Do you dream of tacos? We sure do, and these Spicy Pineapple Chickpea Tacos are totally dream-worthy! Easy to make and utterly delicious, these amazingly spicy, bold, with a hint of sweetness creates a fantastic taco filling that just can’t be beat! Zesty red onions, aromatic garlic, spicy jalapeño peppers, sweet pineapple, and flavorful spices all come together in the most tasty way, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe. Plus, you just can’t beat tacos in less than 20 minutes, ideal for weeknight meals when you need a satisfying meal in a flash.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This week’s Whip It Up Wednesday is our delicious Spicy Pineapple Chickpea Tacos! Mom and I ate these up like nobody’s business! They are finger licking good! The sweet pineapple combined with the spicy and smoky Southwestern spices are perfection! We were in taco heaven eating these beauties!
Our family loves a good taco, well let’s get serious here! Everyone loves a good taco, after all, there is a day of the week now proclaimed as “Taco Tuesday.” Is your family a taco loving family too? What is your favorite kind of taco? I would love to know!
Don’t like it spicy?
This recipe can be adjusted to fit your “heat” needs. When chopping up your jalapeño, give it a taste test. Depending on how hot your jalapeños is, adjust the amount to fit your taste. Or you can totally omit the jalapeño all together.
Additionally, the chipotle powder has a tasty smoky kick. You can adjust the chipotle powder or use just a pinch. If you decide to use less chipotle powder, you may want to ramp up some of the other spices as the chipotle powder also has a smoky, earthy flavor along with delicious heat.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Whip it up Wednesday
As you already know, every Wednesday, we feature a quick and easy recipe that can be “whipped up” in 20 minutes or less. This recipe can be whipped up in about 18 minutes.
We hope you enjoy our new Whip It Up Wednesday quick and easy ideas! If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do!
If you try these comforting tacos, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Ceramic/enamel lined skillet, or similar large skillet.
- Food Processor
Spicy Pineapple Chickpea Tacos
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 Minutes
- Yield: 14-16 Tacos 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Do you dream of tacos? We sure do, and these Spicy Pineapple Chickpea Tacos are totally dream-worthy! Easy to make and utterly delicious, these amazingly spicy, bold, with a hint of sweetness creates a fantastic taco filling that just can’t be beat! Zesty red onions, aromatic garlic, spicy jalapeño peppers, sweet pineapple, and flavorful spices all come together in the most tasty way, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe. Plus, you just can’t beat tacos in less than 20 minutes, ideal for weeknight meals when you need a satisfying meal in a flash.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ medium red onion, rough chop
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, (about ¼ cup diced)
- 1 – 20 oz. can pineapple chunks packed in 100% pineapple juice, divided (Sauce Ingredients uses 1 cup)
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice (from can of pineapple chunks)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium tamari * (see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon organic maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Herb/Spice Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 Tablespoons+ 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle powder (+/- to taste)
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
Other Ingredients:
- 2 – 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 – 15 oz. can corn, drained
- Taco shells/tortillas
Optional Ingredients:
- Finely diced red onions
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Diced jalapeños
- Diced avocado
Instructions
- Place the Herb/Spice Ingredients into a small bowl, mix and set aside.
- Divide the can of pineapple into 1 cup and the remaining pineapple. Retain the pineapple juice. Dice the remaining pineapple and set aside.
- Place all the Sauce Ingredients into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed.
- Take one can drained and rinsed chickpeas and mash them, then place them into a ceramic/enamel-lined or nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Then drain and rinse the other can of chickpeas and add them to the skillet, do not mash the 2nd can of chickpeas.
- Add the Herb/Spice mix and stir to release the flavor for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the corn, remaining diced pineapple (from Step 2) and Sauce, increase the heat to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Simmer over low for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Serve immediately in your favorite taco/tortilla shell with chopped cilantro, diced red onions, jalapeños, and chopped avocado pieces.
