Chorizo Tacos
Gluten free Chorizo Tacos combine smoky and mildly spicy chorizo sausage with sauteed sweet onions and bell peppers. But, we don’t stop there! Then diced plantains are easily pan fried for added crunch and flavor. Top with crumbled queso fresco, chipotle sour cream and cilantro for some incredible taco deliciousness! This combo has easily become a family favorite.
The Chorizo
My local grocery store (Publix) sells their own brand of fresh mild and spicy chorizo sausages. Although you can buy pre-cooked sausages, I like removing the casings, crumbling and browning the sausage for these tacos. Much like making a ground beef mixture for tacos. Once the sausage is no longer pink, it can be removed from the pan, but leave drippings behind! That’s what you’ll cook the peppers and onions in and they soak up that wonderful flavor.
Peppers and Onions
The remaining oil and flavor from the sausage is perfect for cooking the peppers and onions. If you like the peppers and onions browned with a bit of crunch, cook them quickly on a higher heat. If you like the onions caramelized and peppers soft, cook them on a medium heat. Once they are cooked the way you like, add the chopped garlic, keeping the heat medium to low to prevent it from burning. Let it heat through and stir to combine the flavors. Set these aside in a covered serving dish.
Plantains
Plantains have very tough skins that are much harder to remove the greener they are. I find it easiest to cut the ends off then score the skins from tip to tip, then peel the skin back. For this dish, I quarter the plantains lengthwise then dice it. That keeps most of the pieces about the same size as the crumbles of sausage.
I have used green and yellow plantains for this recipe and both work well. Green plantains are quite starchy and not very sweet, while the more yellow they are the sweeter they will be. The sweetness is a nice contrast to the spice in the sausage.
Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan. I have tried using a stainless pan but the plantains always stick, so I definitely suggest going with a non-stick for this part of the recipe. When the oil shimmers, carefully add the diced plantains so that the oil doesn’t splatter. Allow them to cook on one side, then stir them around to brown on the other sides. Sprinkle generously with salt and transfer them to a serving bowl.
Toppings
I am always looking for something creamy on my tacos. Sour cream is the simple answer, but I like to take it up a level by stirring in some chopped chipotle chilis in adobo. It has a little heat and a ton of flavor. Sprinkling queso fresco on top will add cheesy saltiness and a little chopped cilantro keeps it fresh.
Tortilla Tip!
To prevent your tortillas from breaking and falling apart, wrap a stack of them in a damp paper towel. Microwave the stack until heated through, which only takes about 30-60 seconds. Keep the tortillas covered with the paper towel until you are ready to serve and eat.
More Gluten Free Goodness
Veggie Tacos with Coconut Lime Slaw
Chorizo Tacos
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb uncooked chorizo sausage (mild or spicy)
- 1 large sweet onion (trimmed, quartered & sliced)
- 2 bell peppers (any color, seeded & sliced)
- 1 clove fresh garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 plantains (green or yellow)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For Serving:
- 12 small corn tortillas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp chipotle in adobo (finely chopped)
- ½ cup queso fresco
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Remove the casing from the chorizo sausages. Heat a large frying pan to a medium high heat and brown the sausage. Break it up with your spatula as much as you’d like. Once there’s no more pink in the meat, transfer the sausage crumbles to a serving dish and cover to keep warm. Don't clean the pan!
- Cook the peppers and onion in the pan drippings from the sausage. Cook on a higher heat if you’d like to brown them, a medium heat if you want to just soften them. Add salt and pepper to taste. When they are cooked to your liking, turn the heat to medium-low and add the chopped garlic. Stir it in to heat it through and distribute the flavors. Pour into a serving bowl, cover and set aside.
- Remove the peels from the plantains, quarter and dice them. Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. When the oil glistens, carefully add the diced plantains,. Allow them to brown lightly on one side, then flip them or stir them to allow them to brown on all sides. Sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a serving dish.
- Combine the sour cream and finely chopped chipotle chili together in a small bowl.
- Wrap the stack of corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave until heated through, approximately 30-60 seconds.
- To serve, fill warm corn tortillas with peppers, onions, chorizo and fried plantains. Top with the chipotle sour cream, crumbled queso fresco and cilantro. Enjoy! There should be enough fillings and toppings for a minimum of 12 small tacos.
