These super flavorful jackfruit vegan pork tacos are easy to make, ready in just 40 minutes, and they only require one pan! Crush Taco Tuesday with this delicious family-friendly plant-based meal!
These easy jackfruit tacos are going to knock your socks off! They are loaded with so much flavor from the chipotle adobo sauce, dried seasonings, garlic, and onions. In addition to being absolutely delicious, these tacos are so easy to make in just 40 minutes and they only require one pan!
What really kicks these tacos up a notch is the adobo sauce that the canned jackfruit is cooked in. I don’t use the whole chipotle peppers, just the adobo sauce and it gives the jackfruit meat so much flavor!
I’m willing to bet that these jackfruit tacos will be your new favorite taco recipe! You can also use this jackfruit filling to make the best vegan enchiladas!
Want more vegan jackfruit recipes? Check out this recipe roundup of delicious vegan jackfruit recipes that taste better than meat!
What Is Vegan Pork Made of?
This version is made from canned young green jackfruit. Once the canned jackfruit has been rinsed and drained, seasoned, cooked, and shredded, it tastes and looks just like pulled pork!
You can buy vegan pork in packages that’s already cooked and coated in sauce, but I don’t really care for those because they’re usually pretty expensive and high in sodium. I prefer to make jackfruit meat for tacos from scratch because it tastes 100x better!
Does Jackfruit Taste Like Pork?
Jackfruit definitely tastes and looks like meat, and it’s the perfect canned vegan pork substitute as long as it’s seasoned well and cooked long enough so it gets tender and shreds.
Should You Eat or Discard Jackfruit Seeds?
You should definitely eat the jackfruit seeds! I’m always shocked when I see recipe instructions that say to discard the seeds. The Jackfruit seeds are 100% edible and they’re very tasty!
Leave the seeds intact in the pieces of unripe jackfruit and let them cook. The jackfruit seeds get very tender and have a chewy texture, very similar to a bean. Don’t waste your time picking the seeds out to throw them away because you’ll be wasting a perfectly edible part of the jackfruit.
Where Can You Buy Canned Jackfruit?
You can buy canned young green jackfruit at Trader Joe’s (Here’s my Trader Joe’s vegan shopping list), Whole Foods (Here’s my Whole Foods vegan shopping list), and Amazon. I’ve also found canned jackfruit at my local health food store so make sure you check out your local mom n’ pop shop too!
Do You Need To Cut The Jackfruit Before Cooking It?
I’ve seen many jackfruit recipes where they tell you to cut the jackfruit up into small pieces before you cook it. I find that to be an unnecessary extra step.
Once the jackfruit has been cooked and it’s soft and tender, you can use a wooden spoon or potato masher to lightly crush the chunks of jackfruit and break it up. Doing this will shred the soft pieces of cooked jackfruit and give it the best texture for vegan pork taco meat.
The only reason I would recommend cutting up the jackfruit before cooking it is if you’re trying to create a vegan ground pork filling to use for tacos.
How To Make Jackfruit Tacos – Step by Step Instructions
First, open the canned jackfruit and pour the jackfruit into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse and drain it very well.
In a large pan over medium heat, saute the diced onions in vegetable broth for 5-8 minutes or until soft. Add the minced garlic, adobo sauce, tomato paste, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and all of the dry seasonings. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
Next, add the rinsed and drained jackfruit, lime juice, and water to the pan, cover it and let it cook for 25-30 minutes (or until the jackfruit is tender), stirring occasionally. While the jackfruit is cooking, prep the taco toppings.
Remove the lid and use a wooden spoon or potato masher to lightly mash and break up the chunks of jackfruit. It should shred easily. Mix the shredded jackfruit with the rest of the sauce.
There shouldn’t be much liquid left, but if there is, just let it cook a little bit longer without the lid on until the liquid is absorbed.
Lastly, add the cooked jackfruit to soft tortillas with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, vegan sour cream, hot sauce, and slices of avocado. Enjoy!
Jackfruit Taco Toppings
The shredded chipotle-seasoned jackfruit is delicious by itself, but, just like chili, it gets even better when you load it up with lots of toppings!
My favorite jackfruit taco toppings are:
- Fresh Greens (Sliced romaine lettuce or spinach)
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced Green Onions
- Vegan Sour Cream (I use Kite Hill Unsweetened Plain Greek Yogurt)
- Hot Sauce (I love the organic hot sauce from Sprouts)
- Sliced Avocado
- Fresh Lime Juice
What To Do With The Leftover Chipotle Peppers
You only need the adobo sauce and maybe 1-2 chipotle peppers (if you want to add a little heat) for this shredded vegan pork recipe. There will be more peppers and sauce leftover in the can.
