Description
Flavorful, easy to make, this Vegan Chorizo is packed with plant-based protein. Make it in just 10 minutes with pantry staples.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegan Chorizo
- 1 cup TVP (see note 1)
- 1 ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (see note 2)
- 3-4 tbsp coconut milk or neutral oil, optional (see note 3)
Spice mix: (can buy Chorizo seasoning)
- 1-2 tbsp ancho chili powder, to taste (1 tbsp is not too spicy)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano (other is OK)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp coriander
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- 2-3 cloves, ground, optional
Instructions
- Hydrate: First, rehydrate the TVP by adding it to a bowl with the broth. Stir and let it sit for 5-8 minutes, and drain if there’s a LOT of liquid left, but not if there’s only a little.
- Prep spices: In the meantime, add all your spices to a bowl--it works best when everything is prepared beforehand. You can stir them or not, it doesn’t matter much.
- Cook: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the TVP and just a little of the remaining liquid to the pan and spread it out. Let it cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally.
- Spice it up: Add the spices and stir well until totally combined. Let it cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it starts to stick, add a bit of the broth leftover or a bit of water, and stir to deglaze.
- Moisturize: Add the apple cider vinegar, stir, then the coconut milk or oil (if using, but not necessary). Let it heat through.
- Now, you can choose to brown it even further by letting the pan get a little drier, turning up the heat slightly to get the chorizo to brown, or you can remove it from heat and serve. Let cool before storing.
- Store: Store leftover vegan chorizo in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. This stuff keeps quite well!
Notes
- Note 1: The base of this vegan chorizo is TVP, which stands for textured vegetable protein. TVP is soy based, low fat, gluten-free, and packed with plant-based protein. I can find TVP at local health food stores and online. You could substitute lentils (with mushrooms would be tasty) or a store-bought vegan ground beef, if you’d like. TVP comes dehydrated, which is nice because that makes it shelf-stable and you can use just a little at a time if you’d like. I try to keep some on hand at all times.
- Note 2: Apple cider vinegar balances the spice with a little acidity. Any neutral vinegar would work here (I wouldn’t use muscat or balsamic vinegar), or you could use lime juice.
- Note 3: The optional fourth ingredient is coconut milk or any kind of neutral flavored oil. Chorizo is usually pork-based so it’s relatively fatty. The fat in the coconut milk (or oil) makes up for that and gives it that rich and fatty mouthfeel, but it’s not required. I’ve tried it with and without, and it’s delicious either way. And if you do use coconut milk like I did, I promise you can’t taste the coconut!
- Note 4: You can also just buy a pre-made chorizo spice blend to make it REALLY easy on yourself. But I prefer to mix it myself since I can customize it.
- Note 5: Smoked paprika is not a traditional chorizo spice, but since chorizo seasoning is typically added to meat, I wanted to infuse a little more meaty flavor into the TVP.
- Note 6: I have a strong aversion to cloves so I didn’t include them in the recipe, but they are traditionally a part of the spice mix. I’m sure you can’t really taste them, but I can’t even be around the smell. If using, grind fresh in your spice grinder or mortar and pestle for best results, or use purchased ground cloves (just a pinch).
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: meat alternative
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex
Keywords: vegan chorizo, vegan chorizo recipe, Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free