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.
- Add the walnuts to the food processor and process into crumbles.
- Add tofu to a bowl and mash it with a fork.
- Add the walnut crumbles and crumbled tofu to a bowl or dish.
- Add garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast, olive oil, soy sauce, maple syrup and tomato paste to a measuring jug and mix it into a thick 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!
Ingredient Notes
Walnuts – create a really great texture with the tofu. I have not tested this with other nuts but it’s possible that other nuts (pecans and almonds come to mind) could also work.
Tofu – should be extra firm and does not need to be pressed first.
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
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 cups Walnuts (200g)
- 16 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (450g)
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce or sub tamari for gluten-free
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons 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 crumbled tofu 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 measuring 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.
Anna says
Must try this recipe, when I can get some tofu ! It looks so good. Can I use the ‘meat’ with rice or potatoes instead of tacos?
Alison Andrews says
Yes! Use it for anything you like! It’s super tasty and high in protein so would go wonderfully with anything savory really. 🙂
Olivia rowan says
This has to be the best vegan recipe in the world!!!!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Olivia!
Janis says
This looks delicious! Do you have a walnut substitution suggestion? I was thinking perhaps a combination of Brazil nuts and maybe almonds or hazelnuts? We have Walnut and pecan allergies. Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Janis, I think those sub ideas are great! Any of those options or a mix of them would likely work great.
Beth Ann says
Thank you Alison! ????
This is the best vegan taco meat I’ve ever made. Perfection of flavors and textures! ????
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Beth Ann! 🙂
Leslie Croteau says
Can this be frozen?
Alison Andrews says
Yes!
Karen says
I love your recipes! I can’t wait to try this this weekend.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Karen! Hope you love it! 🙂
Trish says
Great recipe! Have to tell you, the pictures of the final product are awesome!! Just looking at them, I would absolutely *have* to make this ASAP!! Thanks so much for sharing. Stay safe! ????
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Trish! 🙂
Renel says
I have a nut allergy can I use seeds instead of nuts?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Renel, maybe! I’m not entirely sure if they would have a good texture in this. Another option that may work better than seeds is to replace the walnuts with cauliflower. Pulse it in the food processor just like you would for the nuts. Cauliflower is another winning texture for taco meat! So I think that would work great instead of the walnuts.
Sydney says
If I wanted to use this as a ground meat for pasta, could I use Italian seasonings instead? Would it still come out the same?
Alison Andrews says
You can definitely experiment with the seasonings.
Kim B says
Amazing recipe! I would recommend doing 1/2 cup at a time with the walnuts. I added the whole 2 cups and had powder AND large chunks so I had to pick through and dump the good stuff into the tofu bowl. Other than that, my crew would like more cayenne but that’s a personal preference. Some had in tacos, some had a taco salad and some had loaded nachos. This might be our new favorite recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review!
Pamela says
This recipe is AWESOME! I’ve only been Vegan for a week, but this recipe has changed everything for me – delicious and versatile, LOVE it. Thank you so, so much.
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So happy to hear that. Thanks so much Pamela.
CG says
My husband and I love this recipe! I made it tonight for probably the 6th or 7th time. Super delicious. He’s vegan, I’m not, but that does not stop me from devouring it. Thanks for the great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the wonderful review. 🙂
Becca says
This is delicious and pretty quick to prep! I’ve made it multiple times and it’s great for taco salad meal prep. This time I had some mushrooms laying around and added those to the food processor with the walnuts, increasing the sauce a bit to account for the extra volume thanks to the mushrooms. Turned out great, as usual!
Thanks so much for the recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Becca! 🙂
Diane says
Hi there,
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if you have ever froze this for later usage?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Diane, I think it would be fine to freeze it! 🙂
Chasity says
Do I need to press my tofu first? ???? Sorry if that’s a stupid question. I am really new to this. Tomorrow is my one month since becoming a vegetarian and almost vegan. No meat since December 30th and no intentional dairy either. Unfortunately, dairy sneaks into so many things I have eaten things that has it. Thank you for your wonderful recipes and your valuable time. It is beyond appreciated. ????
Alison Andrews says
Hi Chasity, no need to press the tofu first in this recipe. Just use an extra firm variety of tofu. And congrats on going vegetarian/vegan! 🙂
Chasity says
Thank you so much ☺️ ????????????