Taco cups! A miniature take on handheld tacos using a muffin tin. A delicious vegan taco recipe for the whole family!
We eat a lot of tacos in our households. Anyone else?
Tacos are a favorite for us because there are so many different ways you can make them.
Whether you want to feature beans, shredded tofu, or lentils, tacos are a perfect opportunity to pack in the veggies, a quick seasoning, and other toppings to make a filling and tasty meal.
This week we’re sharing our recipe for Taco Cups, a miniature version of tacos using muffin tins.
Delicious, nutritious, and super cute!
How to make taco cups
To make these, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
Then, you’ll prep all of your ingredients, starting with the ones that need to be cooked.
In a saucepan, combine a little olive oil with a chopped shallot and cook this until softened. Then add in about one-third of a chopped orange bell pepper, some cubed, peeled sweet potatoes, and a pinch of salt. Continue to cook these together.
If things start to get a little sticky, you can toss in a splash of water or vegetable broth.
Next, you’ll add cooked or canned black beans, corn, and spices, seasoning everything to taste.
While things cook on the stovetop, combine the remaining fresh chopped bell pepper with cashews, milk, chili powder, and nutritional yeast to a high-speed blender. Puree this until smooth to make your cream sauce. This will help meld everything together in your taco filling.
Add the puree to the cooked sweet potato mixture on the stove and gently combine.
In a muffin tin, carefully push a corn tortilla into each space to form a cup shape.
Place the muffin tin in the oven – without filling ingredients – and bake your taco shells for 10 minutes until they start to become crisper.
Then, remove your muffin tin from the oven. You’ll divide your taco filling between each cup and bake for another 10-15 minutes until everything is warmed through.
Once these are done baking, remove them from the oven again and allow them to cool.
Top with salsa, avocado, or other favorite taco toppings!
Find the full printable recipe below.
The Recipe
Taco Cups
Equipment
- Saucepan
- blender
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large shallot, peeled and finely diced
- 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup cooked black beans substitute canned, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn, frozen and thawed or canned
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soak for at least 30 minutes if possible
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup mild salsa
- 12 4-inch corn tortillas
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Next, remove 1/3 cup of the orange bell pepper and add the rest of the pepper to the shallots along with the sweet potatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until sweet potato starts to just soften, about 10 minutes. Note, if the mixture starts to stick, add a splash of water, vegetable broth or oil to loosen.
- Then, add in the black beans, corn and spices and cook another 3-5 minutes then season to taste. Add more seasoning/salt as desired. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Next, place the remaining 1/3 cup orange bell pepper, cashews, milk, chili powder, nutritional yeast in a blender and puree until very creamy and smooth. Depending on the power of your blender, you may need to stop and scrape down the sides. Add to the sweet potato mixture.
- Next, push the tortilla into a muffin pan cup and then bake for around 10 minutes, until the wrap holds its shape. Spoon ~1/4-1/3 cup filling into each cup then bake another 10-15 minutes until filling is set and warmed through.
- Finally, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then gently take them out of the tins and top with salsa, as desired.
We hope you love these taco cups! We encourage you to experiment with new ways of presenting similar foods to your kids, as this can help with food acceptance. Plus, it’s a fun way to cook together!
If you make this vegan taco recipe, share it on social media and tag us @plantbasedjuniors! We love to see your creations.
Chime In: What are your family’s favorite taco fillings? Have you ever made muffin tin tacos?
If you liked this recipe, we think you should try making these too:
Is this filling suitable to feed a 9 month old?
The corn kernels may be tricky for a 9 month old; we’d also recommend gently smashing the beans for easier eating.