As you all know Todd travels a lot with his job so I am always looking for healthy snack recipes that are easy to pack for him to take on the road. Admittedly sometimes I am completely negligent and don't plan enough time to make them, but I always pin them and have really good intentions. That is what counts right?! Sorry honey...
Anyways, a few weeks ago I came across a series of posts on one of my favorite blogs, My New Roots, all about recipes and tips for healthy travel. I immersed myself in the posts reading all about Sarah's love of traveling and good food. I was immediately enamored by her recipe for a black bean salad with cumin-roasted carrots; it was beautiful, full of flavors that my family loves and good for us too.
Since I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand I decided her salad was making an appearance on that night's dinner table. To say my family loved it would be an understatement.
I have made this salad a few times now and enjoyed watching my family devour every last bite of it, but one night last week my daughter came up with an AMAZING idea...Eliza began cramming the salad into tortillas with avocado and a squeeze of lime. Why the heck didn't I think of that?!
This salad has all the makings of a great taco. Beans, spicy roasted veggies, quinoa, and cabbage. I mean come on?! How could you go wrong? A few nights later I made these tacos for our entire family; I added a few extra spices, a slightly sweet and tangy cilantro dressing, and slices of avocado. They were a HUGE hit with everyone at the dinner table, even our little fruit bandit who has become the pickiest eater on the planet liked them.
Besides the taste, one of the best things about these tacos is that pretty much all of the elements, except for the cabbage, can be made a day or two in advance and simply heated through when you are ready to eat.
What's your go-to taco dinner lately?
[mc4wp_form id="7635"]
PrintRoasted Carrot, Black Bean, and Quinoa Tacos (Gluten Free & Vegan)
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
For the carrots
- ¼ tablespoon whole coriander seed (½ teaspoon ground)
- ½ tablespoon whole cumin seed (1 teaspoon ground)
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, sliced in uniform sized slices so they cook evenly
For the quinoa
- 1 ½ cups cooked red quinoa, cooled
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 2 scallions, light green and dark green parts only, sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
- ¼ cup mirin
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- pinch of salt
For the cabbage
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
For the tacos
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup roasted, salted pepitas
- lime wedges
- corn tortillas
Instructions
Roast the carrots
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the coriander, cumin seed, and salt in a mortar and pestle and roughly grind the spices together. Transfer the spice mixture to a mixing bowl along with the olive oil and maple syrup; mix well. Add the carrots and toss to coat. Spread the carrots in an even layer on the baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
Prepare the quinoa
- Combine the cilantro, scallions, ginger, mirin, rice wine vinegar, and salt in a food processor or blender and process until finely chopped.
- In a small bowl mix the cooked and cooled quinoa with ½ cup of the dressing and set aside. Use any remaining dressing to serve at the table for drizzling over tacos.
Prepare the cabbage
- In the bottom of your serving bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, maple syrup, sea salt, and paprika. Mix well with a whisk and add the shredded cabbage, toss to coat. Set aside.
To serve
- Set up a taco bar at your table with the tortillas, carrots, drained and rinsed black beans, quinoa, remaining dressing, cabbage, sliced avocado, pepitas, and lime wedges. Build your tacos however you like.
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
yum these sounds sooo amazing, Meg. Love me some quinoa and black beans in my tacos, never thought of adding carrots. Brilliant.
Meg says
Thanks Beth! Eliza had a pretty brilliant idea shoving all of those things in a taco shell. Gotta love that kid:)