Chorizo is one of my comfort foods, nothing beats a breakfast of papas con chorizo, warm corn tortillas, and salsa molcajeteada. This spicy vegan chorizo is packed with flavor and made with the same traditional cooking method as the real thing, so you know it's good!
A combination of tofu and mushrooms is marinated in a sauce made with dried chiles, Mexican oregano, cumin, clove, paprika, and apple cider vinegar, then cooked until golden brown. It is the perfect addition to your breakfast burritos, burrito bowls, tofu scramble, or to spice up your taco night.
What Makes This A Great Recipe
There are quite a few plant-based chorizo options in grocery stores now, my favorite is Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo, but none of them come close to the flavor of authentic Mexican chorizo. That's why I set out to make my own, and after testing recipes with quinoa, tempeh, TVP, and even lentils I settled on this spicy and crumbly chorizo, with tons of umami flavor, and notes of clove and coriander. It makes an excellent plant-based protein and is vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free,
Difference Between Spanish and Mexican Chorizo
Spanish chorizo as we know it today was born in the Iberian Peninsula around the XVII century when pimentón (paprika) arrived in Spain from the Americas. Pimenton is made from small red peppers that were not available in Spain before then, previously chorizo was white or black. Spanish chorizo is typically made with chopped pork, seasoned with pimentón (which gives it its red color) and garlic, and is cured for 2 to 4 weeks.
Mexican chorizo is similar to Spanish chorizo in flavor, but it is not cured, and the pork is usually ground, making it a crumbly and chunky chorizo that needs to be cooked before eating. It is seasoned with pimentón (paprika), like Spanish chorizo, but it is spiced with various dried chiles, oregano, cumin, and coriander. Toluca, in central Mexico, was one of the first places to register chorizo production in Mexico. To this day, Mexicans consider chorizo from Toluca among the best in the country.
Main Ingredients
Unlike other soyrizo recipes this one is made by reconstituting dried chiles. If you have never worked with dried chiles before, don't worry it is quite easy to do. You will need:
Dried ancho chiles: Ancho chiles are dried Poblano chiles with medium heat. They are large in size and a dark red almost black color. They are available at your local Mexican market or online.
Dried guajillo chiles: Guajillo chiles are the dried form of the mirasol chile. They are elongated in shape, a dark cranberry red color, with mild heat. Sometimes there mislabeled as chile cascabel or New Mexico chile. They are available at your local Mexican market or online.
Dried arbol Chiles: Chiles de Árbol are small, thin chiles, about 2-3 inches long and less than a ½ inch wide. They are a bright red color and are hot so be careful. If you want this chorizo to be mild I recommend you omit the chiles de arbol. They are available at your local Mexican market or online.
Tofu: Tofu is my favorite meat substitute, for this recipe I use extra-firm tofu. If you want to make a soy-free chorizo you can use coarse chunks of garbanzo beans instead or chopped cauliflower.
How to Make Vegan Chorizo
Press the tofu for 30 minutes, by placing it in between two plates with a heavy object on top.
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles, pour boiling water over them, and let them soak for 15 minutes.
Drain the chiles and transfer them to the blender. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, paprika, coriander, apple cider vinegar, and some of the soaking liquid to the blender and puree until smooth.
Pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve. Add half of it to the crumbled tofu.
Mince the mushrooms finely. Sauté them until golden brown and a bit crispy.
Add the remaining half of the chile puree and cook for a couple more minutes until the mixture has thickened.
Add the marinated tofu to the pan with the mushrooms.
Stir to combine everything together, and cook until the chorizo begins to brown.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- To increase or decrease the spiciness, adjust the quantities of chile de arbol.
- Mince your mushrooms finely. I recommend you do this with a knife, not a food processor. This helps make a much better texture.
- If browned bits of chorizo get stuck to the bottom of the pan, use a little bit of broth to deglaze the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and incorporate all the browned-up bits into the chorizo.
- To make this oil-free: omit the avocado oil and use a non-stick skillet
Serving
The chorizo possibilities are now endless. I will be making papas con chorizo, torta de chorizo, and sopes con chorizo.
Storing
Store the chorizo in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
FAQ
Chorizo originated in the Iberian Peninsula, which is mainly composed by Spain and Portugal.
Mexican chorizo is raw meat seasoned with dry chilies and aromatic spices. In Spain, chorizo is generally composed of chopped pork and pork fat seasoned with garlic, salt, and pimentón, a type of smoked paprika, and it is cured.
More Vegan Mexican Breakfast Recipes
Homemade Vegan Chorizo
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu (14 oz)
- 6 dried chile guajillo, seeds and stems removed
- 2 dried chile ancho, seeds and stems removed
- 4 dried chile de arbol. seeds and stems removed
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil (optional)
- ½ pound mushrooms, finely chopped
Instructions
- Press the tofu for 30 minutes. If you don't have a tofu press you can do this by placing the tofu in between two plates then placing a heavy object on top.
- Place the chiles in a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling hot water over them. Let them soak for 15 minutes.
- Drain the chiles, but reserve ½ cup of the chile soaking liquid. Transfer the chiles and reserved chile-soaking liquid to the blender.
- Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, paprika, coriander, apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper, and puree until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl.
- Drain the water from the tofu and crumble with your hands into a large bowl. Pour half of the chile puree into the bowl with the tofu and stir to combine. Let marinate while you cook the mushrooms.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 6 to 7 min.
- Decrease the heat low and pour in the remaining half of the chile puree. Stir and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to absorb the chile mixture.
- Add the tofu mixture and stir to completely incorporate it into the mushrooms. Continue to cook until the liquid begins to evaporate and the tofu starts to brown, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Taste the chorizo, and if necessary add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Store the chorizo in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
Video
Notes
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- To increase or decrease the spiciness, adjust the quantities of chile de arbol.
-
- Mince your mushrooms finely. I recommend you do this with a knife, not a food processor. This helps make a much better texture.
-
- If browned bits of chorizo get stuck to the bottom of the pan, use a little bit of broth to deglaze the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and incorporate all the browned-up bits into the chorizo.
- If you want to make a soy-free chorizo you can use coarse chunks of garbanzo beans instead or chopped cauliflower.
- To make this oil-free: omit the avocado oil and use a non-stick skillet
Nutrition
Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
This is the first vegan recipe I’ve tried- giving up chorizo was hard- but no more! It’s wonderful! ¡Muy sabroso! The best tasting chorizo ever! I did add another clove of garlic, and a little more vinegar, but the spices were spot on. I had never cooked with tofu, it never got crispy, but I had papas con chorizo immediately-couldn’t wait- it smelled so good . Thank you!
Hola! Esta delicioso! Ya lo hice. Cuáles serían los macros de esta receta? Por favor. Llevo una dieta estricta y no quiero perderme de seguir comiéndolo. Gracias por compartir
Hola Gladis, la verdad no se absolutamente nada de macros
Can you say more about the potatoes used in the pictures - type of potato and how they were cooked? Thank you!
I used peeled russet potatoes. I cook them briefly in water then saute them with onion and oil, then add the cooked vegan chorizo.
Hi Dora,
This recipe sounds and looks amazing! Do you think I can use the chorizo with potatoes as a filling for vegan tamales?
Thank you!
Yes Elizabeth that would work!
I have made a vegan chorizo with lentils. I gave up meat a yr ago for health reasons also. My husband and daughter couldn’t believe it was made with lentils. They said it tasted better than beef chorizo which is what I normally eat. My son is picky and won’t eat it iff it’s not regular chorizo.
I am mexican and was doubtful this would taste good. It was GREAT. I add a bit more vinager when I reheated the chorizo. Tasts just like pork chorizo. Mix wirh papas (potatoes paid fried) . This will really keep me on the path to be vegan.
Hi Theresa, yay!!! I'm so happy that yo liked it. I know it was super helpful to me when I first started eating vegan,
He sido vegetariana por 8 años y chorizo es una de las pocas cosas que extraño. Ya no tendré que extrañar nada -
quedo increíble, hasta mis hijos se sorprendieron cuando me vieron cocinando carne (ja!). Hice taquitos con tortillas hechas a mano y una salsita verde.
Gracias por la inspiración.
¡Qué bueno que les gustó!! A mi me gusta engañar a todos mi amigos omnis con esta receta.
I want to try this but do I have to put mushrooms? I don’t like them
No, you can used mashed cooked chickpeas or lentils instead of mushroom or even chopped up cauliflower
I would like to watch the video but I’m just finding ads. Smoky the Bear & love has no labels, NSW, STEM, American Lung Assn but no chorizo video. Is there somewhere else the video is stored? I just want to see if my guajillo and anchos are too big for this recipe and if I should halve the number. Maybe you have an approx weight?
I am sorry about that. Here's a link to the youtube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkNsiXv93c
I made this and it's the best chorizo I've ever ate. My kids LOVE it and so does my meat eating Mexican macho man. My hubby said do not buy store bought, anymore. Thank you, Dora!
I'm so happy to hear that!! I know it's a little time consuming, but it's totally worth it.
Hi Dora. Thanks for this great recipe. I never liked chorizo as a kid because it always seemed to have gristle or cartilage. Problem solved! Since mine didn’t crisp up, I formed the final mush into patties and fried them briefly. A vegetarian could add an egg as a binder. Maybe a vegan has a suitable binder idea. Regardless, this is an amazing recipe. The vinegar really rocks it. I’m going to use more chiles de arbol next time.
I felt the same way, because cheap cuts of meat are used to make it there's always some grizzle in there. Gross!
This was absolutely amazing!! I’m trying to eat plant based and this is making it easy for me! I feel like it tastes way better than any Chorizo I’ve had before! Thanks so much!!! I accidentally pulverized the mushrooms in my food processor, but I feel like it made the recipe better! It was sort of a mushroom paste but it turned out delicious!
I'm so glad you liked it! Using the food processor really saves time.
I made these tacos to share with non-vegan friends last week, and they were a huge hit! The chorizo is very quick and easy to make, and starting with dried chiles gives it such a rich, authentic flavor. Definitely a keeper!
So glad you liked it!