Oven-Baked Walnut Quinoa Tacos

I am taking Taco Tuesday to a whole new level by making these quick and easy oven-baked walnut quinoa tacos!  First, blend up the plant-based taco meat, add some peppers, tomato paste, and spices, stuff the taco shells, and bake them in the oven until they are nice and crispy! Serve with your favorite taco toppings, such as lime juice, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce. 

These tacos come together in under 30-minutes and are very delicious. Perfect for Taco Tuesdays and really any other weeknight dinner. 

Ingredients

• Quinoa – I used tricolor quinoa, but any quinoa works! We love quinoa as it’s rich in fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. Plus, it’s high in protein and gluten-free.

• Walnuts – Even though walnuts are high in calories, they are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, fats, antioxidants, and omega-3 that our bodies need. They blend beautifully and absorb spices like ground meat! 

• Tomato Paste – Adds color and adds additional flavor to the mixture.

• Spices – Taco Seasoning – we like using Siete Spicy Taco Seasoning.  It adds great flavor to our dishes, and there’s less thinking when adding different spices! If you don’t have this taco seasoning on hand, any taco seasoning will work. Plus, we made these tacos with our pantry spices, too, and the flavor was YUM! See notes for our go-to homemade taco seasoning.

• Vegetable Broth (or sub water) – Adds more flavor.

• Bell Pepper or Sweet Pepper – Adds nice texture inside. 

• Almond Flour or Corn Tortillas –  They both work great in this recipe. We really liked the almond flour tortillas the best tho! If you have a Whole Foods in your area, try the Almond Flour 365 brand! That’s what we used, and they crisped up nicely! 

• Avocado Oil – Helps with baking the tortillas! 

• Taco Toppings –  lime juice, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce. 

Instructions

• Cooked the Quinoa.
• Blend the Walnuts.
• Add the Quinoa and blend with the Walnuts.
• Add back to the pot and saute with the spices, tomato paste, bell pepper, and veggie broth.
• Coat tortillas with avocado oil. Bake for 5 minutes to prevent splitting. 
• Add Walnut Quinoa mixture to the taco, and add some cheese. Close the taco and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the taco and bake for an additional 5 minutes. 
• Enjoy with your favorite taco toppings.

These tacos are plant-based, easy to make, and super delicious! They are ready in under 30 minutes and perfect for those easy weeknight dinners. Crunchy on the outside and yummy on the inside. A delicious way to change up taco night. I hope you all love this recipe! Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Walnut Quinoa Tacos

Tracey Gene

5 from 1 vote

These tacos are so easy and crazy delicious! They are ready in under 30 minutes and perfect for those easy weeknight dinners. Crunchy on the outside and yummy on the inside. A delicious way to change up taco night.

Review Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Yields 6 tacos

Ingredients

Walnut Quinoa Plant-Based Taco Meat:

• ▢ ½ cup quinoa tri-color, or single color
• ▢ 1 cup vegetable broth
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup walnuts
• ▢ 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ▢ 1 tbsp taco seasoning such as Siete Spicy Taco Seasoning, or see notes for homemade taco seasoning.
• ▢ ⅓ cup vegetable broth or sub water
• ▢ 1 bell pepper diced (or sub 4 small sweet bell peppers, diced)
• ▢ 4-6 Almond Flour or Corn Tortillas we like Whole Foods 365 Almond Flour brand
• ▢ 2 tbsp Avocado Oil

To Serve

• ▢ lime juice, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce.

Instructions

Walnut Quinoa Plant-Based Taco Meat:

• To a saucepan, cook 1/2 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of vegetable broth (or sub water).
• Add 1 + 1/4 cup walnuts to a food processor and pulse until a meal forms. 
• Add cooked quinoa and blend again until incorporated. 
• Add mixture back to the saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, diced peppers, and 1/3 cup of vegetable broth. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until liquid is gone and the mixture becomes thick in texture. 

Make oven-baked tacos:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Toss tortillas with avocado oil and bake for about 5 minutes. Do not bake longer, or you will have tostadas. 
• Divide Walnut Quinoa Plant-Based Taco Meat among the taco shells, add cheese (optional) and carefully close the tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip the taco to bake for an additional 5 minutes.

To serve: 

• Remove baked tacos from the oven and serve with your favorite taco toppings, such as lime juice, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, hot sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

Homemade Taco Seasoning:

• 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional), adjust per your taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired

Diet: Vegetarian

Nutrition Facts

Serving1gCalories327.65kcalCarbohydrates25.42gProtein8gFat23.1gSaturated Fat2.73gPolyunsaturated Fat13.1gMonounsaturated Fat6.05gSodium224.94mgPotassium308.18mgFiber4.26gSugar3.17gVitamin A748.26IUVitamin C27.06mgCalcium63.05mgIron2.35mg

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Need more taco recipe ideas? Be sure to check out some of our other favorites: Simple Veggie Tacos, Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos, and Taco Lettuce Boats with Cilantro Jalapeno Crema.