Tacos have gone beyond the traditional taco thanks to people toying with them. In this case, these honeycrisp apple tacos, flavored with garlic and honey, definitely go beyond the norm. These were inspired by a post from my cousin who went to a food truck in Belmont, NC.
Tino's Munch Box was slinging honeycrisp honey garlic tacos and I was intrigued — but not enough to go to Belmont just for these tacos, so I examined a photo they posted to try and recreate them here at home. This is the original photo:
There wasn't much to go on, not even an ingredient list, so I decided to get a little more autumnal with these tacos. I replaced the lettuce with kale, and the cashews with walnuts. Check out the recipe for the full apple taco experience in my new small batch recipes format. This taco dinner will produce four apple tacos, two for each person, for dinner. If you're eating on your own, the apples and onions reheat well the next day to recreate these again easily!
Funky Tacos
I will caution you, these tacos are not for everyone. The sweetness from the apples and the honey give this whole dish a non-savory taste that causes cognitive dissonance because well, tacos aren't usually sweet-ish. But if you're looking for a unique, meatless, autumnal take on Taco Tuesday — and you like new flavor combinations — you'll want to give these a go.
You can add cheese to these or leave them vegan. I added shredded pepper jack cheese for a little extra kick. Cheese and apples sound like a weird combination, but so do apples and tacos.
Honeycrisp Apple Tacos
Ingredients
- 4 8" tortillas (or use 6-8 smaller taco-sized tortillas)
- 1 cup shredded kale
- ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons walnuts toasted
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion cut into thin slivers
- 1 honeycrisp apple cut into thin slivers
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
- good balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup pepper jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- In a bowl, massage the extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt into the kale. Set aside.
- If the walnuts are not toasted, put them on a small baking dish in the oven for the last 5 minutes of the tortilla baking.
- In a large saute pan, heat the butter over medium heat.
- Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the garlic to the onions and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Add the apples to the pan, saute for 2 minutes.
- Pour the honey in the pan, and stir to coat the apples and onions. Salt and pepper to taste, including the red pepper flakes if desired. Saute 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.
- Assemble the tacos by putting the kale in each tortilla, then the apple onion mixture. Top with walnuts and cheese, and drizzle sparingly with balsamic vinegar.
- Eat immediately.
What size tortilla should you use?
It may be obvious in the photos I bought larger sized tortillas than are traditionally used for tacos. I was picking up my ingredients at Trader Joe's and just grabbed what they had. It didn't click in my brain til I saw the edge of these tortillas flopping over the edge of the taco holder — oops!
Though tacos will still taste the same no matter what size, there is a logic to tortilla shell sizes. Read more to learn about what size tortilla is right for your dish, and make sure to read the tortilla package when you're at the store if you decide you want to be a taco sized purist.
Garlic and honey
Would you give the combination of apples, honey, and garlic a try? Garlic and honey also has health benefits.
Garlic and honey is becoming a popular new taste trend, so get on board.
Looking for more taco recipes?
