It’s Too Darn Hot! No-Cook Black Bean Tacos
The summer heat does not take away my oft-insatiable appetite, though it does make me loathe to turn on the oven or stove. More often than not, dinner time finds me sorting through a stack of take out menus, a habit unkind to both my wallet and my waistline. Even if I won’t be ordering them from the taqueria down the street, I would rather forfeit my summer than give up tacos. Unready to wave the white flag, I looked in my cabinets only to find the lowly but loved staple, the black bean.
Beans (and chickpeas and lentils and…) are a thrifty cook’s best friend. This affordable - nay,
cheap - protein keeps you running until your next paycheck rolls in. And, if it’s good enough for a cowboy, it’s good enough for me. Plus, like a great dress, these tacos have a lot of versatility. With black beans as the hearty foundation, you could throw just about anything else in: onion, some thawed frozen corn, or any leftover cooked veggies to your liking.
Here’s what I used, but think of this more as a guideline than something to be followed to the letter:
No-Cook Black Bean Tacos
2 14.5oz cans black beans
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 minced jalapeno, seeds removed
juice of a lime
2 ripe avocados, diced
juice of a lemon
1-1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo
1 cup monterey jack, grated
12 small flour or corn tortillas
Convert measurements here!
1. In a large bowl, stir lime juice, tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro together with black beans. Add salt and set aside to let flavors co-habitate.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mash avocadoes with lemon juice until smooth.
3. If you have a food processor (lucky you!), put about one cup sour cream, one chipotle pepper, and a bit of the adobo, into the bowl of the processor. Blitz until smooth. You may find that the blazing heat of the sauce is too reminiscent of the outside temperature. If so, add more sour cream. Conversely, if you like it hot, add a spoonful more of the sauce and/or chipotles. If you don’t have a food processor, just mince up the chipotles as finely as you can, and stir with adobo sauce into the sour cream.
4. Assemble these wonders with a dry brow, and pour yourself a margarita.
Serves 4
pbg: OMG i caught this vid on a dripping hot afternoon here in minneapolis, luckily i am drinking an ice cold bottle of vinho verde, UNLUCKILY i dont have those tacos in front of me right now! time to check out whats in the fridge…4 years ago
Genevieve: Damn, you guys are good! Every single time a watch a vid, I have to make your recipes.
YUM!4 years ago
Gina: oh yum! I think I drooled on my screen! I love tacos so much! a great episode! I also love your dress! It’s such a beautiful colour! I also love exclamation marks!4 years ago
Baerbel: I got so hungry! A wonderful new episode and thanks so much for the measure converter. This is really helpful.
Baerbel4 years ago
Miranda M.: It’s like you read my mind or something!
After I cooked Fusili with Scallops the other day (albeit delicious) I swore I would never again turn on the stove in a heat wave.
FYI, there are some yummy ‘no-cooks’ on realsimple.com
I’m a Jane magazine OG and now I love them even more after they introduced me to your site!4 years ago
Beth: I am LOVING this!4 years ago
Ann: Your site is just adorable, it’s such a pleasure to visit!4 years ago
katy of the luke: darling, what a perfect entree (love that brown dress and sparkly necklace combo, too!)
p.s. didn’t i pioneer that chipotle sauce?4 years ago
Rebecca: I did the chipotle sour cream! It is so yummy and totally made my tacos seem (and taste) fancy!3 years ago
dawn: yum! I’m eating mine right now! I’ve never been a fan of guacamole…but I’m diggin’ just the “plain” avacado! Thanks hun!3 years ago
Lauren: I just made and CONSUMED this delicious dish. It tasted even better than I thought! Thanks for all the amazing recipes.3 years ago
Catherine: Hi Sarah
I tried this recipe out tonight and it was a great success! However, the ingredients call for a jalapeno pepper but no where in the instructions is it mentioned! Ooops! I figured to add it to the tomatoes and beans mixture.1 year ago
Doh! Yeah, it goes in the beans Catherine. Whoops, I’ll go back and fix that!1 year ago
Bella: This sounds great but everyone is commenting on a video..and I see none. Where’d it go? Can you put it back please?1 year ago
It disappeared, Bella! Gotta figure out how to get it back!1 year ago