Vegan Barbacoa Mushroom Tacos . These saucy Barbacoa Tacos are super easy and versatile. Use the sauce with beans, lentils or other shredded vegetables for variation. 1 Pot Vegan Barbacoa Recipe. Gluten-free Nut-free Soy-free Recipe.Jump to Recipe
These Saucy Tacos with Barbacoa mushrooms are perfect for the Summer. For these Barbacoa tacos, I use mushrooms as the vegan substitute. The Sauce for the tacos is made of guajillo chiles which add a gorgeous color and smoky sweetness to the sauce, some chipotle peppers for additional smokyness and heat, some spices and caramelized onions. The mushrooms are cooked for 30 minutes in the sauce to absorb all of the flavor and get tender. Try not to eat up all the mushrooms right from the pan!
You can also use other vegetables or beans with the sauce. Toss veggies in the blended sauce and bake until tender. Or simmer some black beans, chickpeas or lentils along with some chopped veggies in the sauce for 15-20 mins. Serve in tacos or make a Bowl with roasted veggies, onion, lime. Many options! Saucy, Juicy and amazing .
Barbacoa is a process of slow roasting meats that are served in tacos. The term has evolved over time to include fusion barbecue styles. Mushrooms make a great substitute to add texture and soak up the sauce. Jackfruit would also do very well with the sauce. Or just some beans/chickpeas/lentils simmered in the sauce. Make these Tacos to start the Summer.
More Tacos and Wraps from the blog
- Chile Lime Pinto Bean Fajita Tacos. This marinade is so good!
- Chipotle Garlic Jackfruit Tacos – Easy Instroduction to Jackfruit
- Vegan Tinga bowl with Hearts of Palm, Chickpeas, Spanish Rice
- Pulled Butternut Squash Tacos. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe
- Jackfruit Meatballs Tacos
- Jamaican Jerk Black Bean Tacos with Corn Salsa – This seasoning is great with any beans
If you make these Saucy tacos, do let me know in the comments how they worked out!
The pictured tacos came out mildly hot even with 2 chipotle peppers (chipotle peppers vary in heat). Guajillo is very mild. Remove seeds from chipotle peppers to control the heat if needed. Paprika can also be very mild to moderately hot. Use sweet paprika for lower heat. Adjust the heat to preference when you taste test. Barbacoa is generally mild. I added some cayenne towards the end.
Soak the Guajillo chiles. I got these from World Spice in Seattle.
Cook the onion and garlic.
Blend half of the onion mixture with the chile and other barbacoa sauce ingredients.
Cook the mushrooms in the same skillet for a few mins.
Add blended sauce and cook for 30 mins.
Saucy, juicy, spicy!
These tacos are lightly inspired from The Taco cleanse’s barbacoa. Serve with avoado guacamole, salsa topping of choice and crisp greens.
Recipe Card
Vegan Barbacoa Mushroom Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 large guajillo chiles
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large onion thinly sliced or chopped
- 7 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce 1 for less heat
- 1 tsp ground cumin , or a combination of cumin and coriander
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) smoked hot paprika or 1 tsp chili powder blend
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cinnamon or a dash
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves or a pinch
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) or more salt
- 3/4 cup (176.25 ml) water or veggie broth
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 to 3 tsp lime juice to preference
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) sugar or maple - optional
- 8 oz (226.8 g) sliced or chopped mushrooms white, cremini or a combination with others
Toppings:
- Avocado salsa or onions, lime juice, pepper and salt
Instructions
- Soak the guajillo chiles in hot water for 15 mins. Prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add bay leaf, onions, garlic and pinch of salt and cook until translucent. 5 mins.
- Transfer half of the onion mixture to a blender.
- Add mushrooms to the remaining onion mixture in the skillet and a good pinch of salt and continue to cook over medium heat.
- Remove the stem and seed box from the soaking guajillo chile. Add the chile to the blender. ** Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, except vinegar and lime, to the blender and blend until smooth. Add this blended sauce the skillet.
- Cover and cook for 25 to 30 mins until mushrooms are tender. Stir once or twice in between. Add more water if the sauce thickens too much. Add in the vinegar and lime and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Taste adjust heat, salt and flavor. Add chili powder or smoked paprika for additional smokyness/flavor.
- Remove bay leaf. Serve over warm tortillas with avocado and chopped onion or salsa and baby greens of choice. Add a good dash of lime, freshly ground black pepper and salt and serve.
