Vegan Taco Meat – The Stingy Vegan

The best vegan taco meat made with smoked tofu, seasonings and tomato sauce. Super simple and easy to make!

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What is a vegan substitute for taco meat?

There are many different variations on vegan taco meat available online. 

Here’s a quick rundown of vegan ingredients that are often used instead of ground beef for tacos:

TVP, Impossible Meat, Beyond Meat or another plant-based ground, cauliflower, walnuts or other nuts, mushrooms, tofu, lentils, and quinoa.

The recipe I have for you today is absolutely THE BEST of all of them!

Why? Well, first of all it’s super simple with just 5 ingredients.

The key ingredient is smoked tofu. 

What is smoked tofu?

Smoked tofu is the most delicious type of tofu with a great smokey flavor that permeates through the entire block and a great meat substitute. 

It’s so flavorful, you can save time and skip marinating.

Smoked tofu is available for purchase at large supermarkets and Asian supermarkets.

If you’re unsure where to find it, here’s a reddit thread discussing where to buy smoked tofu in the US (Trader Joe’s at Whole Foods are mentioned).

Smoked tofu usually has a firm or extra firm texture (see my post about tofu for beginners if you’re unsure the different types of tofu are).

Recently there’s been a new technique for preparing tofu on social media which involves grating it with a box grater, and extra-firm tofu is ideal for that.

Once grated, it’s pan fried until crispy. In this recipe for vegan taco meat, this technique gives the tofu a kind of pulled chicken texture.

Ingredients

This super simple yet flavor-packed vegan taco meat only required five ingredients!

Smoked tofu: Smoked tofu is the secret ingredient that makes this recipe so flavorful. It’s fairly widely available in large supermarkets nowadays. Check the refrigerated section with the Asian products or plant-based products.

Taco seasoning: For convenience I use prepared taco seasoning in those little packets. Be sure to check the ingredients as there is sometimes hidden dairy. You can also make you own taco seasoning, there are lots of recipes online.

Tomato sauce: Just plain, thick tomato sauce adds both flavor and “juiciness” to the taco meat.

Onion and garlic: About half and onion and a couple cloves of garlic form the flavor base.

Oil: One tablespoon of olive oil for frying the onion and garlic, and then you might need another tablespoon more when you add the tofu to help it brown.

How to make vegan taco meat

This vegan taco meat is super easy to make – no mixing spices, no marinating tofu, no endlessly chopping up mushrooms and walnuts. 

In just a few minutes, you’ll have the most delicious vegan taco meat ready for your tacos, burritos, wraps or taco bowls!

Prep: The “meaty” texture of the tofu comes from grating it. I don’t bother pressing my tofu since the excess water will evaporate off in the pan.

But I will give the block a strong squeeze between my hands just to make it less slippery.

Grate the tofu using the large holes on a box grater. 

If you don’t have a box grater, you can also tear the tofu into irregular chunks with your hands. A technique I use in this maple chili tofu recipe and this lemon tofu recipe..

Dice half and onion and mince two cloves of garlic.

Fry: Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Fry the onion until transparent then add the garlic and continue frying for another 30 seconds.

Add the grated tofu and another tablespoon of olive oil if the pan seems dry.

Raise the heat to medium-high.

Fry the tofu, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy – about 5 to 7 minutes.

Season: Sprinkle over the taco seasoning, mix well and allow to cook for about 30 seconds while stirring, to bring out the flavors of the spices.

Finally, stir in the tomato sauce. Give it another 30 seconds or so to heat though and you vegan taco meat is ready to use.

Note that I don’t add salt. This is because my taco seasoning is salty already. 

At this point you can taste it and decide if you need to add a sprinkling of salt.

Variations and substitutions

Seasoning: For convenience, I use a packet of prepared taco seasoning. 

If you prefer, you can mix up your own taco seasoning from a selection of spices. There are many recipes online.

Typical taco seasoning spices are: cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and/or crushed red chili flakes.

This recipe is not spicy and does not call for any chili powder or chili peppers. 

In my opinion, taco meat isn’t usually spicy and the spice is added to tacos with a variety of hot sauces. 

However, you can easily make this vegan taco meat spicy by adding a diced jalapeño, cayenne pepper, red chili flakes or chili powder.

Tofu: Smoked tofu is a key ingredient for flavor and I don’t recommend substituting it for plain tofu. 

However, if you can’t find smoked tofu, you can try marinating plain extra-firm tofu in a liquid smoke and smoked paprika marinade (plenty of recipes online). 

The recipe will still work with just plain tofu, but it won’t be as tasty in my opinion.

Additions: A lot of vegan taco meat recipes call for a combination of ingredients such as mushrooms with walnuts. 

You can try adding some chopped up mushrooms, ground walnuts, lentils, cooked quinoa, etc. along with the tofu for more textual variety.

FAQs

Make ahead and storage tips

A batch of tofu taco meat keeps well for several days in the refrigerator, making it an ideal addition to your meal prep recipes.

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

This vegan taco meat can also be frozen. A plastic freezer bag with the air squeezed out would probably be the best solution, but any freezer-safe container will work.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

How to use vegan taco meat

Vegan taco meat can be used for much more than just tacos!

Use it in burritos or veggie wraps, enchiladas, taquitos, quesadillas, vegan chili, to top nachos, salad, or deconstructed taco bowls.

Some more creative ideas are to add it to stuffed peppers, in a casserole with rice and beans, on a baked potato, stirred into mac and cheese, or in a vegan omelet made with Just Egg.