This Vegan Taco Meat is made with extra firm tofu and walnuts and has amazing texture and flavor! Stuff it into a taco, enjoy it on a salad or mix it in with your pasta!
I didn’t mean to post so many tofu recipes in a row but I am really loving it these days! It’s packed with protein, easy to cook, low in carbs and can be used as a meat substitute in so many different recipes. I hope you all like it too because this Vegan Taco Meat is so good!!
I make a lot of tacos, like a lottttt of them. I usually make them with some type of bean and lots of seasonings and then I pile on the toppings. I love bean tacos, but wanted to do something a little different. The tofu gives this vegan taco meat great texture and the walnuts add a little bit of fat.
What You’ll Need For This Vegan Taco Meat Recipe
- Tofu – I pretty much always use the same kind of tofu in every tofu recipe I make. I love the Super Firm, High Protein Tofu that you can get at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s. It’s pre-pressed and as the name states, it’s super firm which helps give this vegan taco meat really great texture.
- Walnuts – If you’re allergic to nuts, the walnuts can be omitted but I love the bite that they give this taco meat. They also help to add a nice fatty flavor. I use raw walnuts that I just grind up in the food processor for a few seconds.
- Spices – There are quite a few spices in this recipe but they’re all spices that you probably already have in your cupboard. And, if you don’t already, try to find a store that has a bulk spice section so you can just buy what you need instead of having to buy an entire container.
- Tomato Paste – You just need a few teaspoons of tomato paste. I mix it with water to add at the very end to ensure that the vegan taco meat isn’t dry. You could just use water, but I like the slight tomato flavor that the tomato pasta adds.
How To Make Vegan Taco Meat
It’s super easy to make and only requires a few steps!
- Crumble to the tofu with your fingers and cook with a little bit of olive oil until it gets browned.
- Add the walnuts to a food processor and blend until they’re crumb-like.
- Add the seasonings to a small bowl and mix until combined. Then, add the walnuts and seasoning to the tofu and mix.
- Stir the tomato paste into a few tablespoons of water and add it to the taco meat. Cook until everything is heated through and enjoy!
How To Use This Vegan Taco Meat
There are so many ways to enjoy it! Here are just a few ways that I use it:
- In tacos and burritos (I have a delicious Vegan Taco recipe coming on Thursday!
- Make a taco salad by mixing it with lettuce, veggies and chips.
- Mix into spaghetti sauce and enjoy over pasta. If doing this, you can adjust the seasonings a little bit and leave out the cumin and add extra dried Italian Seasoning.
- Sprinkle over nachos.
This Vegan Taco Meat is my go-to when I want a filling Mexican style meal but don’t want to add in too many extra carbs with all the beans. It’s super flavorful and so versatile! I hope you enjoy it too. Don’t forget to leave a comment with how you used it!
Print
Vegan Taco Meat with Tofu and Walnuts
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This Vegan Taco Meat is made with extra firm tofu and walnuts and is so flavorful with great texture!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, or oil of choice
- `1 package extra firm tofu (14-16 oz)
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Use your fingers to crumble up the tofu into bite size pieces and place it in the pan. Cook tofu until starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Add walnuts to a food processor and blend until they have a crumb-like texture. Add all spices to a small bowl and mix until combined.
- Add the walnuts and spices to the tofu and stir. In a small bowl, mix together the water and tomato paste. Pour over the tofu mixture, stir and cook until all water has cooked out. Add Vegan Taco Meat to your desired dish and enjoy!
Notes
This Vegan Taco Meat would be great to use a ground beef substitute on pasta. I would just suggest omitting the cumin and smoked paprika and upping the dried oregano.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Vegan, Gluten Free
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Used in chili… works well!!??
Great to hear!! Thank you!
This taco meat is so good! Even my husband says it’s a keeper. I used it for burrito bowls tonight. I’m out of cumin so I used a splash of liquid smoke and soy sauce for the smoky umami flavor. We both went for seconds!
I’m so glad you both liked it!!
Has anyone had success in freezing this? I am a live-in caregiver and have a very limited income. I have food prep days, I find I cannot expand very far from my basics if I cannot freeze things for no more than a month would be my preference to keep it as fresh as possible.
Ideas, tips, welcome.
GF, Vegan as much as possible, always clean, fresh and as local as possible, and I love to cook from scratch.
I haven’t frozen it myself but I think it would work well!
Love these tacos! So good and easy to prepare. I used salsa instead of tomato paste and they tasted great. Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us.
So glad you enjoyed them!!