In my recent post about making new food traditions, I loved reading all of your comments, insights, and ideas on ways that you’ve taken family favorites and updated them to fit your vegan lifestyle. Katrina from Suburban Snow White had this to say:
Beautiful. I love the way you put this. Traditions do change. And some can even remain! My whole family looked at me with excited but sympathetic faces when I presented my Dad with a huge bagful of fresh Cowboy Cookies for his birthday. (My gramma’s recipe, and a family favorite!) “It’s really too bad you can’t eat them, after you made them and all,” they lamented as they all began wolfing down the familiar cookies. When I pointed out that they were made with vegan butter — and tasted exactly the same — they were all shocked. It was a fun moment, showing people that you can have your vegan cookies and eat them too.
Richa from Vegan Richa chimed in with this:
Love the post… It takes a while to figure out why the traditions are there in the first place and then some alternatives just come by! Last year my parents celebrated Diwali with us, and we made all vegan Indian sweets. Mom was surprised at how easily some things didn’t need any dairy, and now she tries some of my crazy recipes now and then.
It’s so true that while some food traditions change and evolve, with others we can make simple tweaks to have them fit our current lifestyles of compassion. I was reminded of that last Friday when David and I drove out to try a new Indian restaurant. On our way we passed one of the locations of a Mexican fast food chain, Taco John’s. I haven’t eaten at Taco John’s in at least ten years, but when we drove by I was reminded of what used to be one of my favorite high school and college meals – their Taco Bravo. In the Taco Bravo a crisp, hard corn shell taco is surrounded by a soft flour shell. Sandwiched between them is a thick spread of refried beans. The pillowy softness of the soft tortilla, quickly followed by the hard crunch of the inner shell was one of my favorite texture combinations.
Over the years I’ve recreated that meal many times using healthier and animal-friendly ingredients like whole wheat tortillas, organic corn shells, spicy black beans for the filling, and vegetarian refried beans to seal the tortillas together. I’m enamored with the refried beans from Viva Vegan (the recipe is available here on Google Books), but feel free to use canned vegetarian refried beans if you desire. (In a pinch, just pulsing pinto beans through the food processor until smooth with a bit of water and pinch of cumin, paprika, and coriander works.) For another take on the double decker taco idea, use guacamole instead of refried beans. Both are absolutely delectable and entirely craveable.
Double Decker Tacos
Serves 4
- 4 small whole wheat tortillas
- 1 cup vegetarian refried beans or guacamole
- 4 hard corn shells
- 1 batch Spicy Black Beans
- Toppings: diced tomatoes, green leafy lettuce, avocado, onions, cilantro, pickled jalapeños, hot sauce
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Smear refried beans onto one side of the small whole wheat tortillas. Heat the refried bean-covered tortillas on a baking sheet in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until refried beans are warm. (If the refried beans are being cooked fresh at the same time or if using guacamole, warm the tortillas separately and spread the refried beans or guacamole on after removing from oven.) On another baking sheet, warm the corn shells for 3-5 minutes. Place one hard corn shell inside of each tortilla, so that the refried beans or guacamole are hugged between each of them. Stuff each corn shell with a couple of spoonfuls of spicy black beans and toppings. Serve immediately.
Have you adapted any family favorites to make them vegan-friendly? I love to hear your thoughts! They’re the diced avocado on my black bean taco. Leave comments below.
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We love soyrizo & scrambled tofu–a veganized version of my husband’s family favorite dish. Soyrizo tastes surprisingly very much like chorizo, minus the animal.
Sounds delicious! I could definitely get onboard with a breakfast like that. You’re so right that with things like sausages, it’s pretty much the spices and texture that make them distinct. My parents aren’t vegetarian, but they love soyrizo.
Hmmm. This is the second taco post I’ve seen recently, and I may have to make some. We used to have taco night once a week and I’m thinking it was a tradition that needs to be revived!
I’ve revamped my family’s traditional holiday potato stuffing to be animal-friendly. It was the only thing I missed from our holiday dinners and I was thrilled when I made it and the whole house smelled like Thanksgiving!
