Jackfruit Pulled Pork Vegan BBQ Sandwiches

The most flavorful jackfruit pulled pork vegan bbq sandwiches! It's all about this easy gluten-free sauce and slow cooking this meatless pulled pork for the most tender rich flavors! Served in tacos, sandwiches or by itself with a side of delicious crunchy coleslaw or cucumber salad! Recipe includes stovetop or slow cooker methods of cooking.

Jackfruit: a fruit

Jackfruit is a large fruit and commonly used as a "meat substitute" in vegan recipes. The fruit is great to use in place of protein in vegan pulled pork, smoothies, and shakes and comes in stores as fresh fruit or in cans. At first glance, this large fruit looks leathery prickly and bumpy. Jackfruit is a very large edible fruit of the jackfruit tree from South and Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh jackfruit is served in many ways. Jackfruit curry, stir fry, juice, chips, ice cream, milkshakes, and even baking flour are just a few of this miracle fruit's remarkable ways it can be used. It can be dried, fried, slow cooked into BBQ pulled pork or go ahead and grill it!

Fresh vs. young

There are two version of finding jackfruit in stores. Either fresh or canned. Fresh jackfruit is ripe and has a sweeter taste that is perfect for baked goods, smoothies and milkshakes. The canned version is young jackfruit and is less sweet, making it wonderful to use in savory dishes such as vegan pulled pork.

Health benefits of jackfruit

Jackfruits benefits are that they are rich in dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins. It is high in vitamin C, vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid. It is also a good source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron. Potassium is good for controlling heart rate and blood pressure. One bulb of jackfruit contains only about 95 calories with no trace of saturated fats or cholesterol, making it one of the healthiest treats to enjoy! Check out this post on cutting a fresh jackfruit.

Why this vegan meat recipe works

Jackfruit pulled pork is delicious in flavor, although, it is bland but picks up the flavors of whatever sauce and other ingredients it is mixed in, like this gluten-free bbq sauce. It also has a shredded texture that resembles pulled pork.

I made this recipe previously using chicken in my Crockpot BBQ Chicken Recipe, and decided to use the same recipe replacing chicken for jackfruit. There are a couple of meatless options that can be substituted in a BBQ pulled pork recipe. Two alternatives are jackfruit and mushrooms. Sounds strange, I know, but both can be shredded and turn into a tender meat-like consistency when slowly cooked in the crock pot.

What goes into this recipe

The ingredients look lengthy, but they are for the gluten-free bbq sauce used. You can also use a barbecue sauce that is already prepared. I promise it is worth all the flavor in these vegan BBQ pulled pork sandwiches!

• 4 cans of Jackfruit in water
• chopped celery
• chopped white onion
• organic ketchup (organic for no preservatives and fake sugars & make sure it is gluten-free)
• natural liquid smoke
• tamari soy sauce or coconut aminos
• water
• molasses
• spices: ground ginger, onion powder, all spice, black pepper, dry mustard
• apple cider vinegar
• lemon juice
• coconut sugar
• olive oil (optional)
• cole slaw

How to make barbecue pulled pork sandwiches with jackfruit

Stovetop: Add jackfruit pulled pork ingredients (first 17 ingredients) to large pot. Cover and bring to a boil then turn to heat down to simmer for 45 minutes. With a fork twist and pull the jackfruit apart to shred it. Optional to add the olive oil in.

Slow Cooker: Add jackfruit pulled pork ingredients (first 17 ingredients) to a slow cooker. Cook on high 4-6 hours. With a fork, twist to pull jackfruit into shreds. Optional to add fresh olive oil and mix in.

Coleslaw: In a small bowl stir together green and purple cabbage, carrots and vegan mayonnaise until combined.

Assembling Sandwiches: Toast 8 gluten-free hamburger rolls. Lay them open faced. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, scoop the jackfruit pulled pork, draining extra juices, and add it on top of 8 slices of the buns. Top with coleslaw. Put roll top on and serve!

Tips for making pulled pork with jackfruit

If not using canned fruit, remove the skin and slice the whole fruit into a crock pot, or see this post explaining how to cut jackfruit for recipes. We use about 7-8 cups of the fruit or 4 cans. I had a hard time finding canned jackfruit at local grocery stores so I bought online a 6 pack of canned young green jackfruit in water.

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