Meaty Tofu Tacos

Taco-spiced with chili powder, smoked paprika and garlic, these meaty tofu tacos look and taste like the traditional ground beef tacos my mom used to make. Except these are made with tofu. The trick is how you treat the tofu to give the filling its crumbly meat-like texture. Read on!

Click here to PIN Meatless Traditional Tacos with Tofu “Hamburger!”

How to make tofu taco “hamburger” filling:

• The trick: To get the “hamburger” texture, you freeze the tofu right in its package, water and all. Once the tofu has frozen solid, bring the package out to thaw. Drain off the water. Because you changed the texture of the tofu by freezing, it’s now quite sponge-like.
• You want to squeeze the tofu well, to wring out as much water as possible. Squeeze again—more liquid will release. When you feel like most of water has been wrung out, place the tofu in a bowl. Using your fingers or a fork, break the tofu break into small pieces–crumbles.
• Cook the crumbles with sauteed onion and garlic, and flavor them with a generous dose of taco spice. Like 1/4 cup of chili powder, further enhanced with cumin, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Finally, use a potato masher to get those crumbles into smaller crumbles, until it resembles cooked ground beef. Now your tofu “hamburger” filling is ready for tacos!

Do you buy tofu and don’t get around to using it until the expiration date? Pop the package in the freezer for tofu hamburger tacos later. When you plan to make these tacos for dinner, bring the frozen package out to thaw that morning. At room temperature it will thaw in about 6 hours.

You just have to remember ahead of time to put the package in the freezer. Tip: *** If you’re like me and decide to make tofu hamburger tacos closer to dinnertime, hurry up the thaw by running the package under warm water.

Tofu tacos. Here’s the second trick–how to soften corn tortillas the easy healthier way:

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Place the pan of sprayed tortillas in a preheated 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, until the tortillas are hot yet still flexible. Fold each tortilla in half and lean against cups or glasses so they hold their folded shape. I finally bought some of these metal tortilla holders (affiliate link) and now I just place the folded tortillas in them.

Engraved in my memory are vignettes of my Mom standing at the stove, frying tortillas one at a time so they were soft enough to shape into taco shells. If Mom had known my method for “frying” the corn tortillas, I bet she would have served us tacos more often! No more standing at the stove, no more softening tortillas in 1/4-inch of oil. Just spray them with cooking spray and heat them on a baking sheet in the oven!

Put all the add-ins for your traditional tofu “hamburger” tacos on a plate so everyone can help themselves at the table. Offer finely shredded cabbage, or iceberg lettuce like Mom did. Have an array of other condiments like avocado, chopped tomatoes, and green onions and cilantro. If you wish, add a pile of grated white cheddar cheese. Keep these tacos vegan by just skipping the cheese.

Always offer some sort of salsa, purchased or homemade. Check out my easy-to-make salsas, like this Mexican tomato salsa or this green tomatillo salsa verde.

Instead of avocado slices and/or in place of salsa, offer avocado lime crema–you’ll find the recipe included in this recipe for Chard and Pepper Jack Quesadillas.

More vegetarian taco ideas:

• Vegetarian bean and potato tacos.
• Spicy sweet potato tacos with arugula and mole sauce.
• Lentil tacos with spicy greens and avocado guacamole.
• Fried egg and chard tacos. 

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Print Recipe

4.23 from 9 votes

Meaty Vegetarian Tofu Tacos

These meatless tacos are a fun dinner for family and friends. The “hamburger meat” is made from frozen then thawed tofu cooked with onion, garlic, and taco seasoning.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican, Vegetarian

Keyword: tofu

Servings: 8 tacos

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 8 corn tortillas
• Cooking spray or olive oil, as needed

For the filling:

• 1 (14-ounce) package extra firm organic tofu, frozen solid
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons avocado or grapeseed oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup water or beer

The garnishes:

• Chopped green cabbage or shredded lettuce
• Avocado slices
• Grated Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese, optional
• Chopped tomatoes
• Chopped green onion
• Chopped cilantro
• Green or red salsa

Instructions

Make the filling:

• Remove the package of frozen tofu from the freezer. Without breaking the seal, let the package thaw. The fastest way is under running warm water. If you plan ahead, thaw for a day on the kitchen counter or about 3 days in the fridge.
• When the tofu has thawed, break the seal and remove the tofu from the water. It will be very sponge-like. Squeeze the tofu well to wring out as much water as possible. Squeeze again—more liquid will release. Place in a bowl. With your fingers or a fork, break into small pieces.
• Mix together the chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium flame. Add the onion; cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another few minutes.
• Add the tofu pieces to the onions and garlic. Stir in the spice mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spices are all mixed in and the tofu is cooked through. Reduce the heat to low flame. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the tofu and onions until the mixture looks like hamburger meat. For moist meaty texture, add the water or beer and mash again. Keep warm.

To serve:

• Place the cabbage, avocado, cheese, tomatoes and green onion in separate bowls. Or all next to each other on one big plate. Estimate a small amount for each taco. (E.g. 2 tablespoons cabbage, 1 slice avocado, 1 to 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 tablespoon tomatoes, and a bit of green onion and cilantro per taco.)
• Heat the oven to 350° F. Arrange the tortillas on baking sheets, next to each other but not overlapping. Spray each tortilla with cooking spray. Turn them over and spray the second side. Alternatively, brush both sides lightly with olive oil.
• Heat the tortillas in the oven, 3 to 4 minutes, until they are pliable and warm. (Be careful to not let them get crisp—you want to be able to fold them.) Fold the tortillas in half to make taco shells. (After they're folded, if you want them crunchy, heat in the oven another minute. This works best if you have metal taco holders.)
• Spoon about 1/3 cup of the tofu “meat” in each taco shell.
• Allow each person to garnish their taco with their choice of condiments and salsa.

Notes

Tofu that has been frozen and then thawed before cooking has an incredibly meaty texture. Freeze the tofu in its package. Pull from the freezer, allow to thaw, then wrap the thawed tofu in a tea towel. Place a weight on top and set aside to squeeze out some of the water. The pressed tofu will look like a sponge.
The filling can be cooked the day before. The garnishes prepped earlier in the day. Soften tortillas in the oven a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 166IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?Mention @lettyskitchen or tag #lettyskitchen

Nutrition information is meant to be an estimate only and does not include cheese or the cooking spray used to soften the tortillas. Of course numbers will vary based on the quantity consumed, brands used and substitutions that are made.

This is an update of the Tofu “Hamburger” Tacos recipe originally posted in 2014!