Meatless Friday: Vegan Walnut Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

For Meatless Friday, Barb Szyszkiewicz shares a recipe for a vegan alternative to traditional tacos. Download our printable recipe card!

This recipe is a fun alternative to tacos. These do not taste like your typical taco made with seasoning that's heavy on the chili powder, but they're a delicious meatless taco. If you have teenagers or young adults in your household, this dish will be a hit. My young-adult son helped me make this dinner and particularly enjoyed charring the corn tortillas over an open flame. Practice makes perfect with that (optional) step, so if you've never done that before, make sure you have a big supply of tortillas at the ready.

This made enough filling to generously stuff 12 tacos. The filling keeps for 4 days in the fridge and freezes well.

Equipment note: You'll need a food processor for this recipe. (I have one that's so enormous I store it in the basement, but it was worth hauling it upstairs to the kitchen for this recipe!) You'll also need a large skillet with high sides, or a wok; this makes a good amount of filling, and you need room to stir without dumping everything all over the stove.

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Meatless Friday: Vegan Walnut Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Makes 12 tacos

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, washed and chopped
2 cups shelled walnuts, chopped (chop before measuring)
1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt to taste
12 corn tortillas
2 limes, quartered

Directions:

First, make the salsa: combine pineapple, red onion, and cilantro. You can do this earlier in the day and store it in the fridge.

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and chickpeas until everything is well blended and finely chopped.

Heat your skillet on medium-high heat, then add oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add in the walnuts and chickpeas and cook until browned. Stir frequently. This should take about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium, then stir in garlic, paprika, oregano, and chipotle chili. Cook 2 minutes more, then add the apple cider vinegar and cook another minute or two until that's evaporated. Season with salt and remove from heat.

If you have a gas stove, you can (carefully) char the tortillas by holding them over a gas flame with long-handled metal tongs.

Serve tacos in corn tortillas with salsa. Squeeze lime juice over the top as you begin eating.

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