Notes
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Serving: Makes 14 to 16 tacos
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.
*Nutritional Information: Only includes the filling, not the taco shell/tortilla. Does not include optional toppings.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
I will try these soon. I usually buy fresh pineapple for eating, but if canned is what the recipe needs and it’s good enough for you two, then it’s fine by me. Did you see on Instagram that Forks Over Knives posted this recipe? That’s huge! So glad they discovered you–you’ve set teh gold standard for WFPB!
Hi there Ellen 🙂 Awesome! We are so excited for you to give this recipe a try. Fresh pineapple would work for this recipe too, but you’d want to make sure they are on the softer side. Plus, you’d have to juice part of it. For convenience, we recommend the canned version as the pineapple is very soft and already in pineapple juice. So excited that you saw this recipe on FOK Instagram, we are very thankful to have been featured! You are SO sweet, and we truly appreciate your continued support and kind words. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!… Read more »
We absolutely loved these tacos! I have made them three times in the last week. Last time I made them I doubled the recipe so I could share with my coworkers! They love them as much as my husband and I do. This recipe has made it to the weekly rotation. So good!
Hi there Sonya 🙂
Yaaaayyyy! We are SO excited that you and your husband loved these tacos and have been making they regularly. Glad to hear your coworkers enjoyed them too! Thank you so much your awesome review and taking the time to write!
– Ameera and Robin 🙂
We had them tonight. A little sweet for me, (I would take out the maple syrup and a bit of the pineapple and add more heat) but I prefer spicier. My husband, two 11 year olds and two 5 year olds were happy with it. (The 13 year old hates beans…)
Hi there Jeanine 🙂
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try. Yes, these tacos are a total play on sweet and savory with the pineapple and spices combination. However, it’s totally adaptable. We are so happy to hear that your husband, two 11 year olds, and two 5 year olds enjoyed it – Yaayy!! So sorry to hear your 13-year-old doesn’t like beans – that’s a bummer. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and taking the time to right – we appreciate it!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
My boyfriend who hates chickpeas loved this dish! He thought it had great flavor. I was thrilled by his reaction and of course I loved it myself. I will be making these again!
Hi there Dana 🙂
Wooooot! That is a total win! We are so excited that you and your boyfriend enjoyed this recipe. We appreciate your fanatic feedback and support.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I knew the moment I saw this recipe on Facebook that I would make it. I did tonight for dinner. Absolutely delicious! Every recipe of yours looks just wonderful and I’ve made a number of them. The only small changes I made to this were to substitute the jalapeno for a charred poblano pepper. I’m kind of a weenie about to much heat and the poblano was perfect for my taste. I then left out the maple syrup. I just didn’t think, with all of the pineapple, that it was necessary. Thanks for another truly delicious recipe to add… Read more »
Hi there Valerie 🙂
Yaaayy!!! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, and we appreciate your kind words about our blog and recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your adjustments with us. We appreciate your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Great recipe. Made it tonight, and it’s a keeper. I used fresh pineapple that I needed to use up, so I used that, finely chopped in the food processor, instead of the canned and the pineapple juice. Didn’t have taco shells, so we had it over rice. We really enjoyed it. The mashed chickpeas give the appearance of a ground meat in it. Thank you for posting it.
Hi there Noreen 🙂
Woot!!! We are SUPER excited that you enjoyed this recipe and plan to make it again. We appreciate you sharing your adjustments and awesome feedback with us! Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hi, can you please tell me if there is a specific flavor of liquid smoke? I found mesquite and hickory. But not sure if I need “plain” or what I should use for this recipes
Hi there Chanel 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We apologize for the late response. This is a great question. We personally prefer hickory, and use hickory in all of our recipes that call for liquid smoke. If you like mesquite instead, you can always try that too.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I’m trying to go plant based but live alone and all the recipes I find make too much food. Can this be frozen?
Hi there Barbara,
Thank you for your question. Yes, leftovers can be frozen.
-Ameera and Robin