You can save the leftover peppers and adobo sauce by portioning 1-2 peppers and a little bit of sauce into each compartment of a silicone ice cube tray. Freeze the cubes and then transfer them to a Ziploc or reusable bag for future recipes, like taco bowls with avocado chipotle sauce.
Can You Freeze Leftover Jackfruit?
Yes, you can freeze the leftover jackfruit filling for a future meal. Put the cooked jackfruit pork by itself in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for 3-4 months.
When you want to reheat the jackfruit, remove it from the freezer and let it defrost overnight in the fridge. Then put the thawed jackfruit in a large pan over medium heat and add a little bit of vegetable broth or water to help it loosen up in the pan. Let it warm up for about 5 minutes or until it’s hot all the way through.
Notes & Substitutions
- Gluten-Free: This recipe is naturally gluten-free as long as you use gluten-free tortillas.
- Should You Remove the Jackfruit Seeds? Don’t waste time picking out the jackfruit seeds, they’re completely edible and delicious once cooked.
- What if You Don’t Have Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce? If you can’t find canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or if the adobo sauce is too spicy for you, you can substitute 1 additional tbsp of tomato paste instead.
- Jackfruit Substitutions: Instead of jackfruit, you can substitute crumbled tofu, roughly chopped artichokes, or soy curls.
- Add Extra Protein: If you want to add extra plant-based protein to this recipe, add (1) 14 oz can of black beans (that have been rinsed and drained) when you add the jackfruit.
Success Tips
- Make sure to rinse and drain the jackfruit very well. You want to get as much of the salty brine off of the jackfruit as possible.
- You don’t need to cut up the jackfruit (or remove the core or seeds) prior to cooking it as long as you cook it long enough. If the jackfruit won’t shred when you try to mash it then it hasn’t been cooked long enough. The jackfruit should be soft, tender, and easy to shred.
- To give the jackfruit a spicy kick, add 1-2 minced chipotle peppers or 1-2 tbsp of hot sauce to the filling.
- If you don’t want to use the shredded jackfruit for tacos, you can add it to burritos, enchiladas, taco salad, chili, or taco soup.
- You can store the leftover vegan jackfruit pork in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for future meals.
More Vegan Jackfruit Recipes You’ll Love!
Whiskey BBQ Vegan Pulled Pork Jackfruit Sliders
The Best Vegan Pork Jackfruit Tacos
Equipment
- Large Pan
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce (just the sauce not the chipotle peppers)
- 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- (2) 14 oz cans young green jackfruit in brine (rinsed and drained well)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 cup water (or vegetable broth)
Instructions
- First, open the canned jackfruit and pour the jackfruit into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse and drain it very well.
- In a large pan over medium heat, saute the diced onions in vegetable broth for 5-8 minutes or until soft. Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, adobo sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and sea salt. Stir and let the mixture cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rinsed and drained jackfruit, lime juice, and water to the pan, stir to combine. Cover the pan and let it cook for 25-30 minutes or until the jackfruit is tender, stirring occasionally. While the jackfruit is cooking, prep the taco toppings.
- Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to lightly mash and break up the chunks of jackfruit. The jackfruit chunks should shred easily. Mix the jackfruit with the rest of the sauce. If there is any liquid left in the pan, let it cook a little bit longer with the lid off until the liquid has been absorbed.
- Build your tacos with lettuce, jackfruit, tomatoes, avocado, vegan sour cream, hot sauce, and green onions!
Notes
- To give this jackfruit taco recipe a protein boost, add (1) 14oz can of rinsed and drained black beans.
- Make sure to rinse and drain the jackfruit very well. You want to get as much of the salty brine off the canned jackfruit as possible.
- You don't need to cut up the jackfruit (or remove the core or seeds) prior to cooking it as long as you cook it long enough. If the jackfruit won't shred when you try to mash it then it hasn't been cooked long enough. The jackfruit should be soft, tender, and easy to shred.
- To give the jackfruit vegan pork a spicy kick, add 1-2 minced chipotle peppers or 1-2 tbsp of hot sauce to the filling.
- If you don't want to use the shredded jackfruit for tacos, you can add it to burritos, enchiladas, taco salad, chili, or taco soup.
- You can store the leftover vegan jackfruit pork in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for future meals.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally shared on 3/9/18, but I updated it with better recipe instructions on 5/6/20.
These tacos are so flavorful! My family loved the recipe and couldn’t believe how much the jackfruit tasted like meat! I’ll definitely be making these tacos again soon!
I made these and they were amazing! Even my meet eater boyfriend commented on how flavorful they were.
I’m so happy that you both enjoyed the jackfruit tacos! Thank you for letting me know =)