This flavor-bursting vegan pulled jackfruit offers a great alternative to BBQ favorites like pulled pork or pulled chicken. Green, young jackfruit in brine has a meaty texture that makes for the perfect meat-substitute and absorbs the barbecue flavors perfectly.
This easy-to-make pulled jackfruit is ideal when craving plant-based comfort food that's hearty and bursting with flavor. Serve it in burgers (like this pulled jackfruit burger), sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, on pizza, or over rice.
Jackfruit tastes like …?
When a jackfruit is ripe it is sweet and has a fruity, almost tropical banana-mango flavor. But what this recipe needs is unripe jackfruit.
When it's green and unripe – the kind that comes in brine - it has a neutral taste. In other words: It doesn't really have a strong flavor on its own. Texture-wise it resembles palm hearts.
This is why jackfruit is often used in vegan cooking: it has a soft, chewy, and almost meaty texture and takes on other flavors very well. Do not use canned jackfruit in syrup-brine for this recipe. This recipe calls for a neutral to slightly salty tasting brine.
Recipe for Vegan Pulled Jackfruit (BBQ-style)
Drain 2 cans jackfruit and rinse the jackfruit pieces. Slice the pieces from the tough core to the outer edge to get as close to a ‘pulled texture’ as possible - see picture above. Remove the seeds if desired (I did not).
Thinly slice the onion. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.
Add jackfruit, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and apple juice and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes while maintaining a gentle simmer. Meanwhile gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients for serving if making sandwiches/burgers/quesadillas/tacos.
Mash the jackfruit with a fork. When all the jackfruit is broken into shreds, taste and adjust the sauce. At this point you can thin it with a little water if it seems dry or cook the sauce longer if it is still too thin.
Recipes with pulled jackfruit
Serve the pulled jackfruit in hamburger buns, piled onto tacos, or over rice - with any additional toppings of choice.
More vegan BBQ favorites
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment or/and give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear how the recipe turns out in your kitchen.
Easy Vegan Pulled Jackfruit (5 ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14oz/400 g each) green jackfruit in brine (not sweet, see note)
- 1 medium onion
- ⅓ cup (80 g) ketchup
- ⅓ cup (80 g) BBQ Sauce
- ⅔ cups (160 g) apple juice (use water if you like it less sweet)
- oil
Instructions
- Drain 2 cans jackfruit and rinse the jackfruit pieces. Slice the pieces from the tough core to the outer edge to get as close to a ‘pulled texture’ as possible. Remove the seeds if desired (I did not).
- Thinly slice the onion. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add jackfruit, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and apple juice and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes while maintaining a gentle simmer. Meanwhile gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients for serving if making sandwiches/burgers/quesadillas/tacos.
- Mash the jackfruit with a fork. When all the jackfruit is broken into shreds, taste and adjust the sauce. At this point you can thin it with a little water if it seems dry or cook the sauce longer if it is still too thin.
Amelia says
Hi,
I want to skip the apple juice. It’s too sweet for me. What would you use instead? Thanks Amelia!
Carbgirl says
Hi Amelia,
As written in the recipe, I would simply substitute water for apple juice if you want it less sweet. I have done this several times and it always turned out well. Hope that you will try the recipe!
_maria_ says
I made this for my brothers birthday and served the pulled jackfruit in loaded sandwiches with cabbage, pickles, tomato, and a salsa. Nobody believed me when I told them the sandwiches were vegan. Everybody raved about them. Thanks so much for the easy recipe.
Carbgirl says
Oh, you just made my day, Maria! Thank you so much for trying the recipe. The sandwiches you made sound delicious!
Joseph says
Oh yum. This was so good … and easy to prep too! I used an extra smokey BBQ sauce and the taste was on point.
Carbgirl says
Oh, so happy to heart that, Joseph! I bet it tastes great with extra smoky BBQ-sauce 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment!