Spicy Mushroom Tacos with Soft Eggplant Shells & Hot Cheese Sauce

Spicy mushroom tacos, filled with vegan queso, fresh pico de gallo, and enveloped in healthy eggplant tortillas! These tacos are filled with flavor, and are gluten-free.

 I was inspired by Daiya’s Summer Cookout Recipe Contest to try an even healthier way to make tacos, and also incorporate their delicious cheese shreds into the recipe. This dish has a few different components, but when they come together the difference in textures creates quite the party in your mouth. Fresh pico de gallo gives a nice crunch to the moist mushroom filling, and the cheddar sauce offers a hot and creamy topper.

This recipe makes 8 small tacos

Eggplant Soft Shells

• 8 Round-Shaped 1/4” Slices of Eggplant
• 2 1/2 Cups Water
• 1/4 Cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

Preparation:

-Take eggplants medallions and place them in a resealable bag or container. Mix together water and Liquid Aminos and pour over eggplant, marinate overnight. The next day, take them out of the liquid and place them on the grill for roughly 5-10 minutes on each side so that they reduce in size and dry out but are not crispy or burnt.

Pico De Gallo

• 1 Large Tomato
• 1 Small White Onion
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro, minced
• Juice of Half a Lime

Preparation:

-Mix all ingredients in a bowl, prior to cooking the mushrooms and cheese sauce, and leave in refrigerator so that it’s flavors meld together a bit.

Mushroom Filling

• 4 1/2 Cup Mushrooms, Roughly Chopped
• 1/4 Cup White Onion, Diced
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• 1/4 tsp. Dried Oregano
• Pinch of Cayenne

Preparation:

-Heat Olive oil in a sauce pan, over medium heat. Place onions in pan and saute until clear, roughly 3-5 minutes; add in the rest of the ingredients, stir until the spices are evenly distributed. Cook mushroom mix until mushrooms are smaller in size and a little limp.

Spicy Queso

• A Heaping 1/2 Cup of Daiya Cheddar Shreds
• 2-3 Tbsp. Pickled Jalapeño Juice or 2 Tbsp. Pickled Jalapeños

Preparation:

-Place both ingredients in a small pot over medium heat, stir together every couple of minutes until it is a smooth cheese sauce and no longer chunky.

Assembly: Place mushroom mix on top of the eggplant “shells”, top with pico de gallo and cheese sauce, maybe add in some lettuce and avocado and voilá!