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Pulled BBQ jackfruit is a meatless wonder to make all of your Taco Tuesday dreams come true. This BBQ jackfruit tacos recipe only takes about a half hour to prepare – perfect for getting dinner on the table in a hurry.
Chances are you’ve probably heard the word jackfruit before but haven’t quite known what it was or why it was worth trying. Today, I wanna teach you the art of cooking with jackfruit.
Table of Contents
Is Jackfruit really fruit (or meat)?
Green jackfruit is a popular vegetarian meat replacement because it shreds like meat and has a very similar texture. It’s grown in the tropical climates of southern India, Southeast Asia and is ginormous once it’s full grown and ripened (check out the picture below to see what I mean by ginormous!).
Doesn’t it look like a spiky dragon egg?!
A ripe jackfruit contains sweet yellow fruit that is reminiscent of fruit gum with tropical + floral notes. While the ripe jackfruit is certainly popular and delicious to eat, it’s the young, unripened, green jackfruit that has become especially trendy over the last few years. The green jackfruit is perfect for jackfruit tacos, since we don’t want the super sweet side of this fruit.
A powerfully nutritious fruit
This unique fruit also packs a powerful protein punch; over 3 grams of protein per serving! It’s also brimming with vitamins + minerals, as well as lots of antioxidants. So the jackfruit food trend isn’t just for its unique look + texture; people are starting to realize the health benefits of it too.
What Do Jackfruit Tacos Taste Like?
Think of green jackfruit sort of as you would any unripe fruit, such as bananas. Because it’s the immature version of the fruit, it doesn’t taste very sweet – it can be tangy even. This unsweet taste makes it the perfect thing to use in a number of recipes.
My husband, Ryan, couldn’t believe he wasn’t eating meat when we tried this jackfruit tacos recipe for dinner. BBQ jackfruit is so similar in taste AND texture to a pulled chicken BBQ— you’ll be hard pressed to realize the difference.
How to Make Jackfruit Tacos
For this recipe, we’re using canned green jackfruit. That’s the easiest to find. Trader Joe’s is a great place to buy canned jackfruit, but it can also be found at health food stores and Asian markets as well.
To keep this jackfruit tacos meal simple, I also used store bought BBQ sauce. My family’s fav is probably Trader Joe’s Organic Kansas City Style BBQ, though you can use whatever kind you like!
Pro tip: store bought sauces are known for their additives, corn syrup, and food dyes. Read your labels when buying, to make sure you’re getting one that uses real ingredients.
Before using the jackfruit, take a few steps to ensure success when preparing it. The first step is shredding it.
How to Shred Jackfruit
Warm jackfruit shreds easily with two forks, just like meat. There are parts of the fruit that are a little more tough and fibrous, but even still completely edible. I prefer to remove the hard seed pods before shredding and adding sauce. Here’s how I shred my jackfruit for tacos:
- After draining + rinsing, place jackfruit pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Warm in oven at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes
- Remove from oven and shred jackfruit pieces with 2 forks, just like you do with chicken or pork
- If there are tougher seed pods, you can remove these (they are edible, yet tough)
To keep these 100% plant-based, we’re using corn tortillas and topping our BBQ jackfruit taco “meat” with thinly sliced red cabbage and white onion for plenty of crunch, creamy diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. You can top these with any of your favorite taco toppings. (A drizzle of cashew cream is really good too!)
(Recipe note – to bypass the oven, the drained and rinsed jackfruit and BBQ sauce can go straight into a slow cooker and shredded before serving.)
5 More Plant-Based Taco Recipes
Tacos are such an easy + nutrient dense meal for the entire family. Here are a few of my fav taco recipes:
- Austinite Tacos: Garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes and BBQ sauce
- Vegetarian Taco Salad: Ditch the tortilla and layer on roasted swoodles
- Quinoa Taco Meat: Such a simple, tasty recipe from Minimalist Baker
- Chipotle Chickpea Tacos: 5 ingredient tacos from Tasty
- Crispy Cauliflower Tacos: Now these have me drooling
I hope you give this jackfruit tacos recipe a try first. Then you’ll see what I’m talking about!!! I also wanna know what your favorite taco toppings are, as well as if there are any other foods you’d like to see me turn into the Tuesday tacos of your dreams. 😉
Don’t forget to give this a rating + review once you’ve made it!
BBQ Jackfruit Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 cans green jackfruit drained and rinsed
- 1 cup BBQ sauce your favorite kind
- 8 corn tortillas warmed
Taco Toppings
- 1 cup red cabbage very thinly sliced
- 1 avocado diced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes quartered or halved
- ¼ cup yellow onion diced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the canned jackfruit. Allow any excess water to drain off the jackfruit or pat dry with a few paper towels. Place on the lined sheet or pan in an even layer. Roast for 10-12 minutes, or until warmed through and jackfruit looks a little dry on top.
- Remove from oven and use two forks to shred the jackfruit. If desired, remove any of the hard, tough seed pods. Pour 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce over the shredded jackfruit and toss to coat. If needed, add a little more sauce. Roast for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and darkened. Remove from oven and stir in remaining BBQ sauce, if desired. (This is personal preference.)
- To assemble tacos, place about 1/4 cup of the BBQ jackfruit into each of the warmed tortillas and top with desired toppings. Serve immediately.
Equipment
- stove
Notes
- BBQ jackfruit can be made several days in advance and warmed up before serving.
