Quinoa Taco Meat

We’re transitioning to plant based. I made these today and I absolutely love them. I was more surprised that my 2 and 7 year old enjoyed them. My girls don’t kike the texture of quinoa but said the flavor was dead on compared to our ground turkey tacos.

Hi!! Maybe ask which Trader Joes salsa you like to use please?

This taco filling is really good! It’s spicy and full of flavor and has a great texture that makes is perfect as a substitute for crumbly beef. Well done!

Hi there! Do you add hot sauce to your tacos? If so, is it store bought or do you make your own? I would love to try some vegan soft tacos, and I like mine spicy. Thank you!

This was super yummy!

I just made this for nachos and topped it with Hot for Food’s nacho cheese dip and it was incredible!! I can’t wait to make it again for tacos!

This looks awesome! I eat a lot of Mexican food and love Quinoa. What does the nutritional yeast add to this recipe? Is there a substitute for this ingredient or can it be left out? I have tried and just cannot handle it. Thanks!

I’ve been wanting to make this since you first posted it… it’s in the oven right now and I can’t wait!!

I made this taco filling for a dinner party on the patio last night. I had yellow and blue corn crispy shells to choose from and let them build their own in the kitchen with shredded lettuce, chunky salsa, vegan bean dip, and garden grown diced tomatoes for toppings. Chilled soup and whipped cauliflower on the side. Everyone loved them and I’m the only vegan in the bunch!

These are FANTASTIC!
I just made them for dinner and they even got a thumbs up from a non vegan.
WOW!

I was searching for a vegan alternative to ground meat and have tried the various vegan meat alternative brands of crumbles. They are all good, but I absolutely love this recipe! I love the plant protein of the quinoa as opposed to some of the chemicals that can be found in the meat-alternative crumbles. Moreover, quinoa gives you more bang for your buck! 1 cup of quinoa can make “ground beef” tacos, burritos, nachos etc… for a family of 4-6 easily. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I am hooked!

Is the yeast necessary? Its the only ingredient I’m missing.

OMG!! So delicious!! I couldn’t stop eating these tacos. In my opinion it’s better than ground meat because you never bite into some questionable blob. Thanks again for yet another superb recipe. I’ve never been disappointed with any of your recipes!!

This is an awesome recipe, Dana! I made this quinoa and put it in soft tacos with fajita veggies, avocado, shredded lettuce, and some hot sauce and it was a hit! I think my thirteen year old brother ate six full tacos. Thanks for yet another stellar recipe!

Not bad….I will most definitely be making this again. You’re right, this would be good on a salad. I’m glad that I came across your recipe. Thank you for giving me a delicious taco option it’s so hard to find meat alternatives that isn’t some type of bean, while I like them they can sometimes be too much of a good thing. I forgot to mention how simple and not many ingredients which I had almost everything already on hand. .didn’t have to buy a bunch of things that I’d probably only use a few times. ….very nice!

These are SO good! Even the skeptical ones in my family loved it!! Thank you.

Tried and true. This is a staple recipe for meat and veg heads alike.

Can the “meat”be frozen? Made double the recipe bc it’s so yummy but I had too much leftover.

Hola Dana!
I normally don’t ever leave comments on blogs or websites BUT – this time there was no way I couldn’t.
I stumbled across your page because my very close friend has become a deeply passionate vegan, and now we are currently throwing a Vegan event in Melbourne this year. During our work sessions we take turns cooking. I attempted the vegan mash from your website and – we LOVED IT! I became confident and attempted the quinoa meat tacos. Again – WOW…just wow! I come from a South American family and our whole lives have been revolved around our love for food, and of course our meals were never meatless. This is a concrete concept that goes back many generations. Last night, I decided to serve up the quinoa tacos to my meat devoted family. Nervous of a backlash – I was ready for the meat demands, however I received the polar opposite reaction.
My father who has never eaten a dinner dish that did not contain some form of animal with it – licked the plate clean and went for seconds.
To be able to cook such a delicious meatless meal for my south american family with rave reviews – is unheard of.
Thank you so much for this recipe Dana – you’ve inspired my family to be more open to plant based foods and meals – in particularly from your gorgeous website.
We cannot get enough!!
Anna x

I don’t normally comment because I’m rude and busy. But I had to just pop in here and tell you that I adore your cookbook. I adore all your recipes. You’re the cutest thing ever on Snapchat, and my son had three tacos and was shoving the taco “meat” in his mouth. He’s been my reluctant vegan, so it was pretty awesome to watch him hoover this in. Thank you! I had mine on romaine leaves with tomato, avocado, and a chipotle cashew creme sauce. Ridiculous. Nom nom.

