I can be pretty picky when it comes to meat alternatives, and wow do these vegan barbecue jackfruit tacos hit all of the marks for me! While you can find packaged barbecue jackfruit in a lot of grocery stores, I don't think those have a very good flavor, so it's best to make it yourself with your favorite barbecue sauce.
You don't need a lot of supplies to make these, and they are such a crowd-pleaser. I used four cans to make a big batch for my family's Thanksgiving last year (we usually do enchiladas and other Mexican foods for Thanksgiving), and the whole table of meat-eaters loved it and said it tasted just like pulled pork.
Ingredients
- Canned green jackfruit
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Barbecue sauce
- Taco shells or street taco tortillas
- Your choice of taco toppings
For my barbecue jackfruit, I prefer to use Zarda's Ghost Sauce. I think the spicy flavor is perfect for tacos, and I like to add jalapeños as a topping, so they go great together. If you like the flavor of ghost peppers but don't want it as spicy, you could try Zarda's Lil' Ghost Sauce that is more sweet than heat.
Zarda's sauces are available at both Lenexa and Blue Springs Zarda restaurant locations, your local grocery store, and at Made in KC stores and online.
You can make these tacos entirely vegan, or they can be vegetarian if you choose to add sour cream or cheese.