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Vegan Chorizo
![Vegan Chorizo](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/15/dining/jr-soyrizo/merlin_203115975_42bf5265-7bf6-4296-ab51-1435655b9056-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 7large guajillo chiles, destemmed, deseeded and rinsed
- 2chiles de árbol, destemmed, deseeded and rinsed
- 3cups boiling water
- 2large garlic cloves
- 2tablespoons ground cumin
- 1tablespoon paprika
- ¾teaspoon ground coriander
- ½teaspoon ground clove
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Ceylon
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 1tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2tablespoons liquid aminos, soy sauce or tamari
- 2teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 15½ounces firm tofu, patted dry and crumbled
- 10ounces shiitake or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and finely minced (about 3 cups)
- ½cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
Preparation
- Step 1
Add the guajillo chiles and chiles de árbol to a heatproof bowl and pour in the 3 cups of boiling water. Allow the chiles to rehydrate for at least 10 minutes, gently pressing a bowl on top to submerge them in the water if needed.
- Step 2
Once tender, add the chiles to a blender with ½ cup of the soaking liquid. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, oregano, coriander, clove, cinnamon, liquid aminos and vinegar, and blend for 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender as needed.
- Step 3
Combine the crumbled tofu and minced mushrooms in a large bowl. Pour the blended mixture over the tofu and mushrooms, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Step 4
Add the oil to a large (12-inch) pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the soyrizo mixture.
- Step 5
Cook for 20 minutes until the mixture begins to sear and lightly brown, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan. The liquid from the tofu and mushrooms should be mostly absorbed.
- Step 6
Serve as taco filling with diced onion, minced cilantro, guacamole and lime, or add to your favorite dishes that call for chorizo. Keep refrigerated for up to a week in an airtight container.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This looks great, but Trader Joe's makes an excellent soy chorizo, at a very moderate costs. I'll let someone more ambitious make this.
Made this a couple times now and this is the new go-to. Better than the TJ’s, which we like a lot. I make it using TVP instead of tofu (1 C dry w/ 1 c water or broth) as I prefer the chewier texture. TVP also soaks you the oil nicely. Only had an 8 oz container of mushrooms the first time so subbed 2 oz. ground walnuts. Used chiles from Rancho Gordo.
Made this but swapped for spices common to hot Italian sausage: 2tsp crushed fennel, 2 tsp cracked black pepper, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1tbs assorted Italian spices (basil, thyme, oregano, etc.) in whatever combo you like, 1tsp paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt. I kept the soy (it helps color the tofu) and cut the oil to the few tablespoons necessary for browning. It worked worked well for a vegetarian lasagna and can see it being a good in a pasta sauce or as a ravioli filling.
I used Impossible ground burger instead of tofu (I happened to have some in the freezer), and followed the recipe to the letter except I used 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/2 (as suggested in the comments). The chorizo was delicious! You could definitely bump up the heat with some pepper flake, etc. if you like, but as is this dish is terrifically flavorful and would please a lot of different palates.
This was good. I followed the recipe pretty exactly. Next time I will use less oil. I might also increase the hot chiles. It wasn't hot enough for me.
I cut out a number of the ingredients I didn’t have on hand and it was still great. I would cut most of the salt though.
This is the best vegan chorizo I've ever had. none of the store bought packaged vegan chorizo can hold a candle to it.
Thought this was almost inedible. The chilis overpower with a tobacco like taste. Tastes nothing like chorizo. Takes a long time to put together too. Avoid.
For me the mushroom flavor/texture was too overpowering (I used cremini) and the whole mixture a little too wet. If I do this again, I would press water out of the tofu and cut the mushrooms in half or omit altogether. It just wasn’t a pleasant taste/texture for me.
Good, however, the clove (only used 1/4 tsp based on comments) and cinnamon are too pronounced. Our favorite vegan crumbles comes from this NYT recipe which we adapt: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020043-pressure-cooker-chipotle-honey-chicken-tacos Instead of chicken we sub in 2 blocks of pressed firm tofu, shredded using a cheese grater. Leave out the beans for just crumbles.
This recipe makes my reluctantly vegan husband very happy. Thank you!!
Followed this recipe exactly, but added 1lb. of chopped mushrooms which I browned ahead. This was a fantastic base for vegan tacos! Flavorful and "meaty". Plan to make some for freezing then using for a quick Tex-Mex meal later. I recommend searing the tofu longer until it gets crispy and brown. Delicious!
Didn't love this. My small town supermarket didn't have guajillo chilis and the internet said a good substitute was ancho, which the package says are "mild and sweet." Made a half recipe, which wasn't enough volume to get a smooth mixture in my Vitamix. The final result had too much heat. Won't make again; maybe I'll try the TJ's version some time.
Agreed, the clove is a bit overpowering. Made with New Mexican red chilis instead of guajillo. Looking forward to trying this again with some small spice tweaks.
I can't get these chili's in local stores. Can I substitute? And with what?
this was really really good , better 1 day later from the fridge fwiw
It’s a nice medium chorizo!! We loved this. We made Taco Bell’s ‘crunch wrap supreme’ with these and it was amazing. Followed it to a tee except for we cut the oil in half
As a follow up, I think it was actually the cloves that were overwhelming, as another reviewer noted.
I followed the spice proportions in the recipe. I felt that the coriander was a bit overpowering, but mellowed a bit once added to the tofu and mushrooms. I will still decrease the amount of coriander next time. The final dish was delicious and I would make again. I added it to a corn tortillas with refried black beans, avocado and cilantro. Yum!
Made it almost exactly as described but didnt use chile de arbol as my 3 year old was going to eat the chorizo. The only thing I would change is to use less clove, perhaps by using half the amount indicated. Healthful alternative to store-bought soyrizo.
Made this but swapped for spices common to hot Italian sausage: 2tsp crushed fennel, 2 tsp cracked black pepper, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1tbs assorted Italian spices (basil, thyme, oregano, etc.) in whatever combo you like, 1tsp paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt. I kept the soy (it helps color the tofu) and cut the oil to the few tablespoons necessary for browning. It worked worked well for a vegetarian lasagna and can see it being a good in a pasta sauce or as a ravioli filling.
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