Chorizo is one of my comfort foods. Nothing beats a breakfast of huevos con chorizo, warm corn tortillas and salsa molcajeteada. Of course as a vegan, there aren’t many chorizo options. This recipe though, might change your mind about vegan chorizo. This has to be my most tested recipe. I tried many versions of this, one made with quinoa, one with tempeh, another with tofu, and one with just mushrooms. After many failed chorizo attempts, I give you the best homemade vegan chorizo recipe you will be able to find.
The recipe takes a little bit of time, but believe it is worth it. This chorizo is spicy and crumbly, with tons of umami flavor and notes of clove and coriander. To make this chorizo you first have to press the tofu for 30 minutes. Place in between two plates with a heavy object on top. This eliminates the excess water in the tofu, creating a better texture for the chorizo. Then crumble it into a large bowl.
Take your dry chiles, and remove the stems and seeds. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the chiles inside. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let sit for 10 minutes.
Remove the chiles from the water and place in the blender. Reserve ½ cup of the chile soaking liquid. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, paprika, coriander, apple cider vinegar, and ¼ cup of soaking liquid to the blender and process until smooth. If necessary add the remaining ¼ cup of the soaking liquid to get things moving in the blender. Strain the chile mixture. Add half of it to the crumbled tofu.
Mince your mushrooms finely. I recommend you do this with a knife not a food processor. 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.
Sauté the tofu until golden brown and crispy. In a large bowl combine the cooked mushrooms and tofu and check your seasoning. The chorizo possibilities are now endless. I will be making papas con chorizo, torta de chorizo, sopes con chorizo, and many more dishes. I can’t wait for you to try them. Enjoy!
The Recipe: Homemade Vegan Chorizo
The finished chorizo will keep in your fridge for 3-5 days, or you can freeze for up to 3 months. To increase the spiciness add more chile de arbol.
Homemade Vegan Chorizo
Ingredients
- 1 block (12 oz.) Tofu, extra firm
- ½ lb. Mushrooms, finely chopped
- 6 Chile guajillo, dried, seeded
- 2 Chile ancho, dried, seeded
- 4 Chile de arbol, dried
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp. Oregano, dried
- ½ tsp. Cumin, ground
- 2 Cloves, whole
- 1 tbsp. Paprika, ground
- ½ tsp. Coriander, ground
- ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Vegetable oil, optional
Preparation
- Remove tofu from package and place in between two small plates. Place a can on top of the plates and leave like this for 30 min.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and discard them. Drop the chiles into the boiling water. Turn heat down to the lowest setting and let the chiles sit in the water for 10 min.
- Remove the chiles from the water and place in blender. Reserve ½ cup of the chile soaking liquid.
- Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, paprika, coriander, apple cider vinegar, and ¼ cup of soaking liquid to the blender and process until smooth. If necessary add the remaining ¼ cup of the soaking liquid to get things moving in the blender.
- Season the chile mixture with salt and pepper and pass through a fine strainer. Set aside.
- Drain the water from the tofu and crumble with your hands into a large bowl. Pour half of the pureed chile mixture into the bowl with the tofu and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a large sauté pan to high heat and add 1 tbsp. of oil. Once the oil is hot add the finely chopped mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 6-7 min.
- Lower heat to medium-low and pour in the remaining half of the chile mixture. Stir and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to absorb the chile mixture. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl.
- Heat a non-stick sauté pan set to medium heat, add 1 tbsp. of oil. Add the tofu mixture and continue to cook until the liquid begins to evaporate and tofu becomes crispy, 7-8 minutes. You can make the tofu as crispy as you like. (Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the tofu will never get crispy.)
- Pour cooked tofu mixture into the bowl with the mushrooms and mix well to combine. Adjust seasoning.
Recipe Video
Chef's Notes
The finished chorizo will keep in your fridge for 3- 5 days, or you can freeze for up to 3 months. You can add it to your tofu scramble, tacos, tortas, sopes, etc. To increase the spiciness add more chile de arbol.
Gracias!! Glad you like it.
i made this yesterday for breakfast and it was absolutely AMAZING! i will never buy store bought chorizo again! i was just telling my bf how i wish there were more vegan Mexican recipes out there
Thanks for the comment Heather, glad you liked it!
