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Make vegan tacos the easy way this week with our sheet-pan tofu taco meat! It’s a simple protein-packed recipe made with crumbled tofu and a few spices for the perfect flavor. All you need is 10 minutes to get these vegan tofu taco crumbles baking!
Table of Contents
In our house, we LOVE vegan tacos. When we were living in Los Angeles, it would be a weekly ritual to go to one of our favorite local taco spots, Cena Vegan. Since living in the Pacific Northwest, the taco options are definitely not the same, so we’ve been opting to make our own.
Tofu works really well to mimic the texture of chicken, spam, pork, and even scrambled eggs. So when we set out to make an easy ground taco meat, using tofu crumbles quickly came to mind!
These easy tofu tacos is one of the easiest tofu recipes of all time and perfect for beginners – no pressing, no complicated recipe steps, or excess dishes. It’s also naturally vegan, gluten-free, and ready to feed the whole family in under 1 hour.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tofu: For this recipe, we recommend using firm tofu. It has the perfect consistency to crumble and is great for absorbing the flavors. If you don’t have firm tofu on hand, a block of extra-firm tofu will work well too. We typically use House Foods or Nasoya.
- Aromatics: The foundation of the flavor in this recipe, onions and garlic add both a burst of aroma and taste to the vegan taco meat. Fresh onion and garlic is preferred, but in a pinch, opt for garlic powder and onion powder (about 1/2 teaspoon each).
- Tomato sauce: Adds additional richness and moisture that keeps the taco meat from drying out. It also helps to thicken the taco meat into a nice and hearty consistency.
- Tamari: In order to keep this recipe gluten-free, we opted for tamari instead of soy sauce. If you are not gluten-free, you can use regular soy sauce, but we love the full-bodied flavor of tamari.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adds a nice brightness and acidity that balances the richness in the tomato sauce and savoriness in the spices. This is really the “secret” ingredient that balances everything!
- Oil: To add a bit of fat, moisture, and flavor to the taco meat, we add a bit of oil (vegetable oil, avocado oil, or olive oil all work well). If you are oil-free, you can leave it out or replace it with 1 tablespoon of vegetable broth.
- Spices: We need just a few simple spices – chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, oregano, and nutritional yeast for added cheesy flavor and B vitamins.
Equipment Needed
- Half Baking Sheet
- Silicone baking mat or oil, for pan
- Medium-Sized Bowl
- Spatula or Large Spoon, for mixing
How to Make Tofu Taco Meat
- Crumble the tofu. Open the package of tofu and drain out the excess water (no need to press the tofu). Using your hands, crumble the block of tofu into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add seasonings. Into the bowl with the crumbled tofu, add the diced onion, minced garlic, tomato sauce, tamari, apple cider vinegar, oil, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper and oregano. Toss well to combine.
- Bake. Transfer the tofu mixture (and all of the liquid) to a large baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or a light layer of oil. Spread into an even layer using a spatula, then bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until golden brown.
- Serve. Enjoy this tofu taco meat while warm, as desired!
Serving Suggestions
Our favorite way to enjoy this tofu taco meat is as vegan tofu tacos with warm tortillas, diced onion, and fresh cilantro. It’s also delicious in fajita bowls, taco salads, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, stuffed peppers, enchiladas, or any recipe that calls for taco meat!
If you’re looking for a few vegan side dishes to round out the meal, we love our Homemade Vegan Refried Beans, Restaurant-Style Spanish Rice, and Easy Avocado Corn Salad.
Favorite Taco Toppings
Keep it simple and top with diced onion and fresh cilantro, or load it up with additional toppings like:
- Pico de gallo or diced tomatoes
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Chopped romaine lettuce
- Shredded vegan cheese
- Vegan sour cream
- Hot sauce
- Fajitas
- Lime wedges
Storage Instructions
Leftover tofu taco filling will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. We don’t recommend freezing this taco meat as tofu changes texture once frozen and thawed and it will become watery.
More Vegan Taco Recipes You May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
Sheet Pan Tofu Taco Meat Recipe
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make vegan tacos the easy way this week with our sheet-pan tofu taco meat! It’s a simple protein-packed recipe made with crumbled tofu and a few spices for the perfect flavor. All you need is 10 minutes to get these vegan tofu taco crumbles baking!
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce package firm tofu
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
Equipment
- Half Baking Sheet
- Silicone baking mat or oil, for pan
- Medium-Sized Bowl
- Spatula or Large Spoon, for mixing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and prepare a half baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a light layer of oil.
- Open the package of tofu and drain out the excess liquid. Use your hands to crumble the tofu into a medium bowl.
- Add in all of the remaining ingredients (onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tamari, apple cider vinegar, oil, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper and oregano) and mix through until well-combined.
- Transfer the tofu mixture (and all of the liquid) to your baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it out into a single layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until golden.
- Serve your taco meat as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Firm tofu: If you don’t have firm tofu on hand, extra firm will work well too.
- Onion and garlic: We like to use fresh but if you don’t have any on hand, you can also use powdered.
- Tamari: Soy sauce can be used in its place if you are not gluten-free.
- Oil: If you prefer not to use any oil, you can also leave it out!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven
Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!
Wooohooo! This made it to the permanent recipe list. I’ve actually tried several taco meat recipes that are “one pan” and this was by far the tastiest. The only thing I added was a bit more salt, but that really comes down to preference. Everything else I made exactly as written and made sure to do fresh onion/garlic. I’m super excited to make this again. <3
We love it! This has become a weekly meal-prep staple for us. The taco “meat” is delicious, healthy, and versatile. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe 🙂
Just finished making and consuming tacos made with this recipe. Absolutely delicious. This one is a keeper to be made many times to come.
I love this recipe! It’s so simple and really satisfying, I’ve also used the same marinade for soy strips which is super tasty too!!
Delicious! Even my two year old loved it.
I am new to eating vegan. I have been craving a taco and this hit the spot. This was so good. The spices were perfect.
We made this last night and devoured it. Was so surprised by the crumbly meat-like texture and smoky flavor. Will definitely make this again!
This was so easy to make and it is my new favorite way to eat tofu. I didn’t even think tofu could taste this good. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! I can’t wait to try more from you.
So good and flavorful! I’ve made quite a few tofu taco recipes and they’ve all been okay but this is the first one that I’ve really loved and is worth making again regularly. I used it in tacos last week and I’m going to make it again for burrito bowls this week.
My wife discovered you on youtube and decided to make this recipe tonight, and all I can say is that it was OUTSTANDING! She has always been very consciencious about eating healthily using alternative sources of food rather than the usual meat, fish, or poultry product. The taste was absolutely perfect, and she will definitely be using this recipe for years to come. Thank you for making your version available to us, it is greatly appreciated.