Quinoa Black Bean Tacos
Quick, easy, healthy and full of flavor – even meat eaters will love this!
I made these quinoa tacos in an attempt to stuff as many tacos in my face without feeling guilty about it. After all, bikini season will be here before you know it. And being an LA native, you should know that I have built quite an endurance for taco-eating.
Now I’m used to those carne asada street tacos so making the switch to these healthy, vegetarian tacos left me a bit skeptical. But boy was I wrong.
These tacos are loaded with so much flavor and such fun goodies, from the abundance of beans and sweet corn kernels. And being the carnivore that I am, I did not miss the meat at all. These also kept me so full – without the heavy bloating – even though I ate way more than I should have. Now who said healthy food doesn’t have to taste good?!
Quinoa Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Heat quinoa and 1 cup water in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder, paprika and cayenne pepper; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in beans and corn until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice and cilantro.
- To serve, spoon quinoa mixture into the center of each tortilla. Top with avocado and sour cream, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is our go-to recipe for quinoa tacos. Loved by carnivores and kids alike.
I had to replace the powdered onion with 1/8cup pureed fresh onion . Cayenne pepper was omitted because of food allergies. Besides that it was really yummy. My 7year old ate her food but my picky 4 year old didn’t. I enjoyed making it
My 11 year old daughter recently decided she wanted to go vegetarian. Tuesdays have always been taco night at our house and tonight we tried these! I made some minor adjustments – I used taco seasoning since I didnt have all these spices on hand and I also just used water instead of vegetable broth. I didnt add the cilantro into the mixture as my husband doesnt like cilantro so we had it on the side.
We also added grated cheese and raw diced yellow onion on the side.
It was delicious and my normally picky now vegetarian 11 year old loved them!! Will definitely be making them next Tuesday
I want to eat this forever and I want everyone that I love to try it too! This was a total hit with my clan. I used drained canned corn instead of frozen corn and I smothered it in a creamy tomato sauce. Insanity!! Thank you for posting this recipe!Â
These are amazing! Everyone in my family loves them. Thank you!
This was awful. It may have been my fault. I added the tomatoes towards the end because I forgot to add them when i was supposed to at step number 2. disappointing . It tasted like drinking lime juice and cayanne. probably won’t try to make again since I have acid reflux unless i can sub the lime and tomatoes with something else . fresh tomatoes are not as bad on acid reflux but NOT tomatoe juice
These tacos have become a staple in my home p. I reduced the hot spices a bit foe my gringo tongue. I love them!
I love tacos, but my husband is usually anti-taco. He likes them, but he winds up eating tacos every shift he works. Finally, he granted me the freedom to make tacos for dinner, so I knew it had to be good. I decided on this recipe and we both loved it! He’s already talking about when we are going to make it again. #win
Been making this recipe for a while now…this recipe is how I convinced my husband to try (and LOVE) vegetarian food. Great recipe! Always a winner with everyone. Vegetarians and even the hardcore meat eaters!
My family LOVES these tacos! Even my husband who is usually a meat and potatoes kind of guy is a satisfied customer when it comes to this recipe. I make them at least every other week, no exaggeration here. Thanks for sharing fantastic recipes that help this busy mama get dinner done and on the table without too much fuss. Seriously delicious!
Hi! Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, absolutely.
I made these tonight with a couple ingredient variations – instead of the tomatoes & green chiles, I used a generous amount of my favorite mango/habanero salsa, and also added in chopped raw pecans for texture (walnuts will work, too) during the combination of all the ingredients. I served the filling over some lime tortilla chips with a touch of melted cheese, and of course lots of avocado! YUMMMMMY!Â
This has become one of my favorite go to vegetarian meals! Even my non-vegetarians like it. We all eat it differently, some in a flour tortilla, some corn, and I like it in a lettuce wrap. There really doesn’t seem to be a bad way to have it!Â
Made these and they are Delicious!!
I made these for dinner this week (no changes to the recipe), and my husband and I both enjoyed them so much! Extremely filling while not being heavy. I used the leftover beans & quinoa to make a taco salad later in the week too for a really quick dinner. Thanks so much for the great recipe! It’s a keeper!
I never leave reviews, but I absolutely love this! I excluded cilantro, but I’m thinking that didn’t make a huge difference. I will be making these again! Thank you so much!!
These are SO good. Great recipe, i will be making these again.Â
I hardly leave reviews but I feel the need to let everybody know how delicious this recipe was! Im in culinary school and that was the first place I was introduced to quinoa. Ive been wanting to make it at home ever since and started out with this recipe…oh my gosh. Best ‘taco’ I’ve ever had! So much flavor. I topped it with an avocado greek yogurt dip, Ill share the link! 🙂 http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/creamy-avocado-yogurt-dip/comment-page-6/#comment-337322
This was delish! thank you so much!
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I made these tonight and they were a huge hit! I love how quick and easy they were, and the fact that they are healthy and filling is a major plus! I’m adding them to my rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
These tacos look delicious! I rarely eat meat and was thinking of a way to make a taco that my hubby won’t miss the meat in. This will fit the bill for sure! Thanks for a wonderful recipe : )
Tried it: loved it !
I was suprised, because I felt satisfied even if there was no meat.
Three words: A. Maz. Ing!
These were fantastic! They had alittle heat to them so i used plain Greek yogurt instead if sour cream. I will make these again! Thank you for the recipe!
