These jackfruit carnitas tacos are extra juicy, extra savory, and a little spicy. They’re cooked in the slow cooker over 8 hours and are seriously so easy! Plus, the mango salsa is a must. The sweetness compliments the spiced jackfruit so well. Definitely one of my favorite tacos and the perfect recipe to serve to meat eaters!

Slow cooker jackfruit carnitas with mango salsa on white board and parchment paper

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I am surprised this is the first time I am sharing a taco recipe with you. Tacos are basically their own food group for me. I regularly make batches of my Instant Pot Black Beans and eat them for breakfast in corn tortillas with a little hot sauce and avocado. It’s pretty boring but to me, it is SO GOOD. I never get sick of it.

Vegan Style Carnitas

These slow cooker jackfruit tacos are meant to be a vegan style carnitas. And honestly? I really don’t think you’ll miss the meat here. Shredding the jackfruit before cooking it over 8 hours allows it to absorb all the flavor and makes it super soft and tender. The texture and flavor really replicate real carnitas here!

Whole jackfruit wedges in silver stand mixer bowl.

To shred the jackfruit, I used my KitchenAid stand mixer with the paddle attachment! I learned this tip from Jordan Page from Fun, Cheap or Free. She is a mom of eight (yes EIGHT) and she blogs about lifestyle, budgeting, and parenting things. One of her tips in the kitchen is using the KitchenAid stand mixer to shred chicken breasts. I don’t eat chicken, but I immediately thought I wanted to try this trick with jackfruit. And it worked!

Jackfruit shredded in a stand mixer to resemble shredded chicken

After a minute or two, I had perfectly shredded jackfruit! SO easy and hands free.

Of course, if you don’t have a stand mixer you can absolutely do this by hand. Just chop and shred the jackfruit until you achieve a similar texture. 🙂

Next, all you’ll need to do is transfer the jackfruit to the Instant pot or Crockpot, add all of the marinade, stir, and add the lid. Slow cook over 8 hours.

slow cooker jackfruit carnitas before cooking 8 hours — slow cooker jackfruit carnitas before cooking

Even though waiting 8 hours for these jackfruit carnitas tacos meat to cook feels like a long time and a lot of work, it’s really easy! Just put this on in the morning and you’ll have dinner ready in the evening with no effort. It’s the perfect recipe to put on before you leave for work or when you know you’re going to have a busy day and won’t have time to cook something before everyone is hungry!

The Mango Salsa

This salsa is super simple but I think it makes the dish. Seriously, don’t skip it! All you need is mango, anaheim peppers, lime juice, and raw onion. It’s the perfect summer salsa and it goes so well with super savory tacos.

mango salsa in a white bowl on blue patterned towel

How to Cut a Mango

Now for a little trick to cutting your mangos! Once you’ve cut the cheeks off as close to the pits as possible, get out a drinking glass. Match the wider portion of the mango up with the top of the glass and push the mango flesh into the glass and slide downwards. It will remove all of the flesh of the inside of the mango as close to the skin as possible with no cutting needed! Cutting mango can be really frustrating but this is the best way, I promise. It sounds weird, but it honestly works so well.

Mango flesh being removed from the skin by sliding mango down a drinking glass.

Building Your Tacos

Once the jackfruit has cooked for 8 hours, it’s taco time. Besides the mango salsa, I recommend serving these with guacamole, extra lime juice and cilantro. And if you want your taco “meat” to be extra crispy you can always crisp it up a bit in a large cast iron skillet after it’s cooked for 8 hours but I find I can never wait for that! It’s delicious straight from the Instant Pot on it’s own.

Jackfruit tacos lined up on parchment paper with lime wedges

You could also do Instant Pot Refried beans or Instant Pot black beans on the side! And may I suggest an Orange Hibiscus Margarita? YUM.

I hope you guys try these and love them! Cheers to delicious tacos and many more taco recipes to come.

Try These Vegan Mexican Inspired Recipes

corn tortilla with guacamole, jackfruit carnitas and mango salsa

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