I love Mexican food, but it is often filled with FODMAPs. Some go-to taco ingredients such as onions in salsa, avocado, and beans all have only small low FODMAP portion sizes. Although these vegan low FODMAP tempeh tacos don’t have a lot of the usual trimmings, they definitely hit the spot.
These summery low FODMAP vegan tempeh tacos with pineapple salsa are quick and easy to make. They are perfect for a weeknight dinner, especially for a vegan Taco Tuesday! If you are cooking for one, the components keep well as leftovers. This recipe is inspired by these Emilie Eats tostadas.
Tempeh: The tempeh in these tacos is rich, smoky and meaty. Tempeh is a densely packed slice of fermented soy beans. Half a pack is low FODMAP (~100 g), which is plenty for a portion. Tempeh is versatile, it has great texture and is rich in protein. It has definitely become one of my favourite low FODMAP meat substitutes.
Corn tortillas: Real corn tortillas are naturally low FODMAP and gluten free. Check that they are not a wheat flour-corn blend and have no FODMAP added ingredients/flavours. When I was last living in the UK, fresh corn tortillas were hard to come by in the shops, but you can order them easily online (e.g., Cool Chile).
Toppings: You can play with different toppings to mix things up. I love the pineapple salsa as it brings in sweetness to offset the smoky heat of the tempeh. The crunchy cabbage/leaves with fresh seasoning adds some more great flavours and textures.
High FODMAP Substitutions
Below are some high FODMAP substitution ideas for the tempeh tacos and pineapple salsa. Why do you need these? For the reintroduction and personalisation phases of the low FODMAP diet. It is important to get as many valuable prebiotic FODMAPs back into your diet to increase gut health and build up long-term tolerance to FODMAPs.
- Avocado (<30 g is low FODMAP, 45 g pp is medium FODMAP in sorbitol)
- Canned pinto or black beans (<45/40 g is low FODMAP, 62/52 g pp is medium FODMAP in GOS for pinto/black beans respectively)
- Onions in the salsa (12 g white onion is medium FODMAP in fructans)
Low FODMAP Tempeh Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Equipment
- Large frying pan
- Small mixing/serving bowls
Ingredients
For the tempeh
- ~200-230 g (1 pack) tempeh
- 60 ml (¼ cup) tamari/soy sauce (use gluten-free tamari if needed)
- 1 tbsp garlic oil
- 1 tbsp onion oil (I like Fody's shallot oil, garlic fine if not)
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp liquid smoke (optional but worth it)
- ¼ tsp pure (chipotle) chili powder (check for FODMAP ingredients, more to taste)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the pineapple salsa
- 250 g (~1 ½ cups) cherry tomatoes
- 200 g (~1 ¼ cups diced) pineapple (<140 g pp is low FODMAP in fructans)
- 1 jalepeño (more to taste, watch for spice if this is a symptom trigger)
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
- Small handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the crunchy leaves
- 70-100 g (1 cup) white/red cabbage (or other crunchy leaves, e.g., radicchio, iceburg)
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Small handful fresh coriander/cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- 6 small fresh corn tortillas (see notes above)
- Lime wedge
- Optional: plain cheese shreds (e.g. vegan mozzarella, pepper jack)
- Optional: low FODMAP taco sauce/salsa (I love Fody's taco sauce and salsa)
Instructions
- Chop the tempeh into thin chunks. Mix all the tempeh marinade ingredients together well and add the tempeh. Leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes.
- Finely dice the cherry tomatoes, jalepeño, and pineapple, and add to a small bowl for the salsa.
- Chop up the cilantro and add it to the salsa. My favourite easy way to do this is to place the herbs in a mug and chop with scissors.
- Juice one lime and set 2 tsp aside for the crunchy leaves. Add the lime juice, oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper to the salsa. Mix everything together.
- When the tempeh has had a bit of time to marinade, heat a dry frying pan on medium heat. Add the tempeh and all the marinade to the pan. Brown evenly, flipping when necessary, and reduce the marinade down until sticky (~10 mins).
- While the tempeh is cooking, finely chop/shred the cabbage/crunchy leaves. Add the leaves to a small bowl with the lime juice, oil, chopped herbs, salt and pepper, and mix well.
- Take the tempeh off the heat when evenly cooked. Lightly toast the corn tortillas in a dry frying pan, grill or toaster (this is probably the easiest method).
- Add three tortillas to each plate. Split the tempeh between the taco shells and top with the salsa, crunchy leaves, and any additional toppings (cheese, herbs, lime). Enjoy!
