This vegan taco meat is a reader favorite that has earned its title. Really, check out the reviews! It's perfectly seasoned, meaty, satisfying, and great for meal prep. Beyond tacos, you'll love it for burritos, enchiladas, nachos, stuffed peppers, salads, and so much more! The recipe is also gluten-free and can be made without oil or nuts.
Friends, you are going to LOVE this vegan taco meat! The combination of ground walnuts, soy curls (or TVP), aromatics, and spices is so flavorful, meaty, and satisfying!
Best of all it comes together in just 35 minutes. Pulsing the soy curls in a food processor creates the perfect texture to replace ground beef.
If you don't have access to soy curls, make these TVP tacos or Tempeh Tacos instead! Both of those recipes are nut-free and even easier since you don't need a food processor.
Speaking of soy curls, if you're not familiar with this awesome plant-based meat substitute, be sure to check out this post: Everything You Want to Know About Soy Curls & How to Use Them!
This vegan taco meat recipe was a happy accident. I was working on a breakfast sausage recipe and had trouble getting one of the test batches to hold together.
So I tossed the crumbled soy curls into a pan and sautéed until browned. The result was so rich, savory, and delicious that I decided to put the sausage recipe on hold, switch up the spices, and create a flavorful vegan taco meat instead.
And guess what... it's now not only one of my personal favorite recipes on the blog, but readers love it, too!
In fact, feedback has been SO positive on this recipe, it inspired me to create a vegan ground beef with similar ingredients!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Soy curls - made from just one ingredient, whole, non-GMO soybeans, Butler soy curls can be ordered directly from the Butler Foods website and on Amazon. Sometimes you'll find them in local stores, but unfortunately this product is not widely distributed to chain groceries.
Tip! Can't get soy curls where you live? Use textured vegetable protein (TVP) instead. - Walnuts - ground walnuts add nice richness to the taco meat since soy curls aren't as high in fat as ground beef. If you follow a low-fat diet, feel free to omit the walnuts. Raw sunflower seeds also work if you need nut-free. I've also tested the recipe with ¼ cup almond flour instead of the walnuts. It adds nice richness, but if you have both on hand, I prefer the taste of walnuts.
- Onion, jalapeno and garlic - these add tons of flavor to the taco meat. So try not to substitute if possible.
- Salsa - any traditional-style salsa you like is fine here. It adds moisture, acidity, and saltiness to the mixture.
- Soy sauce - this adds umami and saltiness. Feel free to use coconut aminos or tamari for a gluten-free option.
- Taco seasoning blend - to season the taco meat you'll need chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, and nutritional yeast.
If you don't have smoked paprika, regular paprika is fine. Note that chili powder refers to the blend commonly found in stores, not a specific chile which would be too spicy!
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See recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Vegan Taco Meat
First, rehydrate the soy curls in vegetable broth for 15 minutes.
While they're soaking, preheat a large sauté pan, and cook the onion, jalapeño, and garlic until softened.
Drain soy curls in a colander, and gently squeeze to remove excess liquid. Now they are rehydrated but should look fairly dry.
Add the soy curls to the pan with the onion mixture, and cook until lightly browned. Add the salsa and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside while you make the spice blend.
In a large food processor, pulse the walnuts until crumbled. Then add the spices, and pulse several times to combine.
Add the soy curl mixture to the food processor and pulse until mostly chopped. Drizzle with soy sauce, and process until it until uniformly ground.
Finally, preheat the same sauté pan again over medium heat, and cook the vegan taco meat until hot and slightly browned. You may want to drizzle in a bit of water for moisture and to prevent sticking.
Ways to Use It
Add this hearty vegan taco meat to all of your favorite Mexican dishes, like tacos, quesadillas, charro beans, taquitos, and burritos.
It's also perfect in these Tex-Mex cabbage rolls and for Mexican-inspired stuffed peppers.
Layer it on top of refried black beans for protein-packed vegan nachos, and use it in my favorite vegan enchilada casserole.
You can also build a vegan taco bowl with rice, Chipotle corn salsa, avocado, and vegan queso fresco crumbled on top!
Serve vegan ceviche and healthy tortilla chips on the side for a meal everyone will love.
FAQs
This recipe is made with wholesome, unprocessed ingredients like onion, jalapeno, walnuts, spices, and Butler soy curls. It's lower in fat than ground beef and alternatives like Beyond Beef and Impossible. It's also made without oil, and you can adjust the amount of sodium to meet your needs.
Store leftover vegan taco meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stovetop or in a microwave.
I hope you enjoy this versatile vegan taco meat as much as we do! If you give it a try be sure to leave a comment below to let us know.
Recipe
The Best Vegan Taco Meat
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Butler soy curls (half of a bag) - or sub dry TVP, see Notes
- 2½ cups salty vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional - Omit for oil-free
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup salsa
Taco Seasoning Blend:
- ½ cup raw walnut halves - See Notes for nut-free option
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons cumin
- 1½ teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce - or gluten-free tamari
Instructions
- Place soy curls in a large bowl, and cover with broth to rehydrate. Add a bit of water to the bowl if needed so the soy curls are mostly submerged. Set aside to soak for 15 minutes, then drain in a colander.
- Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat, and add the oil, if using. Stirring occasionally, cook the onion for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the jalapeno to the pan, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Use your hands to squeeze excess liquid from the soy curls. Add them to the pan, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the salsa and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Place walnuts in a food processor, and pulse into coarse crumbs. Next, add all of the dry seasonings and spices (nutritional yeast-cayenne), and pulse to combine.
- Transfer the soy curl mixture to the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the soy sauce, and pulse until uniformly ground.
- Preheat the same saute over medium heat, and transfer the mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes to heat through and enhance the flavors. Add up to ¼ cup water as needed for moisture and to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired. Serve hot or allow to cool before storing.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and ingredients used.
Cathy says
This is a great recipe. Looks like meat for those who are reluctant to try plant based options.
Suee33 says
This is the best and very easy Taco recipe. My daughter that cooks with soy curls quite a bit, did not even realize it was Soy Curls!! This is a real outstanding recipe and everyone enjoyed this version. I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and it was crazy good and I did not over blend them after adding the seeds - so it had a tiny crunch! A KEEPER!!
Mike Heldenbrand says
First recipe I’ve made with soy curls. Excellent! Thank you
Sandy says
This was great taco “meat”. I’ve tried several other recipes but this one far exceeds the rest!
Mary Valencia says
The best vegan taco meat recipe I have ever tried! Will be a staple recipe for sure! Thanks!
Diann says
My first ever soy curl tacos. They are delicious. I will be freezing the leftovers in small containers so I can have it in hand when I am craving tacos. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! Now to find a sour cream recipe I like
Tammy says
I was really impressed with how good the texture was. Simply delicious. This will be part of our regular rotation going forward.
Jocelyn says
"The Best Vegan Taco Meat" title is no exaggeration! The texture and flavor are both amazing! I've made it twice - once for taco meat, once for your excellent enchilada casserole. I really appreciate having come across your site - your recipes are excellent!