You'll love these quick and easy Vegan Tempeh Tacos. They're perfectly seasoned and oh so delicious. These meatless tacos make a hearty and protein-packed meal for busy weeknights or a healthy option for summer entertaining.
Tacos are one of my favorites. They are easy to make and the recipe options are endless.
If you're new to Tempeh, but love trying new vegan dishes, these Tempeh Tacos are worth your attention.
Tempeh is made with fermented soybeans and just like tofu, it's an excellent choice of plant-based protein.
Thanks to its chewy texture and outstanding ability to soak up the seasoning, Tempeh has always been a wonderful "meat-like" ingredient that most vegans love.
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the specific ingredients for this recipe. For the exact ingredients and measurements, please scroll to the recipe card below.
Ingredient notes
- Tempeh - I use the brand Lightlife. It's available in most grocery stores. There are several varieties of Tempeh, for this particular recipe I used Tempeh Flax
- Taco seasoning - chili powder, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, coriander, Gluten-free Tamari, Red Vine Vinegar, Olive oil and Maple syrup
- Dressing - tacos need dressing and I absolutely love serving these Tempeh tacos with Vegan Queso sauce. My favorite is from Siete. If you prefer homemade version of Queso, scroll down to the recipe card below for my easy vegan Queso recipe
🔪 Instructions
If you have a store-bought Queso sauce, skip the following steps and scroll down to the step #4.
Vegan Queso sauce ingredients
1. Prepare a vegan Queso sauce: place cashews in a medium bowl and cover them with 1 cup of boiled water. Alternatively, you can boil the cashews in a small pot for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. In a bowl of food processor add drained cashews, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, water and salt. Process until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
3. Transfer the sauce into a small bowl and stir in finely chopped tomato and jalapeño. Set aside.
4. Prepare the red cabbage slaw. Using a long knife or a mandoline slicer, thinly slice the cabbage. I actually recommend you to use a mandoline slicer as it's capable to slice the cabbage super thin. Thinly sliced cabbage works best in slaws.
5. Add sliced cabbage in a large bowl and add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Lightly squeeze the cabbage with your hands to soften it. Add olive oil mix and set aside while you prepare tempeh taco filling.
6. Prepare tempeh taco filling by steaming your tempeh. It will help neutrilize its natural bitterness. Cover the bottom of a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water.
Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Arrange the tempeh cubes in a steamer basket. Set the steamer basket in the saucepan and cover with the lid. Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes.
7. Combine taco seasoning: in a medium bowl whisk chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, oregano, garlic powder, vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon of oil, Tamari and Maple syrup.
8. Add steamed Tempeh into a bowl and use a fork to crumble it into small "ground meat like" pieces.
At this point you can either leave Tempeh to marinate for 30 minutes or if you're in a rush, cook it right away.
9. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 12-inch skillet and over medium heat. Add Tempeh along with all the spice mix and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. If Tempeh starts to stick, add 2-3 tablespoon of water.
10. Heat the tortillas over an open flame or in a dry pan over medium heat. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Vegan queso sauce in the center of Tortilla. Add about ⅓ cup of cooked tempeh taco meat, ⅓ cup of shredded cabbage and 1 tablespoon of cilantro. Drizzle with more queso sauce if desired and serve warm.
💭 Recipe Tips
If you don't have a steamer basket, you can also boil the tempeh. Fill a small pot with 1 cup of water, add tempeh, cover the pot with the lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Then, drain the tempeh and continue to the next step.
You can also marinate the tempeh for the tempeh tacos ahead of time. Just coat the tempeh in spices, place the bowl a fridge and then finish cooking just before the meal time rolls around.
🍽 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, tofu as well as other protein-rich sources such as black beans or mushrooms can be a wonderful substitution for Tempeh.
If you use tofu, there's no need to steam it. Make sure to choose extra-firm tofu and try to squeeze as much water out of it as you can.
Tempeh taco meat can be stored covered in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Despite that traditionally tacos are served in a corn tortilla, I prefer and recommend serving them in a wheat tortilla. Since the Tempeh taco filling has a very rich flavor, corn tortilla might overpower it.
Recipe Variations
The main ingredient in this vegan taco recipe is obviously Tempeh. Aside from that, you can customise these tacos with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
Instead of red cabbage, you can use Napa Cabbage. In addition, feel free to throw in some diced tomatoes, green olives, or avocados.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
If you're looking for a quick overview of the recipe, please check out my Tempeh Tacos web-story.
Recipe
Vegan Tempeh Taco Recipe
Ingredients
For the queso sauce
- ½ c cashews
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
- ⅓ c water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 japapeño finely minced
For the Tempeh filling
- 8 oz Tempeh cut in cubes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon Tamari
- 1 tablespoon Maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the tacos
- 8 tortilla
- 2 ½ c red cabbage shredded
- 8 tablespoon vegan sour cream or queso sauce recipe follows
- ½ c cilantro chopped
Instructions
Prepare a vegan Queso (skip the following 3 steps if you have a store-bought vegan Queso)
- Place cashews in a medium bowl and cover them with 1 cup of boiled water. Alternatively, you can boil the cashews in a small pot for 10 minutes. Drain.
Process the cashews in a food processor
- In a bowl of food processor add drained cashews, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, water and salt. Process until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Add tomato and jalapeño to the sauce
- Transfer the sauce into a small bowl and stir in finely chopped 2 tablespoon of tomato and 1 teaspoon of jalapeño. Set aside.
Prepare the red cabbage slaw
- Using a long knife or a mandoline slicer, thinly slice the cabbage.
Squeeze the cabbage
- Add sliced cabbage in a large bowl and add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Lightly squeeze the cabbage with your hands to soften it. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix and set aside while you prepare tempeh taco filling.
Prepare the tempeh taco filling
- Cover the bottom of a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water. Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Arrange the tempeh cubes in a steamer basket. Set the steamer basket in the saucepan and cover with the lid. Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes.
Combine taco seasoning
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, oregano, garlic powder, vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon of oil, Tamari and Maple syrup.
Combine steamed tempeh and the seasoning
- Add steamed Tempeh into a bowl and use a fork to crumble it into small "ground meat like" pieces. At this point you can either leave Tempeh to marinate for 30 minutes or if you're in a rush, cook it right away.
Cook Tempeh "meat"
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 12-inch skillet and over medium heat. Add Tempeh along with all the spice mix and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. If Tempeh starts to stick, add 2-3 tablespoon of water.
Assemble the tempeh tacos
- Heat the tortillas over an open flame or in a dry pan. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Vegan queso sauce in the center of Tortilla. Add about ⅓ cup of cooked Tempeh, ⅓ cup of shredded cabbage and 1 tablespoon of cilantro. Drizzle with more queso sauce if desired and serve warm.
Jennifer says
This was just sensational! I followed the recipe for the tempeh taco filling and used some vegan queso from Trader Joe’s because I had it. Quick, easy and delicious. I’ve added this to our ‘keeper’ file. Thanks!
Iryna says
Jennifer, thank you so much for your comment and 5-star rating! I'm happy you loved this recipe!