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I never buy “fake meat.” I consider it heavily processed and not what you could categorize as healthy, plus I’m usually satisfied with veggies, whole grains, and tofu anyway. But if you are like me, sometimes you are craving something with a more “meaty” texture. Then this jackfruit “chicken” certainly won’t disappoint!
It is tender and buttery and comes together in 30 minutes!
If you have never heard of jackfruit (which I doubt), it is a fruit usually sold in cans in Asian stores or even on Amazon. I used this one. It is available in two versions: ripe jackfruit in syrup and young green jackfruit in brine. You want to buy the latter. It is very bland if not seasoned properly but has a fibrous meat-like texture.
To add flavor to our jackfruit, we will use a sauce made of almond butter, cashew butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and spices. The mix of all these ingredients gives the jackfruit a “chicken” and buttery flavor. I also add sautéed mushrooms to create a richer texture.
It all starts by cooking quinoa, brown rice, or your favorite grains. In the meantime, you prepare the jackfruit “chicken.” Sautée the onion and garlic, cook until they start to caramelize, and add the mushrooms and jackfruit. Stir in the sauce and mix to coat. It’s that easy! The sauce gives the jackfruit a rich and buttery flavor.
Then assemble the quinoa, sautéed (or raw!) greens, and jackfruit “chicken” in bowls.
I’m sure this will become a regular on the menu here, and I have no doubt it will become one for you, too!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Easy Jackfruit "Chicken" Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 2 tbsp cashew butter
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
Jackfruit
- 2 20-ounce cans young green jackfruit
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4-5 cremini mushrooms sliced
- salt, pepper to taste
Bowls
- 1 cup quinoa or brown rice
- 2 cups salted water
- 4 cups sautéed greens like spinach kale, etc (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Start by preparing the quinoa, combine the quinoa with water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until no liquid remains. In the meantime, prepare the jackfruit "chicken.
- Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Chop off the center (the firm part) and discard. Keep the softer edges.
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes until onions are soft and start to caramelize, this is important to add flavor.
- Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Add the jackfruit and slightly shred it by pressing with a spatula as it cooks. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the skillet. If needed, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to prevent sticking.
- Stir in the sauce and mix well, making sure all the jackfruit is coated. Continue to cook for one more minute.
- Divide the quinoa into 3 serving bowls, top with the jackfruit "chicken" and a squeeze of lemon juice. You can also serve with your favorite greens like spinach, kale, chard or arugula.
Notes
- Please do not omit any ingredient in the almond butter sauce, each one contributes to the "meaty" flavor. Smoked paprika can be replaced with 1/8 tsp liquid smoke though.
- Optional garlic quinoa sauce: in a small bowl combine 2 tbsp tahini, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 1/4 tsp maple syrup, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp ground coriander. Add enough water to thin out and drizzle on quinoa.
- Nutrition information includes quinoa and spinach.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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This jackfruit bow looks AMAZING! I live that you used nut butter in the sauce to make it creamy. Pinning to make ASAP!!!!
Thanks Laurel! Nut butter is the best to make creamy sauces! 😉
Honestly, I never heard of jackfruit before. I’m so curious to what it tastes like! I’m gonna have to try your recipe, it sure sounds super interesting.
Jackfruit is pretty bland in taste but when cooked with a flavorful sauce it is really delicious and has a pleasant texture.
Rating a recipe without having tried it first is really unhelpful to those looking to to try it out.
This was great! I had a can of jackfruit lying around and saw your recipe. I had never cooked or even eaten jackfruit before, and this turned out delicious! The sauce was so yummy! I didn’t have quinoa, so I prepared it with lentils instead.
Thank you so much for the feedback Alyssa! I’m glad you liked the jackfruit! It’s a fantastic ingredient when you want to achieve a meaty texture.
I have made this SO many times and it’s truly awesome! One time I didn’t have almond butter on hand though so I subed tahini and it works ok too, even though the original recipe is the best (:
I’m so glad you like this jackfruit recipe Emilia 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!
Great recipe, however, according to my My fitness AP, there are 575 calories per serving if you make it three servings. I made it four servings, and it was still a lot of food. Delicious recipe!!
Thanks for your feedback Heather!
I just re-checked the nutritional information and I get 447 calories per serving including the quinoa and spinach, so I probably made a mistake the first time. I updated it but I’m not sure why it’s still different from what you get!
So sorry but I made this for my family and the jackfruit part wasn’t the best I’m the only one that ate the food cuz it’s just didn’t taste right to everyone
Hi Justin,
So sorry to hear you didn’t like this recipe! Well, not everyone has the same taste.
Thanks so much for introducing me to Jackfruit and this amazing recipe. It was delicious and I will now try some other recipes with it since It has so many healthy redeeming qualities
Thanks for the feedback!
It was the second time I tried a jackfruit recipe. I was going to give up on jackfruit if this did not turn out well. But it did. It was delicious and simple to make.
Thanks for your feedback Rita!
Made it using your recipe (with small changes) & it was amazing! I am from Southeast Asia and this tasted like a cross between a satay and a rendang sauce! How crazy is that! We will be making it again for sure.
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback! Glad you liked it 🙂
Very tasty 🙂
Made it with the Quinoa Tahini dressing – which upgrades the quinoa.
The sauce of the jackfruit is amazing – made it with your recipe for almond butter.
Thank you 🙂
Thanks for your feedback Sara! 🙂
I have to tell you that I had a can of jackfruit that I’d never tried before and stumbled upon your recipe. Since I had everything on hand, except cashew butter and mushrooms, I decided to try it. I used all almond butter and threw in a couple of canned artichokes hearts and followed everything else to a tee. I honestly thought that I’d end up throwing it away, but i I really liked it! I cooked up some swiss chard, from my garden and the combination was delicious! I’ve bookmarked your website and now plan on ordering the ingredients to make your vegan yogurt! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for sharing Merrilee! Glad you liked it 🙂
Subbed nut butters with tahini, added about a 1/4 tsp of Trader Joe’s Umami seasoning. Added some nutritional yeast to our greens (string beans). So yummy and wholesome! Lemon was a perfect finish too.
Thanks for sharing your tweaks Meredith, glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
I made this again and this time made some cashews butter, since I didn’t have any last time! I had to add quite a bit of water to get the sauce to a creamy consistency, like yours, and it turned out fantastic! OMG! This recipe is a winner!
Thanks Merrilee! Glad you liked it! 🙂
I asked a friend to recommend a recipe for my Mother’s Day dinner using jackfruit for the first time, and he sent me your link. I must say this was different but very pleasing and delicious. I’m looking forward to utilizing more of your recipes and continue using this one for one of my weekly meals!
This was amazing! I didn’t have cashew butter so I substituted coconut butter and it was still delicious. Thanks for the recipe. <3
Thanks Johanna! 🙂
I made the jackfruit chicken today and it was delicious. I served it with brown rice, black beans and avocado. YUM!! thanks for this recipe.
Thanks for your feedback Carmen 🙂
Brilliant recipe! Lovely texture and flavours. I made cashew butter for the first time in prep for this and it tasted amazing. Definitely a new favourite!
Thanks Caroline 😉
This was so so good. Thank you for the recipe!!
You’re welcome!
I have made this recipe three times now and want to thank you for it! It’s an easy meal prep that is satisfying and flavorful. Today I had to use sunflower seed butter instead of cashew butter and it turned out really good too. I did add a bit of tahini as someone else suggested.
Thanks for your great feedback Caitlin! 🙂