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This is the only Vegan Taco Meat recipe you’ll ever need! Easy to make with whole plant-based foods, it’s a meaty and flavorful addition to tacos, burritos, grain bowls, salads, and more. Vegan & Nut-Free, Gluten-Free Option.
This Sheet Pan Vegan Taco Meat puts a nut-free and budget-friendly twist on classic vegan taco meat. Made from whole plant-based foods, it’s meaty, chewy, and perfectly seasoned thanks to a mouthwatering homemade taco seasoning blend. Bake it on a sheet pan and enjoy the wholesome, meaty bites in tacos, burrito bowls, and more!
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Not Your Average Vegan Taco Meat
Are you ready to finally ditch store-bought plant-based ground “beef”? I don’t blame you. Rubbery and flavorless vegan tacos will be a thing of the past once you try this Easy Plant-Based Taco Meat!
A lot of vegan taco meat recipes use walnuts as the meaty base, but I find them to be a bit bitter-tasting and over-priced. That’s why I swapped them for budget-friendly sunflower seeds in this recipe. Combined with shredded tofu for a protein boost and a flavor-packed homemade taco seasoning blend, this nut-free vegan taco meat is packed with meaty, smoky flavors you’ll love.
The best part? It’s ridiculously easy to make and perfect for meal-prep. Spread the meaty mixture on a sheet pan, then bake until crisp! After about 30 minutes, it’s ready to be used in tacos, burritos, grain bowls, and salads throughout the week.
Ingredients for Easy Vegan Taco Meat
This Taco Tuesday staple is easy to make using budget-friendly ingredients and simple spices:
- Sunflower seeds: While you might typically see walnuts, lentils, or tofu as the meaty base in vegan ground meat recipes, I opted for raw sunflower seeds instead. They’re way more budget-friendly and taste surprisingly meaty! Your nut-free friends will thank you, too.
- Tofu: Pressed and shredded extra firm tofu gives the vegan meat a chewier, meatier texture and extra protein.
- Dark soy sauce: I used dark soy sauce specifically because of its dark color and thick consistency. Find it online or at your local Asian grocery store. You can use regular soy sauce or tamari if that’s what you already have at home, but know that the taco meat won’t look as dark as real ground beef.
- Tomato paste: When tomato paste, soy sauce, and avocado oil are mixed together, they create an umami flavor base for the meat.
- Taco seasoning: A homemade taco seasoning blend made from simple herbs and spices, ancho chili powder, and nutritional yeast gives the taco meat the best flavors. Feel free to swap the homemade version for a pre-mixed and salt-free taco seasoning blend instead. Use 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of the store-bought taco seasoning, plus 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
How to Make Vegan Taco Meat
- Stir the tomato paste, dark soy sauce, and oil together in a small bowl to make a paste.
- Grate the tofu with a box grater, then transfer it to a large bowl. Sprinkle the taco seasonings over top and toss to coat.
- Stir the tomato paste mixture into the tofu until it’s well-coated.
- Add the soaked sunflower seeds to a food processor. Process until the seeds are finely chopped (like real ground meat). Fold the seeds into the tofu mixture.
- Spread the vegan meat mixture onto a prepared sheet pan and bake until it’s slightly crisp.
- Serve the seed-based taco meat right away in tacos or burritos, or save it for later.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Always press the tofu: The less water in the tofu, the more flavor it will absorb! You can either press the brick with a tofu press or wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and place a heavy skillet or cookbook on top to drain the water.
- Double or triple the taco seasoning: I’ll often double or triple the taco seasoning mix and store the extras in my pantry for later. This way, it’s ready to go whenever I want to make this taco meat or when I want to add extra flavor to these Fried Soy Curls, this Vegan Chorizo Chili, or this Crispy Tofu.
Serving Suggestions
The sunflower seed taco meat is a taco night staple. You can stuff the meat into hard or soft tortilla shells, then top it with your favorite vegan taco toppings, like guacamole, salsa, vegan sour cream, shredded lettuce, black beans, or shredded vegan cheese.
When it’s not Taco Tuesday, stuff the vegan taco meat into these Rice & Bean Burritos, use it as a substitute for the beef crumbles in this Vegan Taco Casserole, or fold it into this Vegan Taco Pasta Salad to make it extra meaty. Lastly, it’s a fantastic last-minute topping for vegan nachos, these Chipotle Black Bean Burrito Bowls, and this Vegan Taco Salad.
