BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches with Avocado Slaw

Hi!
I love every vegan recipe I’ve tried from your website!
I couldn’t find jackfruit without syrup in a can, do you think I can try to soak it in water first to remove the syrup or something like that so that I can have a similar result?

Hi! Can I make this with jackfruit straight from the fruit itself?? I just bought a real one, not a can.

Could I use frozen jackfruit? It’s all I can find….

All I could find was jackfruit in syrup so I gave it a go anyway despite your warning haha. As you said, the texture is not quite right but its still delicious so don’t be afriad to give it a go if that’s all you have access to. I just drained it and rinsed it thoroughly and used less bbq sauce, a drop of liquid smoke and a few dashes of chipotle. Mmmm would be perfect in a taco! I might try adding shredded or minced seitan next time to see if I can inprove the texture. But so yum!!!!

Oh no, I thought I finally had all the ingredients for this but now realise te can I have is in BRINE my water. Will this matter?

I made these sliders today (without the added cashews and my own slaw) and they were amazing! This is definitely going to be a recurring dinner at my house. Thank you so much for sharing!

I’m trying this as we speak, but I’m smoking the Jackfruit on my pellet grill first!

I’ve been wanting to try this forever, I finally did today, it was AMAZING! Thank you for giving me a non tofu vegan alternative to pulled pork, it even got a few thumbs up from the carnivores!!

I am trying to find jackfruit packed in only water but am having a difficult time. The markets I have been to either have the ones packed in brine or syrup, but none just packed in water. And the one on Amazon that says “packed in water”, in reality, when you read the ingredients, includes salt and a preservative.

What brand do you use or suggest?

Thx, BGL

Hi- I am planning to make this recipe- it looks great. But when I find jackfruit in water, there’s also salt- is that then brine? I haven’t found any young green jackfruit in just plain water. Does the jackfruit you use have some salt in it? What brand do you use? Thanks so much!

This was absolutely delicious!! As a recent pescatarian I definitely missed having regular BBQ. I put everything together onto Asian steam buns(found them frozen at the local Asian market) and it was a divine combination. Thanks for such a great recipe:)

Can this be done overnight overnight in a slow cooker?

The only jackfruit I have available is in brine. I’ve used it to make pulled pork carnitas and it works just great :)

I made this recipe today and it was delicious! I couldn’t find the jackfruit in water so I used the one in brine. I let it soak in water for a couple of hours, rinsed it and squeezed the excess water with a napkin. I couldn’t taste the brine flavor after cooking it! I also did the cole slaw, I used purple cabbage, grated carrots and kale. Will defiantly be making it again!

Another great recipe and thank you for introducing me to jackfruit. Tasted superb, great texture and a couple of meat eaters arrived as I was getting stuck in, tried it and were wide eyed with wonder at how good it was. Mine came out pretty hot but I failed to take into account the scotch bonnet chillies in the BBQ sauce I used and added a grind of chillies to the pan!
The only thing I would say is don’t discard the little triangles of core from the jackfruit. They can be used in other recipes, they just hang together more than the stringy ‘pulled pork’ flesh of the fruit.

This was my first jackfruit. I have to say, I picked the right recipe to try first! Yum!

I made this last night and just finished off the leftovers for lunch. This meal is absolutely delicious! I’m going to make a giant batch for an upcoming barbecue to wow my veg-skeptical friends!

I bought th can of green jackfruit before reading a few recipes but it was in brine not water. if I rinse it well will it work alright instead of the jackfruit in water? Thanks. I can’t wait to try this recipe:)!

This is essentially a carb bomb. Way too much sugar and extremely high on the glycemic index. If you’re body is still pumping loads of sugar for energy, you’re doing it wrong.

I just made this (minus the cashews) and it is SO GOOD! the lemon juice in the slaw really brightened it up and adds a certain freshness to it too. Thanks for the outstanding recipe!! :-)

Just made this for dinner tonight :) I had to add quite a bit of water to thin and reduce the spiciness of the jackfruit. In the end, it turned out super delicious!! I served them with some baked sweet potato fries. My family absolutely loved this meal. They didn’t even realize that it wasn’t meat! I will definitely be making this again, thank you for the recipe!

Can any portions of this meal be made the day before? I want to make it all for a party.

