click here to Pin this recipeBreaking news: vegetarian taco meat is a weirdly delicious thing. Like, all plants. In tacos. That really closely resembles ground beef and possibly even tastes better. This is a miracle of epic proportions.
Do we love tacos or DO WE LOVE TACOS? We – team POY, readers and bloggers and friends and family alike – definitely love tacos. We also love all derivatives of tacos – taco bowls, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, etc., which is good news for the magic of vegetarian taco meat because it goes with everything. All of them. Not one taco relative left behind.
The number of types of tacos I’ve made is beyond counting. It would actually be embarrassing. That number is not slowing down anytime soon, pals. Being a taco fanatic means I am definitely not going to say no to a beef taco if you offer it to me, but I am also a part-time vegetarian and I really love a good meatless alternative.
I have no real explanation for this except that I love to eat plants and I find cooking vegetarian recipes to be easier. And more fun. So chipotle-spiced, easy-to-make veg taco meat was born.
How to make some mind-blowing Vegetarian Taco Meat:
Here’s what we have going on in this vegetarian taco meat situation:
- cauliflower
- walnuts
- chipotle peppers
- a few spices
- salt
Can you handle it? It’s too easy. It should be wrong but it’s so right.
Once that gets all ground up, we’re going to bake it.
You still with me?
Serve It Up with All the Things
While it’s baking, since you’re going to have about 30 minutes of down time, this is the perfect opportunity to get into a salsa frenzy and whip up every type of friendly taco buddy that you can think of.
I went with the trifecta pictured here: corn and black bean salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole because I don’t want to hate my life.
My taco vision quickly got out of control and I opted for a taco bowl – er, maybe burrito bowl, technically, with the rice and everything – instead of a traditional folded-in-a-tortilla fashion. Which is a callback to what I said at the beginning: that this vegetarian taco meat is ready to go with anybody in the taco family.
Only love for this mountain of glory.
What can I even say? My heart is happy. Vegetarian taco meat, please never leave me.
I hope you love tacossss.
Ways to Use Vegetarian Taco Meat
- In tacos!
- In bowls!
- In burritos!
- Stuffed in enchiladas.
- Layered in a crunchwrap.
- Eaten straight off the pan.
Check out our video for how to make Vegetarian Taco Meat:
Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings (about 1/2 cup each) 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This vegetarian taco meat is made with cauliflower, walnuts, and chipotle peppers. It’s so easy: just mix and bake. Meatless miracle!
Ingredients
The Vegetarian Taco Meat Basics:
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cups whole walnuts
- 2 individual chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
Optional Add-Ins:
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic or onion powder
- a pinch of cayenne for more heat
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is evenly ground (see picture).
- Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through to prevent over-browning.
- Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls, and the like!
Notes
My salsa-making game is pretty loose. I like to just eyeball it and taste and adjust as I go.
- Corn Salsa: toss some corn kernels in a pan and saute until roasty-looking. Mix with black beans, jalapeño, salt, lime juice, cilantro.
- Pico de Gallo: toss chopped tomatoes with chopped onion, salt, lime juice, and cilantro.
- Guacamole: toss mashed avocados with chopped onion, salt, lime juice, and cilantro.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: vegetarian taco meat, cauliflower walnut meat, vegetarian Mexican recipe, vegetarian recipe, taco bowl
View freezer meal version of this recipe here.
You might also like our full freezer meals post.
One more thing!
This recipe is part of our best healthy spring recipes page. Check it out!
I made these tacos last night and on my, they were DELICIOUS! This recipe will be at the top of my mexican recipes to cook. Thanks for another awesome recipe Lindsay 🙂
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So glad to hear you enjoyed the “meat”, Pam! 😊
This is one of many ways to avoid eating meat and eating healthier to achieve a lean, muscular body.
Super easy, filling and delicious!
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So glad to hear you enjoyed this, Lynda!
Yes! This is amazingly delicious. Full of veggies and protein, and all plant based. Love this! This made a huge batch, so I love that there is extra to freeze for quick meals.
Makes for a perfect grab-and-reheat meal straight out of the freezer!
So amazing! What a great alternative to meat without missing out on flavour. It will be a new go-to dish at our house. Thanks!
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Glad to hear you’ve been enjoying this, Dina!
That looks so yummy!
Mariya | https://www.brunetteondemand.com/
Enjoy, Mariya!
I don’t believe chipotles in adobo sauce is gluten free.
This was so incredibly yummy and I’m a meat eater! Really love your recipes.
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So happy to hear you enjoyed this, Betty!
This is one of my favorite recipes from POY. Last time I ran the food processor a little too long so it was more doughy than crumbly. That got me wondering if you’ve ever made meatballs out of this mixture.
We haven’t yet, but it’s worth trying out to see how it goes! Let us know how things turn out for you if you end up making these into meatballs, Kristin!