If you’re looking for more vegan must-haves for taco night, you’ll also love this Ultimate Vegan Seven Layer Dip, these Instant Pot Rice & Beans, and this Chunky Vegan Queso!
How to Store Tofu Taco Meat
The cooled vegan taco meat can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let the leftovers thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
To reheat, add the taco meat to a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat and cook until warmed through. You can also reheat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warm, but it won’t be as crispy.
Substitutions and Variations
- Sunflower Seed Substitution: Sunflower seeds are best in this recipe, but you can also experiment with raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds. Or, if you see walnuts on sale, use them instead!
- Gluten-Free Option: Replace the dark soy sauce with gluten-free tamari or soy sauce.
Recipe FAQs
I highly recommend it, yes! Soaked sunflower seeds are softer and chewier, which makes them feel and taste more like ground meat.
The meat has a mild level of heat thanks to the cayenne pepper in the taco seasoning. If you’re not a fan of spicy foods, simply omit the cayenne.
Super firm tofu is the best alternative because it contains even less water than extra firm tofu. Softer varieties, like medium or soft tofu, won’t work because their excess water will make the meat watery and prevent it from absorbing the amazing taco flavors.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Sheet Pan Vegan Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 cups shelled raw sunflower seeds soaked*
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or sub another neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce*
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14-16 ounces extra firm tofu pressed
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder*
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne optional, for heat
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside. Add the sunflower seeds to a large bowl and cover with at least 3 cups of boiling water. Let soak for at least 30 minutes, then drain well and set aside. In a small bowl mix the tomato paste, dark soy sauce, and oil together to form a thick paste; set aside.
- Season the Tofu: In the meantime, grate the pressed tofu using a box grater and transfer to a large bowl. Add the chili powder, nutritional yeast, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, oregano, cayenne (if using), and salt to the bowl. Use a spatula to mix well, until the tofu is evenly coated in spice. (Note: it’s ok if the mixing breaks the tofu into smaller pieces!) Add the prepared tomato paste and soy sauce mixture to the tofu and mix again, using the spatula to evenly distribute the paste and break the tofu into smaller pieces.
- Sunflower Seeds: Add the drained sunflower seeds to a food processor with an S-blade attachment. Process for 15-20 seconds, until the seeds are finely chopped and have a similar texture and size to ground meat. Transfer the sunflower seeds to the tofu mixture and fold into the tofu, until coated in spice and evenly mixed.
- Bake: Spread the tofu sunflower mixture evenly across the baking tray. Bake on the top rack of the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and do your best to flip the crumbles. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve & Store: Use immediately in tacos or burritos, or serve as desired. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this taco meat; let cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
- Taco Seasoning: If you have a pre-mixed and salt-free taco seasoning blend you enjoy, you can swap it out for all of the spices. Use 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning, 1 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Dark Soy Sauce: Dark soy sauce is slightly thicker and darker in color than regular soy sauce. You can find it online or at your local Asian grocery store. If you do not have dark soy sauce you can replace it with regular soy sauce or tamari; just keep in mind that the taco meat will not be as dark in color.
- Gluten-Free: Replace the dark soy sauce with a gluten-free tamari or soy sauce to make this recipe gluten-free.
delicious!
used amino acids instead of soy sauce. thanks for the recipe!
Made this for taco dinner tonight and it was delicious! I think next time I might buy premade taco seasoning mix to save on time. I added the cayenne pepper and just used regular soy sauce and it still turned out great. Paired well with a taco with avacado, hot sauce, cilantro and salsa. Thanks for the recipe!
Can I leave out the oil? I don’t yse oil as part of my wfpb program if I can help it.
Hi Deborah! Yes, you can definitely leave out the oil if you’re following a whole food plant-based (WFPB) program that avoids oil. In this recipe, the oil is primarily used to create a paste with the tomato paste and soy sauce, which adds flavor and helps coat the tofu. You can simply omit the oil and mix the tomato paste and soy sauce directly with the tofu and spices. You may need to adjust the consistency slightly, but the overall flavor should still be delicious without the oil.