Collard Wrap Tacos with Citrus Slaw

Collard green wraps make these tacos one of the healthiest dinners around. With a bright citrus slaw & tangy sunflower cream, they're delicious, too.

Collard Wrap Tacos with Citrus Slaw

I love tortillas as much as the next person. Actually, I take that back. I probably love tortillas more than the average person, but today I’m ditching them to wrap taco-like things with green wraps instead. This lightened-up “taco” recipe is inspired by these gorgeous collard greens that were in my Farmhouse box a little while ago. How pretty are they??

Collard Wrap Tacos ingredients

Along with local oranges, a chunk of red cabbage, a few limes, and an avocado, these wraps became a brighter, healthier version of fish tacos. The collard greens make delicious wrappers, but the key is to blanch them a little bit first. By dipping them in boiling water for about 10 seconds and putting them in an ice water bath, they soften and become a little less bitter in flavor.

Instead of a sour cream type of sauce, I served these with my go-to creamy sauce that’s made out of sunflower seeds. I also added chipotle spices for a little kick. I should mention that you can use any protein you like here – I often make these with seared tofu (from this recipe) or tempeh (from this recipe).

Collard Wrap Tacos with Citrus Slaw

If you love using collards instead of tortillas, try these collard green burritos next! Or, if you’re looking for another taco recipe to try, make these yummy many-veggie tacos.


4.8 from 4 reviews

Collard Wrap Tacos with Citrus Slaw

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Ditch the tortillas tonight and make your tacos in collard wraps! This fresh take on a fish taco works with a protein of your choice - I like tofu & tempeh, but real fish works too. Gluten-free.
Author:
Recipe type: Main dish
Serves: 3 to 4
Ingredients
  • 6 to 8 medium collard leaves
  • 2 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 2 small oranges, segmented, plus remaining juice
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • Juice and zest of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for serving
  • Sea salt
  • Cooked protein of choice* (see note below)
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • Chopped cilantro
creamy chipotle sunflower sauce:
  • 1¼ cups sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Chipotle paste or powder, to taste
Instructions
  1. Make the chipotle sun cheese: In a blender, puree the sunflower seeds, water, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and chipotle paste or powder. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill until ready to use.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the shredded cabbage, orange segments, any juice you can squeeze out of remaining orange rinds, scallions, lime juice, lime zest, and a few generous pinches of salt. Chill for at least 10 minutes, or until ready to use. Taste and adjust seasonings just before you serve.
  3. Prepare a medium pot of salted boiling water and a large bowl of ice water. Dip the collard leaves one at a time into the boiling water for 10 to 20 seconds until they turn bright green. Remove and immediately immerse into the ice water to cool for about 15 seconds. Place on papers towels to dry. Repeat with the remaining collard leaves. Before assembling, trim off the coarse part of the stem.
  4. Assemble the wraps with the protein of your choice, the cabbage slaw, avocado and cilantro. Serve with the chipotle sun cheese and additional lime wedges.
Notes
If you use tempeh, use the cooking method from this recipe.
If you use tofu, use the cooking method from this recipe
If you use fish, drizzle tilapia with olive oil, a pinch of paprika, salt and pepper, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes, or until it flakes with a fork.

 

17 comments

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  1. Rachel
    08.01.2016

    I made these tacos tonight and they were absolutely delicious. This was my first attempt at making tofu, and the combination of the creamy chipotle sun cheese, fresh citrus, and savory marinated tofu was soooo yummy.

    The collard leaves were a little difficult to hold (probably because they were a little old and had torn in places) so I shredded them and turned it into a salad.

    This recipe is definitely going in my regular rotation! Thank you!

  2. We still have tons of chard in the garden- this is a great idea to use it up! We like to stuff chard and cook it too 🙂

  3. Loved the presentation atop collard greens, planning to add some baked potato wedges as well

  4. This recipe is so vibrant and summery! I can’t wait for the weather to warm up. These sound perfect for a barbecue or picnic potluck!

  5. Sheila
    04.11.2016

    How much tilapia would you suggest?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.11.2016

      I’d suggest about 1 fillet per person (depending on their size) will fill about 3 wraps each.

  6. Karla
    04.10.2016

    This recipe looks divine!
    In making the sauce, are the sunflower seeds soaked first?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.11.2016

      Hi Karla, thanks for pointing that out. If you’re using a high powered blender (like a vitamix) than it’s not necessary, but for a regular blender, soaking 3 or so hours would help.

      • Karla
        04.11.2016

        Thanks. I’ve got the sunflower seeds soaking, I can’t wait to try these tacos!

  7. Christine Whittington
    04.10.2016

    Beautiful! Must try this week. I haven’t finalized my Door to Door Organics box (a necessity in 10,200′ high Leadville) yet. It reminds me a bit of the Salad Rolls sushi from Whole Foods that I love.

  8. Lii
    04.10.2016

    They look so nice! Wouldn’t have thought of blanching the greens, a great tip!

  9. Neel @LFP from learnfoodphotography.com
    04.10.2016

    Wow…. What an amazing recipe..

    Just love the idea of replacing tortillas with the greens..

    And what powerful photograph too..great colors and shapes and that top down view… Just amazing

    Thank you for sharing this with us

    Neel

  10. Roxana from atreatsaffair.com
    04.09.2016

    Beautiful tacos! What a fun idea to wrap them this way!

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.