Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos

These tacos are so full of flavor that even meat-lovers will be asking for seconds. I wanted to take Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos over the top so I added roasted sweet potatoes to the party. The filling is super fresh with bright Mexican spices like chili powder, cumin, paprika and coriander. Dare I say, this is one “meaty” taco! When adding your diced tomatoes with green chilies, using RoTel’s  mild green chilies will make everyone happy. Those who love spicy can add their own hot sauce at the end.

Serve in corn or flour tortillas, whichever is your preference. Or pile the topping over greens for the perfect taco salad. I used corn tortillas and fried them up in a little bit of avocado oil. If you haven’t used avocado oil, give it a try. This healthy oil is so light and more affordable than olive oil. Plus it’s heat tolerant to 500F degrees, making it perfect for frying. Flour tortillas fried up are a nice crispy option as well. When I fry my taco shells, I like to dust them with a bit of Cajun Spice Mix that I always have on hand, but you could use any seasoned salt or even chili or cayenne powder. Dust after frying so the spices stay on the shells.

Some of our favorite toppings are fresh sliced jalapeno, diced tomato, chopped lettuce, black olives, avocados, scallions, sour cream and a tiny bit of cheese for some, no cheese for others. All the classic taco toppings work here. Whatever you top yours with, make these soon! Depending on your topping and taco shell options, these are easily made vegan and gluten-free if needed. I hope they become a family favorite for you too.

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Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos

No one will miss the meat in these super flavorful meatless tacos. Use any color quinoa you have on hand and fill corn or flour tortillas or use to make the perfect taco salad.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Author Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients 

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• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 cup water
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• Juice of 1 lime
• Serve with corn or flour tortillas
• Suggested toppings include but not limited to:
• Chopped lettuce diced tomatoes, diced jalapenos, sliced avocados, black olives, diced scallions, cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt.
• hot sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Peel and dice sweet potato into 1-inch cubes. Drizzle with olive or avocado oil and toss to cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake approximately 20 minutes, until crisp-tender and blackened in some places. Remove from oven and set aside.
• While sweet potato is roasting, heat olive or avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add onion and saute until the onion begins to carmalize a little, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Stir in water, diced tomatoes, cooked quinoa, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, coriander and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover saucepan with lid and simmer about 15 minutes, until water has evaporated.
• Stir in sweet potato and black beans and cook until heated through, 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Squeeze lime juice over mixture. Serve warm over tortillas with desired toppings.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy.