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    Home » Mexican food

    Vegetarian Tacos with Black Beans, Feta Cheese & Pico de Gallo

    By Emmeline Kemperyd on February 10, 2019, updated December 8, 2023 - 20 Comments

    Total time: 20 minutes minutes
    Prep time: 5 minutes minutes
    5 from 13 votes
    Jump to Recipe

    The best Vegetarian Tacos I've ever had are filled with refried black beans, crumbled feta cheese and topped with heaps of homemade pico de gallo. A quick and easy vegetarian taco recipe that's sure to have you coming back for more!

    four vegetarian tacos with black beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo

    There are a few things I love above all else, and tacos, refried beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo (Remember the one we made last week? This is what we use it for!) sure make the list. So put them all together, and what happens?

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    How to Make Vegetarian Tacos at Home

    Making Vegetarian Tacos at home is super easy, and the great thing is that - just like with any kind of taco - you can add whatever you like. I usually go for some combination of the following: a leafy green, a hot star ingredient, cheese of course, and some kind of spicy sauce.

    closeup of vegetarian tacos with black beans

    A leafy green

    For my leafy green, I prefer baby spinach or, like here, arugula. I like these kinds for the extra flavor they bring. But, if all you're looking for is something that looks pretty & gives the whole thing a vitamin boost, then iceberg lettuce or the like works as well.

    Or just whatever you have in the fridge. To be completely honest - this is probably what I do most often.

    refried beans in a bowl in front of pico de gallo in a bowl

    A hot star ingredient

    In this version, the star ingredient is the refried beans. But it could just as well be crispy fried tofu, fried mushrooms, or your favorite meat substitute with taco seasoning. Choose your favorite! If you want to make refried beans, either use storebought cooked beans or cook them yourself from scratch.

    close-up of a vegetarian taco with black beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo

    Cheese

    There are two things standing between me and vegan food: fish sauce & cheese. Perfect to top any kind of taco with, for vegeterian tacos I feel like it's an even more vital ingredient.

    Pro tip? Add it on top of the hot ingredient so it melts, or just softens, just a tiny bit.

    Depending on the flavors of my tacos & what I have in the fridge I go for shredded mild cheese, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese.

    top view of pico de gallo alsa in a black bowl

    Spicy (or not so spicy!) sauce

    I love my spice and I'm not really sure you can call it a taco unless it's at least a tiny bit spicy. Or well, of course you can. It's your tacos! But either way, tacos need some kind of sauce.

    I usually go for a more or less traditional salsa - often a cold, chopped version, but sometimes the store bought cooked version is just what I want. You can also use other spicy Mexican sauces, like a green enchilada sauce, for a fun twist. This is especially good with chicken tacos!

    For this specific recipe I went with a classic Pico de Gallo salsa. You can never really go wrong with that!

    close-up of a hand held vegetarian taco with black beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo

    With these four components in place I don't think you can end up with anything but delicious tacos - and if you do, the best thing about taco is you can just switch it up for the next one.

    Having friends over? Everyone loves a taco party, with loads of different components to mix and match from. Why not make your next one vegetarian?

    top view of close-up of four vegetarian tacos with black beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo

    Want more tacos? Check out my Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos and the best Salmon Tacos.

    Recipe

    close-up of four vegetarian tacos with black beans, feta cheese and pico de gallo

    Vegetarian Tacos with Black Beans, Feta Cheese and Pico de Gallo Salsa

    5 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Servings: 4 people (2 large tacos per person)
    Calories: 525kcal
    Prep time: 5 minutes mins
    Cook time: 15 minutes mins
    Resting Time 30 minutes minutes
    Total time: 20 minutes minutes
    Author: Emmeline Kemperyd
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    Refried Beans

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 yellow onion chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • 2 (15 ounce) cans cooked black beans drained
    • ½ cup hot water
    • 1 vegetable stock cube
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon chili

    To serve

    • 8 small flour tortillas
    • 2 handfuls arugula
    • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
    • 1 batch Pico de Gallo Salsa
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Make the Pico de Gallo Salsa and set aside for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the tacos.
    • Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add in the onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until softened.
    • Crumble the stock cubes in the hot water and mix to dissolve. Add the mixture to the saucepan together with the black beans, cumin and chili. Cook for 10 minutes, and add more water if it starts to look dry.
    • Take the refried beans off the heat and mix with an immersion blender until smooth.
    • Top each tortilla with arugula, black beans, crumbled feta cheese and Pico de Gallo Salsa, or serve each component separately and let everyone compose their own tacos.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 525kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 1369mg | Potassium: 959mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 745IU | Vitamin C: 14.9mg | Calcium: 301mg | Iron: 4.8mg

    Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.

