These Marinated Mushroom Kale Tacos with Cilantro Avocado Sauce are a super flavorful vegetarian taco with all the best toppings! The mushrooms are marinated in a chipotle lime mixture, then sautéed with kale, and served on charred whole wheat tortillas with a creamy cilantro avocado sauce, pickled red onions, and queso fresco!
(This post is sponsored by Maria and Ricardo’s! Thank you so so much for reading and supporting the brands that I love!)
I’m totally obsessed with marinating mushrooms. I’ve only done it a couple of times before – years ago, and I have no idea why I stopped! But, there’s no stopping me now. They’re so incredibly flavorful – omg. I’ve been on a taco kick lately (let’s be real, when am I not on a taco kick), and I wanted to make a vegetarian version that was still super hearty and satisfying. Enter chipotle lime marinated mushrooms, sautéed kale, creamy avocado cilantro sauce, quick pickled red onions, and creamy queso fresco cheese. Definitely not missing the meat here.
There’s so much flavor, texture, and delicious components to these tacos, I don’t even know where to start!
When Maria and Ricardo’s asked me to create a taco recipe using their new Whole Wheat Plus and Quinoa Flour Tortillas, I was SO excited because I absolutely love their tortillas, and have been using them in my kitchen for a long time. I was especially excited about their new tortillas for a few reasons.
Like their other tortillas, these new two new tortillas are made with simple, wholesome, non-GMO ingredients and are Vegan & Kosher certified! These new tortillas are made with avocado oil, and I’m all for using less processed oils, avocado oil being one of my faves! The Whole Wheat Plus tortillas have way more fiber and protein than your average tortilla (6g of fiber & 3g of protein!). They are pillowy soft, and I love charring them on an open gas flame on my stove for extra flavor.
If you are looking for a gluten free option, they have new certified gluten-free Quinoa Flour tortillas too! The Quinoa Flour Tortillas are absolutely delicious and hard to believe they are actually gluten free! They are also free of wheat, dairy, soy and egg.
You can find Maria & Ricardo’s tortillas at your local Whole Foods Market nationwide in their refrigerator section or by the prepared foods, or you can purchase from the comfort of your home with Amazon!
Basically, you can’t go wrong with any of Maria and Ricardo’s tortillas, They’re SO good.
Their tortillas make such a delicious base for all of our toppings. Starting with the marinated mushrooms. Oh my goodness you guys I have no words for how good these are. All you have to do, is thinly slice some cremini mushrooms, and toss them in olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic. Could there be a better combo?
The key here is to not add salt to your mushrooms, until after you cook them. The salt will dry them out and the texture will get weird – and we don’t want that! So – wait to season the mushrooms with salt until after you sauté them with the kale.
How good do they look?! This mixture would also make a delicious burrito bowl topping. Or, to just eat by the spoonful. I love using the tuscan/lacinato kale, which is the smoother, dark green kale, rather than the curly kale. I prefer it, since it kind of melts into the mushrooms and just adds a delicious heartiness.
And I’m always up for a little extra health and/or greens wherever I can add them! I figured adding kale to tacos was the perfect way, right?
Especially if we’re having all the chips, guac and margaritas. Evens everything out a little…I think!
And how on earth could I forget the cilantro avocado sauce?!
It’s probably my favorite part of this whole taco situation and it couldn’t be simpler to make. Avocados, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, salt, and water. That’s it! Add it to the food processor, blend it up until it’s creamy, bright green, and delicious, and we’re in avocado cilantro sauce heaven.
The other best part is the pickled red onions.
First of all, they’re bright pink and beautiful. Second, they’re SUPER quick, and you don’t have to wait for them to marinate all night in the fridge. The first thing you want to do when you’re making these tacos, is make the red onions first, so they have more time to pickle and marinate while you’re prepping everything else. All they need is a good 20-30 minutes to come together. They’re made with honey instead of sugar, in keeping with the healthier theme!
And the other best part is queso fresco cheese, because it’s a basically a necessity for me with any taco!
To recap this taco situation we’ve got:
- charred Maria and Ricardo’s tortillas
- cremini mushrooms marinated in a deliciously amazing chipotle lime mixture
- sautéed kale (the good kind)
- the creamiest, easiest cilantro avocado sauce
- bright pink quick pickled red onions
- queso fresco cheese to top it all off
- extra cilantro and lime, always
I don’t know how we can top this plant based taco – but if you wanna add some charred jalapeño cashew queso, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.
All the goodness.
Marinated Mushroom Kale Tacos with Cilantro Avocado Sauce
These Marinated Mushroom Kale Tacos with Cilantro Avocado Sauce are a super flavorful vegetarian taco with all the best toppings! The mushrooms are marinated in a chipotle lime mixture, then sautéed with kale, and served on charred tortillas with a creamy cilantro avocado sauce, pickled red onions, and queso fresco!
Ingredients
For the quick pickled red onions
- 1/2 of a medium red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the marinated mushrooms & kale
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- zest of 1/2 a lime
- juice of 3 limes
- 2 tablespoons sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 20 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 3 cups shredded lacinato/tuscan kale
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the cilantro avocado sauce
- 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
- 1 cup packed cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- small clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the tacos
- Maria and Ricardo's Whole Wheat Plus Tortillas*
- crumbled queso fresco cheese
- torn cilantro
- lime wedges
Instructions
Begin by making the pickled red onions. In a medium bowl, combine the red onion, apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt. Stir to combine. Let them sit while you prepare the rest of the tacos (20-30 minutes).
Make the marinated mushrooms. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and garlic until combined. Add the mushrooms and toss to combine. Let them marinate for at least 20 minutes. The longer the better! I've marinated them for up to an hour.
Make the cilantro avocado sauce. Add the avocado, cilantro, lime, garlic, water, and salt to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Once mushrooms have marinated, add a drizzle of olive oil to a nonstick skillet and meat over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and sauté for 6-7 minutes, or until most of the moisture has evaporated and mushrooms are starting to become golden on the edges. Add the kale and salt and cook for an additional minute or so, or until wilted.
To serve, spread a generous amount of cilantro avocado sauce on a tortilla, then top it with the mushroom kale mixture. Add a pinch of pickled red onions, a sprinkel of queso fresco, a handful of torn cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Serve!
Recipe Notes
*I like to char my tortillas over an open flame on my gas stove. I like to do this for extra flavor, but it is totally optional! You could grill the tortillas on an indoor grill pan or outdoor grill as well!
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