In the great hard-shell-taco vs. soft-taco debate, my advice is simple – why not both?
In these double decker black bean and corn salad tacos, a soft corn tortilla gets spread with refried black beans, which become the “glue” that helps them adhere to an inner hard taco shell.
It’s really the best of both worlds – you get the crispy crunchy goodness of a hard shell tacos without having them fall apart when you take a bite, thanks to the chewy soft taco wrapping.
And the corn and black bean salad filling is so good you could eat it on its own. Add to that an easy cilantro crema and you have a delicious vegan meal that can be on the table in under 30 minutes.
Looking for even quicker tacos? Try these 20-Minute Chickpea Tacos!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Weeknight and Meal Prep Friendly. The corn salad, refried beans and cilantro can all be made in advance to make weeknight dinners a breeze.
Textural Heaven. The combination of the crunchiness from the hard taco shell, creaminess from the refried beans and cilantro crema, chewiness from the fresh corn and juiciness from fresh tomatoes.
Peak Seasonal Ingredients. There are few things more delicious than corn and tomatoes at their peak flavor.
Tips for making this recipe
This recipe is dead simple so I don’t have a ton of advice for you, but here are a couple things to keep in mind.
Thinly slice the red onions and jalapeños. Onion slices and jalapenos get marinated in lime juice and olive oil for 15-20 minutes, which helps mellow out their flavors. By slicing both thinly, the marinade is able to cover more surface area and have a more pronounced effect.
For a nifty technique to shave the corn kernels without them going everywhere, watch the below YouTube video. The segment starts at the 1:00 mark in the video.
More Mexican-ish recipes you might like…
Are you in the mood for even more Mexican inspired recipes? Check out some of my favorites below:
- Tempeh Tacos with Avocado Crema
- Chipotle Copycat Sofritas
- Chipotle Copycat Vegan Burrito Bowls
- Mexican Black Beans
- Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme
Watch the video!
VEGAN TACOS FOR SUMMER | tacos three ways
Okay, that’s all for me. If you enjoyed making these tacos, be sure to leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram!
Double Wrapped Black Bean and Corn Salad Tacos
Ingredients
Tacos Ingredients
- Corn Salad (recipe below)
- Cilantro Crema (recipe below)
- Refried Black Beans (store-bought, or recipe below)
- Soft corn tortillas (can substitute flour tortillas if not gluten-free)
- Hard taco shells (I used these, which are corn-based; you can also try grain-free taco shells such as this; or, try the homemade taco shells in the third recipe below)
Corn Salad Ingredients
- 1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 small jalapeño peppers (or 1 ½ medium, thinly sliced into rounds)
- 3 ½ tablespoons lime juice, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 4 ears of corn
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes ~280g, sliced in half or quarters
Cilantro Crema Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water (120 mL), more to thin as needed
- 1 cup (130g) hemp seeds (also known as hemp hearts)
- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 heaping cup (15g) fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped (remove seeds for mild version, or use 2 peppers for a spicy version)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional but adds a nice richness)
Refried Black Beans Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 (15-ounce / 440g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2/3 – 1 cup (160-240 mL) water, vegetable broth, or canned bean liquid
- Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
Tacos Directions
- Place a few corn tortillas on a damp paper towel and fold up the towels to seal the tortillas. For three tortillas, microwave for 20 to 25 seconds.NOTE: This step is important to soften up the tortillas and make them more pliable; otherwise, they can be too dry and crack when wrapping them around the hard taco shell. If using flour tortillas, you can probably skip this step.
- Spread some of the Refried Black Beans on one side of a soft corn tortilla. Place a hard taco shell, upright, in the center of the soft corn tortilla. Fold up both sides of the soft tortilla and gently press the refried beans onto the hard taco shell to seal, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the top. The refried beans should stick and help hold the double taco together.
- Fill the tacos. Using a slotted spoon (to prevent getting a lot of the liquid from the corn salad into the tacos), add some of the Corn Salad into each hard taco shell. Generously dollop the Cilantro Crema on top. Serve and enjoy!
Corn Salad Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the sliced red onions, sliced jalapeños, 3 ½ tablespoons lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and let marinate for at least 20 minutes (or up to 1 hour), until the onion is softened.
- Meanwhile, shave the corn kernels from the ears of corn. To see how I do this, watch the video. Set aside half of the kernels.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the remaining half of the corn kernels. Cook for 3-5 minutes, tossing once or twice, until the corn is charred in some spots.
- Add the charred corn and the raw corn to the large bowl with marinated onions. Add in the sliced cherry tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of extra lime juice.
Cilantro Crema Directions
- Pour the water into a high-powered blender. Add in the remaining crema ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as you go. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt or lime juice as needed.
Refied Black Beans Directions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
- Add the oregano, chili powder, and cumin and cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant, stirring frequently. Add in the drained beans, bay leaves, and water or broth. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through.
