Jackfruit “Pulled Pork” Tostadas
Dive into a tropical twist on traditional vegan Mexican cuisine with these jackfruit pulled pork tostadas! Perfect for vegans and meat lovers alike, this recipe transforms hearty jackfruit into a tantalizing substitute for pulled pork, capturing the smoky, spicy essence of classic tostadas with a plant-based spin. Each bite combines the robust flavors of marinated jackfruit, piled high on a crispy tostada shell, topped with fresh, zesty toppings like avocado, salsa, and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Whether you’re hosting a festive gathering or simply spicing up your weeknight dinner routine, these vegan tostadas offer a unique and satisfying meal that will delight your taste buds and ignite your culinary imagination. Ready to impress your guests and indulge in a burst of flavors? Let’s get cooking!
What Is a Tostada?
A tostada is basically an open-faced taco on a crunchy shell. Tostadas are traditionally topped with beans, meat, and veggies, but they can oh-so-easily be made vegan! Of course, you can simply swap in vegan ground meat from companies like Gardein and Beyond Meat, but today we’re doing something extra-special.
We’re using jackfruit as a plant-based take on a “pulled pork” tostada.
I know what you’re thinking. “Fruit…in my tostadas? Eww, no thank you!” But wait. Give this recipe a chance and I promise it’ll win you over.
What Is Jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a pretty insane fruit. First of all, it’s HUGE. We’re talkin’ the size of a small child. A giant chipotle burrito x10. It’s actually the single biggest tree fruit on planet earth.
The jackfruit you’ll find in stores might weigh around 10-20 pounds (still huge). But some jackfruit can grow to be upwards up 3 feet in length and weigh in at 100 pounds. Insanity!
How Do I Eat This Crazy Fruit?
They’re green and spiny oversized dinosaur egg lookin’ things. When they’re ripe, you can dig right in and eat them raw as you would with any other fruit, and enjoy the unique fleshy mango-esque texture and sweet flavor.
But…when they’re picked well before they’re ripe they can be cut up and packaged in brine to be used in savory dishes. You can find this jackfruit in brine in many mainstream supermarkets.
Jackfruit Pulled Pork
As you may have already discovered, unripe canned jackfruit is a fantastic substitute for pulled pork. Unripe jackfruit is mostly flavorless on its own, and it absorbs flavor beautifully, so you can spice and season it any way you like. That’s what we’re doing today!
In this recipe, the jackfruit is seasoned with barbecue sauce and pairs perfectly with refried beans and the Mexican-style toppings.
Let’s Get Cookin’
You’ll first prepare the refried beans if you’re making them from scratch. But if you want to save time you can buy canned refried beans. Then prepare the jackfruit. Gather your toppings and then toast up your taco shells right before you’re ready to serve them. Assemble these bad boys and have yourself a fiesta!
Have Fun With Toppings!
Get creative with the toppings. There are so many options! You can top these with chopped tomatoes, avocado (always!), corn, shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, red onions, jalapeno, cilantro, and more! You can even grab some vegan shredded cheese and vegan sour cream (like this one from the brand Tofutti).
Enjoy This Vegan Dinner With Family & Friends
These jackfruit tostadas are an amazing recipe to serve for a casual dinner gathering with your family, friends or a potluck. You can make big batches of the refried beans and barbecue jackfruit “pulled pork” and then lay out all of the toppings and serve it buffet style.
This recipe makes 6 tostadas, which will serve 3 people. Feel free to double or multiply the recipe if you want to serve more people!
So…are you with us? Switch up your usual Taco Tuesday or Mexican night and make these vegan jackfruit tostadas!
Jackfruit Tostadas
Ingredients
Refried Beans
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup roughly chopped yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño, (seeds discarded unless you want heat)
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 19-ounce can pinto beans, (or 1¾ cups) drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
BBQ Jackfruit
- 1 14-ounce can jackfruit in brine
- ⅓ cup vegan barbecue sauce, or to taste
Toppings
- chopped tomatoes, avocado, corn, shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, vegan sour cream, red onions, vegan cheese, jalapeños, cilantro, etc…
- 6 corn or flour tortillas
Instructions
- Begin by making the refried beans. Heat a large pan. Add the oil, onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper and sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Place the beans in a shallow bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Mash them until they are mostly broken down, but leave some texture.
- Add the beans to the pan along with the water, cilantro, and lime juice. Cook for another 5 minutes on medium/low heat. Set aside and keep warm.
- Heat a medium pan. Shred the jackfruit by hand and remove any firm cores. Add the jackfruit to the pan and heat it for 5 minutes. Add the bbq sauce and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and add more bbq sauce if needed. Set aside and keep warm.
- Prepare any toppings that you will be adding to the tostadas.
- Just before serving, set your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tortillas flat directly on the oven rack. Bake for just a couple of minutes, until they are firm (but not too hard). Watch that they don’t burn!
- Assemble the tostadas by adding the refried beans, jackfruit, and any toppings you desire. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Leave a Comment
Jackfruit was always one fruit I was not a fan of but since going vegan I’ve been trying to get my taste buds used to it. This recipe looks amazing and I like anything with a Mexican twist 🙂
YESSSSS! I’ll always have a special place in my heart for anything jackfruit-based. This recipe is no different!! So incredibly good!!
Once you’ve tried BBQ jackfruit, there’s no way you’ll go back to the animal based version. The texture is so spot on, it’s scary! I love the combination of the shredded jackfruit with the homemade refried beans – it’s just perfect. My family and I love these tacos!
I was really reluctant to try jackfruit as a vegan meat alternative but I have to say I regret not having tried it years ago! The texture is spot on and (like tofu!) can absorb any delicious flavor your add to it. These are an amazing way to venture into the jackfruit world!
Love these!! Jackfruit is magical. It’s as simple as that 🙂 I am just sad that it took me so long to learn how to use it. It intimidated me for a long time, but it shouldn’t have! It’s really simple.
Jackfruit is one of my favorite foods and it’s also one food that I am pretty inexperienced with so I love how this recipe breaks down the steps to getting that delicious “pulled pork” style. So great for summer and helping to warm you up in the winter!