30+ Vegan Taco Ideas and Rainy Day Everything Tacos

We were onto day five of hunkering down during Hurricane Harvey’s onslaught of rain over Houston and were so thankful to be safe and dry. Not only that, we still had food, water, power and gas for cooking.

We were, and still are, beyond grateful that our experience during the storm was mild, especially since we were taking care of my wheel-chair bound mother-in-law.

Our food options were starting to dwindle a bit and the roads were still flooded. I made all manner of meals over the previous four days to satisfy the five of us. Each day, worried that we would lose electricity and/or water, I was in a cooking frenzy to use up the food in our fridge so it wouldn’t spoil and so we’d have plenty of prepared food ready to eat by candlelight, if the need arose.

The morning of day five, I pulled out whatever fresh veggies we still had and chopped them up and threw them in a pan to make some quick and easy tacos. Add some spices, frozen corn, black beans, a can of vegetarian refried beans and some corn tortillas and we have breakfast, folks!

These could be called “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” tacos.

Or, “Whatever you have on hand” tacos.

Or, “Clean Out the Frig” Tacos.

But, I decided to go with “Rainy Day Everything Tacos”, because we pulled everything together for a nutritious and filling meal on this rainy, rainy day.

Filling options for tacos is almost limitless. Here are some ideas of different fillings you can throw in a tortilla and have delicious tacos in no time!

30+ Vegan Taco Ideas

1. Potatoes – roasted with garlic, cumin, chili powder & salt
2. Potatoes – Papas a la Mexicana style with onions, jalapeño, tomato, garlic and cilantro
3. Hashbrowns
4. Sweet potatoes – roasted or mashed
5. Onions – sautéed/charred, carmelized or raw
6. Bell Peppers – sautéed/charred or raw
7. Poblano Pepper – fire roasted, skin removed and chopped
8. Jalapeños – pickled, sautéed or raw
9. Tomatoes
10. Corn
11. Black Beans – whole, seasoned with cumin and garlic
12. Black Beans – mashed or refried
13. Pinto Beans – whole, seasoned with Mexican oregano, garlic, onion
14. Pinto Beans – vegan spicy charro beans
15. Pinto Beans – mashed or refried (make sure they’re vegetarian)
16. Mushrooms – sautéed or grilled
17. Carrot
18. Zucchini or Yellow Summer Squash – sautéed or grilled
19. Spinach – raw or cooked
20. Kale – cooked or mixed in other veggies
21. Lettuce – shredded on top or used instead of tortilla
22. Purple cabbage – shredded
23. Avocado – sliced raw or turned into green salsa
24. Butternut squash – roasted or mashed
25. Baked Tofu with TexMex seasonings
26. Cashew or Silken Tofu Sour Cream
27. Pico de Gallo
28. Guacamole
29. Vegan Queso
30. Pickled Purple Onions
31. Picked Carrots and Onions
32. Pickled Sliced Jalapeños
33. Baked tortilla strips – for crunch
34. Quinoa – cooked with taco seasoning or any of the below seasonings
35. Rice – plain, cooked or with added seasonings, like lime-cilantro
36. Cauliflower – roasted or “riced” with taco seasoning
37. Broccoli – roasted or raw, cut into tiny pieces

Vegan Taco TexMex Seasonings

To give your tacos a TexMex flavor, consider adding some of the below seasonings to your ingredients as they cook. Don’t add them all – just pick a few.

1. Garlic
2. Cumin
3. Cilantro
4. Chile powder
5. Cayenne
6. Lime
7. Mexican oregano
8. Bay leaf (for cooking beans)
9. Jalapeño pepper
10. Serrano pepper
11. Habanero pepper (really hot)
12. Chipotle pepper
13. Prepared salsa
14. Prepared hot sauce, like Cholula or Chipotle Tabasco

If you don’t already have a baked potato on hand for this recipe, you can bake one in the microwave, Instant Pot or oven. The microwave is fastest, only taking a few minutes until it’s “stick a fork in it, it’s done!”

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Rainy Day Everything Tacos

Yield: Serves 3-4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Throw whatever fresh or frozen veggies, beans and potatoes you have on hand together for quick and easy tacos. Hopefully, you won't have high winds and flooding to accompany this meal! Makes 10 tacos.

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Ingredients

• 1 purple onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 baked russet potato, cut into cubes
• 1 cup spinach, rough chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp salsa
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can vegetarian, fat-free refried beans
• 10 corn tortillas
• hot sauce

Instructions

1. Heat wide pan over medium high heat and add onions and carrots. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of water if it starts to stick.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add mushrooms. Saute 1-2 minutes.
3. Add corn, potato, spinach, black beans, salsa and spices, stir and cook until heated through.
4. Add refried beans to bowl with 1 tbsp of water. Stir and heat in microwave for 60-90 seconds, with a paper towel or cover on top.
5. Heat corn tortillas one at a time over open flame on stove, for 10-15 seconds each side. Keep warm on a plate lined with a clean kitchen towel. Alternatively, you can heat them in a dry skillet or in the microwave.
6. To assemble, spread a little refried beans down the middle of the tortilla, then top with veggies and hot sauce.

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