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.
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!
📖 Recipe
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
- ¼ 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.
Cat Moody
Just made these! Wow! Amazing!
Cadry Nelson
That’s wonderful to hear! Thanks for the great feedback, Cat!
Kathy Boyd
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
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.
Caroline
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
Oh, tacos and cheesecake? Sounds like my kind of celebratory meal! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for the feedback.
Jenn
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
So easy! It’s amazing how much flavor & deliciousness you can get out of 10 minutes of work and no stove. 😀
Sarah
Love walnut tacos! And LOVE your whale cutting board! So cute!
Cadry
Thanks, Sarah! I just bought that cutting board recently. I’d had my eye on it all summer, and it finally went on sale! 😀
Ginny
These raw tacos look so good! Cashew Queso? Yes, please 🙂
Cadry
Thanks, Ginny! Cashews make everything better. 🙂
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
I’ve never been to SunCafe, but I’m always hearing great things about it. I am definitely making your tacos!
Cadry
Oh, you should definitely go sometime! It’s one of my all-time favorite restaurants. The food is really inventive and fresh.
Dianne's Vegan Kitchen
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
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!
Ashlae | oh, ladycakes
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
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.
Richa@HobbyandMore
i love all the greens and veggies in this taco! i love those bowls too!
Cadry's Kitchen
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
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
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
How on earth did I miss those bowls???!!!! We have the same ones now 🙂
cadryskitchen
Those bowls are taking the blogosphere by storm! I see them everywhere. They’re so cute and look great in photos.
Cara
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
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
We are Anthro nerds 🙂 I wouldn’t have it any other way!!!
Ema
Oh my goodness I just made this and my mind is BLOWN. But really…. WOWOWOWOOWOWOW soo good!!
cadryskitchen
I’m delighted to hear that, Ema! So glad you enjoyed them!
Carrie
oh wow – look at those colors! I love that taco night can be healthy. 🙂
Andrea
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.
Cara
Making these for dinner tonight!
cadryskitchen
Yay! I hope you love them!
Kale Crusaders (@KaleCrusaders)
Collard greens are a genius taco shell substitute! They won’t get soggy and fall apart upon first bite.
cadryskitchen
Collard greens are great for taco shells or wraps. Plus, you get the added benefit of more raw collards in your diet! 🙂
Sarah (appifanie)
Those look great! Tacos are by far the best raw food – yummy!
cadryskitchen
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!