    Did you make this? Tag me today!Tag @alwaysusebutter and use the hashtag #alwaysusebutter!

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    About Emmeline Kemperyd

    Emmeline Kemperyd is a writer, food blogger, recipe creator and food photographer and the founder of alwaysusebutter.com. She has more than 20 years of experience creating and simplifying recipes so they taste good, and are quick, easy, and approachable. She is a regular contributor to MSN  and her work has been featured by The Guardian, Well+Good, Vulture, SheKnows, Good Men Project, Daily Kos, The Grio, The Asian Parent, and The Feed Feed, among others.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tammy

      February 12, 2019 at 8:11 pm

      5 stars
      I'm all for a hearty vegetarian dish and these bean tacos are exactly what I'm craving! Love the freshness and all the flavors...I honestly wouldn't even miss the meat. These look so good!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 12, 2019 at 8:12 pm

        Thank you so much for your comment, Tammy! Totally agree - I don't miss the meat at all with these bad boys!

        Reply
    2. Cheese Curd In Paradise

      February 12, 2019 at 5:30 pm

      5 stars
      I am craving tacos so badly right now, and these look so good! I love black beans and the salsa looks absolutely incredible! I can't wait to try this recipe!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 12, 2019 at 7:34 pm

        Thank you so much for your comment! Let me know when you try them! 😀

        Reply
    3. Mahy Elamin

      February 12, 2019 at 1:20 pm

      5 stars
      These tacos are now a staple in our home. When my husband said how good it was, I asked him to guess which site it was from. He guessed correctly!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 12, 2019 at 7:34 pm

        Oh thank you so much Mahy! So happy your husband liked them! 😀

        Reply
    4. Danielle Wolter

      February 12, 2019 at 3:48 am

      5 stars
      these look so simple and delicious. i love black beans so much, and the addition of feta cheese in the tacos sound incredible!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 12, 2019 at 10:06 am

        Thank you Danielle! Yup, super simple yet so much flavor!

        Reply
    5. Byron Thomas

      February 11, 2019 at 11:45 pm

      5 stars
      I'm totally digging the feta on the top of these tacos! Why have I never thought of that? What a great way to get that salty, creamy flavour that we all love so much right into a taco. Ok - the refried beans are the bomb. These are my new favourite tacos!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 12, 2019 at 10:06 am

        Haha thank you Byron! This comment made my day!

        Reply
    6. Claudia Lamascolo

      February 10, 2019 at 7:42 pm

      5 stars
      I love everything in these and that they are vegetarian is a bigger bonus love the black beans!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 11, 2019 at 6:21 pm

        Thank you Claudia!

        Reply
    7. Karen @ Seasonal Cravings

      February 10, 2019 at 7:32 pm

      5 stars
      I never make tacos without meat but need to give it a try for my kids. They will eat all things Mexican so I think I could pull this off. It looks like it's packed with flavor!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 11, 2019 at 6:22 pm

        Thank you Karen! So full of flavor - hope your kids like them! 😀

        Reply
    8. Emma

      February 10, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      5 stars
      I love everything about these. They sound delicious!!!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 10, 2019 at 7:26 pm

        Thank you so much Emma!

        Reply
    9. Jill

      February 10, 2019 at 6:42 pm

      5 stars
      I'm not a vegetarian but I would definitely not say no to a couple of these tacos. They look so fresh and healthy.

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 10, 2019 at 7:26 pm

        Me neither but never hurts to go meat-less once in a while! Thank you so much for commenting!

        Reply
    10. Danielle

      February 10, 2019 at 6:24 pm

      5 stars
      I'm always looking for new vegetarian taco ideas - this looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Emmeline

        February 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

        Thank you so much Danielle!

        Reply
    5 from 13 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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