This vegan taco meat is made with tofu, walnuts and spices and makes a wonderfully chewy and ‘meaty’ vegan meat substitute.
This vegan taco meat is the best thing ever to go in your tacos! Or on top of your nachos.
It’s chewy and delicious and high in protein and makes a nice big portion so you can either serve a bunch of people for taco night or just eat tacos for days in a row (highly recommended).
It’s also really easy to make! Don’t let all the process photos fool you into thinking it’s more complicated than it is, this is simple.
How To Make Vegan Taco Meat
Full instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a summary of the recipe to go along with the process photos below.
- The base ingredients for this vegan taco meat are tofu and walnuts. The walnuts are processed in the food processor into crumbles and the tofu is mashed with a fork.
- Then you add garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast, olive oil, soy sauce, maple syrup and tomato paste to a jug and mix it into a sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the crumbled tofu and walnuts and mix it until everything is coated with the sauce.
- Spread it out over a parchment lined baking tray and bake until perfectly dried out and ‘meaty’ in texture.
- And there you have it! It’s as simple as that.
Dark Soy Sauce
We used a dark soy sauce which is responsible for the great color of this taco meat. Dark soy sauce and tomato paste combine to create a really great color there.
We tried a batch using regular soy sauce and it was delicious but the color was not nearly so rich, so just bear it in mind that you can use any soy sauce but there might be a slight difference in color.
How To Serve Vegan Taco Meat
So of course, it’s wonderful on some vegan tacos.
Serve in tacos with shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole and some vegan sour cream for a seriously delicious dinner!
But you’ll also love this on your fully loaded vegan nachos. Our recipe for vegan nachos features this vegan taco meat as one of the stars of the show.
This would also make a wonderful addition to other delicious vegan Mexican recipes like our vegan enchiladas, vegan quesadillas and veggie fajitas. It would be great in a vegan burrito or vegan burrito bowl too. It would also be divine sprinkled on a salad or over some vegan chili.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy over the next 4-5 days. You can serve it cold or you can reheat it. You can also freeze it if you want to. When you’re ready for it, thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat as usual.
More Vegan Meat Substitutes!
- Vegan Steak
- Vegan Chicken
- Vegan Tuna
- Vegan Pepperoni
- Vegan Meatballs
- Vegan Bacon
- Vegan Burger
- Seitan Strips
Vegan Taco Meat
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan taco meat is made with tofu, walnuts and spices and makes a wonderfully chewy and ‘meaty’ vegan meat substitute.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200g) Walnuts
- 16oz (450g) Extra Firm Tofu
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce*
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Add walnuts to the food processor and process into crumbles. Mash the tofu with a fork. Add the crushed walnuts and tofu pieces to a dish.
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast, olive oil, soy sauce, maple syrup and tomato paste to a jug and whisk into a thick sauce.
- Mix the sauce in with the tofu and walnut crumbles and mix in until everything is coated in the sauce.
- Transfer to a parchment lined baking tray and spread out evenly across the tray.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, bring it out at the 15 minute mark and give it a stir and then put it back in.
- Serve in tacos with shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole and vegan sour cream.
Notes
*If you want this vegan taco meat to be entirely gluten-free then use a gluten-free soy sauce or switch for tamari. If you use a regular (not dark) soy sauce, the color of the taco meat will be much lighter.
*This makes a fairly large portion, enough for 6 people if served with tacos and other fillings.
*Nutritional information is for vegan taco meat only and not anything else you would serve it with.
*This recipe was first published in October 2018.
- Category: Side, Savory, Gluten-Free
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan, Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving (of 6)
- Calories: 342
- Sugar: 4.9g
- Sodium: 306mg
- Fat: 28.6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2g
- Carbohydrates: 10.7g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 14.7g
Keywords: vegan taco meat
I am obsessed with this recipe. I LOVE IT! The crumble is the perfect combination of textures and flavors. THANK YOU!!!!
Awesome! Thanks so much Ellen!
This is so good!!!!!! Fantastic recipe
★★★★★
Thanks so much Mike!
So impressed and so simple! My non-vegan family devoured it!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Penny!
This was absolutely delicious. I also added some refried beans and salsa to the mixture for our tacos because I like the mixture to hold together better. This is definitely a keeper and a repeat.
★★★★★
Thanks Dawn!
THIS IS SO GOOD! I’ve made it twice now and it will be in a regular rotation for us. The first time, we thought it needed a little more time in the oven, so we did that the second time (total of 10 minutes more) and it was perfect. This last time, I used the left overs (about half the recipe) to make a quick bolognese sauce, with diced tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Served it over pasta and it was amazing. Even though the spices are more Latin-inspired, it was easy to convert this into something more Italian.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much Nicole!
I’ve been making this for about a year now, as it is one of our favorite meals I’ve served it to non-vegans who have found it delicious and a great surprising substitute for ground beef. I think I’m going to try it in a stuffed green pepper recipe that I haven’t done yet. Great recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome Rob! I think it would be great as the filling for peppers! Thanks for the great review.