Dad’s Easy Tacos with Black Beans
The best vegetarian tacos, straight from my parents’ kitchen! Three types of beans cooked with garlic, onions and hot sauce make for delicious, easy tacos. Topped with a quick pickled lettuce.
These are my dads tacos and they are awesome. My dad didn’t use a recipe and I generally didn’t watch very closely when he made them but I think I may have finally gotten as close as I will get. These tacos are vegetarian! Just beans and lots of delicious toppings which might not sound very exciting but there’s a few things that make them extra special and extra delicious.
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Ingredients
Dad’s Easy Tacos with Black Beans
Easy Bean Tacos
- 1 large white or yellow onion (dice half, thinly slice the other half)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp prediced garlic
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can pinto beans
- corn and/or flour tortillas
Pickled Lettuce
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce (finely shredded)
- 1/2 small white onion (thinly sliced)
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Suggested Toppings
- tomatoes
- cheddar cheese (shredded)
- hot sauce
- sour cream
So what’s so great about these tacos? Umm well, it’s kinda hard to tell you so you’ll just have to try them. Okay, okay I’ll try to give some clues. So there’s basically a boat load of onions involved. Raw and cooked. Three kinds of beans get cooked up with diced onions and plenty of garlic.
Then there’s “the lettuce” as I usually referred to it which is basically like quick picked lettuce and onions. My dad’s family called it soggy salad. It’s what makes these tacos, these tacos. Its been the hardest for me to master but for now, I think I’ve gotten it as close as I can.
I’ve gone through different hot sauce phases over the years but the right one is critical. In high school, taco bell packets were a must. Kara and I would eat them on the floor in my room and laugh at the sayings on the packets. Then I went through my chipotle tabasco phase and then my pepper plant phase which is where I’ve stayed. This is seriously the best hot sauce. Such amazing, salty, smoky, garlicky heat. And it’s more than just a hot sauce, I’ve used it as the sole seasoning for ground turkey and it saved my chicken chili when a seagull flew off with my bag of seasoning. I don’t see myself switching.
Another key thing is cooking the tortillas. My dad would cook them in a pan with a little cooking spray until they got a little bit golden and nicely pliable and no matter how many tortillas I told him I wanted he would always tell me he’d cook me an extra one, just in case. So make sure you do that for everyone. 🙂
This taco is for you, dad!
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MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH BEANS
Dad’s Easy Tacos with Black Beans
The best vegetarian tacos, straight from my parents’ kitchen! Three types of beans cooked with garlic, onions, hot sauce and topped with a quick and delicious pickled lettuce.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Tacos
- 1 large white or yellow onion (dice half, thinly slice the other half)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp prediced garlic
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can pinto beans
- corn and/or flour tortillas
Pickled Lettuce
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce (finely shredded)
- 1/2 small white onion (thinly sliced)
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Suggested Toppings
- tomatoes
- cheddar cheese (shredded)
- hot sauce
- sour cream
Instructions
- Dice tomatoes, shred cheese and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine: shredded lettuce, sliced onion, 1/3 cup olive oil, both vinegars, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir and set aside.
- Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. About 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat down if onions start to brown.
- Once onions are soft, add garlic, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add all three beans (drain and rinse first). Stir and cook uncovered for about 10-15 minutes. Add a tsp of hot sauce if you have it.
- Cook the tortillas: spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Cook each tortilla in the pan, flipping and cooking on both sides, 3-5 minutes on each side until the tortillas get golden brown spots and have a pliable texture.
- Assemble and enjoy!
Notes
- Taco assembly suggestion: spread sour cream onto tortilla first so you get an even layer!
- In all other instances I really dislike the prediced garlic stuff but this is what my dad used and I never minded it and these would not be the same without it!
