Best Ever Vegan Taco Meat (2024)

4.98 stars (39 ratings)

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

• ▢ 4 cups cauliflower florets (1 small head, or 3 cups riced cauliflower)
• ▢ 1 cup raw walnuts
• ▢ 4 ounces mushrooms
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (or water for oil free)
• ▢ 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can, see Notes for options
• ▢ 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 1/2-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For serving, optional

• ▢ crunchy corn, soft corn or flour tortillas
• ▢ shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, non-dairy cheese shreds, salsa, avocado slices or vegan sour cream

• Place the cauliflower florets in a food processor. Pulse several times, creating cauliflower rice, but don't process so much it becomes mushy. Add cauliflower rice to a large pan (at least 12 inches, or use a large pot).

• Now add the walnuts and mushrooms to the food processor. Pulse a few times until they are a similar consistency as the cauliflower. Don't over process or you will have a paste. Dump them into the pan with the cauliflower.

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• To the pan, add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, adobo sauce (or chili powder), soy sauce, cumin, smoked paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat to medium-high, and stir until well combined. Continue to cook, stirring every couple minutes, for 15-20 minutes. Taste; add more salt or spices as desired.

• Remove from heat and serve in tacos, burritos, salads, quesadillas, nachos or anywhere else you like! We like crunchy or soft tacos with diced tomatoes, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream/avocados and lettuce.

• To Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a large rimmed sheet pan. In a large bowl, mix together the processed cauliflower, walnuts, mushrooms and all other ingredients. Spread onto the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring once in the middle of baking. Remove from the oven and serve.

1. You can purchase frozen or fresh riced cauliflower, or use whole cauliflower and blitz it in a food processor.
2. Nut allergy? You can substitute sunflower seeds for the walnuts, or use 8 ounces of mushrooms instead of 4.
3. Adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo (find in the Mexican section at your grocery store) adds a ton of flavor to the "meat". I just use the sauce, not the whole peppers so it's less spicy, but it still adds quite a bit of heat. If you don't like things spicy, or have kids who are sensitive, replace it with 1 teaspoon of chili powder for a milder spiced "meat".
4. Freezer option: To prepare vegan taco meat for the freezer, place the processed cauliflower, mushrooms and walnuts in a freezer bag along with the rest of the ingredients. When ready to cook, dump in the pan and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Author: Nora Taylor