Jackfruit is one of the greatest ingredients for replacing meat in recipes! In this list, you’re going to get all the inspiration you need for making the best tinned jackfruit recipes. They’re simple, delicious and inspired by flavours from all over the world, like this Jackfruit Curry. But, first of all, let’s delve into why jackfruit is such a great ingredient.
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🤔 What is jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a fruit that’s grown on trees in tropical climates like south-east Asia, the Caribbean and Brazil.
It’s a relative of the fig and breadfruit, and when it’s fully grown it has a thick, light green bumpy skin with pods inside of it, that’s kind of similar to mango. However, we’re talking about jackfruit when it is unripe in this article. When it’s underripe, the outside is green and knobbly but the inside is tougher and meatier.
While jackfruit is often used as a meat replacement, as it resembles pulled pork when slowly cooked, it actually isn’t a great source of protein. Which I actually found quite surprising! To give you an idea, it has 2 grams of protein per 100g, as well as 95 calories. Find out more about jackfruit.
👩🍳 How to cook jackfruit
Jackfruit can be used for savoury and sweet dishes. In this article we’ll be focusing on tinned jackfruit recipes, using young jackfruit. The type that is used for savoury dishes, where jackfruit is usually used to replace meat. That means buying jackfruit that comes in brine or water in a tin. Ripe jackfruit is often sold in cans in syrup, so don’t get them confused!
Young jackfruit can be slow cooked, BBQd, baked, added to curries, stews and stir fries and even air fried. Basically, it can be cooked using almost any method but it’s the flavours that make the biggest difference!
🛒 Where to buy jackfruit
Jackfruit can be bought in lots of major supermarkets in the UK and the US. It’s also found in Asian supermarkets and health food stores. It will usually be in the canned goods aisle, near tins of beans and legumes.
It’s also often sold in pouches but that’s often preprepared in a sauce or gravy, so it wouldn’t be great for the recipes in this list. You can also buy jackfruit online, and if you buy a few tins at a time, you usually get a bulk discount which is great for savings!
🍛 Best Tinned Jackfruit Recipes
1. Easy Indonesian Jackfruit Rendang
2. Jackfruit Curry in under 60 Minutes
3. Jackfruit Chilli
4. Jackfruit Wrap
5. Jackfruit Gyros
6. Grilled Vegan Jackfruit Tacos
7. Vegan Chicken Salad
8. Hoisin Jackfruit Tacos
9. Vegan Crab Cakes
10. Vegan Seitan Ribs
11. Cruelty Free Chicken Drumsticks
12. Jackfruit Blanquette
13. Jackfruit Steamed Buns
14. Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
15. BBQ Jackfruit Tacos
16. Vegan Taco Soup
17. Vegan Birria Tacos
18. Spiced Jackfruit Shawarma
19. Vegan Buffalo Chicken Nachos
20. Veggie Pulled Pork Nachos
21. Vegan Jackfruit Buffalo Dip
22. Pulled Jackfruit
23. Instant Jackfruit Pickle
24. Vegan Reuben Sandwich
25. Jackfruit Southwest Salad
26. Jackfruit Carnitas
27. BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich
28. Satay Jackfruit Burger
29. Vegan Kedgeree
30. Jerk Jackfruit
31. Vegan Jackfruit Bao Buns
32. Jackfruit Cutlets
💭 Canned Jackfruit FAQs
You can eat jackfruit straight out of the can without cooking it first, but it won’t necessarily be enjoyable this way! Partly, jakfruit is so enjoyable because of the way it’s cooked and the seasoning that’s added to it. As it’s a bland fruit, it acts as a blank canvas that absorbs many different flavours really well. Most tinned jackfruit recipes require the jackfruit to be cooked.
Canned jackfruit isn’t cooked before being canned and sold in shops. The jackfruit in the can is usually either in water or brine in the can, in order for it to be preserved. However, as it is sitting in brine or water, that means it’s going to naturally be a bit softer than when it is first harvested. It has essentially been soaked in liquid by the time you come to open and drain the jackfruit, to make one of the amazing tinned jackfruit recipes featured in this list!
You’ll probably find it quite difficult to get hold of fresh jackfruit if you’re in the UK. If you find some, you can use it for cooking, but there are a couple of things to be aware of.
If you’re using fresh jackfruit (rather than tinned) you’ll probably find it harder to prepare as it’s harder to pull apart. You will need to remove both the skin and the outer part of the fruit as it’s only the middle that’s suitable for eating. Plus, it will need a much longer cooking time than tinned jackfruit. We actually cooked with fresh jackfruit quite often when we lived in Bali, and found that it needs a long, slow simmer time to get the same results as using tinned jackfruit.
Yes, absolutely. Jackfruit freezes really well, and we’ve kept jackfruit dishes in the freezer for around 3 months, but it does depend on the recipe. Each tinned jackfruit recipe that we’ve included in this list has its own set of instructions for storage, found at each link.
If you loved this tinned jackfruit recipes list, then give it a share on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest! Did we miss your favourite jackfruit recipe? Let us know in the comments!
Choclette
So many delicious and creative recipes to try here. They're going to keep me going for ages.
Jess & Dan
Thanks so much Choclette, there were honestly so many to choose from it was hard to stop adding more jackfruit recipes!