I’ve had a jackfruit carnitas recipe on my site since the earlier days of this blog. When I made it again recently, I realized that I could improve on the recipe by applying some new things I’ve learned about preparing jackfruit. I’m not so concerned with trying to mimic the texture of meat; I just want the recipe to be toothsome, flavorful, and as simple as I can get away with.
The new-and-improved jackfruit carnitas is prepared on the stovetop, but with a little mise in place, it’s just as easy as the former slow cooker version, and the texture is better: tender, but without being mushy. And only half of the amount of dry spices are needed compared to before, but their flavor is more prominent. Every ingredient in the new recipe is there to add flavor, and that’s one reason I’m so happy about the improvements. Waste not! I love to use the slow cooker, but sometimes you have to look at a recipe and acknowledge that the use of the slow cooker isn’t adding much to the final dish.
I’m happy as a clam eating my jackfruit carnitas in a bowl with cooked black beans, chopped avocado, pico de gallo, and a sprinkling of fresh green onion, but this also works beautifully in tacos, enchiladas, burritos, rice bowls, etc. For anyone unfamiliar with cooking with jackfruit, I offer one caveat. It’s fairly low in calories, so I recommend including a hearty ingredient paired with it when making a meal – like beans or rice. Otherwise, you may find yourself hungry only a short while after eating it. These jackfruit carnitas are quite flavorful, so I don’t find it’s necessary to do much in the way of seasoning the rice or beans that I pair it with. Just a sprinkle of green onion or cilantro to make everything pop!
Be warned: you may find yourself wanting to make another batch of this spice mix and sprinkle it on everything. 🙂
Make sure to get young green jackfruit in water or brine (NOT syrup) for this recipe, and take out the seeds and chop up the larger stemmy pieces before getting started. Canned jackfruit is available at most Asian grocery stores. It is also sold on Amazon and eBay, among other places online… but when bought online it tends to be fairly overpriced and/or require you to buy a large quantity.
P.S. If you’re specifically looking for the original slow cooker version of the recipe, it’s stored for posterity on this page.
Jackfruit Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil or other oil of choice
- 1 yellow or white onion thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 jalapeno peppers seeds and pith removed, thinly sliced (or to taste)
- 2 20 oz. cans green jackfruit in brine thoroughly rinsed and drained; seeds removed and center "core" pieces chopped
- jackfruit carnitas spice blend (recipe below)
- juice of 1 orange
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- freshly-squeezed lime juice to taste (I use about half of a lime)
For the jackfruit carnitas spice blend:
- 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
- If needed, use a towel to pat excess liquid from the jackfruit. Then add the jackfruit to the pan and stir. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5-6 minutes or until the jackfruit has dried out somewhat.
- Add about two thirds of the carnitas spice blend to the pan and stir. Cook for about 60 seconds or until fragrant. Reserve remaining spice blend to season to taste at the end of cooking, if desired. (I use almost all of it, but I like it pretty heavily spiced).
- Add the orange juice, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and liquid smoke, and stir.
- Simmer until most of the liquid is cooked off, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt, spice mix, and fresh lime juice. Serve hot.
Nutrition
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Vanessa says
Absolutely delicious!
We baked them on a cookie sheet with parchment following our usual Jackfruit Carnitas recipe from Nora Cooks. The flavors got richer and deeper! My kids said they would eat this everyday! My next batch will be a double for a freezer meal.
Thank you!!!
Ginny says
This was my first time using jackfruit and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe! I added it to my website with a link to yours!
Carly Colantuono says
I’m new to Dr. Furhman’s way of eating (Nutritarian, in the 6 week aggressive weight loss plan) and made this tonight to help add to my 1lb of cooked veggies every day. I made it without salt or oil and it was absolutely delicious! Will for sure make again! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Alia says
Wow! This is also why I came to this recipe!
Sal says
GOod but did not taste at all like carnitas =\ but it wa s a good sub for tacos.
Megan says
Wonderful- using black beans! I am shy to state I made this- because with my substation and modifications, it could be staid I made an entire other dish. Yet I credit this recipe for all the flavor.
I couldn’t find a black bean barbacoa recipe. So I substituted black beans and it was fabulous. My meat loving teen(15 yo) and husband loved it- as well as my veggie daughter and I. I also loved getting our protein rice there.
LJ says
These are incredible! Really great flavor and rather meaty! Thanks Shannon!
Jasmine says
I just made this and it’s so yummy!! my local grocery store didn’t have nutritional yeast so i just decided not to add it but it was still so good. even my brother who isn’t vegan loved it and i added some of the jalapeño seeds to give it a kick. so excited for my parents to try this!!
Deborah says
Is nutritional yeast essential for a good outcome? It’s not something I’d use regularly, so I’m hoping it can be omitted.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Go ahead and skip it and increase the other umami ingredients a little bit. Should still turn out great. However, I will say that nutritional yeast is a wonderful ingredient for nutrition and flavor, worth trying it out someday!
Stacey says
I omitted the oil and sautéed in veggie broth. I used only one can of jackfruit, and same amount of everything else, and I thought it was plenty for two people. This was so tasty. Definitely a keeper.
susie says
I made this last night but with a couple of tweaks. I sautéed in veggie broth instead of olive oil and I used my instant pot as I’m trying to get used to using it. I sautéed the veggies, then pressure cooked on medium for 5 minutes and it was amazing!!! My hubby loved it!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Glad to know that your oil free and instant pot modifications worked well! Thanks for sharing.
Chelcey says
Could one omit the liquid smoke and still get amazing flavor? Thanks for your help!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Try adding a little bit of smoked paprika in stead if you have it! But yes I think this would still be good without the liquid smoke.
Anne says
Love love LOVE this recipe! Everyone I’ve made it for so far has been really impressed! I actually put a bit more of the spices because we love strong flavours in our house 🙂
I would like to try it with a vegan “meat” that has more protein in it. I think I will try seitan some time and let you know how that worked out!
Thank you for this!
Christy says
Omg- we just made these and for meat loving midwesterners this recipe was awesome! Highly recommend!
Heather says
Great recipe! I used the carnitas for tacos. I added avocado slices, cilantro and drizzled lime and a chipotle pepper sauce on. Will definitely be making again. Thanks!
Geiselle Stafford says
You won’t believe it! This recipe is incredible!
Kristy Gomez says
Is there any way to make this yielding less sodium percentage?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
You can use low-sodium soy sauce or bragg’s liquid aminos, and choose a nutritional yeast with no added salt/sodium.
These nutrition facts also include the brine from the canned jackfruit, most of which is rinsed away if you do a good job of rinsing, so the actual sodium consumed will probably be lower than what’s listed.
Lisa says
I just bought half a fresh jackfruit. Can I use this in sane way? After removing outer skin, of course😏
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Lisa, Unfortunately I don’t have regular access to fresh jackfruit, so I’m not versed on the methodology for converting recipes that call for canned. I would imagine that you can just follow this recipe as written, but I could be wrong.
Emeli says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made it and it was very very tasty. We all loved it so much. This was my first time cooking jackfruit from scratch.
Deidre A Salisbury says
how much is in an actual serving? Above it says 3 but I need to know the serving size
Kea says
Hello looks delicious! Where is this secret slow cooker version? Can I have the link as well? 😀
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
You can see the slow cooker version here- https://yupitsvegan.com/recipes/slow_cooker_jackfruit_carnitas.html
I’m eventually going to be removing that page so I recommend copying the recipe to your computer somewhere if you want to keep it 🙂
Tiffany Worthington says
I made this yesterday for a couple of my Mexican-American friends! They both have just newly braved doing away with Aaaaall animal products in their diet after watching the inspiring and empowering Netflix film “What The Health?” and are committed to going for a completely whole-food way of eating vegan! So we had our first of hopefully many potlucks and every body was feeling great and we all made delicious first-time recipes which we all loved–but I’ve got to say, THIS ONE stood out as the favorite: served on warm organic corn tortillas with homemade guacamole, fresh purple radishes, cilantro and spring onions with some fresh lime wedges to squeeze on top, it really was the best!!! Thank you SOOOO much!!! I really wanted to show us all how easy, exciting and fun this new way of eating for us all can be, and it really is! And good for the world and our fellow Earthlings as well! YAY!!! All Blessings!!
Sandra Valdo says
I am making a triple batch for a large family gathering. This recipe looks great, but I will be putting in slow cooker to bring to gathering to keep warm!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hope you enjoy it Sandra!
Linden says
going to try this tonight – thanks
Andrea says
Made this tonight and OMG, it is good! My jalapenos were spicy but the dish itself was well seasoned and very flavorful! I don’t know has this not gone viral yet?! It’s really awesome, thanks so much!
Lo says
Made this last night and LOVED it – served it to a group of omnis who all loved my “chicken carnitas” 🙂
Brandon Ward says
Hello,
Do you still have the slow-cooker version? I have tried both and they are great but want to use the slow-cooker this weekend. I love the way it makes the house smell. 🙂
Please email it to me if possible.
Thank you!
Brandon
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Check your email! 🙂
Jennifer says
May I have the slow cooker version as well? This is my first time trying jackfruit.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Emailing it to you now, Jennifer!
And to others wanting the slow cooker version – I’ll be adding it to an html page shortly, so stay tuned.
Lo says
Have you had time to add the html page for the slow cooker version?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Lo,
I did add the html page some time ago, and linked it from the previous slow cooker recipe home, but I forgot to link it from this new url. Sorry for the oversight and thank you for pointing it out. The recipe is here: https://yupitsvegan.com/recipes/slow_cooker_jackfruit_carnitas.html
and I added a link inside this post as well 🙂
Tracy says
Hi I want to make this for my family. I just wantef to know the difference in the fresh jackfruit and canned? I called around looking for a fresh jackfruit and found 1 at wholefoods but it’s 25 lbs lol do you know if i can freeze it? Thank you
Bates says
I did it with the fresh jackfruit….it looks horrible near the end, and NOTHING like what it is supposed to. However. it still tastes fairly good. Be forewarned, the preparation process for the fresh jackfruit is HORRIBLE. It has a sticky, clingy sap that never gets off clothes and is a pain to wash off your hands and utensils. It turns into a globby mess in the pan. No resemblance to the pictures whatsoever. Tastes ok though, like I said.
Iris McLaughlin says
May I have the slow cooker recipe as well?
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
I’ve never had jackfruit! This really intrigues me as I can’t picture how it would taste. The spices sound delicious though.