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Tempeh and Black Bean Taco Filling

Toddler's First Crunchy Taco

For a long time, I've put beans in my taco meat to make it less meaty. But I'm in a phase of just really not liking meat at all right now, and I was missing the flavor and texture of a good old crunchy taco with ground meat. Beans alone wouldn't cut it. So it was time to figure out how to make tempeh taste good in taco form.

I found this recipe, which I didn't follow too closely, but it gave me the idea that ended up being the answer to flavorful tempeh taco filling. You toss the crumbled tempeh with taco seasoning and a few tablespoons of water, and let it marinate. That did the trick - all of the taco flavor I was craving.

When I set out, I wasn't planning to deglaze the pan with pickled jalapeno juice, but it was really dry and the tempeh was starting to stick to the pan. It was the perfect solution, balanced out by the sweetness in ketchup and some extra tomato for flavor and moisture.

It tastes better than it looks.


The Recipe:
1 package tempeh, crumbled
2 tb taco seasoning (I haphazardly combined chili powder, onion and garlic powders, cumin, oregano, and salt)
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small tomato, chopped
1-2 tb ketchup
1-2 tb liquid from jar of pickled jalapenos
2 tb pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed
taco shells, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, green onion, cilantro, etc for serving
  • Mix crumbled tempeh with taco seasoning and about 2 tb water. Marinate in refrigerator for 30+ minutes.
  • In olive oil over medium-high heat, sauté onion until it becomes translucent.
  • Add garlic, tomato, and marinated tempeh, and stir over medium heat until the tempeh begins to brown and/or stick to the pan too much.
  • Deglaze the pan with liquid from the pickled jalapenos, scraping any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan.
  • Add ketchup and black beans and mix well.
  • Cover pan tightly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for at least 10 minutes.

The Verdict
Overall grade: A
Overall reason: Maybe I've forgotten what taco meat tastes like, but I think it's just as delicious.
Time to prepare: 1 hour
Toddler quote: (Pointing to the filling inside his taco) "This is gross." Me: "Did you say gross?" Toddler: "Gross, yes." Me: "That makes me sad! I cooked this! And I think it's yummy. You really think it's gross?" Toddler: "Yes, gross. Gross gross gross gross gross." (Then he ate it.)


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