How do you make a seaside taco bowl in a pinch with a pantry friendly ingredient? You use hearts of palm! This vegan "fish" taco bowl recipe packs in all the feel and flavour we love in a fish taco bowl and is easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand. It's:
"Fishy"
Fresh
Summery
Versatile
Enjoy It Cold And It Will Be Ready In Minutes
Or Warm It Up For A Baked "Fish" Feel!
How Timely Is This Vegan Fish Taco Bowl
Well, an awesome benefit to using hearts of palm for this "fish" taco bowl recipe is that they can be eaten raw! Which means... you can get that flaked fish feel in an instant!
For a Seaside Taco Bowl ready in minutes...
- Toss the raw, flaked hearts of palm with the lime juice and seaweed.
- Skip the 10 minutes to char the corn and just add it as is.
- Top with whatever salsa you have on hand. OR add in canned beans, avocado, and any other veggies you have in your fridge that need to be used up.
- Drizzle with a simple vinaigrette, more lime juice, or hot sauce.
- And serve over a leafy green if you don't have the time to make a grain!
If you have a bit of extra time...
- Bake the hearts of palm for 18-25 minutes! OR, heat them up in a skillet until lightly browned!
- Char the corn for 10 minutes to get some extra flavour in.
- Dice up our summery Salsa Fresca.
- Dress it with our Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette using your leftover cilantro and lime from the salsa fresca!
- And serve over brown rice OR; for an extra boost of protein... use quinoa!
The Main Ingredient
Canned hearts of palm are the secret to the flaked "fish" in this seaside bowl.
If you are new to using hearts of palm, it's a vegetable that comes from the inner core of certain palm tree varieties. This versatile vegetable is sold canned and we usually find it near the other canned vegetables at our local grocery store. Sometimes we will also find it in an international aisle, so check there too!
To make 4 generous portions with this recipe we use 1 large can (796ml) or two smaller cans. And if you're wondering how to flake the tubular pieces... we just use our hands but you can also flake the pieces with a fork.
If you are new to cooking with hearts of palm and interested in the nutritional details you can jump to Healthline's Heart of Palm, and How Is It Eaten?
Next...
For more summery seaside feel we add in charred corn!
We love having a bag of frozen corn in our freezer and making it feel fancy with a quick 10 minute char. Just add the corn kernels to a hot pan and let them get lightly blackened. We love serving our Skillet Charred Corn as a side or adding it to bowls like this one for an easy flavour boost! It's perfect for fajitas too! Check out our Spicy & Sweet Sesame Strip Fajita!
Not to worry if you don't have many fresh ingredients on hand! You can add in some canned beans, sprinkle on seeds, or add in any other frozen veggies.
And if you can get your hands on some tomatoes and cilantro... really boost up that summery freshness with...
Our quick Salsa Fresca!
Fresh Ingredients Needed For Salsa Fresca
Tomato, red onion, and cilantro are the fresh ingredients you will need. The red chilli pepper is an ingredient we always keep in our freezer and the lime juice can be from concentrate!
AND we always want you to get the most out of your fresh ingredients. So...
We've added our Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette to this "fish" taco bowl recipe.
By making the vinaigrette... you use up that fresh cilantro right away and it won't go limp in your fridge without being turned into something tasty. If you have bought fresh limes for this recipe you can use the zest in the vinaigrette and you end up using your ingredients to their fullest!
Recipe Cost
If we make this vegan "fish" taco bowl with the salsa fresca AND the cilantro lime vinaigrette our cost is approximately: CAD $13.37.
That means that for less than $3.50/serving we have a fully loaded, super tasty "fishy" taco bowl! And that makes this recipe pretty thrifty in our books!
If we were to make this bowl using frozen tilapia, our cost would be roughly the same. SO, this "fish" taco bowl recipe may not necessarily be much thriftier than using frozen fish fillets BUT...
- We skip the defrosting time.
- The cooking time can even be eliminated.
- And... hearts of palm can easily be on the ready in our pantry!
Will you be stocking some hearts of palm in your pantry? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to share your pictures with us! We always want to see how you serve up this vegan "fish" taco bowl!
Oh, and don't forget to check out some other recipes that use hearts of palm as a thrifty, pantry friendly alternative:
Portuguese Bacalhau - A Quick And Easy Take
Love This "Like" Lobster Roll - The TTT Way
Creamy Hearty Chowder - Comfort In A Bowl
Vegan "Fish" Taco Bowl
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Hearts of palm are the pantry friendly star of this easy vegan "fish" taco bowl! Topped with a quick salsa fresca for more summery feel!
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked brown rice (or rice of choice)
- 796 ml canned hearts of palm (drained)
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 5 seaweed snack sheets (or 1 tbsp of dulse flakes)
- 2 cups corn kernels
Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo)
- 1 large tomato, diced*
- ⅓ cup red onion, diced*
- ½ red hot thai chili pepper, deseeded (or serrano pepper)
- 1 tsp lime juice
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped*
- salt & pepper to taste
Optional Dressing
*Fresh Ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
*see notes for how to cut out the cooking time and make this a really QUICK recipe!
- If your rice isn’t cooked, begin by cooking it as per the package instructions.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (alternatively, you can brown the hearts of palm in a skillet on the stove-top).
- Drain your hearts of palm and use your fingers or a fork to flake the pieces until they resemble flaked white fish. If the pieces in your can are a little harder you can use a food processor being careful not to over-pulse the hearts of palm into a mush.
- Add the lime juice and shredded seaweed snack sheets (or dulse flakes) to the hearts of palm and stir. Spread the hearts of palm on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 18-25 minutes (giving it a stir at the 15 minute mark) until slightly browned and a little drier.
- While the rice and hearts of palm cook, char your corn in a dry pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the kernels are nicely browned. If you’re making the salsa fresca and cilantro lime vinaigrette you can prepare them now as well.
- When all the elements are cooked, serve by spooning the rice into your bowls, top with charred corn, then hearts of palm, and then the salsa fresca. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve with tortilla chips or toasted tortilla on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $13.37 ($3.34/serving) with the salsa fresca AND cilantro lime vinaigrette. Roughly: $10.00 for the main bowl, $1.65 for the salsa fresca, and $1.70 for the cilantro lime vinaigrette.
Cost Comparison: 4 frozen tilapia fillets would cost us approximately $5.76 vs. $5.79 for the 796 ml hearts of palm.
Hearts of palm can be eaten raw so to make this a really QUICK recipe, toss the hearts of palm in the lime juice and seaweed. Instead of charring the corn, add it straight in. Store-bought salsa, canned beans, avocado, or any other veggies you have on hand can be tossed on instead of the salsa fresca. Make a quick vinaigrette, drizzle the bowl with more lime juice or even use a hot sauce instead of the cilantro lime vinaigrette. AND serve over a leafy green if you don’t have time to cook a grain!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
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