Made this last night with my bf, seriously incredible. I still can’t get over it! Thanks for the recipe, will definitely be making this again!

@bohochicago

This recipe is fantastic!! It’s hard to find a winning dinner in my house! My two boys that are 10 and 12 have requested for me to put this into our weekly rotation. Since I have celiac I have mine in lettuce wraps but everyone else eats it on Hawaiian sweet buns. Thank you for your fabulous recipies!

I just watched a video by the “vegan black metal chef” who suggests boiling the jackfruit in a couple of changes of water for about an hour to get rid of some of the unique jackfruit taste before adding the barbeque sauce. I personally enjoy the different taste but BBQ purists (you know who you are) might be turned off by it. Looking forward to making this and the slaw tonight (and possibly ruining everything)! I’ve made a lot of your recipes with great success, but i’ve managed to foul up a few which you can read in my blog post (linked below).

ok my first attempt after finally getting my can out of the pantry and going for it! so easy but i am wondering, how long does it stay fresh after marinating and cooking it. any ideas? how do you tell if it has gone bad after you prepare it? i like to prep things in batches and then have on hand to warm in a pinch. thanks so much!!

Just made this tonight!! My hubby & I loved it :) Thank you so much!

HI Dana,

Does it matter if it young jack fruit or adult?

Oh my, I was overwhelmed by the variety of jackfuit available and just wanted to make sure which one to go for. When I saw that you had a recipe on this, I instantly thought “She won’t let me down, I am SURE she will mention which type to use in her recipe!” and you did indeed not disappoint me :)
Thank you for your always great recipes and for being a reliable source on my plant-based journey!

I made this recipe and it’s wonderful! The flavor combinations are outstanding! I made a few modifications….I sauteed up a diced onions before adding the jack fruit into the pan, I added one teaspoon of cumin and half teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the bbq rub. This recipe is the best dish we’ve had since becoming vegan. Even our non-vegan friends loved it! Well worth the effort.

I loved the bbq jackfruit sandwich. I have never had jackfruit before and didn’t think I could make it, especially make it so good. My daughter who still eats meat even loved it. Looking forward to try more recipes.

This is an amazing recipe. My husband and I had it for dinner tonight, and although he is the carnivore of the family, he thought it was delicious! Just as a side note…I did not see a step that says to cover with a lid even though step 5 says to “remove lid and stir occasionally.” Could you possibly add that to step 4 for those of us who don’t read the entire instruction list before cooking? Again, amazing recipe and thanks for your hard work and diligence to bring us all delicious, healthy, and hearty food!

Hi! This recipe looks delicious! What barbecue sauce did you use and where did you find the cans of jackfruit? I cannot find them in any of my local grocery stores. Thanks!

I was shopping at Whole Foods yesterday and thought of you when I a package of BBQ Jackfruit for sale

Hi Dana! Just wondering where I can find jack fruit? I’m in Canada and I’ve checked all of my go to vegan stores (goodness me!, horn of plenty..) and they don’t carry it!! :( Dying to try this recipe!

Hi ! This looks so delicious!! Sadly, where I live, I can only find jackfruit in syrup… what should I do ? Soak it in water ? Thank you ! :)

My roommate made this for me because she knows how much I miss pulled pork sandwiches. Let me tell you. I almost started crying it is so good. Making it for my meat-loving parents tonight. Can’t wait for the look on their face!!!

Hi Dana!

Such an incredible sandwich. Thank you so much!

Hi Dana,

My first attempt at this was aborted when I discovered the jackfruit was full of seeds. As you made no mention of seeds, was I just meant to ignore them?

Thanks

Thanks for the recipe! I had this on my list for a while and was full of anticipation by the time I was finally able to get some jackfruit and try it out. So it was very exciting to have this turn out as delicious as I had hoped!

Thank you!
Karyn

Hey there the only canned Jack fruit I can find where I live is in syrup. Any recommendations for using it for this recipe? I figure rinse it with water maybe even soak it and rinse and resoak and rinse, etc. Ideas?

Hi, so the taste was awesome but the jackfruit cooked into a gluggy mess. Any thoughts? Note, I used fresh jackfruit.

This dish is AMAH-ZING. I am not one to care so much about replicating the texture and flavor of meat. Whether or not this one does a good job, I am going back for thirds. Double thumbs-up. Jackfruit for the win.

