Epic Vegetarian Tacos
Truly amazing vegetarian tacos featuring easy-to-make refried beans, quick-pickled onions, and creamy avocado sauce! Even meat lovers go crazy for these tacos.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Meet my new favorite tacos! These meatless tacos will please even the most adamant carnivores in your life.
This vegetarian taco recipe features refried pinto beans, creamy avocado sauce, quick-pickled onions and fresh garnishes.
If you ask me, every great taco possesses the following qualities: something hearty (beans), something creamy (avocado), something crisp (shredded cabbage), something tangy (pickled onions and feta), and lots of fresh flavors. These tacos have those qualities in spades.
These vegetarian tacos were inspired by an authentic Mexican taqueria in town, Bonito Michoacan. They offer one-dollar tacos on Fridays. I order beans and cheese on mine, then I load them up with my favorite condiments from their epic salsa and pickle bar. You can’t miss me—look for the girl with big hair and drippy-saucy tacos, dancing in her seat.
Taco Tips & Notes
These tacos are fun to make when you have good company in the kitchen. Just assign the individual components (they’re all so simple) and you’ll have dinner ready in no time. I also offered some shortcuts in the recipe notes, if you’re in a hurry.
You could easily take these ingredients and turn them into a burrito or burrito bowl (just add rice) or quesadilla. They’re delicious in any form.
More Taco Recipes to Enjoy
Don’t miss the “Taco Party” menu in my cookbook (page 189). Those tacos are made with refried black beans, roasted mushrooms and poblano peppers, guacamole, and crisp kale slaw. Aren’t tacos the best?
Here are more taco recipes on the blog, too. Please let me know how you like these tacos in the comments! Your comments keep me inspired.
Watch How to Make Vegetarian Tacos
Epic Vegetarian Tacos
Truly amazing vegetarian tacos featuring easy-to-make refried beans, quick-pickled onions, and creamy avocado sauce! Your whole family will love these meatless tacos. Recipe yields 8 hearty tacos (about 4 servings).
Ingredients
Essential components
- Quick-pickled onions
- Creamy avocado dip
- Easy refried beans
- 8 corn tortillas
Recommended garnishes
- Salsa verde
- Shredded green cabbage (for extra crunch)
- Crumbled Cotija or feta cheese
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Prepare the onions, avocado dip, and beans as directed, in that order.
- Once they’re ready, warm the tortillas in a large skillet over medium heat in batches, flipping to warm each side. Alternatively, you can warm them directly over a low flame on a gas range. Stack the warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.
- To assemble the tacos, spread refried beans down the center of each tortilla. Top with avocado dip and onions (for reference, I used all of the beans and about half of the avocado dip and onions). Finish the tacos with garnishes of your choice, and serve immediately.
- Leftover components are best served separately; reheat the tortillas and beans before serving. Leftover pickled onions and avocado dip are great on quesadillas, nachos or tortilla chips, sandwiches, etc.
Notes
Make it gluten free: Be sure to buy 100% corn/certified gluten-free tortillas.
Make it vegan: Skip the cheese.
Make it quick: You could, theoretically, substitute store-bought refried beans and guacamole for the avocado sauce. Or make the pickled onions and avocado dip in advance, so the tacos come together more quickly.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’ve never liked refried beans before, but if Cookie + Kate thinks I should make refried beans, I’m making refried beans!:) I loved the way this recipe came together so quickly – the canned beans were a great cheat and as they’re softer than home cooked beans they were easier to squish too. I’m not a taco fan, but the beans, avocado, pickled onions and some chopped salad were great in wholegrain pita. I’m always looking for new ways to use pulses in the summer and this filled the bill!
I made these for the first time tonight & they were delicious! I love the beans—much less salty than canned & lots of flavor. I used hard taco shells because that’s what I had and am eager to try with my favorite (locally made Yoli) corn tortillas. The avocado cream was fabulous too! Thanks for another great recipe Kate!
I need people who don’t typically eat vegetarian foods to know that these tacos are spectacular. My husband and I both really enjoyed them. I recently committed to making more vegetarian meals in an effort to increase the variety of my diet, and I am grateful to have found this recipe/series of recipes. Thank you, Kate.
Hi Tia, thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe! I’m glad it is helping you incorporate more variety in your diet.
I enjoyed these, but they were a bit underwhelming compared to the taco party tacos in your cookbook. I ended up cooking the peppers and mushrooms from the book recipe because I had the ingredients on hand, but still missed the kale slaw from the book. Didn’t quite hit the mark for me, even with salsa verde, feta, cilantro and sour cream as toppings it just felt like it was missing something.