The Best Vegan Crispy Bean Tacos (Gluten-free option)
This amazing vegan crispy bean tacos or quesadillas with peanut sauce recipe is so incredibly tasty – and very easy to make. My vegan take on beef mince tacos is made simply with beans, spices, chili sauce, herbs, and couscous. It’s rich, and full of tender meaty textures, all bathed in a peanut sauce from heaven. It doesn’t get much cozier to make a quick vegan homemade tacos takeout.
The crispy vegan tacos are my favorite way to use leftover couscous and baked beans because it turns them into a completely new and mouthwateringly good lunch or dinner.
This vegan crispy tacos recipe is my go-to quick lunch and my most recommended recipe when anyone asks me for simple vegan back-to-school lunch ideas. It’s always a favorite with kids and adults because it’s so insanely good.
What’s great about these all-vegan amazing crispy bean tacos with peanut sauce:
- Just about everything
- Great way to use leftovers
- Easy and quick to make
- Quick and delicious vegan lunch or dinner
- Great to bring with you to-go
- Vegan
- Healthy and low-calorie
- Can be gluten-free – just use gluten-free tortillas
- Great vegan-back-to-school lunch idea
- A sure family favorite recipe
In this easy vegan loaded bean tacos and quesadillas recipe post
Ingredients for making the best vegan crispy tacos
Tips and tricks for making vegan tacos and tortillas
How to make loaded vegan bean tacos and tortillas
Best tortilla and tacos toppings
FAQs – all your vegan tacos questions answered
Ingredients for making the best vegan crispy bean tortillas
Beans – I like to use canned kidney beans or black beans. You can also cook your beans if you prefer. I like recipes that are quick and easy (minimum effort and the maximum flavor is my motto) so I tend to use canned beans. Butter beans, cannellini beans, or even lentils can also work in this easy vegan tortilla recipe.
Spring onions – spring onions give a fresh mild onion flavor to the dish. If you don’t have spring onions you can substitute with white onions, yellow onions, shallots, or even leeks. Or you can replace it with a teaspoon of onion powder.
Seasoning – Sweet chili sauce, ground cumin, ground coriander and salt make the savory spice base of this rich healthy low-calorie baked beans recipe.
Couscous – use leftover Couscous from last night’s dinner or make a fluffy new batch of couscous.
Tortillas – or taco shells. You can use wheat tortillas, rice tortillas, corn tortillas, and even lentil tortillas for this recipe. Any type of tortilla or taco works great in this recipe, so don’t be afraid to use what you have.
Ingredients to make creamy peanut butter sauce
Organic Peanut Butter – I like to use creamy peanut butter to make this vegan peanut sauce. Rich, nutty, and deliciously luscious this nutritious peanut sauce is full of healthy omega fatty acids and plant-based protein.
Hoisin Sauce – sweet, rich, and incredibly tasty in this peanut sauce. If you don’t have hoisin sauce in the kitchen you can replace it with a teaspoon of maple syrup mixed with a teaspoon of tamari sauce.
Rice Wine Vinegar – you can also substitute the rice wine vinegar with white vinegar or balsamic vinegar for a hint of molasses flavor.
Cold Water – a little cold water makes the sauce creamy and easy to drizzle over the tortillas. This sauce is also a great dipping sauce – try it with fresh veggies, my loaded vegan nachos, or drizzle it over your favorite salad. It’s so good with everything.
Spices and seasoning – Ground Coriander, Salt, and Garlic Powder make the savory spice base for this tasty creamy vegan peanut sauce.
Tips and tricks for making the best bean tacos and quesadilla wraps
What kind of tortillas should I use?
You can use wheat tortillas, taco shells, rice tortillas, corn tortillas, and even lentil tortillas for this recipe. Any type of tortilla works great in this recipe, so don’t be afraid to use what you have.
Using leftovers
If you have leftover bakes beans you can easily use them in this recipe. They work just as well as freshly made baked beans. The same with the couscous. Whenever I have leftover couscous these crispy tacos are one of my favorite ways to use them.
What kind of couscous should I use?
Again you can use your favorite couscous salad, leftover couscous from last night’s dinner, or a simple freshly made couscous.
Here are a few of my favorite easy couscous recipes that I like to use in my crispy bean tacos:
But you can also just make a quick couscous seasoned with dried thyme, paprika, fresh basil and salt. There’s no need to get fancy and add lots of vegetables if you don’t feel like it. A plain well seasoned couscous works just as well.
