Want a simple, flavorful dinner concept? Strive these black bean tacos! They’re topped with tangy pickled cabbage and a scrumptious cilantro lime sauce.
These black bean tacos are a very easy, SUPER flavorful dinner. They’re full of a scrumptious mixture of straightforward elements: black beans, pickled cabbage, cilantro, jalapeños, and Cotija cheese. A hefty drizzle of my cilantro lime crema takes them excessive.
I really like the stability of textures and flavors right here. These black bean tacos are creamy AND crunchy, earthy AND vivid. The part that basically makes them pop is the pickled cabbage. It provides a burst of candy, tangy taste that, when you’re me, will hold you piling on increasingly more.
I like to recommend prepping the pickled cabbage forward. It’s tremendous fast to make, however the taste will get higher and higher because it sits within the fridge. After getting it available, throwing collectively this black bean taco recipe on a weeknight is a breeze. I hope you find it irresistible as a lot as I do!
Black Bean Tacos Components
Right here’s what you’ll have to make this recipe:
- Black beans, in fact! As a result of I usually make these tacos on weeknights, I have a tendency to make use of canned beans in them. That mentioned, you possibly can completely prepare dinner dried beans from scratch if you wish to! For directions, take a look at my Instant Pot black beans recipe or my information to how to cook black beans on the stovetop.
- White onion, garlic, and diced jalapeño – You’ll sauté them so as to add recent, savory taste to the beans.
- Avocado oil – For cooking the beans and veggies. Be at liberty to make use of one other impartial oil or olive oil when you favor!
- Taco seasoning – Use store-bought, or combine up your individual utilizing my taco seasoning recipe. I additionally like so as to add a pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth, however you possibly can skip it when you’re delicate to spice.
- Recent lime juice – It provides the beans a vivid, zesty kick.
- Tortillas – Any variety you want! 100% corn tortillas are an incredible gluten-free choice. My selfmade flour tortillas can be scrumptious right here too!
- Pickled cabbage – The actual star of those straightforward black bean tacos! Be at liberty to make it with crimson or inexperienced cabbage. Prep it at the least 2 hours upfront.
- Cilantro lime crema – This creamy, zesty sauce is simple to whiz collectively within the meals processor. Get forward by making it as much as 3 days upfront.
- And enjoyable fixings like cilantro, jalapeños, and Cotija cheese. These recent, flavorful toppings actually make the tacos pop!
Discover the whole recipe with measurements under.
Methods to Cook dinner the Black Beans
I’ve made loads of vegetarian tacos the place I’ve added black beans straight from the can.
That’s not what we’re doing right here.
As an alternative, the beans are frivolously refried, cooked with fragrant veggies, spices, and slightly bean cooking liquid to make a creamy, flavorful taco filling.
It solely takes a couple of minutes! Right here’s how I do it:
- First, DON’T drain the beans! Measure 1/2 cup of the liquid within the can (or the bean cooking liquid, when you cooked your beans from scratch). Set it apart earlier than you drain and rinse the beans.
- Subsequent, sauté the aromatics. Warmth the avocado oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Season with salt and prepare dinner till the greens soften, about 8 minutes. Stir within the taco seasoning and cayenne and prepare dinner for an additional minute.
- Then, add the beans and 1/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid. Cook dinner, stirring, till the greens are completely smooth and the black bean combination is thick. If the pan turns into too dry, add the remaining bean liquid.
- Lastly, mash a number of the beans to make the black bean filling frivolously creamy.
Stir within the lime juice and season to style earlier than assembling the tacos!
Black Bean Tacos Variations
This recipe is scrumptious as written, however it’s additionally tremendous versatile. Be at liberty to vary it up! Listed below are a couple of variations to get you began:
- Make pinto bean tacos by changing the black beans with pintos.
- Add a roasted veggie like roasted sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower, or roasted butternut squash.
- Use pickled red onions as an alternative of pickled cabbage.
- Make a fast cabbage slaw with shredded cabbage, a drizzle of oil, recent lime juice, and salt when you haven’t prepped the pickled cabbage forward.
- Or swap the sauce. This avocado sauce can be incredible, and my chipotle sauce can be scrumptious too. In a pinch, merely prime the tacos with a scoop of bitter cream and a squeeze of lime juice!
Let me know what variations you strive!
Serving Options
We regularly get pleasure from these tacos for dinner on their very own. However when you’re craving a bigger meal, you have got loads of aspect dish choices! They’d pair completely with any of those recipes:
Don’t neglect the margaritas to drink!

Black Bean Tacos
Serves 3 to 4
These black bean tacos are a simple, scrumptious dinner! To make them fast to assemble on a weeknight, prep the pickled cabbage and cilantro lime crema upfront. The cabbage retains nicely for two weeks within the fridge, and the crema retains for five days. Should you like, you would even make the beans forward and retailer them within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ medium white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- Pinch cayenne pepper, elective
- 3 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed, reserve ½ cup bean liquid
- 1 tablespoon recent lime juice, plus wedges for serving
- 6 to eight tortillas, warmed
Forestall your display from going darkish
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Warmth the avocado oil in a medium pot or giant skillet over medium warmth. Add the onion, jalapeño, garlic, and salt and prepare dinner, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or till softened.
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Stir within the taco seasoning and cayenne, if utilizing, and prepare dinner for 1 minute. Add the beans and ¼ cup of the reserved bean liquid and prepare dinner for five to eight minutes, or till the greens are completely smooth and the combination is thick. If the pan turns into dry, add the remaining ¼ cup bean liquid.
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Mash a number of the beans with the again of a picket spoon to make the combination frivolously creamy. Stir within the lime juice and season to style.
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Assemble tacos within the tortillas with the beans, pickled cabbage, crema, Cotija cheese, jalapeños, and cilantro.