Jackfruit Cakes with Canned Green Jackfruit

These tasty, savory, vegan jackfruit cakes (or jackfruit patties) are made with 12 easy to find ingredients. Pair them with a fresh salad for a satisfying, light dinner.

Canned green jackfruit can be so versatile. Inundate it with a bunch of flavors and other ingredients, and it unites them and complements them so beautifully.

I’ve smothered canned green jackfruit with spices and sauteed it up to use in tacos and I have added it to a creamy spiced tomato sauce and enjoyed it in a delicious curry, sopped up with Sri Lankan roti.

What is green jackfruit?

Green jackfruit is unripened jackfruit that is usually used in savory dishes. It is usually sold canned in brine or water. Some say that canned green jackfruit looks a lot like pulled pork. Take a look at the next couple of images and tell me what do you think?

Sweet, ripe jackfruit, on the other hand, is enjoyed plain or in sweet treats like smoothies and ice cream.

Where can you find canned jackfruit?

Here in Georgia, ripe jackfruit isn’t as easy to find as canned green jackfruit. Usually, I buy fresh, ripe jackfruit, at the Dekalb Farmers Market or several other South Asian Farmers Markets scattered along Buford Hwy and Lawrenceville.

But, canned jackfruit can be found at most local grocery stores such as Sprouts, Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Publix, and even Walmart. Or, there’s always Amazon – though I haven’t bought canned jackfruit from there – at least, not yet.

After the jackfruit tacos and jackfruit curry I made, I wanted to do something different with the next can of green jackfruit I opened up. The little hamster wheel in my noggin started spinning and I thought of combining jackfruit and potatoes is some way.

First, I thought of making some croquettes, or, “cutlets” like we call them in Sri Lanka. But, I didn’t have any breadcrumbs or panko or almond flour to coat the croquettes in, so I thought of making some sort of jackfruit burger and well, that’s how these jackfruit cakes came to be sitting pretty on your screen.

Why do we love these jackfruit cakes?

These jackfruit cakes are spiced just right and are so tasty (it’s hard to stick to just one or two) and are so easy to make. If you happen to have a boiled or baked potato hanging out in your fridge, these can be prepared in less than 30 minutes! However, if you don’t, then boiling the potato will add on another 35-40 minutes to the cooking time.

I cooked some of these on a stove-top and tossed a few in the air fryer.

These are the ones that were cooked in the air fryer.…

While these were sauteed in a pan over a stove…

I made these jackfruit cakes last week and my daughter said, this was the best dinner she had that week. Though, I was a bit discombobulated when, the next night, she told me that the roti and chickpea curry we had was the best dinner she had had all week.

In my opinion, with easy-to-find, ingredients that include:
coriander,
chili,
turmeric,
smoked paprika,
cumin,
onion,
garlic,
ginger,
red pepper flakes,
cilantro,
a boiled potato, and
canned green jackfruit, these vegan jackfruit cakes are simply delicious. And, I’m hoping you give these a try soon and agree!

Jackfruit Cakes with Canned Green Jackfruit

4.62 from 13 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 3 minutes minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Author: Shashi

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These tasty vegan jackfruit cakes are made with 12 easy to find ingredients. Pair them with a fresh salad for a satisfying, light dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 chili powder optional*
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 a red onion
• 3 large garlic cloves or 6 small garlic cloves
• 2 tsp fresh ginger ginger
• pinch of red pepper flakes optional*
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro***
• one boiled potato**
• 1 20 oz can green jackfruit
• 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

Instructions

• First, open the can of jackfruit and drain the brine out. Then, place jackfruit in a colander and rinse it well. Then, using paper towels, vigorously pat dry the jackfruit and try to remove as much of the liquid from the chuncks of green jackfruit. Let jackfruit lay on paper towels for a bit.
• Then, place boiled potato in a bowl and, using a fork, mash it up.
• Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic and add them to the bowl with the potato.
• Peel the ginger and grate it so you can get 2 tspn of it and add it to the bowl as well.
• Add the dried jackfruit to the bowl, along with the coriander, chili powder, turmeric powder, smoked paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
• Using your clean hands or a spoon, mix ingredients together well. Then, gather up a handful and shape into a crab-cake like shape. Repeat until all the jackfruit potato mix is used up.

!Air Fryer option:

• Place the jackfruit cakes on an air fryer tray, spray them with oil and place in an air fryer set at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

!Stove top option:

• Add 2-3 tbsp of oil to a pan and let it warm up. Then, add in the jackfruit cakes to the pan. Turn the heat to medium and let the cakes cook about 5 minutes or until they are slightly browned. Using a spatula, gently nudge them so they don't stick. Using the same spatula, gently flip them and let them cook about 7-8 minutes, nudging them with the spatula so they don't stick to the pan.
  
  Serve with your favorite salad and sweet chili sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

*Chili powder and red pepper flakes are completely optional. I love spicy foods and so add both – but you can leave them out if you prefer milder jackfruit cakes.

**If you don’t have a boiled potato, then cut a large baking potato in 3 and place in a pan with water covering the whole of the potato. Place pan on stove and bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and let simmer for 35-40 minutes or until potato is done ~ which you can check by prodding the potato with a fork.

***A quick tip from the interwebs: you can use a cheese grater to easily get the cilantro leaves off the stem. After seeing it on TikTok, I tried it and this is so easy and a nice way to re-purpose a grater.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @SavorySpin or tag #savoryspin so we can share your ceation.