Vegan Roasted Veggie Tacos + Chipotle Mayo

Once I'm elected president in 2020, my first order of business will be this: make Taco Tuesday a national holiday. Because tacos are one of the easiest and yummiest foods to make at home, especially for fellow vegetarians and vegans! And, because tacos 🌮

These roasted veggie tacos are the perfect solution for time-strapped foodies who (like me) like to have mostly prepared food waiting at home so that you can avoid that sad moment at the end of the day where you get home from work, open the refrigerator and are greeted with nothing but fruit flies and silence. I'm a huge fan of making a big batch of food once a week and freezing the rest so that you have food to eat for days and days. These veggie tacos fall perfectly in that category, because you make them by roasting a whole lotta yummy veggies that you can eat immediately, or freeze for later.

And what do we do when we have a bunch of roasted veggies laying around, and a few corn tortillas on hand too? As the saying goes, when life gives you limes, you make tacos.

These veggie tacos should be customized to your liking, but for inspo I made mine with mushrooms, red pepper, onions, garlic, zucchini, corn, and Cuban-style black beans, which are a non-negotiable for this recipe. I grew up eating Cuban black beans pretty much every day along with rice and chicken because those three foods are a staple in Caribbean households.

Oh, but what really takes these homemade tacos from 10 to 20 is the vegan chipotle mayo that is drizzled on top. I am capital-O Obsessed with chipotle mayo, even though I don't love mayo much on its own. Now that I avoid animal products (saying vegan is still a hard word 🙈) I was looking for a way to make chipotle mayo at home, and this recipe does not disappoint! Seriously, cashews are the basis of life (and of this vegan chipotle mayo recipe, you'll soon find).

Happy meal prepping!

INGREDIENTS

Tacos

• Zucchini, mushrooms, onions, garlic, bell pepper, tomatoes, cut into small bite-sized cubes

• 7oz of corn (canned)

• Corn tortillas

Cuban black beans

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1/2 onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 green onions

• 3 tbsp cilantro

• 15 oz can black beans, do not drain

• 1/2 cup water (or more if needed)

• dried oregano

• few pinches cumin (to taste)

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• salt and black pepper to taste

Chipotle Mayo

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1 hour and drained

• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo (canned)

• 1 clove of garlic

• Juice of 1 Lime

• ¼ cup + 3 tbsp water, plus more if necessary

• ¼ tsp Cumin

• ½ tsp Salt

DIRECTIONS

Tacos

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover 1-2 baking sheets with foil and spray with non-stick spray.

2. Place all of the cut vegetables on the baking sheet into a single layer. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, checking on them at around the 10 minute mark. Flip the veggies and and roast for about 10 minutes more, until evenly browned and soft enough to pierce with a fork.

Cuban black beans

1. Chop onion, garlic, scallions, red pepper, and cilantro into small pieces.

2. Add oil to a medium-sized pot on medium heat.

3. Add vegetables to the pot and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.

4. Add beans, water, cumin, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

5. Lower heat and cover, simmer about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add more salt, to taste.

Chipotle Mayo

1. Add the cashews and all of the remaining ingredients to a food processor with a narrow base.

2. Blend for 45-60 seconds, until smooth and creamy. Add more water (if necessary) in 1 tbsp increments.

3. Warm corn tortillas on the stove. Add roasted vegetables and black beans to each tortilla and top with spoonfuls of the chipotle mayo. Enjoy!

Adapted From: Skinny Taste & From My Bowl