Tempeh Tacos from Betty Goes Vegan

I get migraines. Crazy migraines. Migraines that make me see strange glowing orbs. Migraines that make me leave hair salons in ambulances. But the worst thing about my migraines is that they cause me to have weird aversions to certain foods.

So, for example, when I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and got a migraine a few hours later, suddenly I could no longer stomach PB&Js. The very thought of them would make me feel sick to my stomach. Usually I get over these aversions after a few months, but then there was the time I got a migraine after eating tacos–oh, it was bad. And I wasn’t able to eat tacos for a full year.

The Year Without Tacos will go down as one of the worst years ever. Because along with veggie burgers and pasta, tacos were part of the trifecta of easy go-to meals in our household. I felt a little bit lost without taco night. Tacos are fast! They’re delicious! And putting them together is kind of fun too, right? It was a happy day when I finally found myself thinking, “Hey, you know what? I feel like tacos for dinner! I FEEL LIKE TACOS AGAIN!”

Now you can make tacos with vegetables and beans and potatoes, but my favorite tacos are made with crumpled tempeh. (If you’re unfamiliar with tempeh, be sure to check out my How to Use Tempeh post!) I’ve made a lot of tempeh tacos in my day, but the ones from Anne & Dan Shannon’s new cookbook Betty Goes Vegan are my new favorite. At first I was a little nervous about the long list of ingredients, but they come together quickly and I suspect that this recipe would be ideal for doubling and freezing, making an easy meal even easier.

I received a copy of Betty Goes Vegan a few weeks ago and with 500 recipes, it is HUGE. As the title suggests, the inspiration for this book was Betty Crocker’s cookbook. While it’s fun to see all those classic recipes get meatless remakes, this isn’t necessarily a cookbook I’d buy for myself because most of the recipes call for meat substitutes, which I don’t use. This would be more of a “I’m going to check this out from the library” type of book for me. But if you do use meat substitutes in your cooking, this book is a great source of mealtime inspiration.

Print

Tempeh Tacos

Spicy tacos made with crumbled tempeh from Betty Goes Vegan by Anne & Dan Shannon.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 tacos

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package tempeh
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. Mexican-spiced diced tomatoes (I used the tomatoes with green chilies)
• 1 fresh jalapeño, diced
• 2-4 tsp. chili powder (2 was plenty for us!)
• 3 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. lime juice
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. minced chipotle pepper
• 1/4 c. Bragg’s liquid aminos (coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce works too)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp. water
• salt + pepper to taste
• olive oil mister or cooking spray
• dash of liquid smoke (I omitted this)
• 6-8 hard taco shells
• vegan cheese, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, cilantro, black olives, and lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Crumble your tempeh into a large mixing bowl. Then, using a large spoon, mix in the garlic, tomatoes, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chipotle pepper, and Bragg’s. Once your tempeh is completely mixed into the spices, mix in the onion and pepper. Then drizzle the water 1 tablespoon at a time into your mix while stirring your ingredients continuously. Taste a little bit of your tempeh and add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spray your favorite cast-iron skillet or frying pan with a heavy coating of olive oil cooking spray, and then heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, toss in the tempeh mixture and liquid smoke. Flip your tempeh-vegetable mixture a few times so that it browns evenly. You’ll know it’s ready when your vegetables are tender and your tempeh has crispy edges. It should take about 10 minutes.
3. While your tempeh is cooking, heat your taco shells slightly in the oven following the directions on the package.
4. Once your taco shells are warm, fill them with the tempeh and vegetable mixture. Top with vegan cheese and set aside so it can melt slightly.
5. Serve with guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, cilantro, black olives, lime wedges and anything else you like on your tacos!

Disclosure: I received a copy of Betty Goes Vegan to review on Oh My Veggies. There’s an affiliate link in this post, so if you were to order the book from Amazon through my link, I would receive a small percentage of the sale price.

About Kiersten

Kiersten is the founder and editor of Oh My Veggies.