I love having a weekly taco night! We used to consistently do Taco Tuesdays. It’s not something that we do on a particular night anymore, but it’s certainly a regular in the rotation. Clearly the universe is telling you that you need to bring it back!
Your stuffing sounds excellent! Do you have the recipe on your blog?
Yep. Everyone kept asking for the recipe!
Very cool!
Cadry, I’ve never even heard of a double decker taco before! I can’t image the texture of the soft tortilla hitting the crunchy one, but it sounds interesting!
These posts make for some terrific resources…
xo
kittee
You should get some soft gluten-free tortillas and try it out for yourself! You’ll never have to choose between a refried bean burrito or black bean taco ever again. You get them both at once!
Thanks for your support, Kittee!
i love the sound of these tacos.. double decked! i havent eaten any double decker tacos ever.. i need to whip up more mexican food.
Thanks for the mention:) I am already stressing out for this Diwali, since my mum and sis said that they will try my recipes and be mostly vegan throughout the dairy intense festival, if i can vegan-ize some of their fave indian sweets.. lets just say,, there is a lot of experimentation going on and the compost microbes are happy.
I wonder if the double decker taco is more of a local favorite. Like taco pizza, perhaps it’s more common in the Midwest.
I’m so happy to hear that your mom and sister are up for a mostly vegan Diwali! Good for them! If there’s anyone who’s up for the challenge of veganizing their favorite Indian sweets, it’s you. I’m sure you’ll make recipes that they’ll love!
You have introduced me to a couple of new and exciting concepts recently, first it was black bean taco pizza, now double decker tacos! I love the thought of munching on the different textured tortillas and am interested to know if they are less messy to eat than hard shell tacos. I’ll have to give this a whirl one day!
I think you’ll love them, Mel! Definitely give them a go!
I was just thinking about double decker tacos the other day- I used to have one from Taco Bell for lunch almost every day my senior year of highschool (As a senior, we could leave campus for lunch, which I took full advantage of). And I wondered why I was a little overweight in highschool…
Your new vegan version looks much tastier and much healthier than the fast food ones I remember!
Last year, I brought a vegan mushroom gravy to Thanksgiving (along with some other things) and my sister-in-law made vegan caulipots. The gravy and the caulipots were such a hit that they were requested (by the omnivores) to make a repeat appearance at Christmas, and at all future holidays.
Your mushroom gravy sounds delicious over caulipots! It always feels good when vegan items are a hit. I’ve made the caulipots from Appetite for Reduction, and they’re very tasty indeed!
How is it that I’ve gone my entire life without eating a taco shell wrapped in a taco shell? I’m going to have to change that QUICK!
I love this post. Since becoming vegan I’ve thought a lot about traditional foods and, when I crave them, I ask myself if I’m really craving the food or what the food symbolized or made me feel at the time. Like when I crave chicken and dumplings I know it’s not the chicken I want, but the comfort I associate with it because my grandma used to make it on special occasions. I’m trying to make new traditions with new foods, but I also love to veganize food that has meaning to me, like mac and cheese, buttermilk biscuits, holiday desserts, etc. I love the challenge!
You definitely need to get on the taco-making pronto! The only thing better than one taco is a taco wrapped in a taco. (It’s kind of Dali-esque that way, but completely tantalizing.)
I love your attitude regarding taking old favorites and focusing on the essential elements that you enjoyed most about them. Plus, when we find ways to update our old school favorites in a way that includes our current values, it’s a win all around!
Double Decker Tacos? How is it I’ve lived on this Earth for many eons and not heard of such wondrousness? It’s like a superdelicious black bean bear hug with crunchy/chewy/spicy goodness! I wonder if you could do an Indian version, maybe with hummus between the shells and a spicy curry lentil or veggie filling?
Most of my family favorites were easy to veganize as we are a pasta and pizza-centered people. I’m so grateful for the multitude of vegan cheeses now that make it so easy!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes…cheers!
A black bean bear hug! I love that! That’s pretty much it all the way around. Your hummus & curry idea sounds wonderful! It’s like a super fusion with Middle Eastern meets Mexican meets Indian. We could call it around the world in a taco. I’ll get started on it!