Black Bean Taco with Avocado Cilantro & Lemon Dressing

Taco is a traditional Mexican dish where a soft corn tortilla is topped with some filling and served with chopped onion and cilantro. A taco can be topped with variety of filling and hence is known for versatility and variety.

Tex-Mex or American tacos are served usually with hard tortillas made of either flour or corn tortillas.

This is a Tex-Mex taco recipe that has black beans stuffed in a hard shelled corn tortilla along with Avocado Cilantro & Lemon dressing, shredded cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Loaded with flavor, tacos are easy to prepare and quite filling too.

Tacos are great as after school snacks for kids.

Ingredients:

Dried Black Beans – 1 cup
Onion – 1
Jalapeno – 1
Garlic Cloves – 2
Cooking Oil – 2 teaspoons
Tomato Puree – 1/2 cup
Paprika Powder – 2 teaspoons
Cumin Powder – 1 teaspoon
Taco Seasoning – 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

For Avocado Cilantro & Lemon Dressing:

Avocado – 2
Fresh Cilantro, chopped – 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon
Garlic Cloves – 3
Jalapeno, finely chopped – 2 tablespoons
Black Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
Thick Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Sugar – 2 teaspoons
Salt – to taste

Other Ingredients:

Hard Shell Tacos – 8
Iceberg Lettuce, chopped – 2 cups
Red Onion, chopped – 1/2 cup
Tomato, chopped – 1/2 cup
Cilantro, chopped – 1/2 cup
Mexican Blend Cheese – 1 cup (you can use Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheese mix)

Method:

1. Soak black beans overnight and pressure cook until the beans are soft but still hold shape, al dente. Discard all the water. If you prefer, you can use canned black beans instead.
2. Chop onion and jalapeno.
3. Mince the garlic cloves.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Add onion, jalapeno and minced garlic. Saute until the onion turns translucent.
6. Add tomato puree, paprika powder, cumin powder, taco seasoning and salt. Cook on medium flame until the mixture thickens and comes together.
7. Now add the cooked black beans and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the mixture coll down little bit.
    
8. Now to prepare the dressing, scoop out the avocado pulp and blend it with all the other ingredients listed, until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside covered.
   
9. Now to assemble the taco, place a hard shell taco on the serving plate.
10. Depending on the size of the tacos, place 3-4 tablespoons of bean mixture. Top it with 2-3 tablespoons of prepared avocado dressing.
11. Now top it with chopped lettuce, red onion and tomato.
12. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and Mexican blend cheese on top. Serve immediately.

Other Mexican Recipes you may want to try:

Guacamole

Vegetable Fajita

Black Bean Taco with Avocado Cilantro & Lemon Dressing

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Serves: 8 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Dried Black Beans - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Jalapeno - 1
Garlic Cloves - 2
Cooking Oil - 2 teaspoons
Tomato Puree - 1/2 cup
Paprika Powder - 2 teaspoons
Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
Taco Seasoning - 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

For Avocado Cilantro & Lemon Dressing:

Avocado - 2
Fresh Cilantro, chopped - 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
Garlic Cloves - 3
Jalapeno, finely chopped - 2 tablespoons
Black Pepper powder - 1 teaspoon
Thick Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 teaspoons
Salt - to taste

Other Ingredients:

Hard Shell Tacos - 8
Iceberg Lettuce, chopped - 2 cups
Red Onion, chopped - 1/2 cup
Tomato, chopped - 1/2 cup
Cilantro, chopped - 1/2 cup
Mexican Blend Cheese - 1 cup (you can use Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheese mix)

Instructions

1. Soak black beans overnight and pressure cook until the beans are soft but still hold shape, al dente. Discard all the water. If you prefer, you can use canned black beans instead.
2. Chop onion and jalapeno.
3. Mince the garlic cloves.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Add onion, jalapeno and minced garlic. Saute until the onion turns translucent.
6. Add tomato puree, paprika powder, cumin powder, taco seasoning and salt. Cook on medium flame until the mixture thickens and comes together.
7. Now add the cooked black beans and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the mixture coll down little bit.
8. Now to prepare the dressing, scoop out the avocado pulp and blend it with all the other ingredients listed, until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside covered.
9. Now to assemble the taco, place a hard shell taco on the serving plate.
10. Depending on the size of the tacos, place 3-4 tablespoons of bean mixture. Top it with 2-3 tablespoons of prepared avocado dressing.
11. Now top it with chopped lettuce, red onion and tomato.
12. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and Mexican blend cheese on top. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. You can use canned black beans instead of using dried black beans. However, I prefer the latter. 2. Using just ripe avocados is very important. If they are too ripe or too hard, the dressing will not be flavorful and will not yield the right consistency. 3. I recommend using fresh lemon juice. 4. Use fresh yogurt. You could try replacing it with Greek yogurt too. 5. Iceberg lettuce are the best for tacos as they are crispier than other lettuce. 6. Instead of hard shell tacos, you can use soft corn or wheat tortillas, place the filling and fold them  to serve.