Black Bean Tacos make good use of pantry staples and are topped with a creamy citrus-cilantro sauce, avocado, and saucy cabbage. Make delicious vegetarian tacos that can also be vegan.
Use extra black beans in this Mango Black Bean Salsa, Black Bean Bowls, or this Quinoa Black Bean Salad.
Black Bean Tacos
This site may have an abundance of taco recipes, but there’s always room for more. Packed with protein, bursting with flavor, and loaded with healthy ingredients, you really can’t have too many taco recipes.
Black Bean Tacos are uniquely served with a zesty cilantro sauce that’s both rich and creamy, yet remarkably without the need for any mayo or sour cream. The magic ingredient? Half an avocado, lending the same lush texture and depth of flavor as it does in our Kale Avocado Salad dressing. This avocado-based sauce elevates the tacos with its creamy texture and vibrant taste.
Ingredients In Black Bean Tacos
Black Beans Mixture:
- Olive oil: For cooking onions and garlic.
- Diced yellow onion and minced garlic: Sautéed for flavor base.
- Cumin, chili powder, and paprika: Spices added for flavor.
- Black beans: Main ingredient of the mixture.
- Vegetable broth (or chicken broth/water): Added to beans for cooking.
Tacos:
- Corn or flour tortillas: Used as the taco base.
- Green cabbage: Mixed with sauce for taco filling.
- Queso cotija cheese and lime wedges: Used as toppings. Use extra cotija cheese in these BBQ Chicken Sweet Potatoes.
Quick Tip
If you have leftover cooked black beans (cooked from their dried state) you can use them in this recipe. One can of black beans is 15 ounces, and the equivelent amount of cooked-from-scratch black beans is a skimpy two cups. (Two cups is 16 ounces.)
How To Make Black Bean Tacos
- Sauce: Blend ripe avocado, cilantro, lime and orange zest and juice, garlic, honey, jalapeño, and water. Season with salt and pepper, blend until smooth, then chill.
- Black Beans: Heat olive oil in a skillet, cook diced onion and minced garlic until soft. Add cumin, chili powder, paprika, and black beans. Mix in vegetable broth and mash the beans slightly. Simmer until thickened.
- Cabbage: Toss shredded cabbage with some of the sauce and refrigerate.
- Prepare Tortillas: Prepare tortillas as preferred, like charring over a gas flame.
- Assemble Tacos: Fill tortillas with cabbage, bean mixture, slices of avocado (left from the sauce), and drizzle with sauce. Add toppings like cheese, cilantro, jalapeños, and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy your black bean tacos!
Variations
Taco Variations
- Don’t want to use canned black beans? Use 3 cups of cooked black beans instead.
- Make it low carb: Serve in low-carb tortillas or over cauliflower rice.
- Swap to a bowl meal: Make some cilantro-lime rice to serve the black bean mixture over. Add in a chopped avocado, a handful of cabbage, and drizzle the sauce over everything.
- Use a different sauce: If you want a different sauce on these tacos, try the sauce I use on these Shrimp Tacos; it’s a huge hit. We also love this cilantro lime dressing
- Add some spice: Drizzle hot sauce over these black bean tacos or top tacos with jalapeños.
- Make these tacos vegan: Leave out the cheese and replace the honey with maple syrup. Here are some more tips on making this recipe vegan.
More Vegetarian Recipes
- Vegetable Curry with sweet potato and cauliflower
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie saucy veggies baked with mashed potatoes on top
- Lentil Soup loaded with veggies
- Vegetarian Chili reader favorite recipe!
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with black beans and corn
Black Bean Tacos
Black Bean Tacos are a delicious way to use pantry staples, topped with creamy citrus-cilantro sauce, avocado, and saucy cabbage. Add lime and cheese for the best vegetarian (or vegan) tacos!
Equipment
- Small blender
- Large pot
Ingredients
Citrusy Cilantro Avocado Sauce
Black Beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion 1/2 of 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic 2 cloves
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans black beans
- 1/3 cup vegetable broth or stock or chicken broth/stock if not vegetarian; water can also be used
Tacos
- 1/2 head green cabbage 3 cups finely shredded
- 10 to 12 small corn tortillas or flour tortillas
- Queso cotija cheese for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
- Additional jalapeños optional
- Additional cilantro optional
Instructions
- Sauce: Add 1/2 cup ripe avocado and cilantro (it’s fine to include stems; this will take most of a bunch) to a small blender. Zest and juice lime and orange to get 1 teaspoon lime zest, and 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, and 4 tablespoons orange juice. Add to blender along with minced garlic, honey, jalapeño, and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust any flavors to personal preference. Place in fridge to chill while preparing everything else.
- Beans: Drain and rinse beans. Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Stir until softened, about 4–5 minutes. Add in ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds to one minute. Add in 1 and 1/2 cups beans along with broth, stock, or water. Stir, then gently mash beans with the back of a wooden spoon (or potato masher). Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until mixture reaches a simmer and thickens. Mash beans again, then add in remaining beans. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cover. Stir occasionally while finishing everything else. Taste and adjust salt to personal preference; I usually add another 1/4 teaspoon here, but remember the cheese (if used) is salty as well.
- Cabbage: Add cabbage to a large bowl and drizzle about half the sauce over it. Toss with tongs to combine and place in fridge.
- Tortillas: See note 1 for preparing tortillas. I typically char them over a gas flame on my stovetop, but any method works.
- Assemble: Place a large scoop of cabbage down the center of the tortillas and a few spoonfuls of beans on top. Thinly slice the other half of the avocado and add it to the tacos. Add a generous drizzle of sauce and any other desired toppings, such as cheese, additional cilantro, and/or jalapeños. If you aren’t adding cheese, you may want an extra sprinkle of salt. Squeeze some fresh lime wedges over the tacos and enjoy immediately.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Warming Tortillas
On the grill:
- Preheat grill to medium-high (about 400–450℉). Generously oil grill by drenching a rolled-up paper towel in vegetable oil and, holding it with tongs, rubbing it over grill grates.
- Spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray, lightly sprinkle with salt, and place on grates for 30–45 seconds. Flip and leave on for another 30–45 seconds. Remove and immediately fold into a taco shape and set aside to slightly cool.
- Spray tortillas (both sides) with olive oil cooking spray, then place directly over the gas flames for a few seconds. Use tongs to flip until tortillas are lightly charred.
- Remove and immediately fold into a taco shape and set aside to slightly cool.
- Pan: Spray tortillas (both sides) with olive oil cooking spray, then place in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Use tongs to flip until tortillas are lightly browned, about 20–30 seconds per side. Remove and immediately fold into a taco shape and set aside to slightly cool.
- Microwave: Put up to five tortillas on a microwavable plate and cover them with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second bursts until they are warmed through, then remove and immediately fold into a taco shape and fill.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 489kcal | Carbohydrates: 87.7g | Protein: 19.1g | Fat: 9.6g | Sodium: 956.2mg | Fiber: 23.9g | Sugar: 19.3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Please learn how to write a recipe. The salt and pepper not being mentions in the ingredients list then randomly mentioned threw me off. and do actual steps. Do sections then steps, instead of just a clump of text.
Add salt and pepper to taste; I’m just sharing what I recommend 🙂 Sorry the recipes aren’t how you’d write them, I’m working my best to continually improve. Thanks for the feedback; I appreciate it! Happy New Year!
Delicious and meat-free! The sauce and flavor was amazing.
I love everything about this! SO much flavor!! YUM!
This recipe is great for meatless Mondays or Taco Tuesday. It’s so flavorful and good!