This vegan pulled pork wrap with avocado makes such a delicious and comforting vegan dinner! It’s a real crowd-pleaser and I’m sure you’ll love it as well!
Okay, jackfruit seriously is the coolest fruit ever. I mean how crazy is it that you can use a fruit to make vegan pulled pork?! I know we vegans always get a bit crazy with our food, but this is just kinda insane, right?! Haha! But believe me, it’s soooo extremely delicious and the texture is just out of this world. Last weekend, Flo and I made this vegan pulled pork wrap with avocado and we just gobbled it down. So easy and delicious!!
What is jackfruit? And how can you use it for vegan recipes?
For those of you who have never heard of jackfruit before: it’s the largest tree-borne fruit in the world and it’s commonly found in South and South East Asia.
The funniest thing is that I wasn’t even a fan of pulled pork before I became vegan, but I sure LOVE this jackfruit pulled pork. I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think I just had pulled pork once when we visited friends in Canada and spent Thanksgiving with them. I can’t really remember its exact taste, but Flo said these vegan pulled pork wraps tasted almost exactly like the real thing. We topped them off with some corn, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, and a little splash of soy yogurt sauce with parsley.
How To Make This Vegan Pulled Pork Wrap:
To get the sauce right, it’s important that you use unsweetened soy yogurt. If you can’t get a hold of unsweetened plant-based yogurt, you could also sub the yogurt sauce with cashew sour cream. We tried that as well and it’s just as delicious. I used it for my vegan tacos with lentil walnut meat, so if you’re interested go check out that recipe and you’ll find the recipe for the cashew sour cream in the recipe section at the end of the post.
I don’t know who first thought of using jackfruit to make vegan pulled pork, but to the person who first had that idea: “Thanks so much! You’re a real genius!!” I’ve first tried it last summer and shared this recipe for vegan jackfruit pulled pork sandwiches with ranch sauce with you guys. I just couldn’t believe how easy and yummy it was back then. I had a lot of people who told me in the comment section or on Facebook that they tried my recipe and felt exactly the same way, so I decided to post another jackfruit pulled pork recipe for you. If you can’t get enough of Jackfruit, you can also check out my Jackfruit Buffalo Dip.
Cooking is so relaxing…
It’s actually a bit embarrassing, but I got inspired to make this vegan pulled pork wrap by McDonald’s. Haha! This doesn’t happen too often, right? In April, we spent a couple of days in Amsterdam and there were signs for this McDonald’s pulled pork wrap eeeeeverywhere all over the city! So as soon as I saw that, I just knew that I had to make a VEGAN pulled pork wrap. ;-)
Plus, I really needed a break from writing my master’s thesis and desperately longed for some creative kitchen time. When I first moved in with Flo almost six years ago I seriously hated cooking and it couldn’t understand how people felt that cooking was relaxing. But now that’s exactly what it is for me: pure relaxation!! And the best thing is that you got all that delicious food after you’re done cooking!
How to make vegan pulled pork or jackfruit pulled pork:
Making vegan pulled pork (aka jackfruit pulled pork or pulled jackfruit, however you wanna call it) couldn’t be easier. The important thing is that you buy YOUNG jackfruit in brine or water, not in syrup. It doesn’t work with any other kind. I usually get it at our local Asian supermarket and it’s really cheap, but if you don’t have an Asian grocery market where you live, you could also order it online.
So once you got a hold of young jackfruit, you’re good to go. First rinse the jackfruit and cut off the core. Then put them into a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir in the spices (I used cumin, paprika powder, red pepper flakes, and of course salt and pepper). The jackfruit pieces should all be nicely covered. I also added some liquid smoke, which gives it a really great hearty and smoky taste. It’s optional, but I really recommend using it. I bought mine on amazon like a year or two ago and you really don’t need a lot of it, so it has a long shelf life. To give it its typical hearty BBQ taste, I also stirred in a pretty good amount of BBQ sauce. If you’re fully vegan, make sure the brand you use is totally plant-based.
While the vegan pulled pork is cooking (this will take about 15-20 minutes), you got enough time to prepare the vegan yogurt sauce (or cashew sour cream), the tomatoes, the avocado, the lettuce, the corn, and the red onions. So all in all making this vegan pulled pork wrap won’t take much longer than half an hour.
Check out this roundup of 12 amazing vegan wraps for even more delicious vegan lunch ideas!
Vegan Pulled Pork Wrap with Avocado
Ingredients
For the vegan jackfruit pulled pork:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 20 oz. cans young jackfruit in brine or water
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
- 3/4 cup BBQ-sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke optional, but recommended
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
For the vegan yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup unsweetened vegan soy yogurt Alternatively you can also use vegan cashew sour cream (Find the link in the text above)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
For the wraps:
- 4 vegan tortillas
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 avocado, cut into small pieces
- lettuce
- 1 red onion, cut into stripes
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Remove the core and put it in a mixing bowl. Stir in the spices (paprika powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper). The jackfruit pieces should all be nicely covered.
- In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion for about 3 minutes or until it becomes translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the jackfruit and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the BBQ sauce, the liquid smoke (if using), and the vegetable broth and cook for another 15- 20 minutes. Use a fork to shred the jackfruit.
