat them with a fork and knife. Because that’s the only way I can manage them at the moment. Sorry, but not sorry….
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Pesto & Pulled Jackfruit Tacos
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 8 tacos 1x
Ingredients
For the pulled jackfruit
- 1 can of jackfruit
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup of vegetable broth or water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Sriracha (or other hot sauce)
- 1 lime, juice
- dash of liquid smoke
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh, grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- salt, pepper
For the pesto
- 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/2 zucchini, roughly chopped
- 2–3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 cup of fresh basil
- 4 cups of spinach, roughly chopped
- salt, pepper
For the tacos
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped kale
- lime wedges
Instructions
Pulled Jackfruit
- Drain and rinse jackfruit. Remove its seeds, then using your fingers, a knife or a fork, shred the jackfruit into smaller pieces.
- In a large bowl mix together broth, soy sauce, maple syrup, tomato paste, Sriracha, lime juice, liquid smoke, garlic, ginger, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add jackfruit and chopped onion, toss to coat evenly.
- Let jackfruit marinade for at least 10 minutes, but the longer the better.
- Heat up a large pan over medium high heat. Add jackfruit mixture and all the marinade. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until sauce completely thickens. Stir occasionally.
Pesto
- Place pine nuts, lemon juice, chopped zucchini, garlic, nutritional yeast, tahini, basil and spinach in a food processor and blend until creamy. Adjust consistency with water (or if you prefer with oil), and season with salt and pepper.
Assembly
- Chop kale and bell pepper, slice avocados thinly.
- Heat tortillas in a pan over medium heat for 20 seconds on each side. Cover with a damp cloth to keep soft until serving.
- Fill each tortilla with 2-3 spoons of pesto and jackfruit, then top with kale, bell pepper and avocado. Serve with leftover pesto and lime wedges on the side. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Vegan
I love the gorgeous colours and so inviting with jackfruit!
Thank you 😉
I hate having to ask this BUT, WHAT IS JACKFRUIT!? I’ve never had any and I don’t remember even seeing it at a supermarket!
Hi Kim!
Jackfruit is a wonderful fruit, when it’s ripe it’s kinda pineapple-y and extra sweet (and delicious!). However young jackfruit in a brine has a very mild, not at all sweet taste, and a surprisingly meaty texture so it is a really great substitute for meat.
I’m not sure about where they sell it near you, but here in Germany you can find it in health food stores and Asian markets. 😉
Don’t give up on tacos!! They’re amazing!! For me, I don’t have an issue with them falling apart because I eat them too fast for that to happen 😉
Hahaha, then you are talented. I eat super fast too, but I am still not able to manage tacos 😀
These were quite good. The jackfruit came out really spicy, but when fully assembled, it cools off.
When we do this again, we will probably put the filling under the broiler at the end for a bit to crisp it up. There’s enough sugar in there to get a little texture.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the feedback, I’m happy you liked these! And sorry for the spiciness, I always forget to mention at the recipes, if they are hot…For most of my life I used to hate spicy things and I still think of myself as someone who can’t handle spicy food, even though I started to eat them already 😀
Broiling is a great idea! I often just bake the jackfruit bits for 5-15 mins after cooking, they definitely have a better texture that way. Next time I’ll try them with the broiler too, thanks for the tip 😉
The tacos look so good. I like jackfruit too, it has a nice texture and it’s a lovely alternative to meat.
Thanks, Anca!