Crispy and hearty baked or air-fried spinach tacos! So satisfying and delicious! These Mexican-inspired tacos are not deep-fried and therefore not only healthy but also vegan (meat-free, dairy-free), gluten-free, and easy to make.
Crispy Baked or Air-Fried Spinach Tacos
How pretty are these oven baked green tacos? I just love the natural green color, which is so vibrant and rich! The secret? Spinach! I made my favorite Spinach Tortillas which are seriously my go-to recipe for healthy tortillas! These spinach tortillas are much healthier than any tortillas from the store. Why? Not only are they gluten-free, but they are also plant-based (dairy-free) and protein-rich.
No wheat, no corn, just two different flours (chickpea flour and tapioca flour), water, spinach, and salt! That’s it! No artificial colors, no preservatives or other questionable ingredients. However, if you are too busy, stressed or not in the mood to make your own tortillas, don’t worry! You can, of course, also use store-bought tortillas (I sometimes do too, but I prefer my homemade tortillas). Flour tortillas, corn tortillas, soft or hard shell tortillas are fine too!
Mexican-inspired Taco Filling
So, let’s talk about the filling. These baked tacos are stuffed with Mexican-inspired pantry ingredients. I wanted to keep it really simple and therefore only used kidney beans (you can use black beans or chickpeas), bell pepper (you can use red, orange, yellow or green pepper), mushrooms (canned or fresh are fine), onion, garlic, rice, and different condiments. And that’s it! If you want to keep this recipe grain-free, simply use quinoa instead of rice. If you don’t like pepper or mushrooms, just use different ingredients of choice. Some examples would be zucchini, eggplant, sweet potato, tomatoes, corn, etc.
Of course, I couldn’t resist adding my easy vegan cheese sauce. Because vegan cheese is a must for crispy baked tacos, don’t you agree?! However, you can always use store-bought cheese instead of the homemade vegan cheese sauce.
How To Make Baked Spinach Tacos?
It’s seriously super easy to make these vegan baked tacos. All you need is tortillas (either homemade, store-bought flour tortillas or corn tortillas, soft ones or tortillas with hard shells) and the savory filling. The filling is done in 10 minutes in a skillet. You just have to fry all ingredients in the pan and add about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto a tortilla. Top it with vegan cheese (either homemade or store-bought) and fold the other side of the tortilla over the filling (if you use soft tortillas). Check the pics above to see how easy it is!
You can reheat leftovers of the filling in a pan/skillet the next day. The rice mixture keeps well in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for a couple of months. You can also store the tortillas (covered with a bag) in the fridge or even freeze them (in freezer bags). The tortillas will become a bit dry in the fridge. Simply put them individually into a hot skillet (20 seconds from each side) until they are warm and pliable again.
Air Fryer Spinach Tacos
Gently spray the basket with cooking oil, then spread a single layer of tacos into the basket with space in-between and air fry at 400F/200C for 4-6 minutes, until crispy. Flip halfway.
Perfect For Kids
These oven baked spinach tacos are perfect for kids! Why? Kids normally don’t like to eat spinach (well, at least I didn’t really like eating lots of spinach when I was little). You can add lots of fresh spinach to these homemade tortillas, and the great thing is that it’s pretty much tasteless! I am not kidding! I really love these spinach tortillas so much, to me, they actually taste better than my regular homemade tortillas (without spinach)!
Great Side Dish Or Dinner
You can serve these vegan tacos for dinner or as a side dish. I normally eat a huge buddha bowl for lunch, but sometimes I am starving and make these baked tacos in addition. You can make big ones or small ones (depending on the size of the tortillas). This time I made the tortillas pretty small in a 12.5 cm (5-inch) skillet and in my opinion they turned out super cute!
These Spinach Tacos Are:
- Meat-free (no chicken, no beef, etc.)
