032 / 75 · Beans, Lentils and Chickpeas
Black Bean and Pumpkin Soft Tacos
8 soft tacos; 4 tacos and half the yogurt sauce per serving · Active 25 min · Total 1 hr 5 min
Print recipe · PDFRoasted pumpkin and black beans make a soft taco filling with two different textures. The pumpkin goes into the oven first so its edges can dry and color before it meets moist beans. A little shredded cabbage stays crisp, and lemon yogurt provides a measured sauce. Fully cooked unsalted black beans are the base here; canned beans are a useful label-based variation.
Roast a prepared weight
Remove the pumpkin’s peel, seeds and fibrous center before weighing the 300 g edible portion. Cut it into small, similar cubes so a few large pieces do not remain firm among collapsing ones. Use a tray large enough for a single layer. Turn once and check a larger cube with a knife; a dark corner does not prove that its middle is soft. Different pumpkins hold different amounts of water, so allow a little longer if the cubes are still firm. The estimate uses ordinary raw pumpkin, not a sweetened canned pie filling.
Fill so a taco can fold
The warmed black beans should be moist but not swimming in liquid. Their small water allowance helps them heat without adding a bottled sauce. Warm the tortillas according to the packet so they bend rather than crack. Divide the filling across eight before adding cabbage, instead of using most of it in the first few. The yogurt can be spooned on lightly or served alongside for dipping; it still belongs to the measured portion. Four small tacos make one meal here, not four separate full servings. Canned drained beans can save a preparation step, but the original cooked-bean deadline still matters if the base is leftover home-cooked beans. Assembling tacos does not restart that storage clock.
Ingredients
- A pumpkin wedge, peeled, deseeded and cut in 2 cm/3/4-inch cubes (300 g prepared raw)
- About 1 2/3 cups fully cooked unsalted black beans, well drained (300 g)
- 8 small plain corn tortillas, about 15 cm/6 inches (200 g total)
- 1 1/3 cups finely shredded green cabbage (100 g)
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (120 g)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice (20 ml/about 20 g)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (1 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g), divided
- 2 tablespoons drinking water (30 ml)
Set out
Oven and large rimmed baking tray, Small saucepan, Dry skillet or tortilla-warming equipment required by package, Mixing bowl, Knife and board, Kitchen scale, Spoon, 2 plates
Allergens
Milk, Check corn-tortilla labels for wheat or other added allergens; do not assume all corn tortillas are gluten-free. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat oven to 425°F/220°C. Toss prepared pumpkin cubes with oil, paprika, cumin and half the salt on the tray. Spread in one layer and roast for 25–35 minutes, turning halfway, until soft in the center with some colored edges.
- Near the end of roasting, put the fully cooked black beans and 30 ml water in the saucepan. Cover and warm gently, stirring, until hot throughout at 165°F/74°C, adding a little plain water only if needed to prevent sticking.
- Stir yogurt, lemon and remaining salt in the bowl. Keep refrigerated until serving. Wash, dry and finely shred the cabbage. Warm tortillas to their packet instructions, keeping them covered briefly so they remain pliable.
- Divide pumpkin and beans across 8 tortillas. Add cabbage and a little yogurt sauce, serving any remaining measured sauce alongside. Give each person 4 tacos and half of all components.
A useful kitchen skill
Weigh a peeled, seeded edible vegetable portion and distribute a filling across all tortillas before deciding that the first taco needs another large spoonful.
A useful detail
The 65-minute total includes peeling and cutting pumpkin and warming eight tortillas; oven time varies with pumpkin moisture. Beans start fully cooked, not dry. The estimate uses boiled unsalted black beans and the full 200 g tortilla allowance.
Another way
- Use 300 g drained canned black beans instead, heating them thoroughly and calculating from their actual canned label.
- Replace pumpkin with 300 g peeled butternut squash, roasting until tender and calculating for that squash.
Keep it well
Refrigerate filling and yogurt separately at 40°F/4°C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use filling within 3 days or the shorter original bean deadline and yogurt/cabbage within 2 days or the shorter dairy label. Reheat filling to 165°F/74°C; warm tortillas separately and keep slaw and yogurt cold.