These vegan TVP tacos are the perfect recipe for a meatless Taco-Tuesday! Similar to our TVP meatballs, they are ready in 30 minutes and super quick and easy to make!
There's no special equipment needed other than a large frying pan which makes it a really basic recipe and the perfect weeknight dinner! Topped with Homemade Guacamole, spicy Mango Habanero Salsa or Cucumber Pico de Gallo these tacos are a real flavor explosion!
For more Mexican-inspired recipes check out Jackfruit Birria Tacos, Loaded Vegetarian Sheet Pan Nachos or Mexican Bean Soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's bursting with Mexican flavors even thoug there's no meat included.
- It's very quick and easy to prepare.
- It's great for meal prep.
- It's super versatile and can easily be modified.
What is TVP?
TVP is short for "textured vegetable protein" and is typically made from soy flour. It's often used as a vegan meat substitute because it has a similar texture to ground meat.
Because of it's specific texture and high protein content it's often used in vegan and vegetarian recipes. It's also high in fiber but very low in fat. Soya mince is also inexpensive and super versatile! It tastes amazing as a meat substitute in chili and stew recipes, vegan burger recipes or vegan meatballs.
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- TVP (textured vegetable protein) / dried soya mince: is the main ingredient needed for these vegan tacos. It can usually be found in bigger supermarkets or health food stores. TVP stands for textured soy protein and is a meat-free alternative to mince meat. It's dehydrated and needs to be soaked in hot water or veggie broth for about 10 minutes before using it. Can be replaced with this Tofu Ground Beef.
- Veggie Stock: Personally, I use store-bought veggie broth powder in all my recipes that contain veggie stock but you could use any vegetable broth of choice. I recommend checking the label and using one without any additives like oil.
- Onion: I prefer using red onion for Mexican dishes but it's completely up to you. White onion would work fine as well.
- Red & green bell peppers: I used both a red and a green bell pepper because I find that the red one is slightly sweet and the green one balances out this sweet taste quite nicely.
- Seasoning: This recipe uses a mix of paprika powder, cumin powder and smoked paprika powder. Feel free to use pre-made taco seasoning instead.
- Cucumber & Red Cabbage: Use in this recipe as a topping. They add some additional lovely texture to but can easily be replaced with other raw veggies of choice.
- Guacamole: Adds a creamy element and I highly including it. You can either use homemade or store-bought guacamole. I always make my once since it's really easy to prepare and tastes so much more delicious. Check out our Guacamole without onion recipe for some ideas.
- Hard Taco Shells: You could use regular flour tortillas or corn tortillas instead.
How To Make TVP Taco Meat
Vegan taco meat is really easy to prepare and can be used in a variety of recipes. To prepare these tacos you won't need any special equipment other than a large frying pan.
Step 1: Soak TVP
Start by soaking the TVP in veggie broth and set aside.
Step 2: Fry TVP + veggies
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. For an oil-free taco recipe use 3 tablespoon of soy sauce instead of oil. Add onion and garlic and saute onion until soft and translucent.
Drain the TVP, then add it to the pan. Add the spices (paprika powder, smoked paprika powder & cumin) and cook for about 5 minutes until the TVP releases some veggie broth.
Add chopped bell peppers, tomato paste and maple syrup (optional) and let simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes or until peppers are soft. Add a dash of water as needed.
In the meantime, chop your raw veggies and prepare the guacamole or your salsa of choice.
Step 3: Assemble tacos
Put some lettuce into each taco shell, followed by the tvp meat mixture, cucumber, red cabbage and a generous dollop of guacamole (or other salsa of choice).
Variations
- Tortilla: Feel free to use some corn or flour tortillas instead of hard shells to create more of a burrito-style dish.
- Veggies: Cucumber and red cabbage both add some nice texture and taste to the warm meat mix but they can be replace with your raw veggies of choice.
- Spice it up: Add a couple of paprika flakes or chili powder to create some spicy vegan tacos.
- Vegan Cheese: Sprinkle the tvp meat mixture with some grated vegan cheese such as vegan cheddar for some delicious cheesy flavors.
- Beans: Add a cup of black beans or kidney beans- this will add some additional fiber and tastes amazing in combination with the soya meat mixture. Pinto beans will also taste great!
- Lime Juice: Drizzle your tacos with some fresh lime juice just before serving!
- Fresh Greens: Garnish with fresh greens such as fresh corianer or parsley.
- Other Salsas: Guacamole pairs very well with this tacos but you could use any salsa of choice such as Mango Habanero Salsa, Canned Tomato Salsa, vegan sour cream such as this Sunflower Seed Sour Cream or hot sauce.
Top Tips
- Raw Veggies: I highly recommend not skipping the raw veggies. They make a great addition to the tvp meat mixture!
- Salsa: Play around with different flavors by adding different types of salsas and your favorite toppings!
Storing
Store leftover tvp taco meat mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Gently reheat on low heat while constantly stirring.
FAQs
TVP is very low in fat but high in protein. It's a complete protein meaning that it contains all essential amino acids. It's also high in fiber and contains some vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and iron.
TVP can be a great meat substitute because of its similar texture to ground beef. However, it's quite neutral in taste so it needs quite some seasoning for it to taste exciting. In this recipe, we used a mix of spices and tomato sauce.
Yes, you'll need to soak the dry tvp in water or veggie stock to rehydrate it. After about 5-10 minutes, once it has soaked up all the liquid, it will be ready to use.
If they don't have it in your local grocery store you might want to check natural food stores or order online.
You could heat up your taco shells in the oven. Place them onto a baking tray and cut them in the oven (356F/ 180C) for 2-3 minutes.
Other Recipes to Try
Salsa Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe
Vegan TVP Tacos
Ingredients
TVP (soya mince) mixture
- 1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)/ minced soya see notes
- 1 cup veggie stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- chilli powder *optional
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 cans (14 oz each) chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch of salt
To assemble
- 10 taco shells
- lettuce
- handful of red cabbage *thinly sliced
- ½ cucumber
- guacamole see notes
Instructions
- Soak TVP in veggie stock and set aside for about 10 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is golden brown and translucent.
- Add spices (cumin, paprika, smoked paprika) and fry for about half a minute longer.
- Add in soaked TVP (including the remaining veggie stock) and cook for a couple of minutes until almost all of the veggie stock is gone.
- Next, add red and green peppers, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and maple syrup.
- Let simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes or until bell peppers is soft.
- Taste and adjust flavors.
- In the meantime, prepare your toppings (raw veggies and guacamole).
- Once the mix from the pan is ready, put some lettuce into each taco shell, then add in the TVP taco meat and top with raw veggies, guacamole and/ or other salsa of choice.
Video
Notes
- Tortilla: Feel free to use some corn or flour tortillas instead of hard shells to create more of a burrito-style dish.
- Veggies: Cucumber and red cabbage both add some nice texture and taste to the warm meat mix but they can be replaced with your raw veggies of choice.
- Vegan Cheese: Sprinkle the tvp meat mixture with some grated vegan cheese such as vegan cheddar for some delicious cheesy flavors.
- Beans: Add a cup of black beans, kidney beans or pinto beans- this will add some additional fiber and tastes amazing in combination with the soya meat mixture.
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