Meet your new favorite veggie taco meat! Protein-rich soy curls and ground walnuts create a seriously good vegan taco meat perfect for filling tacos and burritos or for topping salads and grain bowls. Gluten-free with oil-free and nut-free options.
This 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 just tossed the crumbles into a pan and cooked 'em up until golden. The result was so meaty, delicious, and versatile that I decided to put the sausage recipe on hold, switch up the spices, and create a flavorful vegan taco meat instead!
I think you'll love this combination of Butler soy curls and walnuts. It's textural, firm, and generously spiced! Best of all it comes together in about 35 minutes.
How To Make It
First, soak the soy curls in broth to rehydrate them. While they soak, preheat a large sauté pan, and cook the onion, jalapeño, and garlic.
After 15 minutes drain the soy curls in a colander. Then pick up large handfuls, and squeeze them over the sink to remove some of the moisture. Now they're rehydrated but should look fairly dry (see below).
Toss the soy curls into the pan with the veggies, and cook until they develop a bit of color. Add salsa and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Set aside while you create the spice blend...
Now it's time for the food processor. Process the walnuts until crumbled. Then add the spices, and pulse a few times to blend.
Add the soy curl-onion mixture to the food processor and pulse until the soy curls are mostly chopped. Drizzle with tamari, and process until it until uniformly ground.
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.
Now you're ready to use this hearty vegan taco meat in your favorite Mexican dishes like tacos, taquitos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, and tortilla pie!
I hope you enjoy this deliciously versatile Vegan Taco Meat! If you give it a try be sure to leave a comment and a star rating below to let us know how it turned out.
You might also like:
Easy Baked Taquitos (using this taco meat)
Warm Taco Bowls
Almond Queso Blanco (top your tacos with it!)
Easy Oil-Free Vegan Queso
Seriously Amazing Oil-Free Quesadillas
Smoky White Bean Tacos
More Ways to Use Soy Curls:
Vegan Bacon Bits
Vegan Bacon Pancakes
Slow Cooker BBQ Soy Curls
Vegan Pot Pie
Instant Pot Red Lentil Curry
Spicy Thai Soup
Vegan Taco Meat
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Butler soy curls (half a bag)
- 2 to 3 cups salty vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional Omit for oil-free.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup salsa
Seasoning/Spice Blend:
- ½ cup raw walnut halves Reduce or omit, if desired. See Notes for nut-free option.
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 ½ 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 tamari or soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
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 that 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 about 1 minute.
- One handful at a time, pick up the drained soy curls and squeeze them over the sink to remove some of the moisture. Add the soy curls to the pan, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until they begin to brown and are hot. Add salsa to the pan and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Place walnuts in a food processor, and pulse into coarse crumbs. Next, add the spices to the food processor: nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Pulse to combine.
- Transfer the soy curl-onion mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times to chop the soy curls. Add the tamari, and process until uniformly ground.
- Preheat the saute over medium heat again, and transfer the ground mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until hot and fragrant. Add up to ¼ cup water as needed for moisture and to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com. For the most accurate nutrition information we recommend calculating it yourself to reflect the specific ingredients used in your dish.
Susan
Just made this - will double my next batch for the freezer. This is so delicious and lovely for me to have an alternative to beans. Thanks so much!! Directions were easy to understand and follow.
Sue
What a creative use of soy curls! This is delicious. Thanks Lori.
Claudia
Made these tonight and they were delicious! Served them in soft corn tortillas topped with chopped tomato, lettuce, cilantro, “cheese” sauce and extra salsa. YUM.
Lori
Sounds delicious, Claudia. So happy you enjoyed the taco meat! 😀
Melody
I love this recipe! I tried soy curls once before in a chicken and dumplings recipe and did not care for the texture at all. But ground up, it’s great! I’m going to see if I can use it in a vegan chili as I have yet to find one I like. Thank you!
Lori
That's great, Melody! I'm so glad you enjoyed soy curls this way. 😀
Check out my "45-Minute Red Lentil Chili." It's my favorite chili, and I think the taco meat would be fantastic in it. You could use it in place of the bulgur and slightly reduce the spices in the chili since the taco meat is seasoned. Or reduce the seasoning on the soy curls since the chili is nicely seasoned.
Melody
Thank you I will! I also want to use ground soy curls in a spaghetti and meat sauce.
Ann Leenhouts-Shane
Hi Lori, what would be a good sub for the walnuts. We don't eat them due to heart issues. Thanks!
Lori
Hi Ann, in this case the easiest option is to simply omit them and have 100% soy curl taco meat. To keep the spices balanced, you could either slightly increase the amount of soy curls or use scant measurements of each of the seasonings. Another veggie-forward option is to add cauliflower rice in place of the walnuts. Just add it right to the pan during the final saute. Hope that helps!