Garden Veggie Tacos

I love tacos. There, I’ve said it a loud and now everyone knows.

I love tacos, for those in the back who need the volume turned up.

But what I’ve discovered over the past few years is that you can make a thousand different types of tacos when you aren’t constrained by things like what’s “supposed” to be inside a taco shell.

This time when I was hit by a taco craving I decided to do something a little different and go for a full on veggie taco.

I know, it sounds weird if you’re used to meat or beans, or some of you experienced vegans might have found the beauty of shredded oyster mushroom tacos, but it was just what I needed. The temperature is creeping up past 30°C and while I wanted tacos, I didn’t want anything that would take a long time to cook and I didn’t want anything super heavy.

So we started with…hard shell tacos. It took a few years to make my husband a convert but now he likes them as much as I do.

Next we get to the taco filling and since we’re going with a ‘garden’ theme, I used onion, bell pepper, garlic, corn, zucchini and shitake mushrooms. It was light and refreshing and you can save yourself some health problems if you make your own seasoning. All you need are a few kitchen staples: cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt & pepper, garlic granules, paprika (I prefer hot and smoky but use what you like) and red pepper flakes.

You can’t have tacos without salsa, right? Well instead of salsa, I made a cabbage slaw that allowed me to make the veggies a bit spicier. It’s simple to make and even easier if you have a fancy food processor or even a box grater. All you need is green (or red) cabbage, scallions, carrot, vegan yogurt, lime juice, hot sauce and ground cumin.

It’s delicious and low in calories so feel free to make extra and use it as a side dish and a taco topping!

You want to take your hard shell vegan tacos to the next level? Preheat the oven and then place the shells on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and lime juice and then heat for up to 3 minutes. The shells will be crunchy and crispy and super HOT!