20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. This is a great meatless meal to include in your weekly meal plan.

20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. It's a great meatless meal for your weekly meal plan.

Ever since we purchased our first home in Austin, TX in September 2016, we have been doing a lot of improvements on the property. Man! That’s a lot of work. But our handyman Tommy has been helping a lot. He brought two guys with him the other day to improve our laundry room, which is located outside of our unit.

The same day, a truck came by and dumped 1 yard of rocks we ordered on our driveway. Tommy and his helpers decided to work overtime and spread the rocks for us. I decided to cook them dinner.

20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. It's a great meatless meal for your weekly meal plan.

In my fridge, I had a whole batch of beef barbacoa ready to go. The plan was to make some barbacoa tacos quickly until Tommy told me that one of his helpers is a vegetarian. That’s when things got a little challenging.

I took a second look at my fridge and found bell peppers and portobello mushrooms in it. That’s when these vegetarian tacos came into my mind. The two non-vegetarians ended up asking for the vegetarian tacos. That’s how fabulous they are.

20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. It's a great meatless meal for your weekly meal plan.

The secret is always the sauce.

I picked plant-based Ponzu sauce for those vegetarian tacos. If you are not familiar with Ponzu sauce, it’s a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. I discovered that basil and ponzu complement each other very well. That’s what I did to season the peppers and mushrooms with a little brown sugar to help enhance the flavor.

To make the tacos, place the veggies in the center of a tortilla and top with your favorite salsa and cheese. I made green salsa for these tacos. You can find the green salsa recipe here along with two other authentic Mexican salsa I learned in Mexico. If you use a regular salsa, feel free to add some avocados to the tacos. Omit the cheese if vegan. It turns out that the vegetarian dude is actually vegan. Thankfully, I put the cheese aside when I served the tacos to the handymen.

Even if you don’t make tacos, the stir-fried bell peppers and mushrooms with the Ponzu sauce is a very savory vegetable dish by itself. Plus, it’s really quick to put together.

20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. It's a great meatless meal for your weekly meal plan.

When you get a chance to make this recipe, I would love to know how you enjoyed these vegetables. Did you make vegetarian tacos like I did or did you make it as a side dish? How about a buddha bowl?

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20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. It's a great meatless meal for your weekly meal plan.

Vegetarian Tacos

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  • Author: Sharon Chen
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Tacos, Main
  • Cuisine: Asian Mexican
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Description

20-minute vegetarian tacos with bell peppers and portobello mushrooms cooked in a savory citrus sauce. This is a great meatless meal to include in your weekly meal plan.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 8 ounces portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons Ponzu sauce lime flavor
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar

For the tacos:

  • Tortillas
  • Salsa of your choice (I used homemade salsa verde. Click here for the recipe.
  • Fresh basil leaves (optional)
  • Mexican-style four cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat up coconut oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and bell peppers to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt. Sauté and cook until the vegetables start becoming tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add Ponzu sauce, dried basil and brown sugar. Stir slowly and let the sauce and spices to combine evenly. Remove from heat.
  3. Place the vegetables in the center of a tortilla, add a couple fresh basil leaves if using, drizzle with green salsa and cheese. (Omit the cheese if vegan.) Enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 258
  • Sugar: 7.8g
  • Sodium: 694mg
  • Fat: 21g
  • Saturated Fat: 17.7g
  • Carbohydrates: 18.1g
  • Fiber: 2.6g
  • Protein: 2.4g
  • Cholesterol: 18.1g

About the Author

Sharon Chen, StreetSmart Kitchen
Sharon Chen

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, an author and a sous vide fanatic who believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she's on a mission to help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.