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Gluten-free
- Can be made grain-free
- Protein-rich
- Flavorful
- Hearty
- Healthy
- Easy to make
- A delicious dinner or side dish
Should you recreate these baked or air-fried Mexican-inspired spinach tacos, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan #elavegan because I would love to see how your vegan baked tacos turned out!
More Crispy Vegan Snacks
If you like crispy tacos, I am sure you will also love my other vegan and gluten-free snacks.
- Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos
- Chickpea Fritters with Veggies
- Easy Taco Cups
- Vegetable Fajitas
- Vegan Empanadas

Crispy Spinach Tacos
Ingredients
- 9 small spinach tortillas (5-inch diameter)
- 2 cups of (360 g) cooked rice
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans or black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 small/medium onion diced
- ½ tbsp oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ bell pepper chopped
- ¾ cup (100 g) canned mushrooms or use fresh
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground ginger (optional)
- ¼ tsp black pepper or more to taste
- sea salt to taste
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- 4 tbsp plant-based milk
- ⅓ cup (80 g) passata
- 2 tbsp hot sauce (or use less/more to taste)
- 1 batch (200 g) vegan cheese sauce or use 7 oz store-bought vegan cheese
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package instructions. You will need 2 cups of cooked rice for this recipe.
- Prepare the spinach tortillas (click for the recipe) or use store-bought flour tortillas or corn tortillas of choice.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan/skillet over medium heat and add the onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper.
- Sauté for about 3-5 minutes, then add garlic for a further minute. Stir occasionally.
- Add all spices, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, plant-based milk, passata, and hot sauce. Stir and let simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Add cooked rice and beans, stir and turn off the heat.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 degrees Celsius) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make one batch of the vegan cheese sauce or use store-bought vegan cheese.
- Add about 2 tbsp of the rice filling on one side of a tortilla and 1 tbsp of the vegan cheese. Fold the other side over the filling and press it slightly down with your fingers (see pictures above in the blog post). Do the same for the remaining tortillas.
- Transfer all tortillas to the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until crispy. Enjoy hot!Check the blog post for the air-fryer method.
Notes
- Recipe serves 9. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Thank you for this amazing delicious recipe. We enjoyed every bite.
That makes me so happy! 🙂
This recipe was easy to follow, and delicious! I was impressed by the “tortillas”! My 2 yr old liked them and my guests too! Overall this recipe is a hit! Be sure to try the cheese sauce -it’s delicious, more than the sum of it’s parts, and makes it all come together. Thanks!
You are very welcome, Julia. Happy you liked the recipe. 🙂
Another amazing elavegan recipe! Thanks Ela, my family loves these. They will definitely be in rotation at our house.
Sounds awesome, Carrie. 🙂
Hola, dise la receta dise 1/2 cucharada de petróleo. Que es, gracias.
Hi, Raquel! You can use any oil of choice, e.g. canola oil. 🙂
Hi Ela! I’m curious how long the shelf life of this Spinach tortilla? And how to store this properly? Thank you so much!
Hi! I would say up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat each tortilla in a skillet with a lid on, about 20-30 seconds per side, or until they are pliable again. 🙂
Hi,
I want to try these but would like to know the nutritional information (calories, carbs, protien, fats). Do you have this available? Thanks.
Hi Jessica! I have updated the recipe notes and included the nutritional facts! Hope this helps. 🙂
Hello Michaela! I loved the recipe and my non-vegan family did too! I was pleasantly surprised at how spicy and hot the filling was, just like I would imagine Mexican tacos. It also is a super easy recipe, I just wish I would’ve had spinach at home to make the tortillas myself, but store-bought ones worked as well! Thank you for the recipe!
Great! Thanks so much for your feedback, Maja! 🙂
These were top shelf good! Thank you for offering so many vegan AND gluten free recipes. The spinach tortillas came out perfectly. I must say that a good non stick skillet is key!!! Thanks Ela
You are very welcome, Diane! I am so glad you liked both recipes. Thanks for your fabulous feedback! 🙂