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Vegan Walnut Taco Meat Quesadillas are a super easy and quick plant-based dinner or lunch that is perfect for all fans of Tex Mex Cuisine! Can be made gluten-free + nut-free option included.
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Love Tex Mex Food? Try my vegan Quesadillas with Walnut Taco Meat
If you are a busy person and always looking for new quick and easy vegan meal ideas then definitely bookmark these Vegan Quesadillas with walnut taco meat.
Trust me, that vegan walnut taco meat is going to be your new go-to! Something about that mix of walnuts, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and spices just makes it super addictive! The meat mixture comes together super quickly using a food processor, no cooking needed! And you don’t have to stop at quesadillas. Make lots and use for making vegan burritos or tacos. It is also a great addition to all kinds of bowls.
Got leftovers? Pop leftover quesadillas in the fridge for meals for the next day or two. Refrigerate any grilled quesadilla leftovers for up to 2 days, then reheat on a grill, and serve. That’s dinner!
These vegan quesadillas are my new favorite quick dinner fix and with all those veggies and the melted cheese, I just can’t get enough of them!
Quesadillas with Walnut Taco Meat
Ingredients
For the Walnut Chickpea Taco Meat:
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
- 3 tbsp sundried tomato packed in olive oil, or 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder blend,, I use chipotle powder chili blend, which a lot more flavor of the chipotle chili
- 1/2 tsp salt
Toppings
- 2 tbsp Sliced jalapeno
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- pickled jalapenos as needed
- 1 recipe nacho cheese sauce, OR
- 1 recipe mozzarella cheese sauce
Instructions
To make the walnut chickpea taco meat:
- Add the walnuts to a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is homogeneously combined and there are no whole chickpeas remaining, but it still has texture.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and taste and adjust flavor. If the mixture is too dry add in a tsp or so of oil, or lime juice, and mix in.
- Set the mixture aside, and prepare your nacho cheese sauce, or mozzarella cheese sauce, and set aside
- Set up your quesadilla by adding a good layer of the walnut chickpea taco meat, some red bell pepper, pickled jalapeno, and a good drizzle of the cheese sauce.
- Place another tortilla on top, and grill it on both sides on a regular skillet, or a grill pan.
- Once they’re golden brown, slice the quesadillas and serve immediately.
- You can serve with some salsa on the side, or some more cheese sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- A blend of walnuts and chickpeas makes for the perfect meaty texture.
- Sundried tomatoes add some umami. Sun-dried tomatoes come either dried or packed in oil. I use the ones packed in olive oil. As a substitute, use 1 tbsp tomato paste.
- Tex-mex spices like smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder make these quesadillas worthy of a fiesta!
- Fresh AND pickled jalapeno – trust me, they taste different and both add something so uniquely Mexican to these quesadillas! You can reduce the amount but you don’t want to skip them if you want to keep things authentic.
- As for the veggies, I like a blend of red bell pepper, thinly sliced, and more pickled jalapenos as needed!
- I always make sure to make a batch of my vegan nacho cheese sauce or use my homemade mozzarella cheese to make these really nice and cheesy!
- As for the tortillas, you will need 2 large tortillas per portion. Use gluten-free if needed, or use my gluten-free flatbreads
Tips:
- To make this vegan taco meat without walnuts, you can use a mixture of other nuts such as cashews or pecans.
- To make it nut-free you can use pumpkin seeds.
- Use a pizza slicer to cut you vegan quesadilla into neat wedges.
- These brown quickly, so make sure to watch to ensure your quesadilla doesn’t burn!
- I use a chipotle powder chili blend which has a lot more flavor and a nice smoky note!
To make the vegan walnut chickpea taco meat:
Add the walnuts to a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is homogeneously combined and there are no whole chickpeas remaining, but it still has texture.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and taste and adjust flavor. If the mixture is too dry add in a tsp or so of oil, or lime juice, and mix in.
Set the mixture aside, and prepare your nacho cheese sauce, or mozzarella cheese sauce, and set aside
Set up your quesadilla by adding a good layer of the walnut chickpea taco meat, some red bell pepper, pickled jalapeno, and a good drizzle of the cheese sauce.
Place another tortilla on top, and grill it on both sides on a regular skillet, or a grill pan.
Once they’re golden brown, slice the quesadillas and serve immediately. You can serve with some salsa on the side, or some more cheese sauce.
MORE GRILLED RECIPES TO TRY
- Vegan Mushroom Quesadillas
- 10 Minute Taco Spiced White Bean Pepper jack quesadillas
- Grilled Cauliflower Cheddar Pesto Zucchini Sandwich
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Chimichurri Quesadilla
- Grilled Red Pepper Hummus Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich
- Grilled Buffalo Millet and Ranch Sandwich
- Roasted Veggie Sandwich
Made this with your nacho cheese recipe- family really liked it and was shocked it was made from walnuts. When making again, I would remove walnut from blender and process the chickpeas and spice separately to retain some texture and then mix the two together. I would also def add lime right from the beginning.
Thanks for the tip. Glad your family enjoyed it!
Love this taco meat; it is very flavorful. Served it with the 10-minute nacho cheese sauce. Made them into tacos, using individual romaine lettuce leaves as the shell! We all thought they were fabulous, filling and quick. Thanks again Richa!! 💌
Yay
Excellent addition to quesadillas! The flavor and texture is great. It reheats well too. Thanks for another great recipe!
thanks for popping in
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I was pleasantly surprised as there is not lot of ingredients but it is packed with flavour. And this is without Nacho/ mozzarella cheese. Thanks vegan richa for this recipe
Yup this taco meat is super flavorful!
has anyone tried toasting this mixture in the oven a bit to crisp up?
I made last night with the cheese sauce — EXCELLENT! I will be making again soon. Thanks!
Awesome
I like things hot and spicey so used hot smoked paprika. Great recipe!