The best vegan taco stuffed sweet potatoes with chickpea pecan filling, cilantro lime cabbage slaw, and avocado crema. The perfect healthy meatless meal for the whole family!
I like to think I’m not a super rountine-y kind of person but I mean, I totally am.
I thrive when I know what I’m supposed to be doing, when I have a plan, when I have structure. So while I have an archive of tested recipes and the world wide web at my fingertips, I still make the sam damn things ever week. OMG am I boring?!
If it ain’t broke…
Following a trusted routine means thinking less. I think because my life day to day involves so much thinking, when it comes to food I just want to chow down without giving my brain a workout. I am the BIGGEST over-thinker.
I know what I have to get the grocery store from memory because it’s preeeeetty much the same week to week (AKA the entire produce section and like, all the beans). I know when I ask the boyf what he wants for dinner, he’ll say lasagna, stir fry, bean balls with whole wheat noodles and spaghetti squash, tempeh enchilada casserole, or tacos. OMG…we’re boring.
I’ve loved tacos for as long as I can remember but for whatever reason, I never used to make them at home. Hooda thunk it? That all changed a few months ago and our dinner routine has been hella elevated ever since. I started off with a version of this recipe from Nutrition Stripped, which is totally delish in its own right. I changed it up by using way more chickpeas than nuts (I still love the flavor and texture of the pecans, though!) and a bit of a different spice profile.
I never say no to smoked paprika. I can honestly say I have at least two full jars of that sucker in the spice cabinet and I’m not mad about it.
Since I obviously need creamy and crispy and crunchy and spicy all rolled into each and every little bite, I perfected not only the perfect chickpea pecan taco “meat,” but also the most stellar cilantro lime red cabbage slaw and delightfully cilantro-y avocado crema. When you eat everything together it’s like a freaking symphony. The bells are ringing in my brain!!!
Upon tasting my perfected version of the dish, the boyf said, “I want to take this to work and see if the guys can tell it’s not meat.” No one’s trying to mimic meat here, but it just goes to show that it’s hearty and delish enough to please any and all tastebuds!
When it comes to vehicles for this epic combo, I like collard green wraps, organic blue corn taco shells, sprouted corn tortillas, or good old sweet taters. If you’re feeling crunchy, go the taco shell route. If you’re feeling sweet, go the tater route.
The ingredient list may look a little lengthy, but I promise it’s all super easy. Half of it’s spices! Sometimes I’ll whip up the chickpea pecan filling in the morning so at night I just have to heat it up. Also, I totally use this organic bottled lime juice in place of fresh limes. Same goes for lemon juice. I know fresh is best, but I’m all about convenience these days!
These tacos make my dinner dreams come true. Gobble up!
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The best vegan tacos with chickpea pecan “meat,” cabbage slaw, and avocado crema stuffed all stuffed in sweet potatoes! The perfect healthy meatless meal for the whole family.
Ingredients
For the sweet potatoes:
- 4–6 medium sweet potatoes, baked (alternatively, you can use taco shells of choice)
For the cilantro lime slaw:
- 1 small head red cabbage, shredded (about 5 cups)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup (can sub honey)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
For the cilantro lime crema:
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 1/2 cup cilantro, packed
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp water (more if needed to blend)
- 1/4 tsp garlic power
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the taco filling (this makes a lot, feel free to cut in half)
- 2–15oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Heaping 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts)
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 4 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup water
Additional toppings:
- sliced jalapeños, salsa, hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Place on lined baking sheet and bake for about an hour or longer, until fork tender.
- Meanwhile, place slaw ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring to combine. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Place all the cream ingredients in a blender (I used my nutribullet) and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Place one can of chickpeas and half the pecans in a large food processor. Pulse for about 5-10 seconds or until finely chopped (not mushy, but well combined). It should look “meaty.” Dump into a bowl. Repeat with remaining chickpeas and nuts. Add spices and stir until combined.
- Heat a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat. Once hot, add chickpea mixture and water to moisten. Cook for a few minutes, or until heated through.
- Assemble slicing sweet potatoes length-wise and layering taco meat, slaw, crema, and toppings. Serve warm!
Karlie says
Everything about this I love!!! Can’t wait to try em ?
Alexis says
Love it! So scrumptious can’t wait for you to try.
Lindsay Amerman says
I can’t wait to make these tomorrow night for me and my boyfriend! He’s a meat eater but super good about trying all of my vegetarian meals that I make so I’m curious to see what he thinks of the taco “meat”!
