Plant Based Taco “Meat”

It’s National Taco Day! Of course, I have to have tacos for dinner tonight. Although I love black beans I wanted to try something different than filling my taco shell with beans. Speaking of shells, when choosing a healthy taco shell, pick the one with the least ingredients. Trader Joe’s has soft corn taco shells that only contain corn and lime. They are really good for any taco or to use to make tortilla chips.

Looks Just like ground beef! Fool your friends and family!

Let’s talk about “meat.” This “meat” is much better than any other meat that I have tasted. I will never want to go back to ground beef for my tacos after tasting tacos filled with this. Not to mention this filling is actually good for you! I use a combination of walnuts, cauliflower, and mushrooms. It seems overwhelming and complicated until you actually make it. This did not take me long at all. Yes, you have to take out the food processor and then clean it when you are done, but it’s worth the effort.

I made my own taco seasoning and sauce for this recipe and it’s also really easy. Just tomato sauce mixed with cumin, chili powder, chipotle powder, onion powder, garlic powder, dried cilantro, smoked paprika, and pink Himalayan sea salt. You can omit the salt if you need to for dietary reasons. If you do decide to use the salt however, it’ll be much less sodium than taco seasoning or sauce from the grocery store.

This taco filling is also a great leftover. You could make this on a Sunday and use it throughout the week for your lunches. You can even make a buddha bowl with this. Start with greens in a bowl, add rice, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and this “Meat”. Add a squirt of fresh lime and there you have it, a great plant based/vegan meal!

Loaded Nachos with the leftover “meat”

Taco “Meat”

This plant based taco filling is made with walnuts and cauliflower.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: cauliflower,, vegan, vegetarian, walnuts, whole food plant-based
Servings: 10

Equipment

  • Food Processor

Ingredients

For the taco "meat"

  • 2 cups walnuts
  • 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 cups baby bella or other mushrooms
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 3-4 tbsp taco seasoning (see the recipe for whole food plant based taco seasoning below)

Instructions

  • Add walnuts, cauliflower, and mushrooms to food processor and pulse.
  • Once it looks like it's chopped up pretty small, add the mixture to a frying pan over medium-high heat.
  • Add 1/2 cup vegetable stock and aminos/soy sauce to the pan.
  • Cook for about ten minutes stirring occasionally.
  • In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce and 1/2 cup vegetable stock with taco seasoning to make a taco sauce.
  • Add taco sauce to the pan of "meat" and stir.
  • Reduce heat to medium and cook for ten more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taco Seasoning

This makes about 2.5 tablespoons.
Prep Time3 mins
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: vegan, whole food plant-based

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder, ground red
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cilantro, dried
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt, optional

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients.
  • Store in an airtight container if not using immediately.

If you have any leftover taco “meat”, mix it with the vegan mac and cheese to make a taco mac bowl for lunch!

Taco Mac, drizzle with your favorite hot sauce.

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