These healthy and hearty vegetarian black bean tacos are stellar! They’re deeply flavored with hints of sweet orange and chocolate, spicy cumin and jalapeños, and packed with creamy black beans, sweet corn and salty olives.
This post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market, all opinions, recipe and photography are my own.
Healthy Orange Cacao Black Bean Tacos are full of so many beautiful flavors and textures!
These tacos are so good and always a family pleaser! You just can’t go wrong with the sweet and slightly bitter taste of cacao paired with citrusy fresh orange juice and creamy black beans! Oh my goodness these flavors go so well together!
Sweet corn adds another delicious bite and layer of flavor. Combine all of this yumminess with a little spicy kick from jalapeños, salty black olives, vibrant cilantro, creamy Cotija cheese, a little bit of crispy lettuce and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Flavor explosion!
Orange Cacao Black Bean Tacos are a must for taco night! You can’t go wrong with the crazy good flavors!
Soaked black beans are the way to go for better nutrition!
Did you know that the traditional practice of soaking beans helps reduce or neutralize phytic acid? This age old practice is a good thing! The soaking process helps with digestion as well helps make the beans more nutrient dense. And you can’t beat that, especially when it comes to beans!
During the month of January, Sprouts Farmers Market is having a “Bring on the Beans” sale in their Bulk Department! Dried beans are just $0.99/lb! That’s a great deal!
I love how affordable bulk dried beans are. They really help stretch the budget! Beans are a wonderful way to enjoy a hearty taco without breaking the budget on grass-fed meat. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good authentic grass-fed beef taco too, but it’s really nice to have a vegetarian option that’s kind on the budget too! 
Where to Find Sprouts Farmers Markets
Sprouts Farmers Markets are popping up everywhere these days! Right now you can find them in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Sprouts Farmers Market is a natural foods grocery store that focuses on healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle. Their store is packed with hundreds of top quality organic Sprouts Brand items, non-GMO, gluten free, Paleo, grass-fed, dairy free and seasonal items.
I love that they’re an everyday grocery store with that local home-town feel. Plus they sell so many organic and natural food items, and you know I’m all about that!
They offer great savings too! If you head over to their site, you can check out their clip and save mobile coupons! How cool is that?!
You can also check out lots of healthy, seasonal and delicious recipes featuring Sprouts Brand products over at their Sprouts Brand blog.
So grab yourself some Sprouts Farmers Market dried black beans and take advantage of their bulk beans sale! Then get your beans soaking and enjoy these delicious orange cacao black bean tacos!
Orange Cacao Black Bean Tacos
Orange Cacao Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients
Soaked Black Beans:
- ½ cup Sprouts Brand dried black beans
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- Pinch baking soda
- Filtered water
Cooked Black Beans:
- 2 tbsp butter or avocado oil
- 2-3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
- Broth or filtered water, about 1 ½ - 2 cups (See Instructions)
- 1 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 small jalapeño, sliced (remove seeds for less spicy heat)
- Juice of 1 small orange
- 2 oz medium ripe black olives, sliced
- ½ tsp sea salt
Tacos:
- 2 tbsp butter or avocado oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- ½ frozen corn
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 small Romaine lettuce leaves, thinly shredded
- ½ cup Cotija or cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 limes, quartered
- 8 corn tortillas
Instructions
- The traditional practice of soaking beans helps reduce or neutralize phytic acid. This process helps with digestion as well helps make the beans more nutrient dense. To soak the beans, add the dry beans to a large stock pot along with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and a pinch of baking soda. Fill the stockpot with triple the amount of water as the beans. Bring to a light simmer on the stovetop, then remove from the heat, cover the pot and let the beans soak for a minimum of 8 hours, but preferably overnight for 12-24 hours. With a spoon, remove any bubbles or scum that floats to the top. Drain and rinse the beans in a colander, making sure they get rinsed very well under water. The beans should smell like beans, if they have any kind of rotten smell, then unfortunately they need to be tossed.
- Add healthy fat of choice and garlic to a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid, sautéing over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add drained and rinsed beans and enough broth or water to cover the beans by about ½ inch. Add the cacao or cocoa powder, cumin and jalapeño stirring to combine. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until beans are tender and cooked through, about 1-3 hours (depending on the age of the beans and how long your beans soaked). Add the orange juice, olives and sea salt, stir to combine. Cook for another 15 minutes to let the flavors come together. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or saucepan, add healthy fat of choice and onion, sautéing for 5 minutes until fragrant. Add frozen corn and cook until heated through, about 5-7 minutes. Add cilantro and give it a quick stir for about 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.Gently warm corn tortillas, use as is or lightly fry before assembling tacos.
- To assemble tacos, add shredded lettuce, cooked black beans, corn mixture, cheese and freshly chopped cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge.
Find your local Spouts Farmers Market online (location finder here) and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
Are you on Pinterest? I pin lots of yummy real food recipes + more there. I have a board just for Health & Wellness and Main Dish Recipes! Come follow along.
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Disclaimer: ALL information you read on Recipes to Nourish is purely for informational and educational purposes only. I love to share and share with love, but I am not a health care practitioner. Information is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements within this site have not been approved by the FDA, meaning information and statements regarding health claims on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All blog posts are solely my personal experiences and opinions and should not be interpreted as an attempt to offer a medical opinion. If you have questions about food, diet, nutrition, natural remedies or holistic health, please do your own research and consult with your health care practitioner. For more information please see all of my disclaimers and disclosures.
These look so good Emily! Thankfully I am having tacos for dinner, or I might be too jealous of these!
So many good flavors coming out in this dish. Interesting combinations as well. Will have to try it.
These tacos look amazing! I would probably cut back a little on the jalapenos, to be honest, but that’s just because I’m a wuss when it comes to spice!
Orange and cocoa sounded a bit unusual at first, but actually sounds like a nice spin on mole. Yum!
These tacos look super delicious nad I would definitely enjoy them. I love the combination of ingredients you have used.
These must be the yummiest flavors ever!
I am so pleased you use dried black beans and soak them. They are so much cheaper that way. Love the tacos. We are in Central America at the moment and have had our fair share of them. So healthy
ooo this looks and SOUNDS amazing! Great flavor idea!
Thanks so much Renee! 🙂
I love the vegetarian taco you’ve shared here. Beans are a great option and can be just as delicious as beef without breaking the budget as you said. Thanks for this.