Tangy Veggie Black Bean Tacos

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We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with these festive and delicious gluten-free and vegetarian tacos. They  are packed with veggies and BIG on flavor!

The details– A gluten-free tortilla piled high with refried black beans seasoned with jalapenos, sautéed peppers and onions seasoned with lime juice, a quick and easy slaw, sweet & spicy pickled onions, queso fresco and finished with some queso fresco and a drizzle of lime crema and fresh cilantro.

Can’t tell you how delicious these were! A perfect mix of savory and zesty flavors and textures.

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Everyday Vegetarian magazine, it sounds complex but each part of the taco was quite easy and took only about 30-40 minutes to prep it total and there are left overs for the next day.

Plus it could be entirely prepped ahead and heated up.

And it’s made with real, whole foods!

Here’s what you’ll need: a bagged cole slaw mix, jarred jalapenos with brine, sour cream or yogurt, lime juice, refried black beans, onion, bell peppers, garlic, salt and pepper, red onion + red wine vinegar + sugar for pickling, gluten-free tortillas, queso fresco and fresh cilantro for topping.

Let’s start with the sweet and spicy, quick pickled onions. All you’ll need is 1 red onion, sliced thin, red wine vinegar, sugar, a pinch of salt and jalapeno.

The vinegar, sugar, salt and jalapenos are heated stove top until the sugar dissolves, then poured over the red onions in a heat proof bowl (like a glass pyrex bowl) and left to sit for 30 minutes while you prep the rest.

For the quick and easy slaw, I used a pre-made cole slaw and just tossed with jalapeno brine and set it aside.

For the beans, you will need one can of refried black beans which are mixed with jarred jalapenos and jalepno brine. The jalapenos won’t make it spicy but it will be a little tangy and flavorful! You can eat it room temperature or heated up stove top or in a microwave.

The veggies are also simple and zesty.  It’s just  2 bell peppers — I used red and yellow for extra color, and a thinly sliced onion quickly sauteed with oil and garlic then seasoned with lime juice, salt and pepper.

The tacos are topped with the pickled onions, queso fresco, lime crema (which could be made using sour cream or yogurt. A dairy free option works well too), and fresh cilantro.

This is not one of my “whip together in 15 minute meals” because of all the toppings… but each topping is easy to make, it can be entirely prepped ahead, and trust me, it’s worth the extra 30 minutes!

Hope you love them as much as we do!

Scroll down to see the recipe and leave a comment if you try.