- It will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge and can also be frozen.
- Freezing may affect the texture of the jackfruit.
- Top with vegan avocado crema or cashew cream.
Not at all interested in something like this. Maybe I’m more of a purist. I don’t eat meat, so I dont want to eat something that masquerades meat. Yuck! I thought the same thing when they started coming out with vegetarian sausages, chicken, meat, etc. Give me beans and veggies any day!
Everyone has their own tastes, of course! But the HUGE difference between these and vegetarian meat substitutes is that those other things are often made with a long list of ingredients, some unpronounceable, and these are made with one, whole food… which does appeal to some food purists. So maybe it’s the BBQ flavor you’re not into. 😉
I’ve heard about jack fruit as substitute for meat but never knew how to prepare it since it looked so different. Thanks for excellent recipe and photos
You’re welcome, Barbara!
I would LOVE to try this to fool my hubby who thinks meat should be in every meal-Ug
Plus they just look delicious! Perfect for kids too!
Yes, Kristen! A great meal to make the whole family happy. And I’m betting your husband will not be able to tell the diff. 🙂
Love that you are sharing this fun idea!! It makes it so much less intimidating to find that in a can! I can’t wait to head to Trader Joe’s in a couple of weeks. Yum . Would love that motivation to get there! Bless you and your family ☺️
You are a rawkstar!
*You* are such a rawkstar, Dana! These are so good, def give them a try and let us know what you think!
Thanks so much for this article and recipe! I have been curious about using jackfruit as a meat substitute. Please keep the jackfruit recipes coming! Thank you for being a trusted resource for good health and plant-based eating!
You’re welcome, Lisa! So glad you’re here for all our delicious and healthy recipes! 🙂
Can’t wait to get to TJ’s to try this! Thank you! Stay healthy!
Try them and come back to let us know how you liked them, Dave! And you stay healthy, also! 😀
I think this blog post will be a life changer! My only experience with Jackfruit has been in a vegan grilled cheese sandwich that was prepared for me at a festival I attended. It was delicious, but I never pursued trying it on my own beyond that day. I had no clue what jackfruit actually looked like until I saw these pictures. WOW! Knowing that I can buy it in a can is less intimidating, and I will definitely be trying this taco recipe once I can make a trip to Trader Joe’s. The ingredients are going on my shopping list, and I look forward to seeing if I can “trick” the meat lovers in my family, too! Thanks, Jen, for a new recipe and for broadening my horizons!
I love your comment, Jennifer! So glad we could help reintroduce jackfruit back into your life. 🙂
I’ve seen my vegan friend use this ingredient a lot, and I’ve always been intrigued. Would love to try the taco recipe on the family to see if anyone notices the difference!
Def give it a try, Ellen, and come back to let us know what you think!
Those look amazing!!! My family loves tacos. I will most definitely be trying these. Thank you!
They’re going to love them!
We have seen a whole Jack fruit at Sprouts and my daughter has been wanting me to buy one. It would be much easier (and affordable) to try the canned version! And having this recipe gives me a way to try it.
Yes, the canned version makes it so much easier!
Jackfruit is a recent favorite in our household! First had it at a food festival and when I stumbled upon it in TJs I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve only ever done BBQ/Jamaican jerk flavors with it, but would be curious to figure out how to make a patty that doesn’t fall apart with it. 😉 Excited to try this version of the BBQ jackfruit for tacos!
Isn’t jackfruit great?! Let us know how you like this recipe after you give it a try. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to try jackfruit tacos! I’ve made taco meat with walnuts, and even a walnut lentil combination. However, this is now a must on my list. Being quarantined at home, I’ve been cleaning out leftovers from the fridge, pantry, and freezer. I have not really gone grocery shopping in in a while and will be venturing out this weekend to grocery shop and try a few new recipes because trying new plant based recipes is just plain therapeutic and makes me happy. This recipe will definitely be one of them! I love how this recipe came out now because I just saw a quote along the lines of “It’s ok to fall apart…tacos fall apart and we still love them.” So true 🙂
Yes, so true, Ruth! Can’t wait for you to try these, I think you’re really going to like them!
Ha! You don’t know how excited I am to try this! I bought a can from Trader Joe’s probably a year ago and I’ve been to chicken to try it. I’ll definitely give this recipe a try. Thanks as always for the yummy healthy eating tips!
Yay, Megan! So glad we could help out with a recipe so you can give this awesome plant a try. 🙂
Looks awesome! The adults in our house love all the ways we’ve used Jackfruit to take the places of meat. The tough sell was going to be my teen who is carnivore through and through. But after one bite of this, the teen is a total fan as well!
That’s awesome, Denise!
I’m going to make a trip to TJ’s this weekend to try this. I was an anti-cook before being quarantined and know have to create great meals at home. This is perfect! Thanks for sharing.
Awww! I love this. I do feel like a lot of good has come from quarantine for most of us. Love that you’re embracing it with the home cookin’.
I am terrified of Jack fruit. I lived in India for a couple years and it is a staple over there, but I heard so many rumors about it smelling bad. It would take getting it free to get me to try it!
That would def repel me too! Gross. When it’s in the can, it’s in a brine which prob helps if there ever was a “smell.” I’ve never seen it ripe and fresh, so I have no clue what that’s like. I hope you get adventurous and try this recipe– it’ll change your mind!