Beans & Greens Vegan Tacos

Tacos on Saint Patrick’s Day? Well, when they have the word “green” in the title, you betcha! Now you can’t pinch me.

These Beans & Greens Vegan Tacos are the easiest dinner I’ve made in weeks. Months. Ever! Okay, maybe not ever. Cold cereal for dinner is the easiest ever. But they are still pretty darn easy. 20 minutes and bam – done.

We’ve got beans – of the kidney variety. We’ve got greens – I’m lookin’ at you, rainbow chard.

A few spices, a few toppings, some corn tortillas, and voila. Dinner’s ready.

I first heard about the concept of beans and greens tacos from Sheri when she shared this recipe on her wonderful blog. How cute, I thought: The name rhymes! And they look darn good, too. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that I finally decided to try my hand at some.

I started with this recipe from Martha Stewart’s site, opting for chard instead of kale or other greens. We don’t eat chard nearly enough, so these have been a great (and delicious!) excuse to work it in.

Another reason why this recipe is awesome, especially when you’ve got a multivore household or unexpected company: you can take one recipe and make it vegetarian, vegan, meaty, and/or gluten-free! Just customize for each individual by switching up the tortillas and the toppings. You can even add more green by topping with some guacamole! Perfect.

Happy St. Patty’s day! Now go eat a taco to celebrate.

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Beans & Greens Vegan Tacos

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Author: Kare

Yield: 8 tacos

With kidney beans & rainbow chard, these tacos are fast, easy, and healthy – the perfect weeknight meal. Flexible for meat-eaters, vegans, vegetarians & gluten-free diets.

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion (halved and sliced)
• 3 medium garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more to taste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 bunch chard (about 1/2 pound, either rainbow or Swiss, stems and ribs removed, chopped into bite-size pieces)
• 8 corn tortillas*

Topping ideas:

• Crumbled or shredded vegan cheese (or non-vegan if you’re okay with that)
• Diced avocado
• Cilantro sprigs
• Pico de gallo
• Tapatio hot sauce
• Fresh lime wedges for squeezing over the top

Instructions

• Place a large, deep saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. Add the beans, chili powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water. Stir. Add the chard and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 3-4 minutes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
• Meanwhile, warm the tortillas. You can do this in several ways. Grill: Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and warm one or two tortillas at a time in the pan. Just cook until grill lines start to appear, 1-2 minutes, then flip with tongs and cook on the other side. Oven: Wrap tortillas in foil and place in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until warmed, 8-10 minutes. Microwave: place on a plate, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and microwave until warm, 30-60 seconds.
• To serve, lay tortillas flat on plates and divide the filling between them. Top with preferred toppings. Serve and devour.

Notes

Meaty option:

Add cooked chicken – shredded and lightly seasoned – to the carnivores’ tacos. Or you could just bake up a couple extra dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and throw them on the carnivore’s tacos if you’re really in a hurry. This may have happened in our house once or twice. My poor meat-eating guy. (He still loves them).

*Gluten-free note:

Check your tortilla ingredients to make sure they’re wheat-free.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

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