If you ask me, the word “taco” doesn’t adequately describe these crispy, golden-brown tortilla pockets stuffed with savory black beans and melty cheese. They’re more like a best-of-both-worlds mash-up of a taco and a quesadilla, or what would happen if my meaty lentil tacos and my Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme decided to launch a startup.
The black bean taco filling is richly savory, thanks to the umami-boosting duo of walnuts and mushrooms, and the tacos get a generous sprinkle of vegan cheddar before baked in the oven.
Think: all the tortilla-hugged deliciousness of a taco with the vibes of a quesadilla (i.e., a roasty toasty vehicle for hot cheese).
Serve them with quick lime-pickled onions and a spicy, tangy crema for a meal that earns its place in two of my favorite recipe categories: “Recipes for impressing friends” and “Recipes for when I am seriously craving fast food.”
Table of Contents:
1. Ingredient notes
2. Step-by-step instructions
3. Tips for making this recipe
4. Customize
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Recipe cards with notes
A homemade taco with fast-food energy
During the recipe testing phase, I served my friend these crispy black bean tacos, and after inhaling half a taco, she came up for air to say, “Yeah, this is pretty much what I want in a last meal.”
While this is perhaps a bit morbid, I understand what she’s getting at. These tacos feel oh-so-indulgent and comfort-food-y.
They’ve got irresistible textural contrast—a crispy baked tortilla giving way to gooey cheese and warm savory filling, plus limey pickled onions and a smooth crema.
They give off guilty-pleasure cheap-takeout vibes but they’re kinda nourishing, so you get the nostalgic sense-memory of scarfing down Taco Bell at 2am on a bench in Union Square (…ahhh, miss you, NYC 💗), but the experience of eating something homemade that won’t make you feel sick afterwards.
Last food, fast food—however you want to think of these, they’re going to hit the spot.
Ingredient notes
Black beans
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of black beans (at least from a can). My first few attempts at making this black bean filling resulted in something that I would call good enough…which obviously doesn’t meet the RPL recipe standard.
The flavor of the bean-only filling was flat, lacking in the heft and savoriness I was aiming for. Unsurprising since it’s hard to develop a lot of flavor and texture in canned black beans…unless you cook them for a long time (as in my Mexican Black Beans).
I needed some backup–so I turned to two of the best in the biz at developing layers of umami: walnuts and mushrooms.
Walnuts and mushrooms
What makes these two such umami-packing powerhouses? They both contain naturally occurring glutamates, which your body and brain interpret as a rich savoriness.
These two in combination have never let me down, and I’ve relied on them time and time again (see: the walnut-mushroom “meat” in my lentil taco recipe, and the filling for my vegan mushroom wellington)!
This recipe has you blitz both the walnuts and mushrooms in the food processor, so you won’t be able to discern their textures at all, but the taco filling massively benefits from their glutamate-y goodness.
Tip (really, a mandate rather than a tip): Toast 👏🏽 the 👏🏽 walnuts 👏🏽 It is a nonnegotiable step in my book because it eliminates any bitterness and maximizes their innate umami flavor.
Savory superstars
To further amp up the savoriness of the taco filling, I add nutritional yeast and porcini mushroom powder.
Mushroom powder is one of my go-tos for adding savory depth of flavor–I use it in lentil ragùs, bean chilis, stews, and even my Life-Changing Chinese Chili Crisp (p. 187 of Big Vegan Flavor).
You can buy it online, or make it yourself by adding dried porcini mushrooms to a spice grinder and blitzing them until they’re ground into a fine powder (1 oz / 28g of dried mushroom yields ~ ¼ cup, maybe a bit more). Wait until the powder settles before opening the lid. Store in an airtight jar for 6 to 12 months in the pantry.
Taco seasoning
We keep the taco seasoning simple–just chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and dried oregano (plus salt and pepper)–but we bloom the spices in hot oil to bring out their fat-soluble flavors. This technique eliminates the bitterness which can be present in raw spices, and melds the different notes of the spice mix’s components into a robust, earthy smokiness.
Tortillas
You can make these with any tortillas you like, but if you want the most bang for your bite, I highly recommend “ready to cook” tortillas like these. Here’s my quick cost-benefit analysis of opting for these over regular tortillas:
- Minimal additional time investment: You heat the tortillas in a pan for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Major texture & flavor payoff: When you bake them in the oven after filling them, they become wonderfully flaky and puffy with layered texture, with a flavor that is worlds better than your standard refrigerated tortilla.
Vegan cheddar
I love these Vevan Ched-Melts for their mild flavor and superior meltability, but you can also use shredded cheese (RPL fave: Violife’s Just Like Cheddar Shreds).
Substitute: If you don’t have access to a good vegan cheese or you simply don’t want to buy one, the taco filling is delicious without any cheese–just be sure to serve it with either the chipotle crema listed in the recipe card or my Avocado Crema to add a little bit of richness.
Step-by-step instructions
NOTE: If making Lime Pickled Onions, prepare them first so they macerate while you make the tacos.
