Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a small sauce pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Stir in the Better Than Bouillon base. Add TVP and vegan butter. Let cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes until browned and rehydrated. Stir occasionally and add a little water if needed to prevent burning.
- While the TVP is cooking, rinse and drain the pinto beans. Measure out ½ cup and set aside. Then prepare the pico de gallo by finely chopping all ingredients and mixing them in a bowl.
- Mash the beans well with a fork on a plate.
- Once the TVP is cooked and slightly browned, stir in the pinto beans. If the mixture sticks, add a few tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan. Add the black pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. Stir until fully combined and uniform, then set aside.
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 30–45 seconds (wrapped in a damp paper towel or in a tortilla warmer) to make them pliable.
- Preheat your non-stick pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of the oil for 30-60 seconds or until hot.
- Lightly coat the preheated pan with olive oil. Hold a tortilla in one hand and spread about ⅓ of a cup of the TVP filling on one side. Place it TVP-side down in the pan. You should be able to fit about 2 tortillas in the pan at once.
- Let the tacos cook for 3–4 minutes until they naturally release. Flip gently with a spatula and cook for another minute. Set aside and repeat until all the filling is used. This recipe makes about 10 mini tacos or 8 medium tacos.
- Top with your choice of garnishes- pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, cilantro, vegan cheese, salsa, nutritional yeast - whatever you like!
Nutrition
Notes
Melissa's notes:
This recipe was made with Bob’s Red Mill TVP.
If you don't have Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Vegetarian Base available, garlic flavor may be used, or substitute ¼ teaspoon of salt.
This makes about 8 - 4½-inch tacos or 10-3½-inch tacos. I used Pueblo Lindo corn tortillas from Aldi (4½-inch). Barbara found 3½-inch tacos from HEB in Texas - in fact, she was able to purchase all of the ingredients for this recipe there.
Flipping the tortillas the first time is a little tricky. You want to make sure the TVP-bean mixture holds together well and is not too crumbly. If needed, you can add some more mashed beans to your mixture.
If some of the mixture doesn't stay on the tortilla, just add it on top of your taco after you flip it.
The nutrition estimate is from Spoonacular, which is based mainly on USDA data. I substituted 1 vegetarian bouillon cube for the "Better than Bouillion" base for the estimate.
