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Crispy black bean tacos

Crunchy taco-quesadilla little pockets with fast-food energy

⏱️ Time estimate: about 45 minutes

Black beans, mushrooms, walnuts, spices, and salsa become a rich taco filling, tucked into tortillas with cheese and baked until deeply crisp and golden.

Crispy black bean tacos with fillings

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon porcini mushroom powder, optional
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for baking
  • 4 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1/2 cup mild salsa, strained of excess liquid

Assembly

  • 8 to 12 taco-sized flour tortillas
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded vegan cheese
  • Shredded lettuce, chipotle crema, and lime-pickled onions, for serving if desired

Instructions

  1. Toast and blitz the base. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until nutty. In a food processor, blend them into crumbs, then add the mushrooms, nutritional yeast, and mushroom powder and pulse until finely chopped. Add the black beans and pulse about 10 times so some beans stay intact.
  2. Cook the filling. Stir together the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet, cook the garlic gently until just turning color, then stir in the spices for 20 to 30 seconds. Add the bean mixture and cook 5 to 7 minutes, then stir in the salsa and cook 1 minute more until thick and spreadable.
  3. Assemble the tacos. Heat the oven to 425°F. Spread about 1/4 cup filling onto one side of each tortilla, top with cheese, fold over, and press lightly to seal.
  4. Bake until crisp. Brush a sheet pan with oil and arrange the tacos on it. Brush the tops lightly with oil. Bake on the bottom rack for 8 to 12 minutes until crisp on top, flip, then bake on the upper rack for about 5 more minutes until both sides are golden brown.
  5. Serve. Let cool slightly, then pry open and add lettuce, pickled onions, or crema if you like.

Toasting the walnuts really matters here. It makes the filling taste dramatically deeper and less like sad health food compromise.