Chickpea Avocado Tacos {video}
Bringing you my favorite vegan tacos that are insanely delicious! These Chickpea Avocado Tacos are hearty, healthy, and ready in less than 20 minutes with no heat required. The perfect plant-based, gluten-free lunch or dinner!
In my opinion, you can never go wrong with tacos, whether it’s turkey tacos, fish tacos, or these simple, yet totally satisfying vegetarian tacos! Taco night is always my favorite night!
This post was originally published on 2/21/17. It was republished on 6/2/20 with new content.
I often get asked about how to make satisfying veggie meals. One of my go-to answers is this: put stuff in a tortilla. Roasted vegetables, beans, eggs, hummus and lots of fun toppings… anything goes when I’m making impromptu tacos. Tacos are pretty much my family’s favorite meals, and I love that these meatless tacos come together so quick and easy.
Ingredients for Vegan Tacos
Not only do I love these vegan tacos because they’re so quick and easy to whip up, but they contain pretty much all of my favorite ingredients!
- Chickpeas. So versatile, from hummus to salads, chickpeas are a pretty awesome food!
- Avocado. No explanation needed here!
- Slaw. Love that added crunch the slaw gives these tacos.
- Fresh cilantro. Give me all of the fresh flavor! (if you’re a cilantro hater, you could totally leave this out)
- Red pepper flakes. This was my seasoning of choice. The red pepper flakes give these tacos the perfect little kick. However, feel free to use any favorite seasoning. Trader Joe’s Chile lime seasoning would be awesome!
- Tortillas. What’s there not to love?
- Taco toppings. The toppings are where it’s at! Add your favorites!
How do you make vegan tacos?
These chickpea tacos start pretty basic with no cooking necessary – yes, you heard me right. How awesome is that, especially in the heat of the summer?!
Simply stir and lightly mash together chickpeas, avocado, cilantro, slaw and seasonings. Then, add the mixture to flour or corn tortillas or lettuce leaves. To brighten it all up, I add a drizzle of sriracha sauce, a squirt of lime juice and some crumbled fresh Queso Fresco. If you prefer to stick with a more plant-based or vegan diet, simply leave off the cheese.
Are vegan tacos gluten-free?
Yes, these vegan tacos can definitely be gluten-free! Use corn tortillas or lettuce cups instead of flour or wheat tortillas. Personally, I prefer corn tortillas with this dish anyway.
Variations
I love these tacos as-is, but they are completely customizable. You can easily adapt this recipe and add whatever ingredients you have on hand or love!
What you can put in these vegan tacos:
- Vegetarian “meats”. meat substitutes or tofu
- Fresh, sautéed or roasted vegetables. zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions, spinach, kale, sweet potatoes, cauliflower
- Nuts and seeds. walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seed or sunflower seeds
- Grains. quinoa, wild rice, brown rice or yellow rice
- Beans. swap out the chickpeas for black, red, or pinto beans
What toppings for tacos?
The options for taco toppings are endless! There is so much flavor and texture in these tacos, you really don’t even need extra toppings, but feel free to add whatever you’re craving.
Popular taco toppings:
- Shredded greens. lettuce, cabbage, coleslaw mix, kale
- Crumbled or shredded cheese. cotija, crumbled queso, pepper jack, Monterey jack, cheddar
- Fresh herbs. cilantro, parsley, scallions, chives
- Fresh fruits. mango, pineapple, tomato, fruit salsa
- Pickled vegetables: onions, carrots, chiles, pepperoncini, jalapeño
- Salsa: corn salsa, tomato salsa, salsa verde
- Condiments: hot sauce, guacamole, sour cream or Greek yogurt
What to serve with vegan tacos?
These chickpea avocado tacos are definitely the star of the meal, but here are a few side dish ideas to round out the meal.
- Tortilla chips and fresh homemade salsa
- Guacamole
- Tropical fruit salad
- Mexican street corn
- Healthy Mexican rice
- Mexican salad
How long do chickpea avocado tacos last?
Store leftover chickpea filling in an airtight container or zip-top baggie. This filling will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Check out the video below to see how easy vegan tacos are to make!
