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Make The Best & Authentic Vegan Tacos Al PastoR

Vegan Tacos Al Pastor

One of my collabs with Mitú went up on Friday! You can watch me make a refreshing watermelon cocktail inspired by the spicy watermelon paletas I grew up with here.

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The last time my parents came over to visit, my dad mentioned he wanted to take a family trip to Cancún, and to be completely honest I don’t know if I’d want to go. The last time we were there, we had an okay time..there was nothing about Cancún that left us wanting to come back. It’s been two years since we’ve visited, as it was my reward for losing the 40 lbs. I had put on during my last year in college.

I decided that February that I was going to finally make a change to my lifestyle, so I booked our flights and I told myself that I was going to take my shirt off at the beach regardless of what my body looked like. I was always the kid who never took his shirt off at the pool because I was super shy about my body, but I worked hard and trained my butt off and I actually managed to reach my goal weight a week before our trip.

Vegan Tacos Al PastorCancun has beautiful blue beaches and good food, but it is a very tourist heavy location and it lacked the feeling of being in Mexico. We decided to stay en el centro to get a more authentic experience while we were there but we never found quite what we were looking for. We did however, find amazing tacos al pastor. They were completely different than the ones I was used to. The pork was sweeter, and the taqueros really played up the pineapple, cinnamon, and the achiote notes which was different than the heavier guajillo flavor bomb I was used to.

We’re going to be recreating a vegan version of those tacos al estilo Cancún today because I finally started dipping my toes in the vegan pond. I have many friends who are vegan who’ve been asking me to write recipes for some of their favorite dishes and I was excited to finally incorporate TVP (meat substitute) into a recipe. As a non-vegan I didn’t really notice that the pork was missing, TVP has the texture of meat and stays moist and flavorful, unlike pork which can become tough and dry when it is slightly overcooked. If you’re vegan, I hope these tacos deliver an authentic experience, and if you’re not vegan, don’t be afraid to try something new. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

(Billy also has a recipe up today for tacos de pollo verde , you can check it out here)

Vegan Tacos Al Pastor

Click here for more vegan recipes!

Vegan Friendly Mexican Telera Rolls

VEGAN JACKFRUIT AND POBLANO FLAUTAS WITH A VEGAN CASHEW CREMA MEXICANA

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4.30 from 10 votes

Vegan Tacos Al Pastor

Feeds 4
Calories 0kcal
Author Billy Green

Ingredients

  • For the filling:
  • 3 (5-6″) dried guajillo chiles* stems and seeds removed
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 3 cloves of garlic smashed and peeled
  • 1/2 of a white onion roughly chopped (the rest will be for topping the tacos)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1.75 ounces achiote paste half of the 3.5 package
  • 2 ¼ cups dry medium-sized chunks TVP , rehydrated (should measure out to 4 ½ cups once rehydrated)
  • Garnish:
  • the rest of that white onion minced
  • minced cilantro
  • 2/3 cup fresh pineapple diced
  • lime
  • salt
  • tortillas

Instructions

  • In a dry medium saucepan toast the guajillos on both sides for 3-5 minutes. Once they’re toasted cover them with water, bring to a boil, and then bring down to a simmer for about 15 minutes, until the peppers are soft.
  • **If you haven’t already, make sure to squeeze out any excess water out of your tvp, so it can absorb the marinade.
  • Once your peppers are soft, add them to the blender and mix in the pineapple juice, lime juice, cloves of garlic, ½ white onion, salt, Mexican oregano, cinnamon, and achiote paste. Blend until smooth.
  • Place your TVP in a gallon size plastic bag and pour in the marinade. (Give the TVP a good squeeze so it soaks in the marinade). Then place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours.
  • Once your TVP is done marinating, and you're ready to cook, drain the excess marinade.
  • Preheat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet and add the TVP/pineapple and fry, stirring occasionally until the TVP is hot and slightly crispy on the outside.
  • Serve on a warm tortilla and garnish with fresh pineapple and your favorite taco fixings.

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33 Comments

  • Reply
    Maureen Forys
    June 14, 2017 at 12:34 am

    Yum! I just found your site and it is making me so happy. I am from San Diego and LA originally and your recipes are just what I need to get that taste of home here in Oakland. I am going to try these tacos for sure. Maybe I’ll try it with jack fruit too…I am digging that as a vegan meat a lot these days. Thanks for a great site.

    • Reply
      Esteban Castillo
      June 14, 2017 at 11:02 am

      Hi @maureenforys:disqus! Thank you so much for checking out the blog! I love hearing that! Let me know how the tacos turn out with jackfruit! I’m currently working on a recipe with it! 😉

      • Reply
        Andrew L Harner
        September 21, 2020 at 8:41 pm

        Is the 4 1/2 cups tvp measured before or after hydration?