I think I want to try using jackfruit to make “crab” cakes next.

umm yes please!

I just drove an hour away to an Asian market. I thought I hit a score and bought 4 cans of jackfruit….but it’s in brine (sad face) why would this not work? Also it’s green jack fruit it doesn’t say anything about young. What have I done will this work?

I’ve been looking forward to trying this. I did it today…and I was disappointed. I’ve reached the conclusion that being a vegan is best served by cooking totally differently rather than trying to replace favourite foods. I’m going to eat it tomorrow with nachos and some non-dairy cheese (hypocritical given my comment above, but i think this needs it). The texture, whilst initially similar to pulled pork, quickly becomes mush. I was gutted to be fair as I was hoping for something special. This is a nail in the coffin for me in terms of attempting to replicate old favourites (bbq tempeh was also a letdown), apart from possibly a vegan mayo. I’m probably setting myself up for another fall there though.

All that aside, I love your blog. Great stuff.

YUM! SO GOOD!!!

What a wonderful recipe! I went to my local Asian market, and while I was able to find the jackfruit in water, it had some strange preservative in it, so I opted for the jackfruit in brine (jackfruit, salt, water…all things I can pronounce!). Followed the recipe as is with some Stubbs BBQ sauce and it was phenomenal. The texture was just a little softer than pulled pork would be, but I and my omnivore pals loved it! I made a mayo based red cabbage and jicama slaw to top it and also added the salted roasted cashew (added wonderful texture!) I made some sriracha lime corn tortillas instead of the bun, and these were some of the best veg tacos I’ve ever had. The leftovers are turning into BBQ nachos tomorrow! This recipe inspired me to try some mojo style pulled “chicken” next with the jackfruit. Thanks!!

Too good! I’m a vegetarian living with 4 heavy meat-eating males… and they were fooled! One of the lads saw the jackfruit in the bbq seasoning and asked if it was chicken, told him it was pork then dinner time came along and he kept talking about how good his bbq “pork” was. Thanks so much for sharing this!

My husband makes some amazing pulled pork in the smoker (so good I used to be disappointed by every pulled pork I had at a BBQ place) and I was pretty sad to say goodbye to it when I decided to eat vegan. This just saved me! We had it for dinner and I thought it was every bit as good as his! He approved too :). The cashews and slaw were a really nice touch, too.

I made this yesterday and was so pleased with the results! A couple notes:
-after some research on other jackfruit recipes, I used jackfruit in brine as I didn’t want to run all around town looking for jackfruit in water. I rinsed the fruit, squeezed the liquid from it with my hands, and then rinsed it again.
-I separated the stringy parts from the core, and then chopped the core in to small pieces. The core isn’t really that tough, and I didn’t really notice it in the final product.
-The brine flavor was a little present, but it was almost vinegary, so I think adding some apple cider vinegar to the bbq sauce would help cover up the brineyness.
-the texture was so spot on for pulled pork! I couldn’t believe it.
Thanks for the great recipe!

Why not brine? It is just salty water?

Do frozen (yellow) pieces of jackfruit work for this recipe?

if you eat meat, could you use chicken or pork instead of jackfruit?

Hi! Ive finally found tinned jackfruit and after reading your recipe, the cans i bought are in brine. Will this make a difference at all? What about draining and rinsing the fruit well? Any advice appreciated! Thanks! Ang

I am SO excited to try this recipe! We are regulars at FUD (the Tex-Mex Ckn Wrap and Sicilianizza tie for my fave) and I’ve been wondering if I could do something like this at home. I’m hoping they have jackfruit at one of the City Market grocers this weekend!

We had a BBQ Jackfruit sandwich similar to this at our local Vegan place and fell in love. SO we ran out and bought a Jackfruit, and now we are sitting on it because I have no idea what to do with it! All of the recipes I have seen call for canned. I don’t even know how to cut it, lol! What to save? What to throw way? I am clueless….SO, once we figure out what to do with this monster, I will be making this recipe. It looks amazing!

This looks soooo yummy! It even LOOKS like pulled pork!

I had jackfruit growing in my home-town in Brasil, and they’re such a crazy fruit. Even though they’re so huge, they actually grow high up on the trees (imagine if one fell on your head?! Yikes!)
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I’ve never thought to make something like this with it though, so interesting! Need to give it a go! I’m living in Sydney now so need to figure out where I can get mine from..

