A simple, delicious recipe for Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts, lentils, and Mexican spices that can be used as a meat substitute in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, and burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights!

Smoky, savory, spicy Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts and lentils and Mexican Spices- a tasty plant-based alternative to chorizo to use in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights! 

Smoky, savory, toasty and nutty,  this Vegan Chorizo is a delicious way to add the flavor of Mexican Chorizo to your dishes without the meat! This vegan chorizo can be made in literally 10 minutes!  The walnuts give this an earthy meaty flavor, great texture, delicious depth and a lovely richness.

TIP: For a quick low-carb version, double the walnuts and skip the lentils. You can also just use crumbled tofu, for a simpler, faster version!

Ingredients in Vegan Chorizo

  •  walnuts (or pecans) See notes if allergic to nuts.
  •  cooked lentils (or cooked black beans, or use more walnuts for a low-carb version)
  •  kosher salt
  •  granulated garlic powder ( or garlic clove)
  •  cumin
  •  coriander
  •  smoked paprika
  •  chili powder
  •  dried oregano (or thyme)
  •  ground chipotle (or sub cayenne), more to taste
  •  cinnamon
  •  tomato paste

How to make Vegan Chorizo

Ingredients in Vegan Chorizo

Step 1: Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse. 

blended ingredients

Pulse until combined but not overly smooth.

Cook the vegan chorizo in a skillet

Step 2: Brown the vegan chorizo in a greased skillet until nutty and fragrant. 

Smoky, savory, spicy Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts and lentils and Mexican Spices- a tasty plant-based alternative to chorizo to use in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights! 

Serve!

Ways to use Vegan Chorizo

Smoky, savory, spicy Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts and lentils and Mexican Spices- a tasty plant-based alternative to chorizo to use in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights! 

Enjoy this easy recipe and let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

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Smoky, savory, spicy Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts and lentils and Mexican Spices- a tasty plant-based alternative to chorizo to use in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights! 

Vegan Chorizo

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 5
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Plant-based
  • Method: blended
  • Cuisine: Mexican
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Smoky, savory, spicy Vegan Chorizo made with walnuts and lentils and Mexican Spices- a tasty plant-based alternative to chorizo to use in tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos or breakfast bowls. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for busy weeknights!


Ingredients

Units Scale

 

  • 1 cup walnuts (or pecans)
  • 1 cup cooked lentils (or sub-cooked black beans, or use 1 cup more walnuts for a low-carb version)
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder ( or 1 garlic clove)
  • 1 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or thyme)
  • optional: 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle (or sub cayenne), more to taste
  • optional: 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 12 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons water, and more to desired consistency

Instructions

  1. Place walnuts, lentils,  spices, salt, tomato paste and water in a food processor and pulse until combined, but not over smooth- a little texture is good.
  2. Taste, adjust salt and heat.
  3. If using the vegan chorizo as a taco or tostada filling, heat it up in a greased skillet, and if it gets overly dry, feel free to add another tablespoon or two of water so it doesn’t dry out in the pan, or another drizzle of olive oil.
  4. Sometimes I’ll saute a little onion or shallot in a skillet with olive oil until fragrant, then add the chorizo, for even more flavor.

Notes

Nut allergy? For a quick, simple version, crumble 1 block of firm tofu in a skillet, browning about in the oil, then add the salt and spices.

Vegan Chorizo will keep 3-4 days in the fridge or can be frozen.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ¼ cup
  • Calories: 134
  • Sugar: 1.2 g
  • Sodium: 188.3 mg
  • Fat: 9.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 8.8 g
  • Fiber: 3.6 g
  • Protein: 4.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. This is an amazing recipe, the spice mix is honestly right on point! Personally, I like to also use it with tofu to make ‘tofu chorizo’, it works really well when you add it and then grill the scrambled tofu with the spices






    1. Hi Ellie- funny I have been doing that too- so much simpler and faster, right? I noted the recipe. 🙂

    1. Hi Annie- yes, you can use all walnuts, and black beans too (a little mashed up). Mushrooms also- maybe chop them up finely and cook long enough, so all the liquid cooks out of them.

  2. Super easy, super delicious 😋. Made a double batch with black beans, used for tacos and breakfast hash.






  3. I’ve made this chorizo with walnuts, and it is mind-blowing good! Meat eaters will never know it’s not meat. The flavor is unbeatable. You have to try it!






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