Hi there, Linda! We’ve used this brand of peppers before (affiliate link) and these ones are gluten-free.
WOW! It looks very delicious
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Definitely making this one! I make a similar recipe for tofu crumbles for one of my personal chef client families – they love it. I am sure they will love this one too!
You have once again blown me away. This recipe is glorious. I can’t wait for the next Vegan potluck. This recipe will be the talk of the night!
Enjoy, Bob!
What is chipotle in adobo sauce? And any substitute found? Thank you
Hi, Mimi! These are chipotles in adobo sauce (affiliate link). We haven’t tried subbing these out with anything else yet because these provide so much flavor. If you do end up subbing something else though, we’d love to hear! Enjoy the “meat”!
Chipotle in adobo sauce is very difficult to find where I live in Australia. I tend to add liquid smoke to add some flavour. A little bit goes a long way though!
Thanks for the tip, Helena!
Hi Mimi,
Chipotle in adobo sauce can be found in the Mexican section of the supermarket. It comes in small cans. Some brands are Goya, Embasa, La Costeña. Here are some images of the cans:
https://www.google.com/search?q=chipotle+in+adobo&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0osH6_InnAhUdAp0JHRHVDjMQ_AUoAnoECA4QBA&biw=1440&bih=765&dpr=2
I made this the last time it was on your blog when my meat-loving husband thought for a minute and a half that he’d go vegan for health reasons. 🙂
I didn’t tell him I was making it because he doesn’t like cauliflower NOR walnuts, so I doubted he’d even try it.
He surprised me and gave it whirl… AND HE LOVED IT! He said, “this tastes just like taco bell!” That may not sound like a glowing review, but it is. I think he means the flavor and that he can’t tell it isn’t meat.
I loved it, too! We did have people over a few times this summer and created a taco bar with meat options along with this and every single person has said that they were surprised by the “vegetarian meat” and loved it.
I make a big batch and keep it in the freezer in case I want to make a taco bowl for lunches at some point…
Thanks for sharing and opening up our worlds to this one!
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Yay! So happy to hear this, Carrie!
I’m off bread, so I leave off the tacos and make lettuce wraps. Great!
Sounds delicious, Sandra!
I’m trying to incorporate more veg options and this looks like a great option. Thanks for sharing. Love your creativity
Enjoy, Janice!
Hi Lindsay,
Sounds yummy. What other nuts would work and have the same texture? My hubby is allergic to walnuts.
Any insights on other nuts you may have tried, would be greatly appreciated!
Hellen
Have you tried freezing some of the taco meat. Would love to make a batch for different days of the week.
We have and it freezes wonderfully!
I have an overabundance of cauliflower rice thanks to my love of Costco. Would I substitute the same amount (3 cups) of cauliflower rice? Thanks!
Yep, 3 cups of cauliflower rice should work here. 👍
have you tried this with any other kind of nuts. Sadly my daughter is allergic to just walnuts. – How about almonds, sunflower seeds?
Hi, Annette! Another reader did 1/2 pecans and 1/2 smoked almonds and had luck!
This looks amazing! We love alternative meat options in our house, so we’re totally going to try this soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Enjoy!
Hi Lindsay- I’ve been following you for a few years and absolutely LOVE your recipes. Our family has recently switched to vegan/plant based eating and my husband and I feel amazing! Thank you for the plant based recipes….they are so flavorful and have made the transition easy! Please keep them coming! You are awesome!
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So happy to hear this, Susie! ❤️
Yum! Going to try this week! Question: I don’t have the chipotles, but I do have chipotle spice. This would work the same wouldn’t it? Any idea on how to convert? Thanks a bunch for your amazing recipes!
Hi, Yvonne! We haven’t tried subbing out the chipotle peppers yet, but here’s an idea for something that could work including chipotle powder.
Hi! Could you please send your idea for subbing out the chipotle peppers for chipotle powder that you sent to Yvonne? Thank you!
Yep! You can find that here.
sadly, it just tastes like toasted walnuts. 🙁 is this supposed to taste like ground meat?
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I have made this a few times now and my whole family loves it! Thank you 😍
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So happy to hear that, Rhiannon!
I made this for my family (hubby, plus 2 non vegan kids aged 7 and 1). All of them loved it!! It was soooo easy and I’m so happy to have a recipe base without any sign of soy or coconut! So delish!!! My 7 year old kept calling it chicken 😹
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Glad you enjoyed this, Em!
I should add it is soooo easy to make, especially as you chuck it in the oven after a few mins of prep. Needless to say it’s in my weekly rotation 👌 thank you 🙌
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(Omg I’m no good at this) I should also add I made the kids one with tomato paste not chipotle!
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OMG this recipe was SOOO good. I much prefer the taste and texture over the processed “fake meat” products. It made delicious tacos paired with fresh guacamole. Thank you!
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Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Kristin!