Is there anything more Texas (or delicious) than BBQ + tacos?!?

Texas BBQ Potato and Tempeh Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 medium russet potato
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce*
- 4 oz tempeh, cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper
- dash of cayenne
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeƱos*
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (sub vegan cheddar cheese)
- 3-4 whole wheat tortillas (sub tortilla of choice)
- Optional toppings:
- hot sauce
- avocado
Instructions
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Poke holes in your potato with a fork, wrap it in a paper towel and microwave it for 2-3 minutes on high.
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Unwrap the potato and cut it into 1" cubes. (You don't want to over microwave your potato before cutting it, or it will turn to mush.)
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Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, toss in your potato chunks and season with salt and pepper. Toss for 5-10 minutes, making sure the potatoes are nice and crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside.
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Once the potatoes are nice and crispy, add in 1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce. Toss until all of the potatoes are covered and the BBQ sauce sticks to the potatoes (around 3 min).
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Take the potatoes off the heat and set aside.
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In a clean skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add in your tempeh cubes, and gently toss for 3-4 minutes - letting the outside brown slightly.
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Once browned, add in your maple syrup, liquid smoke, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
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Toss for another 1-2 minutes, then take the tempeh off the heat and set aside.
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Layer each tortilla with BBQ potatoes, tempeh, pickled jalapeƱos, and grated cheddar cheese. If the cheese doesn't melt immediately, you can heat the whole taco in the microwave or oven (on broil) for 30 seconds or so.
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Serve with any desired toppings & EAT UP!
Recipe Notes
* Try my healthy homemade BBQ sauce!
**Wanna make your own pickled jalapenos?!? Try this healthy version I made to put on my Spicy Mexican Burger. They are a great thing to make and keep in the fridge to top any recipe with!
This past week in Texas I have eaten some amazing, delicious things. I ate a barbecue veggie burger (and tots) – which was amazing. I ate breakfast tacos and queso (which was a break-into-song-this-is-so-good kind of meal). I have eaten blueberry donut bites lovingly nicknamed “blue balls” (which spoke to the 8th grade boy inside of me). I have eaten a barbecue jackfruit sandwich, which was MEH. I even ate biscuits and gravy with veggie sausage, eggs and cheese. Basically I loaded myself up with all the goodies Texas had to offer. And boy oh boy did it leave me wanting some plants, but also some more good tacos and barbecue.
So basically I did just that. I health-ified all the things that Texas had to offer me, and put it in one glorious taco. Would I consider this a breakfast, lunch or dinner taco? Hmmm. Good question. When I first came up with the idea I imagined it as a breakfast taco, but then I made it for lunch and ate the leftovers for dinner. Sooooo it’s an anytime taco?
As you can see in the recipe you have the choice to either make your BBQ sauce & pickled jalapenos from scratch OR buy them at the store. Now usually I would make them at home (because I promise you neither recipe is very hard.) And I really like to know exactly what ingredients I am putting in my body. BUT since I’m on the road, and cant reach things like my blender. I had to forego making things from scratch and just relent and buy them from the store. However, it all turned out pretty swell. So I’d say it’s a win-win here. But let me encourage you to take this recipe a step further and make this stuff at home. Both recipes are great to put in jars and save for later. You will wind up using them faster than you think, and just imagine how proud you will be to have a bottle of your own BBQ sauce in your fridge!
This recipe can be easily adapted to suit your preferences. AKA. switch out the tempeh for tofu or eggs if you so please. OR switch the cheese with vegan cheese. OR add some sour cream on top. OR take off the jalapenos. OR put it in a burrito. OR eat it on a salad. OR whatever, whatever do what you want.
Enjoy this insanely delicious taste of Texas and stay tuned for a fun New Orleans inspired recipe later this week!