This looks Delish! Question though: Why frozen corn? Can I use canned corn instead?
Feel free to use what you have on hand!
I made these tonight, they were awesome…hubby loved them too. I had fresh tomatoes and jalapeno’s – so used these instead of the canned. This will be a go to recipe for my family.
Love these! Made them for my vegetarian family and they are my go-to meal when I need something quick or when I’m in the mood for tacos. Thank you for your pictures and easy-to-follow instructions. Going to make your pineapple fried rice next!
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I made these for dinner tonight, my 10yr old son cried about no meat and at first refused to eat them, but after some persuasion he tried them and declared them to be delicious. My husband, daughter and I ate them without hesitation and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. These are going into the rotation! 🙂
Can the mixture be made ahead in a larger quantity and frozen in serving sizes?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. We ate these so quickly, there were no leftovers to save!
I have made a large batch and then froze it in meal sized portions. It worked great!Â
I made these for my family tonight. I am a vegetarian and they are not. They were delicious and everyone loved them except my youngest child. But, she did finish her burrito so there is hope for next time. I adjusted the recipe slightly by using 1 cup of quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water and added a little more of everything else as someone had suggested. Made enough for a family of four with a bit leftover for tomorrow. So fantastic! They were awesome!
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OMG!!! These were delicious!!!!!! I made them with everything exempt the tomatoes. I cooked the quinoa first in half water half chicken broth and seasoning. Ill definitely make them again!!! Thank you!
Okay, these are damn good. For anyone wondering, I didn’t use vegetable broth (all I had around was those squares that you render useable with boiling water and I couldn’t be bothered) but instead threw in some water and extra liquid from the tomatos which worked just fine. I also didn’t have a 10 oz can of tomatoes and instead measured out about a cup and a half, plus the water + tomato liquid later — I think I could have done with a bit less liquid (it was a bit runny) but this recipe is pretty foolproof. No worries with exact measurements here, which is a blessing. I will definitely be making this again (maybe with lentils as well next time, ooh!)
I just tried these tonight, and despite that fact that I screwed up by putting the beans in too soon, and the quinuoa got overcooked, the flavor was still great and my boyfriend loved them! Will try them again and follow the directions better. 😉 Also, an added touch of mine: I mixed up some avo with NF plain yogurt, and some of the same spices and cilantro in the recipe and it made for a yummy topping! 🙂
I’m unable to eat tomatoes due to an allergy. Will there be a significant change in how the dish tastes/comes together in flavouring if I omit the tomatoes? Is there something else I can use as a substitue?
Tania, the tomatoes are a crucial ingredient as the liquid also provides substantial flavors and texture.
We made these for dinner tonight and they were fantastic! Even my husband loved them! The only change I made was to use whole wheat tortillas instead. Yum!
Wow! The Quinoa Black bean Tacos were so good! I will ddefinitely be making this again. I can’t wait to explore your blog further.
I am in love with your blog. I have quite a few vegetarian friends and family members, and this recipe looks like the perfect meal to cook for them! So excited to try it out. Thank you so much for sharing!
It looks delicious!!!! Cannot wait to make them!
Can I just ask why Kosher salt? Is it any different than Sea salt, Himalayan or Celtic salt?
Thank you.
I prefer to use kosher salt in most of my cooking due to its coarse texture. It makes it much more easier to pinch and thus, giving me more control in how much I pinch, as opposed to the other salts you mentioned.
Ok, I understand now 🙂 Thank you.
Made this resipe tonight for dinner, everyone lover it.
This looks so good!!!!!!!!! Going to use lettuce instead of taco shells.
Love this recipe, going to try it tonight. Thank you!
That looks so healthy and delicious! Another great way to enjoy quinoa!
These look fabulous, Chung Ah. Pinned to my Quiona and Farro Board!!
Wow, these look so tasty! Will try them for sure!
What a gorgeous taco. Love all of the flavors happening in this recipe. Pinned!
Made this today for Meatless Monday…loved it!!
What a perfect light, switch-up to a regular taco. I love it! And beautiful photos! = )
These are perfect for meatless Monday!
I love veggie tacos too. I’ve never tried quinoa in them, must give it a shot!
I just made a huge pot of this recipe – I had some extra quinoa so I used a whole cup and then added a little extra of the rest of the ingredients. We were hungry and skipped the taco part and just ate a huge bowl of the filling. Next time I will use the corn tortilla — but this is a very nice way to use quinoa. So healthy and very tasty! Thank you for posting this! I will make this again soon!
There’s nothing better than taco night and these look incredible!
My husband is scrunching his nose up, I’m going to make this tonight and prove him wrong! it looks delicious!
Thanks!
OMG! I just bought quinoa yesterday… My family will LOVE this!! Thank you for yet another awesome recipe!!!
Another nice recipe. Thanks so much.
Just wanted you to know I am enjoying receiving your emails. Your recipes are a,ways interesting, something I can use and a healthy version.
These look fabulous! 😀 It’s easy being healthy when it can be as tasty as this 😀 x
This looks delicious! The taco filling looks good enough to eat on its own….as a type of salad or something!
I’m going to try to make a batch of the filling for my packed lunches this week! Excited about it already.
Thanks for the inspiration!
They look delish! Love that they’re vegetarian and that sour cream dollop and the pieces of avocado look so REAL on the screen, I seriously feel like the plate is RIGHT in front of me! You are such a master with your camera!