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But before I go any further, I just want to mention - I feel a little silly posting a recipe for tacos. It feels kinda like posting a recipe for a bowl of cereal. I mean, it's a taco. Fill it. Eat it. It's not hard. But if you're like me, it isn't really about the recipe. It's about getting ideas and trying new methods. So this embarrassingly easy "recipe" is just that. Maybe you are new to vegetarianism, or are trying to eat less meat for health reasons, or lent, or still learning your way around the kitchen. Whatever it is, my hope is that silly, simple recipes like this might become one of your new family faves or maybe inspire new ideas and methods and recipes of your own.
So, back to the baked tacos...
We have a thing for southwest flavors at our house and tacos are always a hit. This is a vegetarian version - actually vegan - but I have included more mainstream substitutions as well.
My honey was reaching for his second one when he realized I was eating a taco from the same pan, and asked, "Isn't there meat in these?" When those words come from a meat lover, I take it as a compliment that he didn't miss it.
What you'll need:
18 (or so) taco shells
4 veggie burgers (or 1 pound ground beef, chicken, or turkey, fully cooked, and drained)
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups veggie chop (1/2 onion, 1/4 yellow pepper, 1/4 red pepper, 1/2 zucchini, 1 tomato, handful baby spinach leaves, all chopped)
1 Tbsp (or more) taco seasoning, recipe below or the packaged variety
8 oz (or more) cheddar flavor veggie shreds (or cheddar cheese)
Toppings:
chopped lettuce, avocado, salsa
Taco Seasoning:
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp Chipotle Mrs Dash
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
Stir it all together and store in mason jar or other air tight container. Double or triple as needed.
What you'll do:
Thaw the veggie burgers in the microwave and then crumble them into a large bowl. Add the refried beans, tomato sauce, chopped veggies, and taco seasoning. I used Lightlife brand black bean veggie burgers, which have a nice southwest flavor already, so I only added 1 Tbsp of taco seasoning. If you are using plain veggie burgers, ground meat or poultry, or just like more seasoning, add more. Gently mix it together. Fill taco shells about 1/2 - 2/3 full with mixture and set shells upright in baking dish. I used pretty large taco shells and filled 18 of them generously. Using smaller shells, you could possibly get 20 or more. Adding some corn, black beans, or extra veggies can make your filling go farther, if needed. Top each one with a tablespoon or so of veggie shreds (or shredded cheese) and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until shells start to brown and mixture is hot and bubbly. Add toppings. And enjoy.
