Ever since I ate my first BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich on a food market (Smorgasburg) in New York, I’ve been obsessed with recreating this dish. The amazing folks from Chickpea and Olive completely blew my mind with a plant-based version of this delicious comfort food. It is crazy how good this alternative tastes and how close it is to the texture and taste of the original (being pulled pork, chicken, meat). Now, the only time I’ve ever eaten jackfruit before was fresh from a tree during my Brazil travels in 2015. I’ve been trying to find it in Israel and Cyprus for the past 2.5 years, but without success.
During my latest Germany vacation, I was so surprised and happy to finally find canned jackfruit in a small Asia market in my home town that I immediately smuggled it into Cyprus and tried out this dish. And oh my – it’s beyond delicious! 🙂
I created a super healthy version of a BBQ sauce and it’s super tasty and smokey. My boyfriend absolutely loved it and I can’t wait to use this BBQ sauce for many other dishes! 🙂
This BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich is:
smokey
super satisfying
hearty
‘meaty’
extremely delicious
In addition to the BBQ pulled jackfruit I added a huge amount of guac on top, just because guacamole is LIFE! But basically you can add any other sauce/dip you want or just eat it simple like this.
- Healthy BBQ sauce:
- 2 Tbsp white onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1.5 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp date syrup
- 1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp tamari/soy sauce
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
- A pinch of sea salt & black pepper
Pulled Jackfruit:- 1 can jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed
- First prepare the BBQ sauce.
- Place the chopped onion into a heated pan, add a dash of water and sauté for a few minutes.
- Once cooked, add in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Transfer the sauce into a jar and store in the fridge.
- Now, drain and rinse your jackfruit and cut off the inner parts of the jackfruit pieces.
- Place the remaining jackfruit into a heated pan and use forks to pull the fruit pieces apart into strings.
- Add enough of the BBQ sauce to cover every piece of the jackfruit and simmer on low for about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve in a sandwich with guacamole on top or with any other dish.
For more delicious and healthy recipes like this BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich, check out my Chickpea Tuna-Style Salad or my 4 Healthy Salad Dressings.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links and if you purchase through those links I’ll receive a small commission with no additional cost to you. I’m only affiliated with companies and products that I recommend and trust.
I want to make this it looks amazing! Why do you cut the center part of the jackfruit off? I have eaten it! just curious!
I only figured after that I probably could have eaten it but tbh it didn’t look so good (had a different color than the rest) so I figured I’d cut it off
With the centre of the jackfruit it does not “pull” when cooked. I like to use it still so I finely chop the core and add it in. 🙂 helps make more yummy pulled jackfruit!
I’m looking forward to trying your healthy BBQ sauce. I first used store bought BBQ sauce and it was yummy but felt a bit bad.
What size can of jackfruit?
I took a 14 oz sized can 🙂