A tofu game changer! Freezer friendly and flavor packed, my Ground Tofu Taco filling may just change your mind about tofu if not already a fan. Texture and flavor is built through first, baking the tofu briefly then simmering it in a spicy sauce. Then it takes a spin in the food processor and briefly returns to the stovetop to warm through. Stuff the tofu taco meat into soft tortillas for an unforgettable taco night, and it’s perfect for meal prep!
An Easy Way to Love Tofu Tacos
Homemade Mexican food is on regular rotation in our home, so you’ll almost always find ground tofu or Shredded Tex Mex Tofu in my freezer. Grown up in Texas, I ate my shre of authentic Mexican and Tex Mex cuisine. Mom made tacos at least every week, and Mexican stack, now known as a burrito bowl, was a weeknight staple.
If you love homemade Mexican food flavors and enjoy tofu, this recipe is endlessly versatile. It’s similar to my Homemade Sofritas recipe (but not quite as spicy) and you can also find the ground tofu meat in my totally mouthwatering Cheesy Vegetarian Tofu Enchiladas.
Having warmed up to tofu over the past 20 years, I realize there are tofu-haters and those who just don’t go there. But you’d hardly know these tacos are made with tofu. When preparing tofu to make it delicious, it’s all about texture and flavor, so proper preparation is key. If you’ve had tofu once and it left you underwhelmed, I encourage you to give it another chance!
“This is a terrific recipe. Even my husband, who normally would not like tofu, loved it.”
Mary
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How to Make Ground Tofu Tacos
Packed with spices, onions, peppers, smoky adobo and tomatoes, my tofu taco filling is full of flavor. Adjust the spicy up or down depending on taste, they’re easy to whip up and a perfect accompaniment to your homemade Mexican food favorites .
Authentic Tofu Tacos Flavor
Masa flour gives Mexican and Southwestern recipes an authentic flavor. I use it in chili recipes as a thickener and Southwestern inspired recipes where I want that flavor boost. Several makers noted that they couldn’t find masa flour or didn’t have any on hand, so I tested this tofu taco recipe using crushed tortilla chips and although the flavor is different, the crushed tortilla chips work to help thicken the Mexican tofu mixture!
To substitute masa flour in this recipe with tortilla chips, simply run a small handful of yellow tortilla chips in a food processor for about two minutes until they’re as fine as possible. They won’t turn to flour, but they’ll be small enough to use in the recipe where they’ll soften and thicken the sauce.
Traci’s Tips
- Pumpkin Seed Cream: one of my favorite condiments for this recipe is chili-lime pepita cream which tastes almost like a creamy cheese, but it’s dairy free. It also makes a tasty dip with tortilla chips.
- How Spicy? I include adobo sauce in this recipe for a delicious smoky flavor and, it bumps up the spicy. If you prefer a little less spicy, you can omit it or reduce the amount added. If you love spicy, take it up!
- SO Versatile! The tofu taco filling is delicious stuffed in burritos, enchaladas, tostadas, spooned over nachos… oh the possibilities!
This recipe utilizes some of the top GMO ingredients grown in the U.S. As always, I recommend organic ingredients whenever possible.
Ground Tofu Tacos with Chili-Lime Slaw
Ingredients
For the Tofu:
- 10 oz (283g) Firm Tofu pressed and drained for at least 20 minutes (see note)*
- 1 Tbs Coconut or Avocado Oil
- 1 C (110g) Purple Onion large dice (about 1/2 a medium onion)
- 3/4 C (90g) Green Bell Pepper large dice (about 1/2 a medium pepper)
- 1 Tbs Cumin
- 1 Tbs Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Smokey Paprika
- 1 Tbs Masa Harina Flour or sub 2 Tbs ground tortilla chips **see note
- 3/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Adobo Sauce from a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (1 tsp for medium, 2-3 tsp for spicy!) – look for gluten free if needed
- 3/4 C (200g) Fire Roasted Tomatoes with its juice
- 1 C (220g) Vegetable Broth
- Warm Tortillas, and Cilantro
For the Slaw:
- 3 C (150g) Shredded Mix of Red and Green Cabbage loosely packed
- 1 Tbs Seeded Jalapeño minced (or to taste. Take this up if you like spicy!)
- 1/2 C (20g) Cilantro rough chopped
- Juice of 1 -2 Limes to taste and depending on the size of the lime
- 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
Serve With (optional):
Instructions
For the Tofu:
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Slice the tofu into about 1/2" – 1" (1.3 – 2.5 cm) cubes and place on a parchment or silpat lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden and dryer to the touch. Baking dries the tofu out.
- In a large saute pan, add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and bell pepper. Saute for about five minutes on medium heat or until soft, a little charring is good! Add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, masa flour, and sea salt all at once, then add the adobo sauce. Stir for about 2 minutes until fragrant and the seasonings are incorporated around the veggies. Stir in the tomatoes, vegetable broth and tofu, then turn the heat to low and place a lid on the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Place mixture in a food processor and pulse 8-9 times, making sure the tofu is still somewhat chunky, but ground down. Place back in the pan, give it a little squeeze of lime and taste for salt adjustment. Put a lid on it to keep it warm (off the heat).