Notes
Or make a Bowl meal with the beans, roasted veggies such as peppers and onion, and crunchy greens. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Jean
The mushroom-vegan barbacoa recipe is challenging in cooking mushrooms in a way that is innovative. A cook is pushed to accompany a quite differently delicious dish with snazzy yet compatible side dishes, that wake our taste buds up. Thumbs up for this unique way to enjoy different season accents accompanied with a delightful sauce that respects the mushroom species to stand on its own in this dish. *please do not use my email – thanks!
Vegan Richa Support
wow! snazzy thanks Jean! no worries – your email doesn’t appear
Lauren
Delicious! I didn’t have any peppers, but it came out great without – just added a little sriracha
Vegan Richa Support
YUM – nice substitute . Do leave a rating too!
RK
I added a dried morita and dried ancho to reconstitute with the guajillos. Then followed the rest of the recipe. I was really good!
Ree
Very tasty! Love the cinnamon flavor. I didn’t have mushrooms so used the black beans suggestion. Thanks!
simran khurana
Hi Richa ! Can I use seitan for this in instant pot or stove top ?if yes then , what are the settings ?
Vegan Richa Support
hi – you may be interested in the comments as one reader tried it in an IP and they mention using less water. 5 minutes manual after adding the sauce, then quick release after 10 minutes should be enough with the Seitan
Becky
Can’t wait to try this! Did you use dried guajillo peppers? It looks like that’s all wegmans has!
Richa
yes dry peppers
Maneesha
Such a delicious recipe! Thanks Richa! I love the flavor!
Richa
great!
Neerali Parag
Great recipe! I added red kidney beans for a compete meal. And ate it in lettuce wrapps with Avo, so good! Thank you Richa! Xxx
Richa
Awesome!
Lena
This was delicious! I used 2 chipotle peppers and it was hot enough for me not to need any hot sauce (and I put hot sauce on everything). I also added the tomato paste, which I thought gave it a nice depth. One question about the recipe: when you say “1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves” is that cinnamon AND cloves or did you mean cinnamon OR cloves? I ended up adding 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a dash of cloves but I just wanted to clarify for the next time I make it. Thanks so much, and I look forward to cooking more of your recipes!
Ko
I modified this to use chile powders, add cauliflower, and increase the quantity quite a bit. Wonderful, complexly flavored sauce.
Shefalika
Hi – planning making this tonight. Where can I find chipotle Chile in adobo sauce? Thanks!
Richa
I got it from whole foods
Shannon
This was really good! I ended up using both smoked paprika and chili powder, because I didn’t feel like hitting multiple stores and could only find canned green chilies…but still – yum! I made super quick “re-fried” black beans as well.
I’m pumped for the leftovers tomorrow! Thanks Richa!
JULIA JONES
I had meant to look up guajillo chilies but in the end used a small amount of canned chopped jalapenos and about one chipotle and found it spicy without being overpowering. As my daughter is not a big fan of mushrooms I added a large can of pinto beans. (It turned out she wanted to eat the mushrooms too, they were so yummy.)
The finished meal in a bowl was a delight to behold but the flavors from this dish was absolutely the star of the bowl. It was a wow-this-is-really-good dinner, with lots of happy faces. That’s 2 of your recipes that I’ve tried this week that have received rave reviews. Thank you so much!
Emily
These came out perfect! I added some pinto beans as well and the tacos were gobbled up.
Richa
yay!
Paige
Excellent tacos! I followed the recipe exactly. Mexican side of the family approved!
Richa
Aweesome!
Jojo's Vegan Kitchen
looks yummy!
JdW
How would you adapt this to be made in the Instant Pot? (I love to be able to leave my Instant Pot unattended while I take my dog for a walk…)
Richa
I have not tried it, i think 5 minutes manual after adding the sauce, then quick release after 10 minutes should be enough. Let me know if the timings work.
JdW
This was delicious. I made it in the Instant Pot. Next time I’ll reduce the amount of water in the broth, because the mushrooms released a lot of liquid. I did use black beans in the sauce. Because I had baked tortillas into little bowls, I first put in some rice to soak up the liquid before adding the mushroom/bean/barbacoa sauce. I also roasted green peppers and onions and made a quick vegan queso fresco in the blender to serve on top. Thanks again for another great recipe.
Richa
Sounds like an amazing meal! Yes with the instant pot you would need less water as the water doesnt evaporate out. Forgot to mention that.
Briel
Excited to try this.
When would you recommend adding the lime and vinegar in if you are using the instant pot? before the 5 min manual or after it’s cooked?
Richa
yes before you close it. they are strong flavors that need to cook down and mix in
Eshika Roy
Wow! The taco looks really delicious. I started salivating mid way through the blog. I have always been a fan of your easy and simple vegan recipes. Please keep on sharing more drool worthy recipes with us. Looking forward to your next post.