How is this Amazing vegan crispy bean tacos with peanut sauce recipe made? It’s very easy. Just:
Instructions for making the best luxe vegan bean tacos
For the Peanut Sauce
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter with all the other ingredients until they are combined into a creamy dressing. Add extra salt if need and set aside.
Baked Beans
- Heat a pan and add the drained beans.
- Let the beans cook for a few minutes before adding the chopped spring onions, sweet chili sauce and salt. Stir together to combine and use a spoon to lightly mash the beans.
- Once the beans are mostly mashed, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Making the Vegan Bean Tacos
- Place the tortillas on a plate and spread two tablespoons baked beans onto one half of the tortilla.
- Top with couscous salad and a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Fold one half of the tortilla over the other half and lightly press them together. Do the same with all the tortillas.
- Next, heat a grill or skillet and grill the tacos for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the tacos are golden and crispy. Serve the crispy tacos with a drizzle of peanut sauce on top and enjoy.
Add extra vegetables to your bean tacos and tortillas
You can add extra vegetables for extra nutrition and to make one batch go further. Capsicum/bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, black beans, zucchini, all work great as tacos filling.
Vegan tacos and tortilla toppings and mix-in ideas
Every good tacos and tortilla recipe needs an assortment of delicious toppings. Since everyone in my family has their idea about what they want as a tacos topping I like to make a plate full of different toppings and set it in the center of the table for everyone to customize their own toppings.
Salsa – regular salsa, hot salsa, tomatillo salsa, or my easy tasty salsa (my favorite topping). You can never go wrong with a good salsa topping.
Crushed tortilla chips – crispy, crunchy and salty. Pretty much everything you need as a delicious topping you get in the humble tortilla chips.
Sour cream – whether vegan sour cream or regular sour cream, sour cream is always a great tortilla and taco topping choice.
Hot sauce – because some people just need more spice in everything, all the time.
Sweet chili sauce – I would happily pour sweet chili sauce over just about anything…and that includes my easy vegan loaded bean tacos. Yum.
French fried onions – crunchy, onion-y, and irresistible. French fried onions are an AMAZING tacos topping.
Jalapeños and green chilies – if you want even more spice in your tacos or tortillas then this is the topping for you.
Shredded cheese – vegan or vegetarian shredded cheese melting into a hot plate of cozy bean tacos? Yes, please.
What to serve with vegan loaded bean tortillas
Frequently asked questions about Bean tacos, wraps and enchiladas
You can store the tacos filling in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Yes, this easy bean filling is freezer friendly making it a great meal prep dinner. Just let the beans cool first, then freeze it in a ziplock bag or freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Defrost and reheat before serving.
There are two main ways to reheat bean stew:
The saucepan way: Reheat the beans in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat until hot, while stirring often. Add a little extra liquid if needed to make the mixture more creamy.
The microwave way: Place the beans in a microwave-safe container and reheat at a high temperature for 1 minute. Stir the beans then reheat one more minute if necessary. Stir, and continue heating in intervals until the beans are hot.
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The Best Vegan Crispy Bean Tacos with Peanut sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Couscous Salad
- 4 large Tortillas
Baked Beans
- 1 15-oz can Kidney Beans or black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 Spring Onion Chopped
- 2 tbsp Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp Ground Coriander
Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup Organic Peanut Butter
- 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Cold Water
- ½ tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
For the Peanut Sauce
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter with all the other ingredients until they are combined into a creamy dressing. Add extra salt if need and set aside.
Baked Beans
- Heat a pan and add the drained beans.
- et the beans cook for a few minutes before adding the chopped spring onions, sweet chili sauce and salt. Stir together to combine and use a spoon to lightly mash the beans.
- Once the beans are mostly mashed, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Making the Tacos
- Place the tortillas on a plate and spread two tablespoons baked beans onto one half of the tortilla.
- Top with couscous salad and a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Fold one half of the tortilla over the other half and lightly press them together. Do the same with all the tortillas.
- Next, heat a grill or skillet and grill the tacos for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the tacos are golden and crispy. Serve the crispy tacos with a drizzle of peanut sauce on top and enjoy.
Are you looking for more quick vegan dinner ideas? Try my easy vegan Arugula Pasta salad or my easy vegan grilled cheese plum sandwich