I can’t wait for you to give these Chickpea Avocado Tacos a try! You’re going to love their fresh vibrant flavor and you’re so going to appreciate how super simple and quick they are to whip up. These tacos are:
Fast
Easy
Filling
Nutrient-rich
And extremely flavorful!
They would make a great weeknight meal when you want something in a hurry that’s tasty and hearty. You could even use taco shells for added crunch, or put everything atop salad greens for a more vegetable-heavy dish.
Remember, unless you have just made your tortillas fresh from scratch, packaged corn tortillas are best when heated and softened first, before being used for tacos.
Craving more tacos?
Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Seared Salmon Tacos with Avocado Crema
If you try these vegan tacos, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves them as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Chickpea Avocado Tacos
Ingredients
For the taco filling:
- 15 oz organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 ripe avocado, mashed
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped with tough stems removed
- 1 cup shredded slaw mix or thinly chopped cabbage and carrots
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or other seasoning that you enjoy
- 1/4 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper + more to taste
Optional extras:
- 5 corn tortillas or large leaves of romaine
- crumbled Queso Fresco
- sliced jalapeños
- sriracha sauce or salsa
- fresh cilantro
- squeeze of lime juice
Instructions
- Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and lightly mash/combine until everything is well incorporated. Mash chickpeas as much or as little as you prefer.
- Scoop about 1/2 cup of the filling mixture into each tortilla or lettuce leaf. If desired, drizzle with sriracha sauce, a squeeze of lime juice and add any other favorite extras. Enjoy!
Notes
*Optional toppings not calculated into nutritional info.
*I like to heat my tortilla in a large skillet for about 30-45 seconds on each side. Photos by Sasha at Eat Love Eats.
Did you make this recipe?
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this was sooo good! i would have never thought of this way to use these chickpeas (that i’m getting used to..lol).
So thrilled you enjoyed! Thanks for your comment!
This. Was. Bomb. I didn’t miss meat or cheese in this taco and have since used the filling as a dip with tortilla chips and a salad topping too!
This is seriously so good. Total perfection, wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you!!
These Chickpea Tacos were absolutely amazing! I love that they are loaded with veggies and easily gluten free. And who can pass up a meal that doesn’t require cooking?! Will be making these all summer long!
THESE WERE SO DELICIOUS! I will 100% be making these again and again!
This was a delicious surprise! Of course it looked great but I have tried a lot of recipes that I’ve found on Pinterest that did not perform lol This will now be a new staple at our house. Cheers to this super tasty, quick and easy recipe. Moving forward we will be trying other recipes that you’ve posted!
This is my favorite “I don’t want to cook, but I need to cook” dinner. So easy, fast, and delicious. Also, the first vegetarian taco that wasn’t good “for a vegetarian taco.” Straight up delicious without the qualifier and a new addition to my weekly meal plans.
I’ve made these several times now and absolutely love them! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I don’t usually comment on recipes, but these were so good! Thanks so much, it is a delicious recipe! The entire family loves it!
This was such a simple and tasty meal! I was even able to get my kids to eat this and sneak in some extra veggies! Thanks for another great recipe!
This is the best recipe I’ve made in a really long time. Thank you for creating and sharing it! Please keep doing what you are doing.
This is an absolute FAVORITE in our house. I have shared this recipe with so many people. My husband’s comment was “I wouldn’t have known it was vegan if you didn’t tell me!”
Such a delicious recipe. Great for vegans and meat lovers. It had so much flavor meat eaters wont even notice!
Yum! We loved these! Easy and very tasty!
We made this tonight and it was divine! My husband and I recently went vegan and this was the perfect meal for us. (We were in a little boredom slump with the meals). This one really reinvigorated us. Thank you!
We loved these tacos! So easy and tasty!
These tacos were so refreshing and delicious! My whole family enjoyed and I’ll definitely be making again!
These look delicious and I love that they are so quick to put together and require no baking. They are also very festive looking with all of the colors. My daughter tries to eat as little meat as possible and this would be another great addition to her menus.