- In then meantime, make the vegan yogurt sauce. Put the soy yogurt (make sure it's unsweetened) in a small bowl and stir in the chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the vegan jackfruit pulled pork on tortilla wraps together with the chopped tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, corn, red onions, and the yogurt sauce. Roll them up and enjoy!
Mim
We love this recipe! It is so delicious and we don’t even miss the ‘pulled pork”. We make pulled pork sandwiches with it, and have coleslaw. All I can say is yum!
Joardo
Hi :)
It is really nice… I really appreciate this recipe.
Just one thing I’m not agree with: why call it “pulled pork wraps”… I mean, why to use the word “pork”?
I’m not agree if I’m vegan I DONT need to usea words like “pork” or “chicken” or whatever, to make “attractive” my dishes…
Just saying
Thanks for the recipe :)
Sina
Hi Joardo,
I totally know where you’re coming from. I don’t use it to make this recipe sound “attractive”. It’s just that a lot of people are searching for “vegan pulled pork” or “vegan jackfruit pulled pork” on Google, so I named it this way so people could actually find it. I think “vegan pulled pork” with jackfruit actually became some kind of thing, like “vegan mac & cheese” and other “traditional” dishes. And from its look and taste it actually resembles “pulled pork”. I’m glad you still like the recipe though! :-)
Joardo
Sure I like the recipe… sure I dont eat meat… is why I’m so sad to still listening or reading that some people uses terms like “vegan pork” or “vegan chicken” or “vegan meat”, etc… If I’m vegan, why “dream” with “meat”?…
Ok, you use these terms for to be “googelized”, I could understand that, but, I’m still thinking that using these terms “meat” is not really sincere.
Thank you a lot for your nice and tastefull receipts… in fact, I arrived here by a friend, not because I found you in google… :)
Trish
Oh my goodness! I can’t wait to try this!!! I never even thought to use jackfruit for anything, let alone replicate pork tacos vegan style, this is great. Thank you so much for this Sina.
Proud Vegetarian
I have been seeing a lot of people use jack fruit as pork substitute for vegan recipe’s and I’m glad there’s another alternative for soy based meats. I don’t eat soy under at all, so thank you for this recipe.
Zena | Zena 'n Zaatar
These look so yummy!! Lately I have been obsessed with jackfuit <3 It really is the perfect meat replacement to "trick" anyone haha and so delicious and healthy!
Sina
Thanks, Zena! Totally agree. It tastes so much like meat, it’s actually kinda creepy. :D
mel@avirtualvegan.com
I love that you got the inspiration for this from McDonalds. Ha ha! Not usually a source of inspiration for vegans!
I have yet to try jackfruit. I have been unable to find it anywhere and Amazon.ca only sell it for a ridiculous price (i think about $18.99 per tin!!!!) Once day I will find some and I will be going pulled jackfruit crazy!
I love your photos. Such gorgeous colours and the wraps look amazing.
Sina
Haha! I know! Their pulled pork wrap was all over the city, so I thought I just NEED to make a vegan version of it. ;-) Wow! That’s sooo expensive! I usually buy it for like two or three dollars. Have you looked for it at an Asian supermarket yet? They got so much vegan stuff and it’s all pretty cheap. Hope you can find it!
Sarah | Well and Full
These wraps look so good! The texture of the jackfruit looks spot on :)
Sina
Thanks, Sarah! :-)
Alisa Fleming
I can’t believe how much that looks like pulled pork. Such a creative recipe Sina!
Sina
Thanks, Alisa! I know, it’s such an amazing fruit!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
I finally tried young jackfruit, and I love that stuff!! I sometimes even eat it straight out of the can ? The texture is so unique, and with all this sauciness and flavor I know these wraps are very very tasty! Hey, where ever the inspiration comes from, if it can lead to delicious vegan recipes then just go with it haha :D
Sina
Me too, Natalie! I was so surprised when I first tried it. :-) I haven’t actually tried it yet without the marinade, but I had sweet (ripe) jackfruit once and it was super delicious. :-)
Aimee / Wallflower Kitchen
This looks SO amazing! I can’t believe how similar it is to pulled pork.
Sina
Thanks, Aimee! :-)
Sophia, Veggies Don't Bite
This looks so good!! I have only tried cooking with jackfruit once and was not a fan of the texture, so I put it in the oven, and slow cooked it to dry it out and get a little crisp on the edges and it was much better! I have been meaning to go back to that recipe and this amazing looking wrap makes me want to get in the kitchen now! YUM!
Sina
Thanks, Sophia! :-) I actually really like the texture, but baking it in the oven is such a great idea. I’m sure it’s super delicious when it’s crispy! I’ll have to try this next time I make it.
Jenn
I just ate two helping of my own dinner, but I would totally take down one of these right now!! That looks so good! I LOVE jackfruit – an amazing fruit indeed!
Sina
It really is, Jenn! I couldn’t believe how delicious it tastes when I first tried it. :-)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Jackfruit!!!! I love the stuff and I need to order it again from Amazon (the only place I can find it!)
Sina
Me too, Rebecca!! :-) Have you looked for it at an Asian supermarket yet?
Becky Striepe
These look delicious!
Sina
Thanks, Becky! :-)