These vegan chickpea tacos are easy to make, perfectly spiced and served alongside a homemade cilantro lime cabbage slaw and cilantro lime crema. They’re ready in 30 minutes, flavorful and perfect for meal prep!
After pasta, tacos are the food I could eat 5 times a day and never get bored. There’s so many possibilities, but these chickpea tacos and my baked fish tacos have been on repeat lately!
There are a few components in this recipe, but overall, they’re super easy to make. They have a base of cilantro lime cabbage slaw, then we’ll layer on some perfectly spiced pan fried chickpeas, pico de gallo and finish with a drizzle of vegan cilantro lime crema.
I use corn tortillas for mine so they’re gluten free, but any kind of tortilla like flour will also work here! If you’re using corn tortillas, I usually like to double them up since they break pretty easily and I *always* put too much in the taco for the tortilla to handle. My b.
How to make these tacos
Add all ingredients for the cabbage slaw to a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside to marinate.
Cover the cashews with boiling water or add to a pot and boil for about 20 minutes to soften. This will make it easier to blend so you end up with a super smooth crema!
Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chickpeas and pat dry. remove any skins that come up. Toss with the olive oil and all seasonings.
Add to a skillet and lightly fry for about 15 minutes to allow the chickpeas to crisp slightly. I decided against roasting the chickpeas because a) pan frying is faster and b) you want to retain some softness to the chickpeas, otherwise the texture of the tacos is less than desirable.
Add the drained and rinsed cashews to a blender with all remaining crema ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Set in the fridge to chill.
Assemble your tacos with a baes of the slaw, then add on the chickpeas, crema, pico de gallo and guacamole.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve these chickpea tacos with a side of either my Mexican green rice or cilantro lime rice plus my instant pot black beans.
You can also use refried beans, or cauliflower rice for a lighter option!
Do they keep?
Yes! All of the components of these tacos store well in the fridge. The slaw and chickpeas will keep for 3 days, whereas the crema will keep for 1 week. I suggest storing everything separately, then re-heating the chickpeas on the stove so they can get back some crispiness.
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Vegan Chickpea Tacos
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
Cabbage Slaw
- 4 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 2-3 tbsp lime juice
- ⅔ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp plain vegan yogurt (I like and suggest Kite Hill Plain Greek Style, can also sub for mayo/vegan mayo)
- ½ tsp salt
Cilantro Lime Crema
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cilantro
For Serving
- 1 batch Mexican Green Rice
- Instant Pot black beans
- 12 small corn or flour tortillas
- Pico de gallo, avocado and/or guacamole
Instructions
- Add all ingredients for the cabbage slaw to a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside to marinate.
- Cover the cashews with boiling water or add to a pot and boil for about 20 minutes to soften.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chickpeas and pat dry. remove any skins that come up. Toss with the olive oil and all seasonings.
- Add to a skillet and lightly fry for about 15 minutes to allow the chickpeas to crisp slightly. Taste and add more salt or spices as desired.
- Add the drained and rinsed cashews to a blender with all remaining crema ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Set in the fridge to chill.
- Assemble your tacos with a baes of the slaw, then add on the chickpeas, crema, pico de gallo and guacamole. Serve alongside my Mexican green rice or cilantro lime rice and black beans. Enjoy!
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