These roasted beet and crispy kale tacos with avocado sauce are bursting with veggie goodness and flavour!

Happy Monday! Did you all have a good weekend? Major highlights from my weekend were of the food realm (surprise, surprise). I made butternut squash and white bean quesadillas on Friday, a version of these bowls with pasta instead of quinoa on Saturday, and I plan to make these pumpkin cinnamon rolls sometime this week. I joke that I might not have my life together, but what I lack in that department, I am making up for big time in the culinary department, haha.

It’s funny: I enjoy beets every which way. I like them in borscht, smoothies, juices, and even desserts. (Don’t even ask me the number of times I ordered the red velvet beet cake with a side of peppermint lavender hot chocolate from Nourish a few years ago… it’s slightly embarrassing.) My mom? Not so much. The one way that she will eat them, however, is roasted. So, this past summer, when we were getting an abundance of them in our CSA, we ate our fair share of roasted beets. One of my favourite ways to enjoy them was in-you guessed it-tacos!

Have you ever had roasted beets as a taco filling? To be honest, I had always gone for roasted squash and sweet potato, but it was not until this summer that I came up with the idea of throwing some roasted beets in there! If you’re anything like me, you’ll love them, especially combined with crispy kale, roasted chickpeas, olives, and avocado sauce. Totally delicious, if I do say so myself! 🙂

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

FOR THE ROASTED BEETS: Beets, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
FOR THE CRISPY KALE: Kale, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. (This simply goes on top of the roasted beets and is baked until crispy.)
FOR THE ROASTED CHICKPEAS: Cooked chickpeas, extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder, fine sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
FOR THE AVOCADO SAUCE: Lemon or lime juice, avocado, tahini, garlic, sea salt, pepper, fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley, and/or basil are all great), and water.
OPTIONAL ACCOMPANIMENTS: Olives and vegan parmesan really take these tacos over the top!
FOR SERVING: Corn or flour tortillas.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

ROAST THE BEETS: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the beets in a bowl. Drizzle with ¾ tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put into the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes.
MAKE THE CRISPY KALE: Place the kale in a bowl. Add the remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Massage the oil into the kale so that it becomes tender. After 40 minutes are up, remove the beets from the oven, place the kale on top (making sure there’s space in between the kale leaves to allow it to crisp up), and place back in the oven for 7 more minutes.
MAKE THE CRISPY CHICKPEAS: Meanwhile, make the crispy chickpeas. Place the chickpeas on a baking sheet. (Line with parchment paper if desired). Drizzle on the olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Gently toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes.
MAKE THE AVOCADO SAUCE: Add the lime or lemon juice, avocado, tahini, garlic, salt, pepper, herbs, and water to an upright blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a jar and cover with the lid until ready to serve.
ASSEMBLE THE TACOS: Warm up the tortillas, if desired. Place desired amounts of roasted beets and crispy kale, chickpeas, olives, avocado sauce, and vegan parmesan, if using, on the tortillas and serve!

MORE TACO RECIPES

I hope you love these roasted beet and crispy kale tacos! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen so that I can see what you’ve made. 🙂

Enjoy!