Black Bean, Carrot Rice, and Kale Crispy Tacos

Crispy tacos filled with spiced black beans, carrot “rice,” kale, and cheese are served with avocado cilantro crema and quick pickled onions for a delicious supper any day of the week. 

Something tells me that it’s been far too long since I’ve shared a proper taco recipe for taco Tuesday. Changing that with these black bean, carrot “rice,” and kale crispy tacos with avocado crema and quick pickled onions! I’ve been having a lot of fun getting my Community Supported Agriculture basket each week and brainstorming new recipes based on what’s in it. It’s a fun way to work, rather than the other way around: coming up with ideas and then going to buy ingredients. 

The inspiration for these crispy tacos came from a few places. When I was over at my brother and his fiancee’s on the weekend, I was flipping through Love and Lemons Everyday, which they own. I happened upon a recipe for broccoli rice burritos, which was accompanied by suggestions to make “rice” out of other vegetables, including carrots and beets. There was an abundance of carrots in my CSA basket this week, so I knew pretty much immediately that I wanted to incorporate riced carrots in one of my recipes. And the inspiration for crispy tacos came from this chipotle chicken crispy tacos recipe on Half Baked Harvest. I loved Tieghan’s idea of filling the tortillas, brushing them with olive oil, and baking them until crispy. I’ve borrowed that method in today’s recipe. It was my first time preparing tacos in this way, and I loved them. They’re basically a cross between a taco and a quesadilla; you can’t go wrong with that! 

black bean, carrot rice, and kale crispy tacos: the details

These crispy tacos take about 45 minutes to prepare, from start to finish. They consist of the black bean, carrot rice, and kale filling, cheese, tortillas, avocado cilantro crema, and quick pickled onions. They’re ultra satisfying, but if you have the time and want a small side, I would serve them with a simple cabbage carrot slaw. 

ingredients you’ll need

For the beans, carrot rice, and kale, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper, sea salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, red pepper flakes, black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, and kale. 

For assembling the crispy tacos, you’ll need tortillas, cheese, and extra virgin olive oil. 

For the avocado crema, you’ll need avocado, Greek yogurt (or a thick dairy-free yogurt if vegan), cilantro, limes, garlic, and sea salt. 

For the quick pickled onion, you’ll need water, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, maple syrup or cane sugar, and red onion. 

the method

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, spices, and riced carrots. Cook for a couple more minutes so that the carrots soften a bit, then add the black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, and kale. Cook just until the kale is bright green and reduced in volume, then remove from the heat. Taste and add more salt and/or spices, if desired. 

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Get out two large rimmed baking sheets. Place 4 of the tortillas on one large rimmed baking sheet and 4 on another. Brush olive oil on one side of each tortilla. Flip over so that the oiled side is against the baking sheet and spoon the black bean and vegetable mixture over one half of each tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and a few cilantro leaves. Fold over and press to adhere. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, flip over, and bake 8-10 minutes more, until browned and crispy on both sides. 

Meanwhile, whip up the avocado cilantro crema. Place the avocado, yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, salt, and water in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Blend until smooth and transfer into an airtight container. 

Serve each crispy taco with a dollop of crema and a few slices of pickled onion. Hot sauce is always a nice touch, too. 

Store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed. 

more taco recipes 

• Gochujang Tofu and Kimchi Tacos with Sunbutter Sauce
• Roasted Beet and Crispy Kale Tacos with Avocado Sauce
• Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat

Finally, I hope that you love these black bean and kale crispy 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 @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made! 

Enjoy! 

Black Bean, Carrot Rice, and Kale Crispy Tacos

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• Author: Allison
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 tacos 1x

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Description

Crispy tacos filled with spiced black beans, carrot “rice,” kale, and cheese are served with avocado cilantro crema and quick pickled onions for a delicious supper any day of the week.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Beans, Carrot Rice, and Kale

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons chili powder (the mild variety)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Red pepper flakes or cayenne, to taste
• 2 cups carrot “rice” (from 6 medium peeled, roughly chopped carrots- see notes section for how to make carrot rice)
• 3 cups cooked black beans (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
• ¼ cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 medium bunch kale, tough stems removed, finely chopped (4 cups chopped)

For assembling the tacos

• 8 small (5-6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 cup grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or vegan cheese of choice)
• Cilantro
• Extra virgin olive oil

Avocado Cilantro Crema

• 1 ripe avocado, pitted
• ½ cup Greek yogurt (or a thick unflavoured/unsweetened vegan yogurt)
• ½ cup cilantro
• 2–4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons water

Garnishes

• Quick pickled red onion (see notes section for recipe)
• Salsa

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Instructions

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, spices, and riced carrots. Cook for a couple more minutes so that the carrots soften a bit, then add the black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, and kale. Cook just until the kale is bright green and reduced in volume, then remove from the heat. Taste and add more salt and/or spices, if desired.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Get out two large rimmed baking sheets. Place 4 of the tortillas on one large rimmed baking sheet and 4 on another. Brush olive oil on one side of each tortilla. Flip over so that the oiled side is against the baking sheet and spoon the black bean and vegetable mixture over one half of each tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and a few cilantro leaves. Fold over and press to adhere.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flip over, and bake 8-10 minutes more, until browned and crispy on both sides.
4. Meanwhile, whip up the avocado cilantro crema. Place the avocado, yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, salt, and water in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Blend until smooth and transfer into an airtight container.
5. Serve each crispy taco with a dollop of crema and a few slices of pickled onion. Hot sauce is always a nice touch, too.
6. Store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed.

Notes

To make carrot “rice”: Place the roughly chopped carrots in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Pulse several times, until the carrots resemble grains of rice.

To make quick pickled onions: Thinly slice a red onion and place it in a heatproof 16-oz glass jar. In a small saucepan, combine water, apple cider vinegar, salt, and sweetener. Bring to a boil. Carefully pour it over the onion. Set aside for at least 20 minutes to pickle, or secure the lid and store in the fridge for several days.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Main Course

Keywords: black bean and kale crispy tacos

This summer, I am collaborating with Ottawa Farm Fresh to bring you recipes made with their Community Supported Agriculture produce. You can find all of my seasonal recipes in the “CSA-inspired” section of my recipe index page.