X

Thank you! BBQ is really the only thing I miss since I stopped eating meat, and I’m pretty sure the only thing I actually miss is the sauce. This looks perfect!

looks great, and i have a can of jackfruit so i’ll be giving it a go soon. quick question – do you use smoked paprika or regular? thanks.

5 *s

Hi. Thanks.for the recipe!!

I tried last night using the exact can you posted the link to on Amazon (lucky me the market I went to had them for $1.09)… anyhow, they came chopped. In your post you mentioned taking out the core… there were seeds in the middle that I took out as well as a “pineapple like core” that I had to cut off from random pieces. I’m not sure If that was the section you were talking about. Is that part edible? Also, there was a few pieces that had “cantaloupe like skin” on the outer edges.. did you cut those off too??

Also.. the sandwich was very tasty. Thanks for sharing as always!

For anyone having a hard time finding jackfruit in water, I used the brine version and it turned out great. After going to multiple Asian markets I finally did find one that said “jackfruit in water,” but it had 3 times the sodium of the “jackfruit in brine,” so I got the brine version (Aroy-D). I did squeeze each piece in paper towels to get all of the water out that I could. Was anyone able to find jackfruit in water with no salt added?

Anyway, it turned out really great! I made it for my parents and though they both eat animals, they really enjoyed this vegan meal. Jackfruit works SO well, the texture is spot on. The slaw was really delicious as well.Thanks for the great recipe!

I’m not even a vegan and I would choose this over a meaty sandwich any day!! These look sinfully delish!! Cheers!

Another frequent visitor and Columbia, SC resident here…neat!

I cannot find Jackfruit packed only in water, the one i found is water and salt. Any suggestions?

BBQ Jackfruit is my go-to for feeding carnivores for dinner (I live in a vegetarian household). I make mine in the crockpot, though, b/c I’m super lazy: http://theactorsdiet.com/2013/06/21/jack-russell-vs-jackfruit/

In my home we have a saying that has become a mantra: “Trust the minimalist baker.” There were many times in executing this recipe where we thought we had better ideas, but following these instructions to the T turned out perfectly.

The one thing I want to say, though, is that we spent hours walking through Chinatown, San Francisco in search of the “jackfruit in water”. We found “jackfruit in syrup” and “jackfruit in brine” everywhere. In the end we were at a complete loss, having been to over 7 asian grocery stores, so we did a little research and read that many people make the BBQ pulled “pork” with the jackfruit in brine. So that’s what we did, and it turned out great! I’m curious how much better it would have been if we had used the version with water and why it is so strongly advised that we don’t use the brine version. But I just felt the need to say something so that no one else spends all that time trying to get the water version when it may not actually be necessary…

This recipe is unbelievable in how it resembles actual pulled pork. What even is jackfruit?!?!

Ahhh I heard of jackfruit but wasn’t too sure about how to use it! These look INSANE! I love pulled pork sandwiches even though I don’t like most meat, and they’re one of the reasons I couldn’t go vegan. But if I had these?? YES. So much better for you than meat, too! And the avocado slaw? GIRL.

I am completely blown away by this recipe! You’re a genius!!!

Drool… Can’t wait to try this out.
Have you tried it with fresh jackfruit? Or does the recipe only work if its jackfruit in water? ( I’m assuming that means its canned)

Where did you buy the jackfruit?

Woah! I’ve been wanting to go vegan for so long but I was worried about giving up things like pulled pork. I need to try this ASAP.

WHAT. I’m in shock over this. I did not know we could eat fruit instead of meat in a sandwich! I’m signing up!!!

I have never heard of jack fruit, but now that I know what it is and how well it mocks meat, I have a million and one ideas of how to substitute it in traditionally meat recipes! I can’t wait to give this a try!!!

oh wow it looks so much like pulled pork! i love jackfruit, never tried it like this before
this looks really good, will have to try it out and share with my veggie friends too :)
thanks for sharing!

These sandwiches look positively DEE-lish! Never would have thought to add jackfruit in these!! Pinning this for later!

This looks so much like meat it’s ridic! I need to hop on the jackfruit train and ride it all the way to this sandwich.

