Today is a good day for fresh, homemade tacos.
Tempeh taco boats with sour cream, that is. I’m pretty sure everyone loves tacos. Did you ever have Taco Tuesday or Taco Night when you were growing up? One of our favorite family meals was tacos! It’s especially fun when you’re little because you get to make your own with whatever toppings your little heart desires.
When I lived in my sorority house at Purdue, our most popular meal night was Taco Night. Hands down. Even after a night out, we would sometimes stumble to Taco Bell… which was conveniently located right down the street from our small strip of bars. It was a popular drunk food spot, haha. After graduating from Purdue and living on my own, I would make tacos all the time because they were easy, quick, didn’t require too many dishes and always tasted amazing. And I could add a ton of veggies to make it healthy and have leftovers for the week.
You get the picture. I’m a huge fan.
And now we can enjoy a vegan version of the popular family favorite. What are tacos without sour cream? This homemade vegan sour cream, let me tell you, tastes super creamy and you would never notice a difference!
There are a few different ways to make vegan tacos. I decided to use tempeh for the taco “meat” which turned out to be a fab choice. Tempeh has a similar texture to meat and is the perfect replacement
So, what is tempeh exactly?
It’s looks a little strange, but don’t let that scare you away! Tempeh is a block of fermented soybeans, millet, barley and rice. The fermentation process of soy helps your body to better digest all the nutrients. It’s not as processed as tofu and is a wonderful high plant-based protein source.
I talk more about tempeh in another post here, but its quite versatile, sort of like a blank slate. It will absorb the flavor from any marinade and is so easy to work with. It can be easily sliced into strips or chopped up small. For this recipe, I cut up the tempeh blocks super small, similar to the consistency of ground meat. You can buy tempeh at most local grocery stores now, it’s getting more and more popular, as well as Whole Foods and health food stores. Make sure to buy it certified organic so you aren’t consuming any GMO’s… I usually buy my tempeh at Trader Joe’s because it’s organic and cheap.
Sometimes instead of using tortillas, I love to use large lettuce leaves like I did with this recipe. Lettuce leaves are a lighter swap and add that yummy freshness you can feel good about. Add all your favorite toppings for a quick, healthy, protein-packed vegan taco meal that everyone will love. Double the batch and you have plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinners throughout the week.
- 1 package organic tempeh
- 3 tablespoons tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons water
- fresh juice from 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- couple dashes black pepper
- 1 cup tomatoes, diced
- 1 bell pepper, any color, diced
- 1/2 of a red onion, finely diced
- 1/4-1/2 of a jalapeño, finely diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- large romaine lettuce leaves or tortillas
- optional toppings such as: avocado, guacamole, vegan cheese, salsa, hot sauce etc.
- 1 container silken tofu (or 1 cup soaked cashews)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- fresh juice from 1/2 of a lemon
- sea salt to taste (optional)
- Start by chopping/crumbling the tempeh into small pieces, similar to a ground meat consistency and place in large bowl. Add tamari, water, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, minced garlic, sea salt and pepper. Mix until well combined and all the tempeh is coated evenly. Add in tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño and cilantro and mix.
- Heat a large pan on medium-high heat and add coconut oil. When coconut oil is melted, add tempeh mixture. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Start assembling tacos using tortillas or large romaine lettuce leaves. Add tempeh taco meat mixture, then your favorite toppings and enjoy!
- Add tofu, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and salt to a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator in mason jar or sealed container.
How much oregano and garlic powder?
I didn’t change a thing, and wouldn’t,t change anything. The tempeh meat mixture was just that good. My son loved it! We used the traditional organic taco shells, but if I had romaine, I would have used them instead.
These look insanely good! MMMMM!! I am going to try mine using lentils, I wonder how good that would be!
I bet lentils would taste just as good!! Mmm 🙂