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I made this tonight & it was superb! I used your enchilada sauce recipe, some chipotle powder, and our home grown kale! I’m so excited I have leftovers!
Cindy Wright-Jones
These tacos are just one long love letter to FLAVOR. ♡
Smoky chipotle black beans, sautéed with kale and garlic and spices, tucked into charred corn tortillas, topped with fresh, crisp sweet corn cut right off the cob, and smothered with too much (and yet never enough) aji verde.
As of lately I have been affectionately calling these guys “beans and greens tacos”, and OH MY GOODNESS, they are just so delightful. They appear humble with the black bean / kale vibes and a cutesy little name, but seriously, don’t sleep on these. They are a top summer recipe for me this year.
Over the last few weeks these have been repeatedly served to myself, my husband, my toddler, and a random sampling of friends who happened to be over at dinnertime. Everyone has given them two thumbs up, and more importantly, everyone has confirmed what we all know in our hearts: that the real star here is the aji verde.
You Need To Know About Aji Verde
Aji verde is a spicy Peruvian green sauce, and it came into my life last year when I made it as a little drizzley drizzle for this plantain stew (um, incredible). Now here we are in the summer, when stew is out and tacos are in, so I’m revisiting the beloved aji verde for these beans and greens tacos. Because what’s a taco without a good sauce? Sad. That’s what it is. And we don’t do sad tacos. Enter: more aji verde.
What To Pile On Top Of These Tacos
As with all tacos, please, by all means, go big with your toppings. You know I will approve of the more-is-more mentality here. For one, I can confirm that avocado is killer. Slaw or some kind of pico would be excellent. Pickled red onions would truly make the angels sing. And the sweet corn that I generously scooped all over my tacos was a peppy nod to summer and all things sweet, fresh, and a little bit crunchy.
But really, all you NEED need for the base of these are:
- Chipotle black bean and kale mixture (pictured in the pan below, looking spicy, mysterious, and delicious)
- Aji verde x10
Holy smoke show, these were so good. Three cheers for vegetarian tacos that you can look forward to eating and feel proud to serve to friends (aka self). YUM.
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Smoky Beans and Greens Tacos: FAQs
Absolutely! This is the best homemade enchilada sauce and is ready for you in 5 minutes. Seriously!
Good news! It’s super easy to vegan-ize this recipe. Just swap out the regular mayo for a vegan mayo here.
The tacos themselves have a lot of flavor, but they aren’t really spicy. The Aji Verde sauce on the other hand has some heat and punch to it, so if you don’t love spicy food, it’s probably best to limit how much green sauce goes on top of your tacos.
Source notes: Aji verde is a Peruvian green sauce. I based this version off the recipe from A Cozy Kitchen, which is my all-time go-to for this amazing, punchy, fiesty green sauce (with a few swaps based on what I usually have in my fridge). So yummy!
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Smoky Beans and Greens Tacos with Aji Verde
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Three cheers for summertime eating! Smoky black beans, sautéed with kale and garlic and spices, tucked into charred corn tortillas, and topped with the best feisty, punchy green sauce – Aji Verde!
Ingredients
Smoky Beans and Greens
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2–3 cups shredded kale (no stems, please)
- one 14-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup enchilada sauce (I like this one)
- 1 chipotle pepper, minced (or a sprinkle of ground dried chipotle spice)
- salt to taste
Aji Verde
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 ounces of queso fresco (optional)
- 1 jalapeño pepper, with seeds and ribs to keep it spicy (remove for a mild version)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic
- juice of 1 lime
- pinch of salt (to taste)
Taco Extras
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet corn, cut off the cob (frozen corn works too – just sauté in a hot pan for a few minutes or cook in microwave)
- anything else you like on your tacos
Instructions
- Make the aji verde: Blend aji verde sauce ingredients together until smooth.
- Cook the beans and greens: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add kale; sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add beans, enchilada sauce, and chipotle. Season with salt. Simmer until the kale is very well-cooked and everything has taken on a roasty-tomato-chipotle kind of of vibe.
