Veggie Tacos (Restaurant-Style!) – Connoisseurus Veg

My veggie tacos are packed with Mexican spices, black beans, and a delicious mix of vibrant pan-seared vegetables like corn, peppers, and zucchini. They’re easy to make, vegan, gluten-free, and can be on the table in about twenty minutes!

Three Veggie Tacos on a plate with a skillet in the background.

Here’s something that’s happened to me on more than one occasion, so I’m thinking maybe it’s happened to you too. Your family invites you to a new Mexican restaurant. They have vegan options. Yay! You check out the menu to find that the vegan option is veggie tacos. Kind of boring, but what else are you going to order? So you do, you get them, and they turn out to be amazeballs good.

Jump to:

That’s what I was trying to do here. I say “trying,” but these tacos were legit as any restaurant vegetable tacos I’ve ever had, and ready in about twenty minutes!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.

Vegetable oil. You can use pretty much any neutral high-heat oil. Olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, and corn oil are all fine.
Red onion. A yellow onion will work if that’s what you have on hand.
Corn. Use fresh corn, just cut from the cob if possible. If you can’t get ahold of fresh, frozen corn will do the job!
Bell peppers. The recipe calls for one red and one green pepper, but you can swap either one (or both!) with another color of bell pepper.
Zucchini. Feel free to use yellow summer squash if you’d like to switch things up!
Black beans. We’re using canned beans to keep things simple.
Spices. You’ll need ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, and ancho chile powder. You can get all of them in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.
Lime juice. Definitely go for freshly squeezed lime juice, rather than bottled.
Salt and pepper.
Cilantro. You can skip this if you’re not a fan of it.
Corn tortillas. Flour tortillas or even hard taco shells will work, if that’s your preference.
Accompaniments. Use your favorite taco toppings here! Guacamole, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, pico de gallo, hot sauce, vegan queso, and vegan shredded cheese are all great on these tacos.

How They’re Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Step 1: Heat your oil in a large skillet, then add sliced onion and corn. Let the veggies sit on the hot cooking surface for a minute, then stir them up and let them sit for a minute or two longer. Continue this for about five minutes total.

Chopped bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, and corn cooking in a skillet.

Step 2: Add both bell peppers and the zucchini to the skillet. Continue cooking the mixture for about three minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are all tender.

Minced garlic cooking in a skillet with vegetables.

Step 3: Push all of the vegetables to the side, making a little space in the center of the skillet. Add minced garlic to this space, then sauté it for a minute, stirring it constantly to prevent it from burning.

Veggies cooking in a skillet with Mexican spices.

Step 4: Add the beans and spices to the skillet. Cook everything for about a minute longer, continuing to stir the mixture constantly.

Skillet filled with veggie taco filling.

Step 5: Remove the skillet from heat, then add your lime juice, fresh cilantro, and some salt and pepper. You can adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste at this point.

White wooden surface set with a skillet, bunch of cilantro, and plate of three Veggie Tacos.

Step 6: Stuff your vegetable taco filling into warm tortillas, add your favorite taco toppings, then dig in!

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover veggie taco filling will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about three days. The easiest way to reheat it is in the microwave, but you can also do so in a skillet on the stove, over medium-high heat. Stop heating the mixture once it comes up to temperature, in order to avoid overcooking it.

Variations

Refried bean tacos. Skip the black beans. Instead, slather each tortilla with vegan refried beans or refried black beans before stuffing it with taco filling.
Add protein. For extra protein, add some crumbled tofu or finely chopped seitan to the filling.
Veggie taco bowls. Skip the tortillas and serve the filling over rice or quinoa.
Veggie burritos. Stuff the filling into burrito-sized flour tortillas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these tacos gluten-free?

They sure are!

Are these tacos spicy?

They are pretty mild. If you’d like a little more heat, add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce.

More Vegan Tacos

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

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Veggie Tacos

Cuisine American, Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ medium red onion, sliced into half rings
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
2 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Black pepper, to taste
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
8 corn tortillas, warmed in a skillet

For Serving

Guacamole
Salsa
Vegan sour cream or cashew cream

Instructions

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and place it over medium-high heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the red onion and corn. Cook the onion and corn by letting them sit on the hot surface for about a minute at a time, then stirring them and letting them sit again. Continue this for about five minutes, until the onion starts to soften and brown.
Add both bell peppers and the zucchini to the skillet. Stir everything up and cook the mixture for about three minutes, stirring often, until the veggies are tender.
Push the vegetables to the side, then add the garlic to the skillet in the space you just cleared. Sauté the garlic for about thirty seconds, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
Stir in the beans, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and ancho chile powder. Cook the mixture for about a minute longer, stirring constantly.
Remove the skillet from heat, then stir in the lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
Divide the mixture among the tortillas, then top each taco with accompaniments of choice. Serve.

Notes

Nutrition information does not include accompaniments.

Nutrition

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