Hey y’all! I’m here to get you ready for Taco Tuuueeeeesdayyyyyy! Or maybe just Taco Wednesday, or Thursday… hell, really any day of the week will do.
In my house, we don’t need a reason to eat tacos! Especially these Easy Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!
I think my husband would agree that if we ate tacos everyday, he’d be a happy camper. Tacos and guacamole to be exact.
He likes to joke that he could be vegan if he could eat guacamole everyday.
Well, I don’t believe that but it’s always amusing nonetheless. Any who, it’s been a while since I’d made a dish with jackfruit, so I decided to make these delicious easy Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!!
What are Carnitas Tacos?
Carnitas tacos are traditionally made from pork shoulders that have been seasoned and cooked until they’re tender with a variety of herbs.
After being cooked, they’re roasted in the oven until slightly crispy. From here, they’re eaten in a variety of different ways— in burritos, tamales, and tacos to name a few.
Well clearly this recipe is NOT for traditional pork tacos. I wanted to recreate a traditional recipe for all my plant-based homies out there 🙂
Happy to say I succeeded! These beauties were TOO GOOD! Just look at the pictures, can’t you tell?!
How to Make Vegan Carnitas Tacos:
Making these Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos was super easy. You’ll begin by separating the jackfruit pieces, cutting away the hard parts and removing the seeds.
This is optional, but I think it helps with the overall texture. Once the jackfruit is divided, you’ll sauté your onions and garlic together in a pan and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
Next, add in the jackfruit and continue mixing with the garlic and onions. Now it’s time to add in the remaining seasonings, vegetable broth and lime juice.
Increase the temperature in order to bring everything to a boil, then lower the temperature so that the boil is reduced to a simmer.
Allowing the ingredients to simmer will help the flavors come together, which is exactly what you want!
While the jackfruit mixture is simmering, you can start preparing for it to go into the oven by preheating the oven to 425°.
Grab your favorite baking pan and line it with parchment paper. This will help to keep that jackfruit from sticking to the pan.
Once 15 minutes has passed, the liquid from the jackfruit mixture should now be mostly evaporated.
Turn the heat off, carefully remove the bay leaves, and and evenly spread the mixture over the baking pan lined with parchment paper. Next, pop it in the oven for 25 minutes!
While the jackfruit is baking in the oven, now would be a great time to start preparing your favorite taco toppings.
A few of my favorites are chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes (or salsa), and red onions. Guacamole would make an excellent topping too!
Once the jackfruit is finished baking it should be golden in color and have lightly crisp edges.
Baking the jackfruit will help add to the texture of the jackfruit, making it more meaty. Now you’re ready to start building your tacos and preparing to enjoy them!
What to Eat with Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos
Wanna make this into a complete meal? Try pairing these Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos with a few of these amazing side dishes:
I’m confident that even your omni friends and family will love these Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!
They’re easy to make, flavorful and delicious! Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Easy Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos [+VIDEO]
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (I used olive oil)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ white onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 20 oz. cans of jackfruit in brine or water seeds removed, drained, rinsed and squeezed with a clean dish cloth
- black pepper to taste
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp chili flakes (optional)
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime juice
- tortillas for serving
- roughly chopped cilantro for garnish
- diced tomato for topping (optional)
- diced red onion for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°
- In a large pan heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Once heated, add the diced onions and minced garlic to the pan and sauté for about 2 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste.2 tbsp neutral oil, 2 tsp minced garlic, ½ white onion
- Add jackfruit to the pan and combine together with the onions and garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes.2 20 oz. cans of jackfruit in brine or water
- Add all seasonings, brown sugar, vegetable broth and lime juice. Stir together and bring to a boil.black pepper, 3 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp sea salt, 2 tbsp brown sugar, ½ tsp chili flakes, 1½ cups vegetable broth, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime juice
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Let sit for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While simmering, prepare a baking pan for the oven by lining it with parchment paper.
- Once the liquid has evaporated from the pan, evenly spread the jackfruit mixture over the pan (remove the bay leaves), then transfer to the oven for 25 minutes.
