Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
If you are looking to serve a plant-based taco for dinner, take a look at this recipe for vegan black bean tacos! In just 10 minutes, you can have a healthy, yet satisfying meal ready to serve with a punch of flavor and protein. This black bean taco recipe will knock your socks off!
I know it’s because I’m a new mom, but I’ve been thinking more and more about my own health ever since Van’s birth. It’s not that I thought I was invincible beforehand, but having the amazing responsibility of having a child really puts your own life and mortality in perspective. Obviously, so much of that is out of my hands, but I am focused on what I do have control over: diet and lifestyle to prevent chronic disease and exercise to maintain quality of life.
Therefore, I’ve been digging into the research on longevity and wow, it’s pretty fascinating!
Of course, so many characteristics play into a person’s life expectancy but diet seems to play a larger role than others when it comes to increased longevity and decreased disability.
I’m a big fan of assessing the “Blue Zones”, areas of the world where longevity is the norm. People may get lucky in living to 100, but populations do not. Therefore, looking at common characteristics of these blue zones allows us to unlock key habit choices that make living to 100 a possibility.
It’s like a reverse hack—identify the groups of people who can do this, then study everything about them.
What is different there compared to our life here?
Let’s start with the diet.
In all five Blue Zones, most of the diet is made up of pulses, greens, grains, and nuts. Makes sense, right? It’s one of the reasons I’m so into a mostly plant-based diet– not only does this way of eating make me feel my best. Blue Zones also fall in line with my ethics and has the benefit of decreasing chronic disease risk and mortality.
It’s like a diet jackpot!
Many of the longest-living populations in the world are lovers of pulses, the umbrella term for dried peas, beans, and lentils. Blue Zones researchers found that legumes were the most important dietary predictor of survival among the elderly, regardless of their ethnicity.
For every 20-gram increase in daily pulses intake, they found a 7 to 8% reduction in mortality hazard ratio.
It’s hard to find a more perfect food than beans. They are an excellent source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates. They’re also very low in fat, almost sodium-free, and extremely inexpensive, especially compared to fresh meat!
A single cup of beans contains roughly 16 grams of fiber, which increases satiety and helps to lower cholesterol levels.
One more tidbit: Swapping out meat for plant protein is associated with a lower risk of death from all causes. A recent observational study published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed a 34 percent drop in mortality rate when participants swapped out processed red meat for plant protein, and a 19 percent decrease when they replaced eggs.
Friends, I’m not saying that you need to become a full-on vegetarian or vegan to see the benefits, but I do there is enough evidence to support replacement a few animal-based meals a week with beans.
Well, there is a reason why these 10-minute black bean tacos are my go-to weeknight dinner!
They couldn’t be simpler. Open a can of beans, add to some sautéed onions, and season with chili powder and cumin. Mash just a few for added texture, then pile into a tortilla (or shredded lettuce) and top with your favorite toppings.
If you are looking for more ways to add beans to your diet, try making these tacos!
Note: For a complete list of ingredients and instructions on how to make this black bean taco recipe, keep scrolling down until you see the recipe card!
Are you excited to try out these tasty, 10-minute tacos for yourself? I hope you are! I love a good taco, especially since they are so easy to throw together and are hard to mess up. I’ve found that tacos almost always taste amazing, no matter what you fill them with.
These vegan black bean tacos are delicious and oh-so-filling. They make the perfect lunch on a day when you don’t have much time to eat or a great main course for a Mexican-inspired dinner spread!
Here are some helpful tips that will guarantee your tacos to be a hit!
To switch things up, you could add other ingredients as well such as:
These 10-minute black bean tacos are delicious and full of flavor! They are even healthy and easy to make as well. They are so filling that they could easily be a meal all by themselves, but you could also add sides for a heartier meal.
These tacos would be delicious if served alongside a hearty helping of Mexican rice or even Mexican cauliflower rice!
You could even serve them with a side of guacamole and vegan queso dip with some tortilla chips.
I hope you enjoy these vegan black bean tacos as much as we do. If you try it, make sure to come back, leave a comment and rate it. Your feedback helps others and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
I was on Fox2 News a few weeks ago sharing this exact same message. The idea is that adding in more beans helps to lower the risk of some cancers and exactly what to do with those beans. That tends to be the biggest complaint I hear from clients- besides baked beans, soup, or chili, they aren’t quite sure how to eat them.
Let me know what you think!
If you are looking to dive deep into starting a healthier lifestyle, I just released a new 7-day email course on “The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Protein” with 40 new recipes- and it’s FREE! >>>LINK<<< You’ll learn everything there is to know about plant-based protein options and how to incorporate them into your everyday recipes.
10 Minute Black Bean Tacos! Want a quick weeknight meal!? Try these vegan black bean tacos. Super healthy and delicious.
This recipe can easily be doubled! Now that I have two toddlers eating along with us, I double the recipe using 2 cans of black beans.
Tag @delishknowledge on Instagram and hashtag it #delishknowledge
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge. I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
(7 comments) leave a comment
I have made this recipe so many times now! As a vegetarian, this is my go to when I’m feeling in the mood for tacos. Even my meat-eater friends love it! So simple to make and tastes amazing!
★★★★★
Made this and it was my first meat free recipe
Thank you So very much
Love, Stephanie and my son Nicholas
★★★★★
Just made camping breakfast burritos with this scrambled egg and cheese yum.
This was sooo good &really fast to make!
★★★★★
It’s so delicious and quick to make!
★★★★★
So glad to have found this perfect black bean taco recipe! It has just enough heat and spice but I am sure it could be adapted in either direction to suit tastebuds. I left out the salt entirely and didn’t miss it at all.
Thank you! This will be a frequently served meal.
★★★★★
Very flavorful and easy to make. These took me about 15 minutes, but still a great weeknight recipe.
★★★★★