I first heard of jackfruit a few months ago and I’ve been thinking of it ever since! I always keep my eye out for it but have never thought to try Amazon! Which is kinda strange because I pretty much buy everything else there :) Everything about these sandwiches looks so amazing!! I’m going to Amazon asap to get some jackfruit overnight-ed :)

I love it, have to give a try. I stopped eating meat three years ago, this makes a great replacement.
Thanks for sharing, I’ll be giving a try this weekend.

I grew up on a ranch in Montana where we raised over 300 head of Black Angus cattle, so I often state that there is no way I could ever become a vegetarian. However, after this recipe, and your fabulous photography, I might have to rethink this vegan thing. :-) Holy cow!

I’m so excited to make this! I went to Whole Foods today and they only had the jackfruit in brine…any tips on how to make it work if you can’t find it packed in water?

these look awesome!!! love that its not tofu…placing an amazon order tonight :-)
thanks!

These look so good!Just recently tried jackfruit and would be very,very willing to try it in barbeque.Such an interesting food.Once you taste it you wonder why you don’t eat it more often.

How freakin cool is this? You’ll like a vegan wizard (have I said that before?). Jackfruit it is. xo

Whoa, this looks amazing! I once had jackfruit carnitas at a vegan restaurant and thought I was eating pulled pork. I am making this as soon as I track down some jackfruit!

oh my gosh, it looks just like pulled pork! Crazy! I’ve heard of jackfruit, but never as a meat sub. I will have to try it!

So interesting! I cant’ wait to try this after a trip to the Asian market. Thanks!

I love jack fruit! It really is one of those vegan miracle foods. Last summer, my (omnivore) boyfriend and I had a little cook off. I made pulled jack fruit, and he made pulled pork. We brought both dishes to a big get together with friends and no one could tell the difference!

Which, considering that mine was considerably less expensive, lower in calories, and also didn’t require me getting up at 6am to turn the slow cooker on for it to be ready – I’d say results in jack fruit being the victor of that dish off!

I can’t wait to try it again with this slaw you’ve posted. Yum!

x Kathryn

Dana, I’m salivating!!!!! I need this in my life right NOW :) amazing post, you’re the queen of food blogging!

What a genius idea, Dana! I had no idea that jackfruit was a legit replacement for meat… so good to know! And these sandwiches look delicious.

How interesting to use jackfruit!

I pulled up your page just to see what I was going to be making for dinner tonight. (Because your recipes are THAT dependable). And my first thought was “heck yeah barbecue!” But then I was like, “wait….that’s jackfruit…” I’m going to give it a shot though. I’m so happy to have a use for some of those random things I see at the Asian Market. Perhaps I’ll see Mary Beth there since I’m also from Columbia, SC!

This looks epic! Thanks for solving my strange sloppy-joe style craving I’ve been having with the recent warm weather. Going to have to try this out, for sure!

I’ve been wanting to try cooking with jackfruit for YEARS but I’ve never been sure it’s worth the hefty price tag on amazon. This looks so tasty though, so it must be :)

We LOVE Jackfruit!!! I was so happy to find it in an Asian market here in Columbia, SC… It really helped me get over the pain of giving up pulled pork BBQ once we became vegan. Can’t wait to try your version. What barbecue sauce do you like to use?

Now I want to see y’all turn jackfruit into a taco filling!

I can’t believe how much it looks like meat! I have got to try this.

I cannot wait to try this with grilled corn on the cob (I mix Vegan mayo, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt together – then slather it on corn and grill it). I also love the addition of slaw – even when I ate meat, I would always order a side of coleslaw to top my pulled-pork sandwich! Thanks so much for another brilliant recipe!

Haha, you mind reader! My first thought was indeed ‘what the ….?’
But this looks lovely! I just needed an excuse to go to the Asian supermarket (one of my favourite places) and stock my kitchen with all these interesting things they have (not that there’s any space in the cupboards left, but hey, what’s life without 5 different sorts of rice, or a stash of delicious smoky-sweet date palm sugar?).

Last week I was on a roll, and I made your cauliflower rice with bok choy, the sweet potatoes with tahini sauce, tomatoes and cucumbers, the masala tofu scramble, and every morning was for the hide your kale smoothie. It was all amazingly tasty, and left me feeling so energized afterwards, loved it!

Girl, you have outdone yourself. I need warm weather and a BBQ stat!