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Vibrant raw tacos use walnuts for the taco meat. They pop with flavor. Serve them on romaine lettuce leaves in lieu of a tortilla. Ready in less than 15 minutes. Vegan & gluten free.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I had a standing solo date at SunCafé in Studio City. It’s a phenomenal raw restaurant where they serve up jicama nachos, raw supreme pizzas, cashew kale shakes, and raw tacos.
You’ve got to love the wizardry of raw food that takes salad ingredients and turns them into comfort food.
I’d tuck in for a meal. Then I’d trot over to Griffith Park for a hike to my favorite overlook in Southern California.
People sometimes complain that after a vegetable-based lunch they are hungry in no time. But when raw food doesn’t shy away from fat, it’s satiating, filling, and energizing – even for a hilly hike.
Raw options where I live now are on the slim side. But luckily, it’s fast and easy to make raw tacos at home. It just takes some chopping, a few pulses in a food processor, and lunch is ready.
Raw tacos pop with all of the flavors you already know & love from traditional tacos.
There’s cumin, ancho chili powder, and the bright taste of tomato. Then they’re finished with sliced avocado or a dollop of guacamole.
They’re like tacos meets salad. (Not to be confused with a taco salad. Different thing.)
I especially love raw tacos in the summer months, because I don’t have to turn on the stove. They’re ready in about 15 minutes. And they feel nice & light when it’s muggy outside.
The taco meat in these raw tacos is made with walnuts and an assortment of spices.
Surprisingly, walnuts really work as a taco filling. They can stand up to bold spices. And the filling gets a sticky, tomato-y flavor from sun-dried tomatoes.
What type of sun-dried tomatoes should I use?
For the sun-dried tomatoes, you can use oil-packed, bagged, or the kind that you rehydrate first.
I like the raw taco meat best with oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, because it makes the filling stickier and with a stronger punch of flavor. However, if you’re avoiding oil, rehydrated or bagged sun-dried tomatoes will also work.
(At Trader Joe’s in addition to oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, they have oil-free sun-dried tomatoes that are fully hydrated in a re-sealable bag.)
How to make them
Start by putting all of the following into a food processor:
- Walnuts
- Sun-dried tomatoes (re-hydrated in water first, if you are using dehydrated tomatoes)
- Tamari
- Ancho chili powder
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Salt
Pulse or combine on low in the food processor until the walnut mixture has a crumbly, sticky texture. Stop & scrape down the sides while you combine, so that everything is evenly chopped.
Be careful not to over blend. You don’t want to turn it into walnut butter.
Now it’s time to make your tacos!
For the shells, choose from any of the following:
- Romaine leaves
- Cabbage leaves
- Collard leaves (with the hard center rib removed)
Fill each taco with any of the following:
- A smattering of walnut taco meat
- Diced bell pepper
- Sliced green onion
- Diced tomato
- Cilantro
- Pickled jalapeño slices
- Sliced olives
- Avocado or easy guacamole
- Cashew queso
In addition to being great on raw tacos, add this walnut taco meat to your vegan nacho bar as well!
Raw tacos with walnut taco filling
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts unsalted
- 2 Tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes oil-packed or rehydrated dried tomatoes*
- 2 teaspoons tamari
- ¼ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Pinch salt
- 4 to 6 romaine leaves or , collard, cabbage, or iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry**
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 red bell pepper or orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 2 green onions sliced
- Optional: Jalapeno slices, sliced olives, guacamole, or avocado
Instructions
- To make the walnut meat, process the walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, tamari, ancho chili powder, paprika, onion powder, coriander, cumin, and salt in a food processor until crumbled into small pieces. Take time to stop and scrape down the sides, if necessary, as you process. The mixture should be sticky and crumbly in the fingers. You don't want to blend until it's walnut butter.
- Fill each romaine leaf (or leaf of your choice) with a scoop of walnut taco filling, chopped tomatoes, and red bell pepper. Garnish with cilantro and green onions. If using, add any optional ingredients on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally posted February 2012. Content, recipe, and photos updated August 2019.
Sarah (appifanie) says
Those look great! Tacos are by far the best raw food – yummy!
cadryskitchen says
Agreed! Raw pizza is also amazing, but it takes a lot more time and effort, and a dehydrator. The great thing about tacos is that they’re ready in ten minutes!
