It's easy to make Vegan Taco Bowls with these seriously delicious chipotle tofu taco crumbles! The tofu crumbles start on the stove, then are finished under the broiler in the oven to create crispy, flavorful tofu taco meat! Finish the bowls with avocado, cilantro and THE BEST creamy vegan chipotle sauce!
Smoky chipotle peppers, fresh minced garlic and all of your favorite Mexican seasonings are combined to create THE BEST tofu taco crumbles!
Both vegans and meat-lovers alike will enjoy these taco bowls filled with warm, fluffy quinoa, flavorful tofu taco meat, fresh avocado, radishes and cilantro. Most importantly they're finished off with my favorite creamy vegan chipotle sauce! The sauce pairs perfectly with the chipotle tofu taco crumbles.
If you've ever had the sofritas at Chipotle, this tofu taco meat has a similar flavor and texture. The best part about making it at home is that you can double or triple the recipe and meal-prep taco bowls for the whole week!
You can also make the bowls your own. Want to add beans, more veggies, a different sauce? Go right on ahead! Want to swap the quinoa for cauliflower rice to create a low carb bowl? Go for it! These bowls are totally delicious and totally customizable!
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Ingredients
- For the tofu taco crumbles:
- Garlic cloves
- Ground cumin
- Black pepper
- Dried oregano
- Salt
- Chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce + adobo sauce from the can - these canned chilies can be found in the hispanic section at major grocery stores.
- Extra-firm tofu - I highly recommend only using tofu that is labeled extra-firm. Any less firm and you will not reach the desired consistency of the taco crumbles.
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Salsa - feel free to use any traditional red salsa. I do not recommend using a green salsa, or flavored salsa for this recipe. I used a medium salsa, which combined with the chipotle peppers gave the tofu crumbles a slight kick of spice. If you'd like less spice, I recommend using a mild salsa. For more spice, I'd recommend a hot salsa.
- For the taco bowls:
- Cooked cilantro lime quinoa - quinoa is a great healthy base for these bowls. If you prefer, you can use brown rice, white rice or cauliflower rice as the base of the bowls instead.
- Avocado
- Radish
- Cilantro
- Creamy vegan chipotle sauce - this sauce was the most popular recipe on the blog in 2020! It's so delicious, pairs perfectly with the taco crumbles and it's easy to make!
Step by step instructions
- Prepare the tofu taco crumbles.
- Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and turn the broiler to high.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine minced garlic, cumin, black pepper, dried oregano, salt, diced chipotle chilies and adobo sauce from the can of chilies.
- Drain a block of extra-firm tofu from the liquid it comes packaged with, then use a couple of paper towels to gently squeeze any more liquid out of the tofu.
- Use your hands, or a potato masher, to crumble the tofu. Just make sure you don't completely mash the tofu, as you still want it to have some texture to it.
- Add the crumbled tofu to the mixing bowl with the spices and chilies.
- Toss the tofu in the spices until it's completely coated.
- Heat olive oil in a large, ovenproof skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add diced onion to the skillet. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tofu crumbles and cook for 6 minutes.
- Add the salsa and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Spread the tofu crumbles evenly in the bottom of the skillet and place the skillet in the oven under the broiler for 4 minutes.
- Remove the tofu from the oven, stir the crumbles, then place them back in the oven for 4 minutes.
- Assemble the taco bowls.
- Divide the cooked cilantro lime quinoa between 4 bowls.
- Divide the tofu taco crumbles between the bowls, on top of the quinoa.
- Add sliced avocado, sliced radishes and cilantro leaves to each bowl.
- Serve the creamy chipotle sauce on the side or drizzle it over the bowl.
What else can you add to the bowls?
- Jalapenos - add cooked or raw jalapenos to spice up these bowls! If you want to jalapenos to be cooked, mince 1-2 jalapenos, then saute them with the onions, before adding the tofu to the skillet. For raw jalapenos, simply slice the jalapenos and add them to the bowls right before serving.
- Zhoug sauce - another delicious way to spice up these bowls is by adding one of my all-time favorite sauces right on top! This spicy cilantro sauce is so flavorful, I put it on just about everything, including these tofu taco bowls!
- Black beans - beans add an extra burst of plant-based protein and fiber to these bowls. Simply drain and rinse a 15 ounce can of black beans, then add ½ cup of beans to each bowl before serving. This will add 7 grams of additional protein to each bowl.
- Black bean corn salsa - instead of simply adding black beans, you could add ½ cup of black bean corn salsa to each bowl for even more flavor!
- Hot sauce - if you don't have time to make the creamy chipotle sauce, simply add a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce to the bowls.
- Pico de gallo - for a burst of fresh flavor, add ½ cup of pico de gallo to each bowl. Use the link to make an easy homemade pico in just 10 minutes, or purchase pre-made pico de gallo at the grocery store. It's normally found in the produce section, or near other refrigerated salsas and hummus.
- Quick pickled onions - toss some pickled onions on top for an extra zest of acid and flavor.
