These quick and easy vegan tempeh tacos are full of flavor and packed with protein. Tempeh has a naturally meaty texture and is a great meat alternative for your veggie tacos. They're the perfect plant-based weekday meal ready in just 15 minutes!
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Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and is sold in a brick-like form. It has a slightly bitter flavor that is easily eliminated when boiled. Simmering the tempeh in a toco-flavored broth allows the flavors to soak in.
You can also use it to make things like tempeh bacon or BBQ tempeh sandwiches.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's easy to make in just minutes
- Makes a hearty and delicious meal.
- Plain tempeh is a naturally gluten-free plant-based meat alternative.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tempeh - for the meaty base of your tacos. If you don't want to use tempeh, you can make my TVP tacos instead.
- Water - to form a broth to simmer the tempeh in. You can also use vegetable broth.
- Taco Seasoning - for flavor. Use any store-bought taco seasoning that you like or make your own using chili powder and cumin.
- Cumin - optional for a little extra Mexican-style flavor.
- Salt - to taste. If you use salty taco seasoning, you may not need extra salt.
- Cooking Oil - to fry the tempeh crumbles after they have absorbed all of the water. This will help crisp it up a little and give it a better texture. You can omit the oil and skip this step for oil-free taco "meat." You can use light olive oil, refined coconut oil, avocado oil, or any other neutral-flavored oil.
- Taco Toppings - Add lettuce, Mexican pickled onions, vegan cilantro lime crema, tomatoes, vegan cheddar cheese, olives, vegan sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos, salsa, cilantro sauce, crunchy quinoa, or anything else that you like on your tacos.
- Taco Shells - you can use hard-shell tacos or soft-shell tacos. I love to use flame-heated corn tortillas for these tacos.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A Skillet - to simmer and fry the tempeh taco "meat" in.
🥄 How to make tempeh taco meat
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 - Add 1 cup of water or broth to the bottom of a skillet and stir in 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.
Step 2 - Crumble a block of tempeh with your hands into small pieces and put it into the broth.
Step 3 - Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until all of the liquid is gone.
Step 4 - Drizzle the crumbles with 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté for an additional 3 - 4 additional minutes.
Step 5 - Serve as you would taco meat in tacos, tostadas, burritos, or loaded vegan nachos.
👨🍳 How to make gourmet vegan tacos
If you want to turn these tacos from boring into something special, I highly recommend using soft-shell corn tortillas and heating them over an open flame. I do this over my gas stovetop with some metal tongs to flip them. You can also heat them over the open flame of a grill.
The toppings are the key to great tacos and my favorites are Mexican pickled onions, garlic cilantro sauce, cilantro lime crema, and some spicy mayo like vegan chipotle mayo or vegan sriracha mayo. I love to add some crunchy quinoa, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice as well.
🌮 Vegan taco toppings
- vegan sour cream
- vegan cheddar cheese
- garlic cilantro sauce
- Mexican pickled onions
- vegan cilantro lime crema
- chipotle mayo or sriracha mayo
- vegan cheese sauce
- veggie cheese sauce
- toasted crunchy quinoa
- diced tomatoes
- olives
- cilantro
- avocado
- guacamole
- jalapenos
- salsa
- fresh lime juice
🍞 Gluten-free tempeh tacos
Tempeh tacos make a great gluten-free meat alternative, however, you have to read labels to make sure that they are gluten-free. Be sure to buy plain tempeh. A lot of tempeh has other grains added to it, so make sure that yours is made from only soybeans. You also want to double-check your taco seasoning. A lot of brands include wheat as a thickening agent in taco seasoning.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Be sure to simmer the tempeh taco meat to get the bitterness out of it.
- Toss in a bag of fresh baby spinach at the end of cooking and let it wilt. It makes a delicious spinach taco or burrito filling!
- Different brands of taco seasoning have different amounts of salt. You will need to adjust the salt in this recipe based on the brand of taco seasoning that you are using to suit your taste.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: The vegan tempeh taco meat will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: Tempeh taco meat will freeze well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the tempeh taco meat in the microwave for about 2 minutes, and pan-fry in a little oil.
🌟 More southwest-style meals
- Southwest Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Green Chili Stew
- Vegan Bean Salad - Southwest Style
- TVP Tacos
- Vegetarian Fajitas
- Homemade Soyrizo
- Vegan Pozole
- Mexican Stir-Fry
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Tempeh tacos recipe
Tempeh Tacos
Ingredients
For the taco "meat"
- 1 ( 8 oz.) block tempeh
- 1 cup water (or low sodium broth)
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if needed)
- 1 tablespoon oil
For the tacos
- 12 corn tortillas or taco shells
- 1 cup Mexican pickled onions (optional)
- 1/2 cup vegan cilantro lime crema (optional)
- 1/2 cup vegan chipotle mayo (optional)
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of water or broth to the bottom of a skillet and stir in 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.
- Crumble a block of tempeh with your hands into small pieces and put it into the broth.
- Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until all of the liquid is gone.
- Drizzle the crumbles with 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté for an additional 3 - 4 more minutes.
- Serve as you would taco meat in tacos, tostadas, burritos, or loaded vegan nachos. I like to serve them in heated soft-shell corn tortillas with vegan cilantro lime crema, Mexican pickled onions, and chipotle mayo.
Notes
- Be sure to simmer the tempeh taco meat to get the bitterness out of it.
- Toss in a bag of fresh baby spinach at the end of cooking and let it wilt. It makes a delicious spinach taco or burrito filling!
- Different brands of taco seasoning have different amounts of salt. You will need to adjust the salt in this recipe based on the brand of taco seasoning that you are using to suit your taste.
Nutrition
*The original recipe was posted on April 7, 2021. Updated on October 17, 2023, to include new images.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Omg sounds amazing will definitely try this.
These were delicious and so easy!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I did not know how to prepare tempeh. Didn't know you had to boil the tempeh to eliminate the bitterness.
Will certainly try the Recipe.
Boiling or steaming tempeh really helps to mellow out the strong flavor. My son won't eat it if I just fry it up, but loves it if it's been boiled in a broth first. Enjoy! 🙂