- Serve: Fill each tortilla with beans and greens, corn, and a heavy drizzle of aji verde sauce. Top with whatever else makes your heart happy. Mwah. So good.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Tacos
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Peruvian-Inspired
Keywords: black bean tacos, taco recipe, vegetarian tacos
More Over-The-Top Delicious Black Bean Recipes
- Couscous Salad with Lime Basil Vinaigrette (a strange and beautiful and completely delicious combo)
- Chipotle Quinoa Burgers (veggie burgers you’ll want to make again and again)
- Migas (a quick and easy meal for any time of the day)
- Healthy Chipotle Sweet Potato Skins (so good and incredibly filling – you need these in your life ASAP!)
- Plantain and Pinto Stew with Aji Verde (a little sweet, a little savory – 10/10 delicious)
This was one of our best meals this week! We all loved it even after my adult son looked at the bean mix and told us it looked “gross!”
Gotta say I was skeptical about this but it was Another great recipe!
Trust me, this one is worth trying, even though it sounds so unusual. And it’s a great way to use up kale from a garden! Don’t skip the fresh sweet corn.
Excellent! I added avocado and grilled shrimp. They put these tacos over the top
This sauce is so good! Never met a veggie taco I don’t like. Thanks for the upgrade!
These are a staple in our house. We have them nearly every other week! It is incredibly easy on busy nights. We freeze the chipotles in adobo after opening the jar to keep them easily for next time. They thaw after 10 seconds in the microwave. I’ve also made this without the chipotle peppers on days where I didn’t have any and they were just as good!
Have made this 20x by now and love this recipe so much!
Quite literally the most amazingly delicious and healthy tacos I have had anywhere …. EVER. Just WOW!
Omg! This was a really delicious recipe. My husband said, “Wow. High end Mexican restaurant flavor profile. “ We’re foodies and I love trying new recipes. This one is a company meal and now in our rotation!
Great flavor! The chipotle and the aji verde go so well together. Will make this again for sure.
I know this wouldn’t be traditional, but I wonder if you could make the Aji Verde with smashed avocado instead of mayo. I’ve just always been really grossed out by mayo lol
Cancel your dinner plans tonight because you’re making these. There’s nothing else to say, except take my advice and triple the aji verde. You’re going to eat it on everything all week.
As always another hit! We loved this… can’t wait to make it again!
These tacos were so good and easy and satisfying. Thank you so much for this recipe!
This is so fast and delicious! We make it all the time.
This is delicious! Will definitely add to the rotation!
I do think all bean tacos are a messy proposition and wonder if this wouldn’t be even better as a quesadilla or enchilada?
I did add onions and garlic but otherwise, made as directed. 5 Stars!
I didn’t drain the beans. The recipe doesn’t mention that .
Thanks for the heads up! Just fixed that!
Late to the party, but this is delish! Added some red bell pepper and served over quinoa. I didn’t have all the ingredients for the ahi verde sauce and made your vegan queso and used that as a topper. Yum, yum, yum!
Hi. I am having trouble finding the enchilada sauce that you suggest. Can you recommend a different one?
Any pre-made red enchilada sauce will work!
Soooo good! The sauce is fabulous! I subbed Swiss chard for the kale since I had some I needed to use, and I added a chopped tomato to the corn. Definitely a keeper!
This recipe sounds great, but it is very high in sodium. I know the enchilada sauce has quite a bit, but what other ingredients are increasing the sodium level? I would like to try and reduce it a bit. Thanks!
Hi Katy! Canned beans can be a little on the salty side, as well as mayonnaise. Those are likely contributing as well!
Is there a cilantro substitute you would recommend for the sauce?
You could try some parsley! Different flavor for sure, but could work.
What kind of tortillas do you use? They always look so good. Hard to find anything other than mission name brand stuff here.
Those are La Tortilla Factory corn and flour blend tortillas – they’re amazing!
I’ve never lever a comment on a recipe before, but I had to for this one. SO delicious and simple to make. I could not get enough of the Aji Verde sauce.
So easy and delicious!!! Thank you!