I was recipe testing Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos for an up-coming vegan class I was teaching. The recipe I was using was adapted from the Gracias Madre Mexican vegan restaurant in LA. My recipe tester — aka middle son who is vegan-ish — thought they tasted great but were “missing something”. K? I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I decided to add roasted sweet potatoes and well, suddenly they were fantastic. Luckily, the tester agreed.
    Jackfruit — a super fun ingredient, especially for vegans — is surprisingly good and freakishly similar to pork carnitas in texture and looks. However, I quickly realized that for a weeknight meal, you can skip the jackfruit and the tacos are just as great. For the class, crispy fried onions topped the tacos (ah-mazing) but I know that for many (myself included), frying onions while you’re trying to get a meal on the table quickly, could be a dealbreaker so I have you roast the onions alongside the sweet potatoes. Mixing the black beans with the roasted onions while they are still hot is a great way to heat the beans and add some flavour to them. The usual suspects of sliced avocados, a squeeze of lime, jalapeños, crispy cabbage and your favourite cheese (if you’re not vegan) are the perfect finishing touches here. The toppings, of course, are all optional but may I please ask you not to skip the chipotle crema? It’s so simple and so good!
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Ingredients
- 3-4 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
- Olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chili powder or to taste*
- 1 medium white or yellow onion thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked pepper
- 1 15- ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 8-12 corn tortillas warmed right before serving
- Chipotle crema:
- 1 cup vegenaise or mayo or sour cream
- 2 chipotle peppers** in adobo with their juice chopped finely
- 1 lime juiced
- For topping:
- 1 lime in wedges
- Sliced avocado
- Jalapeño slices
- Pickled cabbage*** see notes
- Fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Toss sweet potato cubes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, chile powder, salt & pepper to taste, and spread in one layer on a baking sheet.
- Toss sliced onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, and spread in one layer on a baking sheet.
- Place both trays in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are golden brown. The onions might be done a bit sooner.
- Once onions are browned, add the rinsed black beans to the baking sheet and give them a gentle toss.
- Meanwhile, to a blender, add the vegenaise, chipotle peppers, and lime juice. Blend until smooth.
- Assemble tacos with roasted sweet potatoes, onion and black bean mixture, sliced avocado, jalapeño slices, pickled cabbage, and chopped cilantro. Drizzle with chipotle crema.
Notes
**I sometimes skip the blender and simply use the chipotle adobo sauce (juice) instead of the actual pepper.
***Toss 3-4 cups shredded cabbage with 1 teaspoon salt and 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Let sit while preparing tacos.
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