I have a confession to make.
I never make tacos on Taco Tuesday. I mean, I might, but if I do it is totally accidental. I always forget that it is Taco Tuesday until about 10pm when I’m endlessly scrolling my Instagram feed and start seeing all of the #tacotuesday hashtags and the taco emojis and then I think, “why don’t I ever make tacos on Tuesdays?”. So that is why I am sharing this recipe for vegan taco meat on a Friday. Because that’s how together I am.
Let’s be real. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. Taco time is anytime. I came up with a plant-packed taco meat that even a carnivore can love, so let’s get started!
We start with the vegetable meat substitute, which is, I’m not ashamed to admit, a simply terrible name. I’m currently crowd-sourcing alternative monikers, so please add your voice to the mix in the comments. Veggie grounds? Vegan ground meat? I don’t know. The answer eludes me. In any case, this is a meat substitute made of vegetables, if the name wasn’t convincing enough. It consists of cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic, pepitas (or walnuts), and sun-dried tomatoes. It really does look like ground beef when it’s cooked into things, and thanks to the pepitas, it has almost the same amount of protein! But to make it into taco meat, we need some seasonings.
I did some research into taco seasonings, and there were lots of variations, but the main components stayed pretty consistent, so I stuck with what works. We’ve got chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. These are spices I always have on hand, which makes this easy to throw together. If you want more heat, some cayenne or chipotle powder is a great addition too.
You’ve got your vegetable meat substitute, you’ve got your spices, now they just need to get married and let things heat up in a skillet with some water. A taco bath? I really should stop writing so late at night. It gets weird so fast.
So there you have it! Doesn’t that look like ground meat? I KNOW, RIGHT? It kind of creeps me out sometimes. And yes, it does taste delicious in a taco salad. But it’s especially good in…a vegan crunchwrap supreme. Oh yes, I went there.
Whether you are a stickler for eating alliteratively according to the day of the week, or, like me, you whip up dinner in a frenzy giving no regard for the calendar, I hope you’ll give this a try for your next taco night! Any excuse to use the taco emoji, right?
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Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into large florets
- 8 ounces crimini mushrooms
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup raw pepitas or walnuts
Seasoning mix
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoons oregano
- 1.5 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, optional
- 1 cup water, or more as needed
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the pepitas (or walnuts) and sun dried tomatoes until a fine meal forms. Set aside in a small bowl.
- Using the same food processor bowl (no need to wash), switch from the s-blade to the shredding attachment.
- Process the cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, onions and garlic. If you don’t have a shredding attachment, pulse small amounts using the S-blade until finely chopped but not pureed.
- In a large nonstick skillet, cook the shredded vegetables over high heat until the moisture has evaporated and the vegetables are cooked through, about 6 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Add the pepita and sun-dried tomato mixture into the skillet, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the seasoning mix and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the water and cook for 3-5 minutes until the most of the water has evaporated (it’s ok if there’s a little bit of sauce still in the pan).
- Use in place of ground taco meat with the ratio of 2 cups of vegetable meat substitute for 1 pound of ground meat. Try it in a Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme!
Notes
This recipe makes a large volume, the equivalent of 3 pounds of ground beef after cooking. If you don’t plan on using all of it for tacos, you can portion out half of the mixture before adding the seasoning mix and you have a vegetable meat substitute to use in place of ground beef for other dishes, such as Vegetable Bolognese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 220
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Michael Hornback II
So good! And the nutritional difference between ground meat and this is so huge, This will take no-meat Monday’s to a completely different level!
Cassie
Loved it (and so did the kids)! Also loved that I could save half for spaghetti night tomorrow. And I think your new blog name is excellent. 🙂
Leslie
I’m thinking of making this but I don’t like mushrooms. Do you think the results would be similar if I sub lentils or beans for the mushrooms?
Jane
Same here, any ideas on leaving out mushrooms?
★★★★★
Brandi
Maybe water chestnuts?
Susan Lindenmeyer
Tasty recipe, Beth. Though My husband and I are omnivores, we are always looking to increase plant based foods into our diet. Took a shortcut by using Trader Jones’s “riced” cauliflower. Also used Mexican cheese blend – made tostadas with this “meat”, lots of lettuce, and fresh tomatoes! Good balance of spices- this is a keeper!
Beth
Hi Susan! Sorry it took me a bit to respond. <3 So glad you enjoyed this! Glad to hear that the shortcut of the TJ's riced cauliflower worked out, I've been meaning to try that. I LOVE tostadas! Kind of wish I had one right now. 🙂
Jen
My hubby and I like to be different so we celebrate Taco Wednesdays! Amazing recipe Beth!
Beth
Ha, Taco Wednesdays! I love it! <3
Jessie
This recipe is INCREDIBLE. My omnivore partner began eating it right out of the skillet before I could even make the crunch wraps. I’ve used these veggie crumbles for a few imitation Taco Bell recipes now and it has helped make a stellar recreation every time, thank you so much for sharing your genius!!
Beth
Jessie!!! So glad that you loved this so much! I totally eat it out of the pan, too. 🙂 So excited that it helped you recreate the Taco Bell goodness, veggie style! Makes me so happy.
Ann
I can hardly wait to try your this! I just found you through veggies don’t bite on Instagram.
I am allergic to mushrooms, however. Could you recommend a substitute?
I am so excited to have found your site!
Amy
Hello! The recipe tastes delicious, however the texture of my ground vegetables was a little off. In your pictures it really does look like taco meat but mine sort of looks too mushy. Would you happen to have any guesses why? Aside from that, it tastes really delicious, I didn’t have some of the seasonings so I used a packet of Old El Paso taco seasoning!
Julia Curcio
I think you should call it Griund Leaf (thought slightly misleading, since it’s not made of leaf veggies) or Ground Veef.
Looks good and I can’t wait to try the recipe!
Deb M
I was trying to come up with a name for the “substitute meat mixture” and so far came up with
PAR or Protein Par (but I think I prefer PAR) meaning this is at some level on “par” with the protein in meat or possibly better!
Looking forward to trying your recipe!