Gluten-Free Crunchy Tacos with Tofu and Beans | Vegan, Lean
Gluten-Free Crunchy Tacos packed with crumbly tofu bursting with flavors, delicious kidney beans, and topped with spicy salsa and creamy guacamole! A perfect dish for a casual evening with friends.
What type of beans to use for my tacos?
This recipe can be made with canned or dry beans. Canned beans are fully cooked, so, if you are hard pressed for time, feel free to use them. Discard the liquid from the canned beans and rinse them with cold water. If you’re using dry beans, soak them for at least 4-6 hours/ overnight and pressure cook for at least 12-15 minutes. You may choose any type of beans – kidney, black or pinto beans to your liking.
What Type of Tofu should I use for my Taco filling?
Tofu, or soybean cake, is a great protein-rich choice in plant-based diets. The three main types of tofu, varying in firmness/texture and typical usage, can be categorized as:
1. Soft/ Silken: Contains a high level of moisture, as it is left unpressed during processing. As the name suggests it has a very delicate cheese like texture and is an excellent choice for desserts, soups, sauces, or as a thickening agent.
2. Firm Tofu: It is firmer than silken tofu, holds shape well and is used in a variety of dishes for stir frying, skillet, and grilling. Firm tofu is pressed to remove excess moisture and also absorbs spices and flavors very well. This recipe uses firm tofu.
3. Extra Firm/ Super Firm Tofu: Contains very less moisture and has quite a dense texture. It is used for deep frying, stir frying and grilling, however, due to its super dense texture, it doesn’t absorb flavors as well as the firm tofu does.
How to Make Gluten-Free Crunchy Tacos with Tofu and Beans?
How do I make my Tofu tasty?
Tofu is an excellent choice in vegan and plant-based diets. Here are a few tips to make the tofu rich in flavors and get the desired texture.
1. Excess Moisture: It is important to remove excess moisture from the tofu blocks. The key to removing moisture is to apply pressure to drain out excess water. I wrap the tofu block in kitchen towel and squeeze over a bowl/sink. You can also wrap it in a dish towel and place a heavy object on it to drain out excess moisture.
2. Use of Spices and Seasonings: The combination of dry spices like cumin powder, garlic powder, chilli Powder, soy sauce, and ketchup gives a delightful kick to the tofu crumble.
What ingredients do I need to Make Crunchy Tacos?
Beans
For Boiling:
- 1.5 cups Dry Kidney Beans (Soaked for 4-6 hrs/ overnight)
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 2.5 cups Water
For Tempering:
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Tofu Crumbles/ Sofritas:
- 2 Blocks of Firm Tofu (450 gms each)
- 1.5 tbsp Oil
- 3-4 Dry Red Chillies
- 1/4 cup Tomato Ketchup
- 2 large Tomatoes
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Onion
- 3-4 Large Garlic Cloves
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tbsp White vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt
Salsa:
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1/2 Large Red Onion
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
Guacamole:
- 1 Ripe Avocado
- 1 Green Chilli
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper (optional)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Chopped Coriander (2-3 stems)
Step by Step process of making crunchy Tacos with Tofu and Beans
Preparation for Beans:
1. Rinse dry kidney beans in cold water and soak for about 4-6 hours or overnight. Refer to the picture of beans soaked overnight (Pic#1)
2. In an Instant Pot, add 2.5 cups of water, add in the soaked and drained kidney beans, salt, cumin powder, and pressure cook on High for 12 mins. (Pic#2)
Preparation for Tofu:
- Remove excess water from the tofu blocks as explained above.
- Finely chop 1 cup of red onion and set aside.
- In a small blender, grind together 3-4 dried red chillies, 3-4 garlic cloves, and some water. (Pic#3)
- Rinse 2 tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces each, and grind them to a paste in the blender along with the tomato ketchup. (Pic#4)
Flavorful Tofu:
- In a pan on medium heat, add oil. When warm, add the garlic red chili paste (Pic#5) and saute for 30 sec- 1 minute. Then, add in the finely chopped onions and some salt (Pic#6). Cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the onions become translucent.
- Break small pieces of the drained tofu and add into the pan, mixing in intervals. Then, add in the tomato paste and mix well.
- Add the dry spices – cumin powder, chili powder, and salt. Mix well. Break down any big pieces of tofu pressing down with the spatula. (Pic#7)
- Add ½ tbsp vinegar, mixing it thoroughly. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Cook on medium-high heat to evaporate the excess moisture and get a nice texture for filling (Pic#8). Too much moisture can make the tacos soggy very quickly.