Alexis says
I bet he’ll love them! Let me know how it goes ;)
Rose, RD, LD @ The Donut Dietitian says
already obsessed with this and i haven’t even made it yet. hellllo dinner tonight :)
Alexis says
Cannot wait for you to try! :)
Sam @ Hygge Wellness says
First of all, I can’t wait to make these because they look so good!! But second, the photos are GORGEOUS alexis!!! your photography game has gotten really, really strong. I love it! I’ve been reading for years, so I just thought I’d mention it ; )
Alexis says
OMG this makes me so happy and is the biggest compliment. Thank you for following me on my journey :)
Rachel @ Health My Lifestyle says
Um *Swoon* DEFinitely going to make these soon! Also–did the boyf take it to work for the guys to try? My coworkers don’t believe me when I tell them shredded jackfruit and BBQ sauce looks and tastes like pulled pork. But it does! At least in my opinion haha.
Casey the College Celiac says
This looks ridiculously tasty! Love the idea of mixing chickpeas with nuts!!
Alexis says
So yum!
Julia Mueller says
I’m totally a creature of habit, too..I’ve been blaming it on getting older, but I think it’s more of a wisdom thing – you simply learn what works, what is efficient, what is healthy/cost-effective, etc….And these stuffed sweet po’s? I want to do unspeakable things to them. That is all.
Alexis says
At this point its more of a NEED for them than a want :)
Amy Rushing says
These look great! I am allergic to avocados (which is unfortunate since I am vegetarian). Can you think of any other kind of crema that might work?
★★★★★
Betty King says
Banana would be a similar texture to avocado for crema.
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Chelsea Quinn @ Her Healthy Kitchen says
These look so amazing! I can’t wait to try them. I’m such a sweet potato lover, I have them at least 3-4 times per week!
★★★★★
Amy Linville says
Since my pet peeve is commenting on a recipe before having tried to make it..I can confidently say this was a big hit at my house. I got the leftovers and am feeling really lucky! So filling, satisfying and colorful! I was even able to do the bean and nut mixture in a blender, with some strategic stirring. You’ve opened my eyes and I’ve been cooking a very long time. Thank the you!
Alexis says
Awesome! SO appreciate you trying it :) Have a happy weekend.
Paula says
my kids, grandkids and I made these last night- DELISH! there were fights for the leftovers. As probably one of the largest vegan humans on the planet, at 6’3″, 230 pounds, my son won…… but it’s ok because these are easy and quick to make
★★★★★
Ryan G says
I am a total meat eater, just wanted to address this tasting nothing close to having meat in them. First….. Having said that, wow!!!!! These really are incredible!!! The only change I made was to add a bit of a really savory BBQ sauce I made up to the chick pea mixture and I am mind blown!!! I never thought I would see the day where any sort of vegan meal choice was in the weekly rotation but low and behold, here I am posting a rave review…….. great recipe!!
Alexis says
Hey, Ryan! Hahah–I hear you on it not tasting like meat but I’m so glad you enjoyed them for what they are :) The BBQ addition sounds like perfection!!
patricia van menk says
LOoks great, but a pity that there are no nutritional values on ay of these recipes
★★★★
Rose Swaino says
These were amazing ?? the “meat filling” texture was perfect!!! Kids ate them up. All of the flavors together were like a party in my mouth. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’ve shared with all of my vegan friends and would totally serve these to my non vegan friends too
Alexis says
Yay!!! I’ve been making them in regular blue corn taco shells too. Love the crunch.
Jane Powell says
I made this last night and it was super good. I would process the beans a little less although it might have been correct. There are shortcuts that you could take for this recipe but honestly I think that I would do it the exact same way again. The flavors in the crema were perfect. The bullet worked well for that but it definitely needs a tad more liquid. I kept adding lime juice instead of water. I didnt even add salt to the final plating.
I already shared it with my daughter and a friend with Celiacs. Amazing
Alexis says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment, Jane :)
Kristi says
These were AMAZING!! I don’t eat a lot of meat and my husband is a big meat eater. He loves trying new veg recipes with me and we made these tonight. We both loved them. He loved them so much he wants to make these instead of real meat every time we make tacos! So good and easy!!
★★★★★
Alexis says
Yayyy thank you so much, Kristi!
Rochelle says
Always a party in my tummy with this recipe! My little family LOVED these!! From the slaw to sweet potato to everything between ; just delicious!!
Ro says
Always a party in our tummy! My little family loved these! From the slaw to the sweet potatoe to everything between- just amazing!
★★★★★
Jeffrey Tambor wife says
Great, thanks!