Blend the toasted walnuts in a food processor until they become a fine crumb.
Add the mushrooms, nutritional yeast, and porcini mushroom powder.
Blend until the mushrooms are finely chopped.
Add the black beans and perform 10 quick pulses. Some beans should remain intact and the mixture should be moist, not sticky.
In a large frying pan, saute the garlic in oil over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes, just until starting to turn color.
Add the taco spices and stir constantly for 20 to 30 seconds.
Add the bean-mushroom mixture and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the salsa. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat and season to taste with salt.
Assembly time!
Spread ~ ¼ cup of the bean mixture onto one side of each tortilla. Top with cheese, then fold the tortilla over and press the edges to seal.
Arrange tacos on an oil-brushed baking sheet and brush the top sides with oil.
Bake on the bottom rack of the oven at 425ºF/218ºC for 8 to 12 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on top.
Flip the tacos, then bake on the top third rack for 5 more minutes, until the bottom is crispy and golden brown.
Once cool enough to handle, pry open the tacos and stuff them with lime pickled onions, lettuce, and chipotle crema.
Tips for making this recipe
Toast the walnuts
This is really a mandate, rather than a tip. I actually won’t eat walnuts raw, but even if you don’t have my aversion to their bitterness, taking the 5 minutes to toast them before blitzing them in this recipe will dramatically improve your resulting taco filling.
Heating them brings out their natural oils, enhances their nuttiness, and deepens the umami notes they’ll contribute to the black bean filling.
Don’t overblend the beans
For the perfect-texture taco filling, there are two important tips for the beans.
First, to prevent the taco filling from getting watery, pat dry the beans very well with a dish towel after draining them.
Two, use the pulse function on the food processor to break the beans down a bit–but don’t continuously blend! I typically do 10 quick pulses once the beans are added. We want some of the beans to remain intact so the filling has textural variety and doesn’t get too wet.
Gently cook the garlic & taco seasoning
Both garlic and ground spices can burn easily, so easy does it–use medium heat and lower it as needed. You don’t want the garlic too brown and the taco seasoning spices need just 20 to 30 seconds. Keep the spices moving constantly!
Elevate these tacos with “ready to cook” tortillas
I’ve always been a fan of “ready to cook” tortillas because they have minimal ingredient lists, but I didn’t realize how big of a difference they made until I was testing this recipe. They get far crispier when baked in the oven, and come out with a flaky, puffy texture that standard tortillas simply can’t compete with!
Make this meal prep friendly and/or multitask
You can make the black bean filling, chipotle crema, and lime pickled onions several days in advance and store them separately in the fridge. Then, on the day of eating, all you need to do is assemble the tacos with filling and cheese and pop them in the oven.
While the tacos bake (~ 15 to 20 minutes), use the downtime to clean up, or prepare your favorite taco accoutrement, like the lime pickled onions and the 5-minute chipotle crema (or Avocado Crema) if you didn’t already meal prep those.
Customize
We love serving these hybrid quesadilla-tacos with lime pickled onions for a bright freshness and chipotle crema for a spicy, creamy tang (or Avocado Crema for a cooling tang).
But there are so many directions you can go with these:
- Like the chipotle crema idea but want something more wholesome? Try the version of chipotle crema on p. 205 of my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor!
- No time to make crema? Serve the tacos with store-bought sour cream (RPL fave: Violife’s sour cream)
- Got ripe avocados? Whip up some guacamole to dollop on the tacos!
- Not feeling pickled onions? Skip ‘em and use store-bought pico de gallo to add a fresh element–or make the pico de gallo recipe!
- Have leftover grilled or charred corn? Stuff those into the tacos along with the chopped lettuce!
Frequently Asked Questions
Try Sunflower seeds. But be sure to toast them first–the resulting taco filling may be slightly more bitter, so add more salt to taste.
The only gluten in this recipe comes from the tortillas, so you can use corn tortillas instead of flour. The texture will be different, of course, but it’s a great option for GF folks.
Since corn tortillas are less pliable than flour tortillas, I recommend using a damp paper towel to warm up the tortillas in the microwave, or warm them in a frying pan for about a minute until pliable.
This would be a slam dunk in burritos or burrito bowls, taco salads, or with breakfast hash!
Black bean taco mixture:
• Unfried: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Fry it using the instructions in the recipe card.
• Fried: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in a frying pan until warmed through before serving.