- Using an immersion blender or a potato masher, mash most of the beans, but leave some beans whole for texture. If the beans appear dry, add more water or broth as needed to moisten. Continue to cook the beans, stirring often, for 2-4 more minutes.
- Season the beans with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat, and stir in the lime juice.
I’m not saying it’s your fault. Whoever listed this on a raw vegan recipe site messed up big time. I was just saying I was disappointed cause this looks yummy.
This recipe was listed on a raw vegan diet recipes but only some of it is. You would have to get raw corn off the cob and not cook it and also no beans from can. You’d have to soak it. You’d have to make your own corn tacos through a dehydrator and you can by raw flour tortillas but I’m not sure those edible so you’d have to it them in a dehydrator
Hi Georgia, I’m sorry you were disappointed this isn’t a raw recipe, but I am quite confused because we never claimed it was?
Do you have any recommendations on how to serve this at a party? For instance, would I pre-assemble the soft/hard shells with the refried beans and then guests can add the rest of the toppings?
Hi, Tanvi! You can make the refried beans 1-3 days ahead of time; store separately in the fridge. The crema can be made 3-4 days ahead of time and stored in a jar in the fridge. The corn salad, I would recommend making the day of, as it will get watery if made in advance.
As for serving, yes, I think that’s a nice idea. You can assemble the two tortillas for guests, then the guests can add the corn salad and drizzle crema on top.
This is absolutely delicious. I was glad I had some leftover crema and corn salad because I would grab a tostada and just start piling stuff on it to top it with the cilantro crema and corn salad. I would probably make those 2 things just to have in hand for the weeks menus. The whole thing is delicious but those 2 ingredients take everything to the next level. Excellent fresh option for summer!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Pam. Thanks for your kind words!
This recipe turned out amazing! The corn salad was so fresh and colorful. To make this a quicker dinner, I made the corn salad and crema ahead of time. Then when it came time to eat, I just made the beans and assembled the tacos. Highly recommend using taco stands if you have them. I used cashews instead of hemp seeds and thawed frozen corn instead of fresh. This has been on my “to make” list for a while and I’m glad I finally made it. This will definitely be on regular rotation this summer!
Smart moves, Kaitlyn! You sound like you know your way around a kitchen! It makes us happy to know the tacos exceeded your expectations. They really are the ultimate summer meal!
I used canned refried beans and didn’t add jalapeño. It was so fresh and delicious! I will plan on making this again :)
Stacy,
Canned refried beans are a great substitute, I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! :)
This taco recipe was amazing! All the flavors really complimented each other. I want to put that cilantro cream on everything. It was so creamy and smooth that it’s hard to believe it doesn’t have mayo. And can we talk about that corn salad?! My husband and I couldn’t stop eating it.
Awesome, Joanne. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
I made your double decker tacos last night and we LOVED them and possibly over-ate because #tacos. Can’t wait for your next cookbook!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the tacos, Arminda! Thanks for your comment :)
Sound good. Look fantastic. We are going to give it a try. Love your bloopers. So adorable and cute😊 Always enjoy your recipes and videos
Thank you for the wonderful review! Enjoy the tacos :)
These were very good. I found I was out of black beans (!!!) so I subbed pintos. I used regular cashew cream instead of your cilantro crema, will have to try that next time. My husband, who is not vegan, thought they were very tasty. I loved your idea of wrapping the crisp corn tortilla with a soft one (I used flour). These were also very diet friendly! We figured around 250 calories per taco. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, Joan!
Can hemp seeds be substituted for something else?
Hi Liliana! You can substitute soaked raw cashews for the hemp seeds.
Which hard shells did you use? Looks good!
Nisha, the recipe says serving size is 4. How many tacosdoes this make. I would like to make this for 3 people.
hi, could you make a video for these receipe?
Hi Roan! One exists already. It’s the first recipe in this Youtube video!: https://youtu.be/9Pu7plAdIUA. We hope you get the chance to make the tacos!
Hello,
I’m new to raw vegan. Is this considered a true raw vegan meal?
Hi BG, no due to the oil and cooked corn, black beans, and tortillas they aren’t raw. Sorry!
It was listed on a raw vegan recipe website, so I’m disappointed too. Go look around for something similar. Good luck on your raw vegan journey. It’s hard but so worth it.
My boyfriend (non-vegan) and I were obsessed with these!!! He said they were so authentic, and I just loved all the flavor. We love your recipes!
That’s so great to hear, Kathryn! Thanks for sharing and we are glad you were delighted with the tacos!
Didn’t have hard shells or hemp hearts, so I just made single decker tacos and subbed raw cashews in the crema. Delish!
Glad you were able to make some tasty substitutions! Thanks for trying it :)
I made for my family and it was sooooo good.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Soyini!
Hemp seeds are so pricy- any sub ideas for them in the cilantro crema?
Je, raw cashews would probably work!
What a great idea! Can’t wait to try them.