- Guacamole - replace the sliced avocado with a scoop of guacamole, because guac isn't extra at home!
- Chunky avocado salsa - or replace the avocado with this chunky salsa! It's so fresh, flavorful and easy to make in 10 minutes!
Frequently asked questions
- Can you make the tofu taco crumbles ahead of time? Yes, these taco crumbles are perfect for meal-prepping. To double or triple the batch, simply hover over the serving size in the recipe card below and adjust the size to 8 or 12 bowls. The ingredient amounts in the recipe card will automatically update. Cooked tofu taco crumbles will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- What is the nutritional information of just the tofu taco crumbles? This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of taco crumbles. Each cup of cooked crumbles contains 161 calories, 11 carbs, 10 grams protein, 9 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.
- Are tofu taco crumbles gluten-free? Yes, this entire recipe is gluten-free. Always check the label on the salsa you purchase to make the recipe, but almost all salsas are naturally gluten-free and vegan.
Make it low carb
- Replace the cilantro lime quinoa with cilantro lime cauliflower rice or Mexican cauliflower rice.
- Omitting the quinoa from each bowl reduces the total carbs down to 17 carbs per bowl and the net carbs down to 11 carbs per bowl.
- Adding ½ cup cilantro lime cauliflower rice will add 4 grams of carbs and 2.5 net carbs to each bowl.
- Adding ½ cup Mexican cauliflower rice to each bowl will add 8 grams of carbs and 6 net carbs to each bowl.
Meal prep it
- For storage:
- Prepare the tofu taco crumbles according to the recipe instructions.
- Divide the cooked tofu crumbles between four large storage containers, each with ½ cup of cooked quinoa.
- Divide the radishes and cilantro leaves between four small zipper bags and place each one in the larger containers with the tofu crumbles and quinoa.
- Wrap ¼ avocado in plastic wrap and place in each of the containers.
- Place the creamy chipotle sauce in four separate small containers and add them to the larger containers with the other ingredients.
- To reheat and eat:
- Remove the bag of radishes and cilantro, avocado and creamy chipotle sauce from the large container.
- Heat the tofu crumbles and quinoa for 2 minutes in the microwave.
- Add the radish, cilantro and avocado to the container.
- Top with the creamy chipotle sauce.
More Mexican-style vegan recipes to try
- Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl
- Mexican Roasted Delicata Squash Bowls
- Low Carb Vegan Fajita Bowl
- Veggie Fajita Salad
- Chipotle Cauliflower Vegan Taco Bowl
- Sweet Potato Vegan Burrito Bowl
Recipe
Vegan Taco Bowl with Tofu Taco Crumbles
It's easy to make Vegan Taco Bowls with these seriously delicious chipotle tofu taco crumbles! The tofu crumbles start on the stove, then are finished under the broiler in the oven to create crispy, flavorful tofu taco meat!
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 392kcal
Ingredients
Tofu Taco Crumbles
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce chopped
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotle chilies
- 16 ounces extra firm tofu drained, patted dry and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup salsa see note below
Taco Bowl
- 2 cups cooked cilantro lime quinoa
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- ½ cup sliced radishes
- ¼ cup creamy vegan chipotle sauce
Instructions
- Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and turn the broiler to high.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the minced garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano, salt, chopped chipotle chilies and adobo sauce.
- Drain a block of extra-firm tofu from the liquid it comes packaged with, then use a couple of paper towels to gently squeeze any more liquid out of the tofu.
- Use your hands, or a potato masher, to crumble the tofu. Just make sure you don't completely mash the tofu, as you still want it to have some texture to it.
- Add the crumbled tofu to the mixing bowl and toss until it’s coated in the spices.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tofu crumbles and cook for 6 minutes.
- Add the salsa, cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Spread the tofu crumbles evenly in the bottom of the skillet and place the skillet in the oven under the broiler for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, stir the tofu crumbles and place back in the oven for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the tofu taco meat to four separate bowls with the quinoa.
- Top with the cilantro, avocado and sliced radishes.
- Serve the creamy chipotle sauce on the side or drizzled over the bowls.
Notes
- Salsa - feel free to use any traditional red salsa. I do not recommend using a green salsa, or flavored salsa for this recipe. I used a medium salsa, which combined with the chipotle peppers gave the tofu crumbles a slight kick of spice. If you'd like less spice, I recommend using a mild salsa. For more spice, I'd recommend a hot salsa.
- Base for the bowls - quinoa is a great healthy base for these bowls. If you prefer, you can use brown rice, white rice or cauliflower rice as the base of the bowls instead.
- To double or triple the batch of tofu taco crumbles - simply hover over the serving size in the recipe card and adjust the size to 8 or 12 bowls. The ingredient amounts in the recipe card will automatically update. Cooked tofu taco crumbles will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Nutritional information for just the taco crumbles - This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of taco crumbles. Each cup of cooked crumbles contains 161 calories, 11 carbs, 10 grams protein, 9 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 819mg | Potassium: 816mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 759mg | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 5mg
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