Leftover chipotle crema & lime pickled onions:
• Store both (separately) in an airtight container or sealed jar in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
Does this taco-quesadilla hybrid scratch your fast food itch? Leave a rating and review and let me know! It makes my day to read your reviews ☺️
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Crispy Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients
- ½ cup (56g) walnuts, broken up into pieces
- 8 ounces (227g) cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped (tough stems removed)
- ¼ cup (20g) nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon porcini mushroom powder (optional, see Note 1)
- 1 (15 oz / 425g) can black beans
- 3 tablespoons (42g) olive oil or avocado oil, more for cooking tacos
- 4 fat cloves garlic (20g), finely chopped
Taco Spices
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (2 tsp for less heat)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano (or Mexican oregano)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ~ 10 twists of black pepper
- ½ cup (120g) mild salsa, strained of excess liquid
For serving
- 8 to 12 taco-sized flour tortillas (see Note 2)
- 1 to 1 ½ cups (100 to 150g) shredded vegan cheese (see Note 3)
- 5-Minute Chipotle Crema (see recipe card 2) (OR Avocado Crema)
- Lime Pickled Onions (see recipe card 3) (optional, see Note 4)
- 2 to 3 cups (~100g) shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Lime Pickled Onions (optional, see 3rd recipe card): Make them first and macerate while you make the tacos.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Arrange a rack in the top third and the bottom of the oven.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat for a minute or two, then add the walnuts to toast. Toss frequently to prevent burning, until golden brown in spots and nutty in aroma, about 5 minutes.Meanwhile, drain and rinse the black beans. Add to a dish towel and pat dry as well as you can. It’s okay if you smush them.Stir together all the ingredients for the Taco Spices. Set aside.
- Add the toasted walnuts to a food processor. Blend for a few seconds until in fine crumbs, but don’t over-process into a paste.Add the mushrooms, nutritional yeast, and mushroom powder. Blend for a few seconds, followed by just a few pulses until mushrooms are finely chopped.Add in the black beans and do 10 quick pulses to break them up but leave some beans intact (don’t blend continuously!). The mixture should be a bit moist but not sticky.
- Return the frying pan to medium heat and heat for 1 minute, then add 3 tablespoons of oil. Once warm, add the garlic. Stir frequently until just turning color, 2 to 3 minutes (do not brown). Add the Taco Spices and stir constantly for 20 to 30 seconds.a. Add the bean-mushroom mixture and toss well to coat it in the spiced oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes. If it starts to stick, deglaze with a splash of water.b. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the salsa, using the liquid to deglaze any browned bits. Cook for 1 minute until thick and spreadable. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt to taste.
- Assemble the tacos: Spread ~ ¼ cup (2 oz / 56g) of the bean mixture onto one side of each tortilla. Sprinkle with a layer of cheese, then fold the tortilla over onto the side with the filling and press down on the edges to seal.
- Bake the tacos: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large rimmed sheet pan, using a pastry brush to spread it out. Arrange the tacos without overlap, gently spreading them into the oil. Now brush the top sides of the tacos with a light layer of oil.Bake on the bottom rack for 8 to 12 min, or until crispy and golden brown on top.Remove from the oven and flip the tacos. Bake on the top third rack for 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown on the bottom.
- Allow to cool a bit, as they will be very hot. Then carefully pry open the tacos and dollop with Chipotle Crema (or Avocado Crema), Lime Pickled Onions, and shredded lettuce. Serve leftover crema on the side for dipping.
Notes
- The mushroom powder amps up the savoriness and umami from the walnuts and mushrooms, but feel free to skip it if you don’t have it. You could also try adding a teaspoon or two of soy sauce or tamari.
- The filling makes enough for ~ 8 (7-inch) tortillas or 12 (6-inch) tortillas.
- We like Violife cheddar shreds, or Vevan “ched melts” (I tear the slices into strips). Both have a nice mild flavor and melt great. If you don’t have access to a good vegan cheese, skip it. The filling is still tasty without it.
- The pickled onions add a nice bright acidity, but if you are serving the tacos with a fresh salsa like pico de gallo, skip them.
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
5-Minute Chipotle Crema
Ingredients
- 3 to 5 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 cup (225g) vegan sour cream (see Note 2)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon agave nectar or cane sugar
- 1 to 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice (optional, as needed)
Instructions
- Chop the chipotle peppers as finely as you can, then add to a bowl (see Note 3). Add in the sour cream, garlic powder, and agave. Stir well to combine.
- Taste and add the lime juice (if your brand of sour cream is on the acidic side, you may not need it). Season with salt as needed, or add some adobo sauce for heat/smoky flavor. Depending on the consistency of your sour cream, you may want to add water to thin it out.
Notes
- If you want a more wholesome Chipotle Crema (cashew-based), check out page 205 of my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor.
- Our preferred sour cream brand is Violife (it is very thick though, so you’ll want to add more lime juice or a bit of water to thin). We also like Follow Your Heart sour cream and Kite Hill sour cream.
- For a smoother consistency, add all of the ingredients to a mini food processor and blend until smooth.
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Lime Pickled Onions
Ingredients
- ½ small red onion
- ¼ teaspoon organic cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) lime juice (1 juicy lime)
Instructions
- Use a mandoline or sharp knife to slice the onion very thinly.
- Add the onions to a shallow bowl and sprinkle the salt and sugar on top, massaging to coat. Squeeze on the lime juice and toss with your hands. Let sit for at least 10 minutes at room temperature, stirring once or twice.
- Store leftovers in a sealed jar in the fridge for about 1 week.
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