Make the Slaw:
- In a medium bowl, mix the red and green cabbage, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and sea salt. Set in the refrigerator until ready to top tacos.
Taco Assembly:
- Warm tortillas: I like to warm my tortillas on a low open flame on the stove top turning with tongs a few times to lightly char the tortillas. OR place the tortillas in a hot cast iron skillet for about 30 seconds to one minute, flipping once. To hold them warm, place the tortillas in foil and into a warmed oven on low heat.
- On the warm tortilla, spoon a good smear of pepita crema, guacamole or sour cream down the center of the tortilla. Spoon the tofu evenly over the top, then add the slaw and any other condiments you prefer.
- Store the leftover tofu taco filling in the fridge in a lidded container for up to three days or the freezer for up to a month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then gently rewarm on the stovetop.
Hi Traci, I’m curious, why do you called it Mexican Tofu Taco? Tofu is Asian food…
Nathan
Hi Nathan! This recipe is made with Mexican inspired spices, and because they’re tacos, I chose to call them Mexican Tofu Tacos. Have you tried them? Even though tofu originated in China, it has been adopted into cuisines world wide, and especially in vegetarian and vegan cooking.
Loveeee this recipe!!!! So good, tastes like sofritas from Chipotle.
Love hearing this Jay! Thank youuu for your note! 🙌🏻
This is a terrific recipe. Even my husband, who normally would not like tofu, loved it.
Hiii Mary! Your note made my day… what a WIN!! Thank you for giving the recipe a go and review!
Hi Traci,
I don’t see how many servings this makes? I found the nutrition stats, which are calculated for 1 serving, but have no idea how many total servings this recipe makes. Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks!
Hi Valerie! Servings are located on the top of the recipe card: 10 servings. I hope this helps and you enjoy the tacos!
Very tasty. Substituted sour cream with Greek yogurt. New to tofu preparation and baking seems to be the key based on limited experience…
Hi Carolyn! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Greek yogurt – yum! I find baking really gets the tofu good and dry.
Feliz Cinco de Mayo, Traci! I LOVE all of your recipes and can’t wait to make this tonight along with your Mexican Black Beans and Pepita Crema. Yum! You are my go to gal for vegan recipes. Muchas gracias! Stay safe and well, Stephanie :)
Hiii Stephanie! Thank you for your note. I hope you enjoy the tacos!
Just recently turn vegan in this recipe is amazing!! Definitely will have this again.
Hi Francisco! Thank you for your note… so happy you enjoyed the recipe! :D I love these tacos too!
OMG this pepita crema is insanely good! Just recently going back to being entirely vegan and this is going to stay on my new list of favorites. Switched up the sauce a little bit on the tofu since chipotle “smokey” flavors are not my favorite and I’m in love. Thank you so much!!
Hooray! So happy to hear Allison and thank you for your note! I love the crema too… so much that I am posting this week – an independent post about it- because it needs to stand on its own! It’s freezer friendly and can be used in so many ways. So happy you’re enjoying the tacos and crema! This is one of my favorite recipes on the blog.
WARNING: If you are also visiting this site from Australia, NZ or the UK, ‘Chilli Powder’ is our version of ‘Mexican Spice’ – a blend of Chilli, Paprika, Cumin (amongst other things). It is not ground up hot Chillies sold as ‘Chilli Powder’. I made this dish with our Chilli powder last night and we screamed in pain throughout dinner. However, managed to ‘dilute’ the tofu leftovers today with black beans and mushrooms and was delish…!
Oooh dear Bec…. so sorry to hear eating was a painful experience :( , but it sounds like you found a fix! Thank you for your note on Chili Powder. And this is another reason I add links everywhere I can to ingredients as I realize they can differ in countries other than my own.
I have been eating a plant based diet to lose weight and to feel bettef
Let me preface this with a disclosure that I am not at all fond of cilantro or smoky spices. At the urging of my son, I made the recipe EXACTLY as written.
OMGoodness !!! No flavor overwhelmed ~ and every component of this dish had me craving more. Please trust that in the end, the combination of each and every ingredient results in a unique taste.
I will be more inclined to make recipes with ingredients I normally avoid after the excitement my taste buds experienced with these “fish tacos”
Hooray! Thank you for your note, Andrea. So sweet of you to whip this up for your son and try something new! I meal prep this recipe frequently and keep it in my freezer pretty much all the time. The final recipe comes together so fast and besides that, I crave it! So happy you two enjoyed it!
This recipe looks amazing! Any for suggestions on a good substitute for the adobo sauce for those folks who do not like smoky flavoring but who love spicy food? I plan on making everything else as is, but I’m not sure if the tofu will have enough flavoring if I just omit the adobo sauce (I’m guessing it will, but would appreciate your expert opinion!) Thanks!
Hey Rebecca… you could try Sriracha as it has a similar consistency as adobo sauce, or you could leave it out all together and add a few dashes of Tabasco at the end to taste. Also for the smoky paprika – just use plain. I hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe! :D
Hi, Traci, I made these last night — absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Hey Nicki! Thank you so much for your note! So happy you enjoyed them! :D
I can’t wait to make this! Your recipes are always so tasty and easy to adapt to different eating plans. I love recipes such as this one’