I am very excited to try this recipe! Do you think I could double it & freeze the extra? I wonder how well tofu would freeze?
Hi Courtney. I’ve never frozen it before, but I know the texture of tofu changes when frozen. I’m not quite sure or it will affect the recipe. I will have to test it out and get back to you.
Hi Courtney, I tested it, and it can be frozen!
Hi Mariana, I have never frozen it before. I know the texture of tofu changes when it is frozen, but I’m not sure how it will affect the recipe. I will have to test it and get back to you.
Mariana, I did a test, and it can be frozen!
Was this tested? How did it turn out after freezing?
HI Mica, yes, it was tested and it freezes very well. The recipe makes a big batch so you can freeze half of it to use later.
Dora you’re a genius! My vegetarian guy is going to love this! He was just telling me his story about the first time he had chorizo in LA years ago and he bought the kind that was so fatty is just melted into this big globby orange mess:) Will definitely pin this one for him so he can enjoy some tasty meatless chorizo this time.
I hope he enjoys it!
made the vegan potato and chorizo tacos the other day with my hubby and they were AMAZING!! we used to live in Mexico and we miss good Mexican food, but now we’re vegan, so this was perfect and so delicious! a little time consuming, but well worth it in the end! thank you!!
I totally agree Shelby. Making the chorizo is a little bit time consuming, but so worth it. I’m glad you liked it!
Wow! This was really delicious. We topped some baked potatoes with some bean chili and this chorizo. Still have some in the fridge so I think it will go on the tostadas we have planned for tomorrow. I just discovered your website and can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I am so glad you like the chorizo Barbara!
Hello, I made this tonight and wow. It is delicious. I’m going to make another batch tommorow for the freezer. Thanks!
I’m glad you liked it!
Are there chilis we can substitute for flavor but not heat? We are wusses when it comes to spicy food
Hi Burt, I would just omit the chile de arbol. The the other two chiles are very mild, it’s the arbol chiles that give it the spice.
I Just printed this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Wonderful recipe! I cant wait to try it!
This recipe is the absolute greatest ever! I even deleted the oil. I use it for everything and I even give it away as gifts. I always keep it in the freezer (without the mushrooms and tofu). It is perfection!
Thanks Jo! It is also one of my favorites
I need this for my husband who is a vegan with high blood pressure and needs to cut out salt! But i really hate mushrooms, so it’ll work with just the tofu crumble, right?? Thanks, it looks awesome.
Hi Andrea, you can use just the tofu crumble or you can do 1/2 tofu crumble and 1/2 TVP.
Finally got around to trying your recipe, Dora. Both vegetarians at my brunch were in heaven! This recipe is definitely a keeper and pretty tasty with some fried up potatoes and salsa de aguacate. Yum!
Thanks for commenting Vanessa! This is one of my favorite recipes
It freezes really well. I put it on everything!
This looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it. What about using frozen tofu and then squeezing the water out of it after it thaws? I have found that this is a great way to get flavor into tofu as it just seems to slurp up the flavors around it very fast.
This would work as well!
Hola! Muchas gracias por compartir tu receta! Soy mexicana viviendo en Alemania. He estado tras la receta de chorizo vegetariano desde hace un tiempo, y no había encontrado recetas que me convencieran. Pero ésta de tofu está fabulosa! Huele y sabe igual que el chorizo de México -ja, con carne-. No le agregué los champiñones porque solo a mí me gustan, y el resto de la familia es anti. Pero aún sin champis supo buenísimo, con tortilla recién hecha y frijolitos refritos. mmhm!!
¡Qué bueno que les gustó!
Hi, would you recommend making larger batches and freezing?
Yes! It freezes really well. I would double the recipe, then freeze it
Also can you do all the prep the day before and grill the next day?
Chorizo is one of my Mexican faves. My wife is hasn’t eaten pork or beef in fifteen years and I tried this recipe to have her try. We made tacos with fried potatoes ave are both in love. This recipe is now added to my staples list
I’m so glad you liked it!!