Beans:
- Place a thick bottomed-pan on medium heat, add oil, (Pic#9) when warm add dried chopped onion, red chili powder (Pic#10 )and tomato ketchup, and saute for 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup of hot water, and then add in garlic powder and salt. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the pressure-cooked kidney beans along with the water taking care it not to add too much of the liquid (Pic#11). Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat (Pic#12)
Salsa:
- In a food processor, add red onion, green chillies, tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and sugar (Pic#13, 14). Blend for about a minute, pulsing to ensure the salsa gets blended uniformly. (Pic#15)
- Do a quick taste test and adjust salt/sugar level as desired.
Optional: Add in about 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice for an extra citrus kick.
Guacamole:
- Slice the avocado into half, as shown, and scoop out the yummy green flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork pressing down to smoothen it. (Pic#16)
- Add in about 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice, chopped green chillies, salt, and some chopped cilantro. (Pic#17)
Serving:
Place taco shells on a tray and bake at 325 °F for 5 mins. Add in some cooked rice, a tbsp of rich beans, and a heap of flavorful tofu. Top it off with the spicy salsa and guacamole and indulge in these heavenly Gluten-free Crunchy Tacos with Tofu and Beans!
Related Recipes:
GLUTEN-FREE CRISPY TACO WITH TOFU AND BEANS | VEGAN, LEAN
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot or a traditional pressure cooker to cook beans
Ingredients
Flavorful Tofu
- 2 lbs Firm Tofu 2 Blocks 1lb each
- 2 tbsp Canola oil
- 3-4 Whole Dry Red Chillies
- ¼ cup Tomato Ketchup Gluten-free
- 2 Large Tomatoes
- 1 medium Finely chopped red onion
- 3-4 Large Garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder substitute with 1/2 or 3/4 tbsp Red chili powder
- ½ tbsp White vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt
Rich and Delicious Beans- pressure cook
- 1½ cups Dry kidney beans
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- ¾ tsp Salt Iodized
- 2½ cups Water
Rich and Delicious Beans -tempering
- 1½ tbsp Canola oil
- 1 tbsp Dried Chopped Onion substitute: 3/4 tbsp onion powder
- ¼ cup Tomato Ketchup
- ½ tsp Salt
Spicy Salsa
- 2 Large Tomatoes
- 1 cup Chopped red onion
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp sugar
Guacamole
- 1 Ripe Avocado
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 Stems of Cilantro
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
Pressure cooking Rich and Delicious Beans
- Rinse dry kidney beans in cold water and soak for about 4-6 hours or overnight.
- In an Instant pot, add in the soaked and drained kidney beans, 2.5 cups of water, salt, cumin powder and pressure cook on High for 12 mins. Once cooked, let it cool/ release the steam of the instant pot.
- Tempering Rich and Delicious Beans
- Place a thick bottom pan on medium heat, then, add oil, dried chopped onion, red chili powder and Tomato ketchup and saute for 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup of hot water and then add in garlic powder and salt.
- Add the pressure cooked kidney beans along with the water taking care it should not have too much of the liquid. Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off heat.
Flavorful Tofu
- Take 1 cup finely chopped red onion and set aside. In a small blender, grind together 3-4 dried red chillies, 3-4 garlic cloves with ½ tbsp white vinegar.
- In a pan on medium heat, add oil, when warm, add the garlic red chili paste and saute for 30 sec to 1 minute. Then add in the finely chopped onions and some salt. Cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the onions become transparent.
- Break small pieces of the drained tofu and add into the pan, mixing in intervals. Then, add in the tomato paste and mix well. Add the dry spices - cumin powder, chili powder, and salt. Mix well, break down any big pieces of tofu.
- Add ½ tbsp vinegar, mixing it thoroughly. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Cook on medium high heat to evaporate the excess moisture and get a nice texture for filling. Too much moisture can make the tacos soggy very quickly.
Spicy Salsa
- In a food processor, add red onion, green chillies, tomatoes, cilantro, salt and sugar. Blend for about a minute, pulsing to ensure the salsa gets blended uniformly.
- Do a quick taste test and adjust salt/ sugar level as desired.
Guacamole
- Slice the avocado into half as shown, scoop out the yummy green flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork pressing down to smoothen it.
- Add in about 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice, salt, some chopped coriander and some black pepper.
Serving
- Place the taco shells on a tray and bake at
325 °F for 5 mins. Add in some cooked rice, a tbsp of rich beans, a heap of flavorful tofu. Top it off with the spicy salsa and guacamole and indulge in these heavenly gluten-free crunchy tacos with Tofu and Beans!