Tofu makes the best vegan taco meat! These tofu tacos are loaded with spices and flavor, made with tender crumbled tofu and your favorite taco toppings. The best part: they're a cinch to make!
I have a super secret special step for giving tofu just the right crumbly texture that's perfect for tacos: freeze it!
The texture of tofu changes when you freeze it. If you fall into the group of people that avoid tofu for not being fond of the texture, these tofu tacos might just be a game-changer for you.
Jump to:
What You'll Need
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute any high-heat oil, such as corn, canola, or peanut oil.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Tofu. Extra-firm tofu works best with this recipe, but you could get away with using firm tofu.
- Spices. We're using cumin, ancho chile powder, paprika, and black pepper.
- Bell pepper. Use any color! Red is my personal preference for this dish.
- Tomato sauce.
- Soy sauce. Substitute gluten-free tamari if needed.
- Hot sauce. Use your favorite brand. I like Cholula for this recipe. Or leave it out for a milder version of the dish!
- Salt.
- Fresh cilantro. Leave this out if it tastes like soap to you!
- Corn tortillas. You could also use flour tortillas or premade taco shells.
- Toppings. Use whatever you like! Vegan nacho cheese, cashew cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce or cabbage, and pico de gallo would all be nice.
How to Make Tofu Tacos
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Freeze your tofu. This is really easy and there's no need to overcomplicate it!
- You can freeze tofu in or out of the package. Of course, if it's out of the package you'll want to put it in some other type of sealable container.
- You don't need to drain or press it first, but it's totally fine if you do.
- Freeze it until it's solid, then thaw it out completely. As long as it gets completely frozen it really doesn't matter how long it stays in the freezer.
- For complete details on how freezing tofu works, see this article on how to freeze tofu.
- Heat up some oil in a skillet, then add diced onion. Cook the onion for 5 minutes or so, until it begins to soften up.
- Add minced garlic and spices to the skillet. Sauté them with the onion for just about a minute, making sure to stir constantly to prevent burning.
- Crumble your tofu into the skillet. You can do this as soon as it's thawed, and there's no need to press it for this recipe. Stir everything up well and cook the tofu with the spices for about 2 minutes, until any excess liquid cooks off and the tofu begins to brown in spots.
- Add diced bell pepper and cook it with your tofu and spices for a couple minutes. You just want it to begin softening up.
- Add your sauces: tomato sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce.
- Stir everything up and bring it to a simmer and let it cook for a couple of minutes, until the sauce is hot and thick!
- Take the skillet off of the burner and season your tofu taco filling with some salt. You can also add more hot sauce if you'd like. Give it a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
- Stuff the filling into warm tortillas and dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover tofu taco filling will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are if you use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
Nope! It adds texture but isn't strictly necessary.
They have a little kick to them. You can leave the hot sauce out if you'd prefer a milder version, but consider adding a splash of lime or vinegar to make up for the acidity supplied by the hot sauce.
Try cashew cream, pico de gallo, shredded lettuce or cabbage, guacamole, and/or vegan cashew queso!
More Vegan Tacos
- Spicy Potato Tacos
- Beer-Battered Zucchini Tacos
- Chipotle Tempeh Tacos
- Quinoa Lentil Tacos
- Roasted Veggie Tacos with Black Beans
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Easy Tofu Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed
- 1 bell pepper (any color — I prefer red), diced
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce of choice, or to taste
- Salt, to taste
- 8 corn tortillas, warmed in a lightly oiled skillet (or premade taco shells, or small flour tortillas)
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook it until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.Â
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, paprika, ancho chile powder, and black pepper. Cook everything together for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Crumble the tofu into the skillet, keeping it as chunky as you like. Stir to coat the tofu in spices. Cook everything for about 2 minutes, or until the tofu begins to brown. Be careful, as tofu that's been frozen tends to burn quicker.Â
- Stir in the bell pepper and cook it with the tofu for about 2 minutes, until it just begins to become tender.Â
- Stir in the tomato sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce.
- Continue to cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, just until everything is well mixed and the liquid dries up just a bit, about 2 minutes, adding a bit of water to the skillet if it dries too much.
