These vegan fajitas are full of zesty flavor! Made with protein-packed soy curls, Tex-Mex spices and seared veggies, they're easy to make and perfect for a weeknight.
I'm back with another soy curl recipe! As you might have noticed, I'm a big fan, and since they're a new-to-me ingredient, I'm finding myself constantly coming up with new ideas for using them.
Soy Curls
I'm sure I'll get a million and one questions on soy curls, so I have to include this explanation. Soy curls are a meat substitute made from soy. The great thing is that they're less processed than other products you might steer clear of, like TVP.
Soy curls are sold dried, and all you need to prepare them is soak and then cook them. For more details, check out the post that goes along with my vegan ropa vieja recipe.
Vegan chicken fajitas are a great way to use soy curls. Conventional chicken fajitas are made by marinating and then grilling chicken. Well guess what? Soy curls are sold in dried form, so they soak up marinade like crazy. Perfect!
How to Make Vegan Fajitas
Get started by doing your prep work. Soak your soy curls in some broth. Mix up your marinade, and once the soy curls have had a few minutes to soften up, add the marinade and stir them up until they're coated. Let the soy curls sit with the marinade on them while you slice an onion and a couple of bell peppers.
Now heat up some oil in a skillet. Once the oil is hot, add your soy curls. You might have a bit of extra liquid in the bowl — just pour it into the skillet with the soy curls.
Cook the soy curls for a few minutes, until the excess liquid has reduced and your vegan "chicken" strips have some browning. Make sure to flip them once or twice so they cook evenly. Now remove the soy curls from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
Add a bit more oil to the skillet, raise the heat, and add your bell peppers and onion. Cook the veggies until they soften up a bit and darken in spots.
Now return the soy curls to the skillet and toss everything to combine.
Take the skillet off of the burner and sprinkle the mixture with some fresh cilantro.
Stuff the filling into tortillas and serve with salsa and/or cashew cream.
Vegan Fajita Tips & FAQ
- Can these fajitas be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use gluten-free tortillas and substitute gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.
- Where can I buy soy curls? I buy them online.
- Is there a substitute for soy curls? Seitan would probably work. Skip step 1 of the recipe if you try this. You could also try my recipe for tofu fajitas.
- Are these fajitas spicy? They're pretty mild. The ancho chile powder adds the tiniest bit of heat. For a heat-free version, leave it out. For extra heat, add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce.
- To switch things up, try making fajita bowls! Just serve the filling over rice instead of stuffed into tortillas.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
- 120 grams Butler soy curls (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or high heat oil of choice), divided
- ½ medium red onion, sliced into strips
- 1 small red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 small green bell pepper, sliced into strips
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 6 (7-inch - fajita sized) flour tortillas
- Salsa
- Cashew sour cream (or store bought vegan sour cream)
Instructions
- Place the soy curls into a medium bowl and pour the broth over them. Let the soy curls soak for about 10 minutes.
- While the soy curls soak, mix the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl: lime juice, soy sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, ancho chile powder, and garlic.
- Add the marinade to the bowl with the soy curls and toss to coat.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil and place it over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the soy curls in an even layer, along with any excess liquid in the bowl.
- Let the soy curls cook for about 5 minutes, until the excess liquid has reduced and the soy curls are browned and crisp in spots, flipping them once or twice during cooking.
- Remove the soy curls from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet and raise the heat to high.
- Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and peppers. Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium and return the soy curls to the skillet. Flip everything a few times to distribute the ingredients, and cook the mixture for just a minute to reheat the soy curls.
- Remove the skillet from the burner and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
- Divide the filling among the tortilla and top with cashew sour cream and/or salsa. Serve.
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these are the best!
My family absolutely loved this recipe! And it was really easy. My favorite combo. I served it with Spanish rice and homemade chipotle refried beans.
This is my go-to Mexican soy curl recipe! The flavor is great and they’re so easy to make. We usually put them in burritos with all the fixings.
These are so good and so easy to make. It just might be my new favorite weeknight meal!
Wow, we just made these and they were so good!! Insanely fast, easy, and delicious. My husband and I both agree that this will likely become a staple meal in our house.
Absolutely delicious and certainly the best soy curl recipe I have had. I did soak curls in homemade (double strength) vegetable broth and actually marinaded in refrigerator overnight. I did not use cilantro nor sour or cashew cream and did serve with rice. So very good. Thank you!