        • Reply
          Esteban
          September 21, 2020 at 9:27 pm

          Hi Andrew, Sorry about that! It should be 2 1/4 cups of dry tvp and once rehydrated it should measure out to 4 1/2 cups. Thank you for catching that!

    • Reply
      Francisco Garay
      December 29, 2019 at 8:17 pm

      4 stars
      Thank you for posting vegan alternatives for stuff.

  • Reply
    Denise Miceli
    June 19, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    Making this tonight…I hope I can find all the ingredients in my small town! looking forward to trying your other recipes! Thank you!

  • Reply
    Andrew L Harner
    December 7, 2019 at 8:23 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe. My only change is to use tamari instead of salt, which gives an umami boost.

    I like to make this recipe with seitan sometimes, too.

    • Reply
      Francisco Garay
      December 31, 2019 at 12:37 pm

      I am trying it with Chik chunks or whatever the heck they call that stuff and Jackfruit. I am marinating it now and I am afraid. Seitan would have been a better choice for me.

      • Reply
        Esteban
        December 31, 2019 at 2:02 pm

        I would just drain a bit of the marinade so it’s not extremely saucy, since the jackfruit won’t absorb it like tvp does! Let me know how it turns out with the jackfruit though!

  • Reply
    Amira
    January 15, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    5 stars
    These were very yummy! Thank you for the recipe, felt like the flavor didn’t go into the TVP very well. I was wondering if the TVP would absorb the flavor if you rehydrated them in the marinade?

  • Reply
    NP
    May 3, 2020 at 1:25 am

    Do you cook the TVP first or just marinate it dry?

    • Reply
      Esteban
      May 3, 2020 at 3:05 pm

      Rehydrate the tvp first, wring out the water, then place the tvp in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Once in the marinade, give the tvp a squeeze so it absorbs the marinade.

    • Reply
      Jadzia Sanchez
      August 19, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      5 stars
      Do you think tofu can work with this recipe instead of TVP?

      • Reply
        Esteban
        August 19, 2020 at 5:48 pm

        Hi Jadzia, Yes! Just make sure to press out as much moisture as you can out of the tofu so that it can absorb the marinade a little better.

  • Reply
    Kelsey
    May 14, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    Is the 4.5 cups of TVP measured dry or once it’s rehydrated?

    • Reply
      Esteban
      May 14, 2020 at 10:23 pm

      Once it’s been rehydrated!

  • Reply
    Ryan Conley
    July 7, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    3 stars
    Liked it, put think I over salted and used too much lime in the marinade. What albramd of achiote paste do you recommend?

  • Reply
    Karen
    July 27, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    This looks delicious! How do you think it would hold up in the fridge? I’m looking to make a batch and eat it for lunches throughout the week…

    • Reply
      Esteban
      July 27, 2020 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Karen! Personally, I would make this with chicken thighs to make sure leftovers will stay a little jucier, I feel like pork just tends to dry out when it gets reheated! Either way, it should hold up! 🙂

  • Reply
    Jadzia Sanchez
    August 19, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    Do you think tofu can work with this recipe instead of TVP?

  • Reply
    The VegNews A-Z Guide to Vegan Tacos – The Best Food Recipe
    November 3, 2020 at 2:43 am

    […] identical sweet-meets-spicy taste profile with out the rotating pork shank. Methods to make them: Vegan Tacos Al Pastor by Chicano EatsThe place to search out them: Tacotarian, Las Vegas, […]

  • Reply
    The VegNews A-Z Information to Vegan Tacos | 7 Day A Week Veganology
    November 9, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    […] sweet-meets-spicy taste profile with out the rotating pork shank. The best way to make them: Vegan Tacos Al Pastor by Chicano EatsThe place to seek out them: Tacotarian, Las Vegas, […]

  • Reply
    Vale
    November 16, 2020 at 2:31 pm

    Hi! Just to make sure, that’s 3 guajillos chiles 5 to 6 inches right? Or is it 35? 😄

    • Reply
      Esteban
      November 16, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      Correct! 3 (5-6 inch) peppers!

  • Reply
    Stella
    August 31, 2021 at 8:01 am

    5 stars
    Hi Esteban, Just wanted to let you know your Vegan Tacos Al Pastor recipe was featured today on Flipboard. Here is the link: https://flipboard.com/@stellak2020/5-plant-based-taco-recipes-lfgkp35bggf8bbd0 Hope all is well with you!

  • Reply
    Bianca
    September 24, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    5 stars
    Wanted to say I’ve made this recipe several times over the past year and it is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for developing a vegan recipe for one of my all time favorite Mexican food!! Will keep coming back for this one.

  • Reply
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