These vegetarian white bean and roasted pepper tacos are creamy, cheesy, and flexible: make them with bell peppers, sweet peppers or even another roasted veggie! Quick and easy to make at home in around 30 minutes.
Introducing the creamy tacos of dreams
White beans are my favorite of all the beans, so even though I love pinto and black beans in tacos as much as the next Mexican / Tex Mex fiend, creating a white bean taco was an inevitability here. And it’s so. SOOO. good.
We combine those white beans with melt in the mouth roasted peppers (you can use bell peppers or sweet pointed / romano peppers), cream, cheese, some spices, and green chilis to create an epic pan of creamy beans that’s like nothing you’ve tried before.
The inclusion of peppers was a kind of happy accident. I had them in the fridge to use up and I didn’t necessarily mean for them to be crucial to the recipe but… when I tried this without the peppers I found it very sad. You definitely want them OR another roasted veggie of your choosing. Feel free to play around; I just don’t recommend the beans on their lonesome.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- I generally prefer corn tortillas over flour tortillas for the flavor, but it won’t make or break this recipe, so use whatever suits you.
- I used cannellini beans, and they are my favorite for this recipe because of how soft and melty they are. That said, any white beans should be fine to swap in.
- The peppers can be bell peppers, sweet peppers, romano peppers, even baby peppers, whatever you’ve got, or try swapping in a different roasted veggie altogether. You can also use jarred roasted peppers if that’s what you prefer – it does make the recipe quicker that way.
- I use a strong cheddar cheese, but a Mexican or other blend would work too. I have also tried this using chili cheese (I then left out the canned chilis) and that worked really well too.
- The diced green chilis can be a little hard to track down outside North America so if this is the situation you’re in, here are some options: 1) use a chili cheese which will bring lots of chili flavor and some heat (as above). 2) finely dice a few mild fresh green chilis. 3) look for jarred green chilis, these tend to be jarred whole so will still require dicing.
- I use heavy cream but you could use sour cream, half and half… it’s not too big a deal which cream you use.
- Other veggies to add / replace the peppers with: frozen or canned corn, roasted eggplant, roasted zucchini, roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, jarred sundried tomatoes.
Toppings
Every taco enthusiast knows that the toppings will make or break your meal! This is what I recommend here:
- Lime wedges for squeezing
- Pickled onions (my fave), finely diced red onions or chopped green onions
- Quartered cherry tomatoes (easy) or pico de gallo (better)
- Avocado slices
- Slaw is worth including if you like a little crunch on your taco
More Vegetarian Taco Goodness:
White Bean & Roasted Pepper Tacos
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 2 sweet pointed peppers, you can swap in medium bell peppers
- 10 corn tortillas
- ½ large onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz (400 g) canned cannellini beans, drained, not rinsed
- 4 oz (115 g) canned diced green chiles, drained, not rinsed
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable or chicken-less stock
- 2 tbsp heavy cream, feel free to swap in sour cream or cream cheese
- 1 cup (100 g) cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Toppings
- lime wedges
- pickled onion
- avocado slices
- quartered cherry tomatoes
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- The first thing to do is get the peppers in the oven – do this before prepping the remaining ingredients, because the rest can come together while the peppers roast.Heat the oven to 220C / 450F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and scatter the peppers over it. Drizzle or spray with olive oil and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they are charred and melty.2 sweet pointed peppers, olive oil
- In a deep frying or saute pan, heat a little olive oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook until that is soft too, then add the spices and mix through for a few seconds. Move on to the next step immediately to ensure you don't burn the spices.1/2 large onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- Add in the drained beans, green chiles and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer on a very low heat until the peppers are ready. Stir occasionally. The beans will soften and drink up some of the vegetable stock. If the pan starts to dry up, you can take it off the heat and let it sit until the peppers are done.14 oz canned cannellini beans, 4 oz canned diced green chiles, 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken-less stock
- Once the peppers have charred at the edges and collapsed a little, you can take them out of the oven and add them into the pan with the white beans.
- Add the cream, cheese and cilantro to the pan and mix through until the cheese has melted and the beans are creamy and saucy.2 tbsp heavy cream, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- Serve! Scoop beans into tortillas, add toppings and enjoy.10 corn tortillas
