Love Tex Mex Food? Try my vegan Quesadillas with Walnut Taco Meat

If you are a busy person and always looking for new quick and easy vegan meal ideas then definitely bookmark these Vegan Quesadillas with walnut taco meat.

Trust me, that vegan walnut taco meat is going to be your new go-to! Something about that mix of walnuts, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and spices just makes it super addictive! The meat mixture comes together super quickly using a food processor, no cooking needed! And you don’t have to stop at quesadillas. Make lots and use for making vegan burritos or tacos. It is also a great addition to all kinds of bowls.

vegan walnut taco meat on a chopping board

Got leftovers? Pop leftover quesadillas in the fridge for meals for the next day or two. Refrigerate any grilled quesadilla leftovers for up to 2 days, then reheat on a grill, and serve. That’s dinner!
These vegan quesadillas are my new favorite quick dinner fix and with all those veggies and the melted cheese, I just can’t get enough of them!

two stacks of quesadillas filled with vegan walnut taco meat on a chopping board

Ingredients:

A blend of walnuts and chickpeas makes for the perfect meaty texture.
Sundried tomatoes add some umami. Sun-dried tomatoes come either dried or packed in oil. I use the ones packed in olive oil. As a substitute, use 1 tbsp tomato paste.
Tex-mex spices like smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder make these quesadillas worthy of a fiesta!
Fresh AND pickled jalapeno – trust me, they taste different and both add something so uniquely Mexican to these quesadillas! You can reduce the amount but you don’t want to skip them if you want to keep things authentic.
As for the veggies, I like a blend of red bell pepper, thinly sliced, and more pickled jalapenos as needed!
I always make sure to make a batch of my vegan nacho cheese sauce or use my homemade mozzarella cheese to make these really nice and cheesy!
As for the tortillas, you will need 2 large tortillas per portion. Use gluten-free if needed, or use my gluten-free flatbreads

Tips:

To make this vegan taco meat without walnuts, you can use a mixture of other nuts such as cashews or pecans.
To make it nut-free you can use pumpkin seeds.
Use a pizza slicer to cut you vegan quesadilla into neat wedges.
These brown quickly, so make sure to watch to ensure your quesadilla doesn’t burn!
I use a chipotle powder chili blend which has a lot more flavor and a nice smoky note!

To make the vegan walnut chickpea taco meat:

overhead shot of vegan walnut taco meat in a food processor

blended chickpea walnut taco meat in a food processor

Add the walnuts to a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is homogeneously combined and there are no whole chickpeas remaining, but it still has texture.
walnut chickpea taco meat in food processor container ready for vegan quesadilla recipe

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and taste and adjust flavor. If the mixture is too dry add in a tsp or so of oil, or lime juice, and mix in.
vegan nacho cheese, taco meat and bell pepper in separate bowls ready for making vegan quesadilla recipe

vegan walnut taco meat quesadilla being assembled in black skillet

Set the mixture aside, and prepare your nacho cheese sauce, or mozzarella cheese sauce, and set aside

Set up your quesadilla by adding a good layer of the walnut chickpea taco meat, some red bell pepper, pickled jalapeno, and a good drizzle of the cheese sauce.