Spicy, vegan meaty, creamy, this Easy Vegan Buffalo Jackfruit is bar food flavour heaven, that's quick and easy enough to make that it might just become your new go-to staple!
Sure you can eat this by the forkful and be totally satisfied, but this jackfruit recipe is great to have on hand for amping up any meal. Pile high on a taco, add this meaty topping to your pizza, amp up a dip, load up your vegan nachos, layer into a wrap, use hot or cold on a hearty sandwich, add to a quesadilla, top a baked potato, spoon onto a grain bowl... the options are deliciously endless.
If you are new to jackfruit, it is indeed a fruit. You can often find it covered in sticky syrup in cans, but in this recipe the key is to use young green jackfruit that is in brine or water (not syrup). When the jackfruit is young and not fully ripe, it's much starchier and not sweet and is mild in flavour. The cool thing about it is that once cooked, it has this pulled, shredded texture that is so meat-like. It's the perfect base for making an awesome vegan shredded chicken alternative!
This easy vegan buffalo jackfruit taste like buffalo chicken, but of course so much better because it's vegan, healthier, it's made from a fruit, and of course no chickens were harmed. All the flavour, none of the cruelty. This recipe takes just 30 minutes or less, and requires just 8 ingredients. Better yet, buffalo jackfruit is perfect for meal prepping and even freezes well. It's the perfect meal amper-upper to have on hand.
How to make Buffalo Jackfruit:
Notes on Blenders: you only need ½ cup of cashew cream for this recipe. If you have a small strong blender, such as a Magic Bullet this will work beautifully to blend a small batch of cashew cream. If you have a larger blender, you may want to double or even quadruple the cashew cream recipes so it blends smoothly. Leftover cashew cream is great to have on hand for sauces, dressings, dips, or to stir into coffee.
Boiling the cashews (optional): Cover the cashews with water and bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using. Boiling the cashews ensure they blender smoothly, however I skip this step as I have a strong blender so it is not needed.
Add the ¼ cup cashews (boiled or unboiled) and ¼ cup water to a blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrap the sides as needed. Set aside.
To chop the jackfruit:
For optimal texture, cut the jackfruit into thin slices from core to the outer edge as seen in the picture above. This breaks up the tougher core as much as possible and makes for the best shredded texture. Do NOT discard the core or seeds, they are totally edible, and you are just wasting precious jackfruit!
To make buffalo jackfruit:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions have softened and begin to brown.
Add the chopped jackfruit, broth, and ¼ cup Frank's Red Hot to the pot and cover. Reduce heat and let it simmer until the jackfruit softens slightly, and about ½ of the liquid is absorbed. About 5 minutes.
Now take a potato masher, and smash all the jackfruit up to get that shredded texture.
Stir in the cashew cream and remove from heat. If desired add more Frank's Red Hot to taste.
Use buffalo jackfruit on tacos, pizza, dips, nachos, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas, in a bowl, or anywhere you like! For more vegan meaty recipes that you can use to enhance any dish, check out my Tofu & Beet Ground, BBQ Shredded Tofu, Mushroom Bacon, Chorizo Tofu Crumbles, Seitan Tenders, or my very popular Baked Tofu Bites.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Easy Vegan Buffalo Jackfruit
Ingredients
For the cashew cream: (see notes for more options)
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- ¼ cup water
To make buffalo jackfruit:
- 2 20 oz cans green jackfruit in water or brine drained, rinsed, and chopped (see instructions)
- 1 tablespoon light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup vegetable broth or water
- ¼ - ½ cup Frank's Red Hot Original (or similar hot sauce)
Instructions
To make cashew cream (see recipe notes before proceeding):
- Boiling the cashews (optional): Cover the cashews with water and bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using. Boiling the cashews ensure they blender smoothly, however I skip this step as I have a strong blender so it is not needed.
- Add the ¼ cup cashews (boiled or unboiled) and ¼ cup water to a blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrap the sides as needed. Set aside.
To chop the jackfruit:
- For optimal texture, cut the jackfruit into thin slices from core to the outer edge as seen in the pictures above in this post. This breaks up the tougher core as much as possible and makes for the best shredded texture. Do NOT discard the core or seeds, they are totally edible, and you are just wasting precious jackfruit!
To make buffalo jackfruit:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions have softened and begin to brown.
- Add the chopped jackfruit, broth, and ¼ cup Frank's Red Hot to the pot and cover. Reduce heat and let it simmer until the jackfruit softens slightly, and about ½ of the liquid is absorbed. About 5 minutes. Now take a potato masher, and smash all the jackfruit up to get that shredded texture. Stir in the cashew cream and remove from heat. If desired add more Frank's Red Hot to taste. Use on tacos, pizza, dips, nachos, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas, in a bowl, or anywhere you like!
This was delicious and so easy to make! I used canned coconut milk since I had some left over and it was good, but I'm really looking forward to trying it with the cashew cream. Thanks, Sam!
You're most welcome! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, KG 🙂
How do you thaw it when it's been frozen?
I would let it sit for a few hours on the counter, or overnight in the fridge. You could also thaw it in the microwave but I always find thawing it naturally gets the est results.
Thank you Sam, I like your recipes, they are easy to make
So glad you enjoy, Huong 🙂