- Take the skillet off of the burner and season the mixture with salt to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Divide the mixture into tortillas or taco shells and top with toppings of choice.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Wow!!! These were awesome. I used fresh tofu, but the texture never bothers me, so I knew I didn't have to freeze it first.
I didn't use any oil and dry sauteed my onions and tofu. I added some extra tomato sauce and a can of black beans. The flavor of all your seasoning/ingredients is what made it perfect! And SO easy.
So good!! Made it tonight. Only thing- I could NOT get that tofu to brown! This isn’t the only time it’s happened - I ALWAYS end up having the entire pan encrusted with burnt on tofu/onion... however, this time I deglazed the pan with red wine and all of it came off afterwards... that was the best part!! I crumbled the crispy bits into my tofu mix and daaaaaamn - flavour country!
Any suggestions on how to brown the tofu or what I maybe could do better to get an overall char on the tofu?
What kind of pan are you using? A really good nonstick surface will help the tofu to brown evenly and for you to get all those crispy bits out of the pan and into your scramble. :) I'm a big fan of cast iron - definitely give it a try if you haven't already!
If your tofu is still in the package and in water does the water need to be drained before freezing?
I want to make these for a taco bar. If I made the tofu mix the day before, do you think it would warm up well in the oven in a casserole dish?
I think so! I usually reheat it in the microwave, and it works great. I think the oven should do just fine as well!
Does it keep in the Fridge? Or work well as leftovers? How should I store it? Just in an airtight container in the fridge?
Yup! I always end up with leftovers. They're good for 3 days or so in a sealed container in the fridge. :)
This was very good and made great tacos and nachos. The directions didn’t say, but I squeezed all the water I could before crumbling the tofu and adding it into the pan. I also increased the tomato sauce to 1/2 cup. Overall, this is a keeper recipe.
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks so much!
First time making this dish. YUM! Great taco filling, good for pasta and enchiladas.
Glad you enjoyed it!! I love the idea of using this in pasta and enchiladas. :)
So amazing! I don't usually like the texture of frozen tofu, hence the reason why I have some in the freezer that I literally abandoned. Just popped it out now! I'm so giving this recipe a trial. Love this!
Yay! I hope you enjoy it!!
We make these at least once a week. Excellent recipe!
Yay!! Glad you like them!
I made it last night and it was delicious! My husband is not vegan and he just loved it! Thanks very much for sharing!
Yay!! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Annie!
Alissa, another big hit!! I added more tomato sauce then mentioned and use no oil, so water sautéed the veg and tofu. What a delicious dish! I must be your biggest fan! Thanks and keep them coming!
Yay! I'm glad these were a hit!! Thanks Cathy!!
Long time follower, first time commenter.
Thank you for all your recipes and the work you do. :)
Very welcome! :) I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes. Thank you so much for following!
I'll have to try your tofu freezing method. I've never done that before. Great blog post, thanks for all the tips!
Thanks Nicole! Definitely give it a try!
I LOVE the tip for freezing tofu! I know exactly the texture you are talking about but never knew that you could make it happen like that. These tacos look incredible!
Thanks so much! Freezing tofu is a total game changer. I hope you give it a try. :)
Just made this today, and it's literally better than normal mince!! So delicious!
Yay! Glad to hear it! :)
Tofu out of the freezer, in large chunks, always has an odd texture. But crumbling it up seems to be a great way to use frozen tofu. I'll have to try it! I always stock up on a local made tofu when I happen to be at the grocery store that sells it, but I sometimes have a hard time eating it all before it goes off. I will use this for sure!
Yeah, I always crumble my tofu after freezing. I bet you'll like it a lot better this way. Fresh tofu is amazing but doesn't last that long, so if you like it crumbled that would work out perfect. Hope you enjoy!!!
Can I use regular tofu (not frozen)??
Absolutely! Freezing enhances the texture, but it should be delicious either way.
Perfect! I actually try to keep a stash in the freezer at all times. Enjoy!!!
This is fantastic, as I actually have some tofu in my freezer right now! :)