These Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos were a total hit in my house! My husband talks about his cravings for meat frequently. He is not vegetarian, but graciously eats that way most of the time since I do most of the cooking. I decided I wanted to try to recreate a meat dish that I knew he liked to help appease his meat cravings.

I decided I wanted to explore the possibility of using jackfruit as a meat substitute. However, I’ve always been intimidated by jackfruit as I have never quite known what to do with it. I knew people typically shred it to act as a meat substitute, but that’s about all I knew. I was feeling brave though and thought I would go ahead and give it a shot. Since my husband loves all things relating to Mexico, I decided on a meatless version of Carnitas Tacos!

It turns out that jackfruit is not intimidating at all! It is very easy to cook with. All I had to do was drain and rinse it and then throw it in the pan. When it started heating up, I was able to easily take my wooden spoon and shred it to form the carnitas “meat”.

This recipe comes together quickly, in just under 25 minutes. It’s a great weeknight meal and has been added to my recipe bank. My recipe bank is a list of go-to/well-liked recipes that I can come back to time and time again to make meal planning very easy each week! I highly recommend you create one!

How to Make Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos

1. In a large bowl, add drained and rinsed jackfruit, cumin, oregano, chili powder, smoked paprika, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lime juice, garlic, maple syrup, coconut aminos, and cilantro. Set aside.

3. Sauté onion in olive oil in a large pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.

4. Add jackfruit and sauté for about 10 minutes. When the jackfruit starts getting softer, use a wooden or rubber spoon to break the pieces apart so they look shredded.

5. Pour the citrus mixture over jackfruit and stir to combine.

6. Continue sautéing for another 5 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Add black beans right at the end and mix to combine.

7. While the jackfruit is sautéing, warm the corn tortillas on a griddle or in the microwave. I like to make mine a little crispy by using a little olive oil on the griddle when I heat them!

8. Fill your tacos with jackfruit carnitas and top with your favorite toppings!

But What About Protein?

Since jackfruit doesn’t contain any protein, I decided to add a can of black beans to this dish. It turned out delightful. Refried beans would make a tasty addition as well if you didn’t want to use black beans. Some other options: adding pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds to your tacos.

What to Top Your Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos With

There are so many options here, but here are some of the toppings I love with these Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!

Guacamole

Shredded cabbage

Shredded cheese

Sour cream (we use plain yogurt as a sour cream substitute)

Cilantro

Red onion

Pico de gallo or salsa

 

More Mexican-Inspired Dishes

If you love these Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos, check out these other Mexican-Inspired easy recipes next:

Baked Black Bean and Cheese Taquitos

Lentil Walnut Meat Grilled Burritos

Vegan Black Bean and Corn Soup (With Hidden Veggies!)

Easy Homemade Lentil Tostadas

[vc_row][vc_column][qodef_recipe servings=”8 tacos” ingredients_1=”%5B%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%222%20-%2020%20ounce%20cans%20green%20jackfruit%20in%20the%20brine%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%201%2F2%20teaspoon%20cumin%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%201%2F2%20teaspoon%20oregano%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%22%C2%BD%20teaspoon%20chili%20powder%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%22%C2%BD%20teaspoon%20smoked%20paprika%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%22%C2%BD%20teaspoon%20salt%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%20tablespoon%20orange%20juice%20%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%20tablespoon%20lime%20juice%20(or%202%20tablespoons%20if%20you%20like%20things%20tangy!)%20%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%223%20cloves%20garlic%20minced%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%222%20teaspoons%20maple%20syrup%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%20teaspoon%20coconut%20aminos%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%22%C2%BD%20cup%20cilantro%20chopped%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%20tablespoon%20olive%20oil%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%221%2F2%20cup%20onion%20diced%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%2215.5%20ounce%20can%20black%20beans%2C%20drained%20and%20rinsed%22%7D%2C%7B%22ingredient%22%3A%228%20corn%20tortillas%22%7D%5D” ingredients_2=”%5B%7B%7D%2C%7B%7D%2C%7B%7D%5D” ingredients_3=”%5B%7B%7D%2C%7B%7D%2C%7B%7D%5D” recipe_name=”Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos” prep_time=”5 minutes” cook_time=”20 minutes” instructions=”%5B%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22In%20a%20large%20bowl%2C%20add%20drained%20and%20rinsed%20jackfruit%2C%20cumin%2C%20oregano%2C%20chili%20powder%2C%20smoked%20paprika%2C%20and%20salt.%20Mix%20well%20and%20set%20aside.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22In%20a%20small%20bowl%2C%20whisk%20together%20orange%20juice%2C%20lime%20juice%2C%20garlic%2C%20maple%20syrup%2C%20coconut%20aminos%2C%20and%20cilantro.%20Set%20aside.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Heat%20a%20large%20pan%20over%20medium%20heat%20and%20add%20olive%20oil.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Next%2C%20add%20onion%20and%20saute%20for%205%20minutes.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Add%20jackfruit%20and%20saute%20for%20about%2010%20minutes.%20When%20the%20jackfruit%20starts%20getting%20softer%2C%20use%20a%20wooden%20or%20rubber%20spoon%20to%20break%20the%20pieces%20apart%20so%20they%20look%20shredded.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Pour%20citrus%20mixture%20over%20jackfruit%20and%20stir%20to%20combine.%20Continue%20sauteing%20for%20another%205%20minutes%20to%20allow%20the%20flavors%20to%20combine.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Add%20black%20beans%20right%20at%20the%20end%20and%20mix%20to%20combine.%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22While%20the%20jackfruit%20is%20saut%C3%A9ing%2C%20warm%20the%20corn%20tortillas%20on%20a%20griddle%20or%20in%20the%20microwave.%20I%20like%20to%20make%20mine%20a%20little%20crispy%20by%20using%20a%20little%20olive%20oil%20on%20the%20griddle%20when%20I%20heat%20them.%20%22%7D%2C%7B%22instruction%22%3A%22Fill%20your%20tacos%20with%20jackfruit%20carnitas%20and%20top%20with%20your%20favorite%20toppings!%22%7D%5D” notes=”Toppings to try:
Guacamole, shredded cabbage, shredded cheese, sour cream (we use plain yogurt as a sour cream substitute), cilantro, red onion, pico de gallo or salsa” image=”5359″][/vc_column][/vc_row]