Kale Crusaders (@KaleCrusaders) says
Collard greens are a genius taco shell substitute! They won’t get soggy and fall apart upon first bite.
cadryskitchen says
Collard greens are great for taco shells or wraps. Plus, you get the added benefit of more raw collards in your diet! 🙂
Cara says
Making these for dinner tonight!
cadryskitchen says
Yay! I hope you love them!
Andrea says
I had raw nutmeat tacos at Vida Vegan and they were amazing. Your version sounds great and I especially like the addition of the sun-dried tomatoes. Thanks for including the info about where to buy them without oil. I made a ton of dehydrated tomatoes but they are almost gone and I’d like to be able to buy something similar that’s not packed in oil.
Carrie says
oh wow – look at those colors! I love that taco night can be healthy. 🙂
Ema says
Oh my goodness I just made this and my mind is BLOWN. But really…. WOWOWOWOOWOWOW soo good!!
cadryskitchen says
I’m delighted to hear that, Ema! So glad you enjoyed them!
Ashlae says
Ok, the tacos look and sound delicious (and ridiculously healthy) – but your bowls are absolutely gorgeous! Anthropologie? West Elm? Neither? Do tell me where you got them, please? 🙂
cadryskitchen says
You guessed it! I got these little prep bowls at Anthropologie. They offer them in several colors. I only wish I’d gotten more!
Cara says
How on earth did I miss those bowls???!!!! We have the same ones now 🙂
cadryskitchen says
Those bowls are taking the blogosphere by storm! I see them everywhere. They’re so cute and look great in photos.
Cara says
I have this big ol’ box of Anthro kitchenware that I just sit and stare at and tell each item how much I love and adore them 🙂 Is that weird? ha
cadryskitchen says
Absolutely not. I think that makes perfect sense. 🙂 I moved all of my favorite pottery from local artists and stores like Anthropology, and I keep them in one specific cupboard. Whenever I open that door, I feel a little mini wave of happiness.
Cara says
We are Anthro nerds 🙂 I wouldn’t have it any other way!!!
Richa@HobbyandMore says
i love all the greens and veggies in this taco! i love those bowls too!
Cadry's Kitchen says
Aren’t fresh vegetables so beautiful? Whenever I pull out a collard green leaf, I just have to comment on how stunning it looks.
Ashlae | oh, ladycakes says
I’m making tacos next week and I really need to acquaint myself with walnut meat. But I’m so addicted to making TVP meat – maybe I can combine the two? Hmm..
Cadry's Kitchen says
Maybe you could have a variety of taco options! The walnut taco meat is ready in less than five minutes. So after you’ve chopped toppings, which would work for both, you could have one raw taco and one TVP taco.
Dianne's Vegan Kitchen says
I love raw tacos! I love how versatile they are. Your recipe is completely different from mine – I’m going to have to try it!
Cadry says
Yes, so much versatility with raw tacos! And you can really taste the freshness. All of those flavors just pop. I hope you enjoy the tacos, Dianne!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
I’ve never been to SunCafe, but I’m always hearing great things about it. I am definitely making your tacos!
Cadry says
Oh, you should definitely go sometime! It’s one of my all-time favorite restaurants. The food is really inventive and fresh.
Ginny says
These raw tacos look so good! Cashew Queso? Yes, please 🙂
Cadry says
Thanks, Ginny! Cashews make everything better. 🙂
Sarah says
Love walnut tacos! And LOVE your whale cutting board! So cute!
Cadry says
Thanks, Sarah! I just bought that cutting board recently. I’d had my eye on it all summer, and it finally went on sale! 😀
Jenn says
I have never thought to serve tacos in collard greens, but now I’m going to. I LOVE collard greens! I also love walnuts in taco “meat.” These sound so flavorful and delicious and, a big bonus, easy!
Cadry says
So easy! It’s amazing how much flavor & deliciousness you can get out of 10 minutes of work and no stove. 😀
Caroline says
Made these for my husband for Fathers Day and a raw blueberry “cheesecake” for dessert. It was all incredibly delicious! The nut mixture with sun dried tomato made me cry a little it was so yummy. This will now be a staple dish for us. Filling but not too much, just right! Thank you 🙏
Cadry says
Oh, tacos and cheesecake? Sounds like my kind of celebratory meal! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for the feedback.
Kathy Boyd says
Finally got around to making these. These will be a staple for summer forevermore. It’s a perfect meal on this hot, humid August evening. The taco meat is so amazing. Next time I will make a double batch. I love that you can add whatever toppings you have on hand. I totally forgot about olives and jalapeños. Next time!
Cadry says
Thank you for the great feedback, Kathy! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them and that they will be a summer staple from now on.