Tempeh and black bean tacos
Crumbled tempeh and black beans cooked with smoky chili spices into a hearty taco filling, tucked into warm corn tortillas with avocado and lime.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.27 a serving
- 640 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 packages tempeh
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lime, halved
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup salsa (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¾ cup water
Each serving has about 640 calories, 36 g protein, 73 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $3.27 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the tempeh with your fingers into small pieces, about the size of cooked ground beef.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Heat the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, about 5 minutes, until soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the tempeh and salt and cook, stirring every minute or so, 6 to 8 minutes, until in spots.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Tempeh doesn’t give off fat like meat does, so it needs the oil and a few minutes to toast.Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and tomato paste and cook 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the water and black beans and about 5 minutes, stirring, until the liquid is soaked up and the filling is thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Squeeze in the juice of half the lime, taste, and add salt if it needs it. Cut the other half into wedges.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave 1 minute, until soft and warm.
Timer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep them wrapped until you fill them. Cold corn tortillas crack.Fill each tortilla with a couple of spoonfuls of the filling and top with avocado, cilantro, salsa and a squeeze of lime.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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