- While the jackfruit is cooking, you can begin preparing your favorite taco toppings (chopped cilantro, diced tomato, red onions…etc.) and warming your tortillas.tortillas for serving, roughly chopped cilantro, diced tomato, diced red onion
- After 25 minutes, remove the jackfruit from the oven and build your tacos.
- Enjoy!
Perfect recipe for Taco Tuesday! They were super easy to make (the name didn’t lie), and very flavorful! My Hubs, who’s pescatarian had me make salmon for him as a backup in case he wasn’t feeling them. No salmon eaten this night!!!! He thought they were bomb! Thank you for another amazing recipe!!
These are delicious!! I put less of the spicy stuff for my kids, and they loved it as well!
Jackfruit is on my list of next-to-try foods! Saving this to be one of the items i make because who doesn’t love tacos?
I’d never worked with Jackfruit until I made your recipe. It wasn’t as difficult as I had assumed. It’s a yummy and delicious alternative to meat!
Love a good jackfruit recipe! Looks great!
Made these the other night and they were so good. I never knew to put them in the oven, but that made all the difference with texture. These will surely be on the taco menu again!
This is a perfect meatless Monday recipe!!! So looking forward to the jackfruit tacos!
I’ve always heard that jackfruit is a great meatless alternative, and your recipe convinced me to try it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was pulled pork. SO good.
So tasty!! A great addition to movie night with the girls.
Gave jackfruit a try for the first time and we absolutely loved it! So glad we made this recipe. We paired the tacos with your cilantro lime rice too! A+
I am glad I stepped out the box and tried this recipe!! So good!
Very good.
I know everyone is all about Taco Tuesday, but I made this for Meatless Monday and they were a HIT with my carnivorous family!
I had Taco a Saturday and used this recipe! Oh my! These tacos were so good! My family and I loved them
Wow – I never knew jackfruit could be this good. This is one recipe that just might make me consider vegan 🙂
This recipe is spot on. Can’t even tell these tacos are vegan!
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So so good- a new staple in my house! We’ve cooked with jackfruit before but your recipe took the extra step to make it truly delicious and it only added an extra minute or two. Thank you!!
Taco Tuesday is hitting tonight with these tacos. I’m amazed at how much they taste like the real thing. Baking the jackfruit is a game changer and really changes the texture. Thanks for another bomb recipe Desirée. I wish I had doubled the recipe.
I havent made them with your recipe but im sure im gonna love them so i left a 5 star rating LOL
i will be using your recipe soon and im super excited because i love love love jackfruit!!
thanks for this <3
I love this recipe!! I tried for the first time this week and was just amazed! It was also my first time tasting jackfruit and I am ready to eat more jackfruit!
I was just looking for a recipe to use some jackfruit in a buddha bowl with Desiree’s Seasoned Beans and this dish was perfect; flavor and texture gave a “meaty” component that was delicious! I served this to a couple of non-vegan teenagers who loved it too!
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Not the first time that I have made something with jackfruit, but it’s probably the first time my boyfriend (who does love his meat but will eat whatever I make) mentioned multiple times how good these were while we ate. Guess these will be made again!
Hi,
This looks absolutely delicious!!
Just wondering can i make those a day earlier and reheat? If possible let me know the steps:)
Thank you
Hey Bianca! I would do everything up until it’s time to put the jackfruit in the oven. On the day you want to eat it, resume cooking by transferring the jackfruit mixture from the fridge to the baking pan and bake as directed. Lmk how it goes!
My sister is vegan. And at the start of covid. I purchased several cans of jackfruit. So, I’m always looking for new opportunities to surprise her. This Friday night dinner did not disappoint. Tacos were right on.
Omg these were good I made plant based nachos I’m really trying to change my eating and this definitely hit my craving and nocked it out the park thank you for sharing all you recipes I’m truly thankful and full no inflammation tonight lol 😂. Try this yall I’ll be coming back to try more thanks to TikTok.
It was so yummy! We will add to our favs.