This looks delicious but I absolutely despise salsa. Can I substitute with diced tomatoes?

So unbelievably good!!! I’m a picky eater so being vegan can be a little hard sometimes. This is delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

This recipe is so delicious! I have several ideas on how to use it, but I was wondering if it is possible to make a big batch and freeze it? If so, how long can it be frozen for? I am a “new” vegan of only a year and still trying to figure out the short cuts! Thank you for all the great recipes you share!

So so good! I could eat the whole pan. The whole family loved it! I ate it cold over a salad the next day which was equally as delicious!

Made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. The only change I had to make was to the cooking instructions – had to crank up the oven to 400 and cooked it for about 45 minutes to get it very crispy.

Served it in taco bowls over lettuce and topped it with beans, pico de gallo and my cashew sour cream. It was delicious!

Also made my kids burritos using the quinoa and beans in gluten-free wraps.

A great recipe that can be used to create so many yummy dishes. If you’re thinking of making this, definitely go for it. It’s a winner!

Delicious!

I’ve made this recipe 3-4 times now & every time I fall more in love! So easy & unbelievably delicious. It’s the closest thing I’ve tasted to the tacks I ate as a child (when I wasn’t vegetarian). Absolute 5 stars!

I love this recipe!!! I have shared it with so many friends. I make it every couple of weeks!

Delicious! I baked the quinoa for 35 min and it turned out perfect <3 I also used leftover sauce from your gluten free mac n cheese recipe to build a nacho plate and I can already tell this is going to be addictive. Thank you!

This was amazing!! Even my non-vegan husband and two youngest kids gobbled this up without hesitation! Will definitely double up the recipe next time so we have leftovers!!!

love this idea, although I am not big on crunchy quinoa, but love the idea of finishing the quinoa w/seasonings in the oven. Any suggestions on how long I should bake the quinoa for less of a crunch? Lower oven temp and/or for less time? Not sure which way I should go. Thanks

This was AMAZING! My husband even had an extra helping, and he was dubious about a meatless taco. Definitely will be making this again. We had frozen quinoa and kale mix from Costco – so that cut down on cooking time – just had to microwave that before mixing everything together. I didn’t have nutritional yeast, so I subbed out with a tbsp of shredded cheese (Mexican mix package from supermarket). Served on corn tortillas with tomato, guacamole, sliced jalapeno, and shredded carrot. Delicious ^-^

I paired this with tostadas, white corn, and avocado. It was so filling and flavorful. Your recipes have helped me out so much since going vegan. Even the rest of my family tries the recipes out and says I should cook for them too! Thank you so much:)

I made this tonight and it came out delicioso! Thank you!

Yum! I have never thought to make then bake grains but I love this idea! And especially for a different taco meat!

I made this recipe last night and it was deee-licious! We typically enjoy a lentil/walnut blend for taco “meats” so this was a fun change!

Hi there, been recently trying out your recipes and my wife and I love them!
Question: What does the yeast do and is it necessary for the recipe? Also, what’s the difference between nutritional yeast and whatever other type of yeast there is?
Thanks!

This recipe is absolutely fantastic! The only difference was that I used home made salsa. I had a house full of family over watching a game. I made tostadas instead of tacos using iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and avocados. They were a big hit, everyone kept coming back for more. A great dinner or lunch easy to prepare (once you have the quinoa already made). Excellent for those hot summer days when you want something that tastes great and is simple to make. We are vegans by the way, and this is the best tasting ground beef substitute that I have found. I highly recommend it.

Great idea, Dana! I’m thinking of adding some canned black beans to the pan as the quinoa bakes for added protein. Do you think that would work well in addition to the quinoa as taco stuffing? Thanks!

Caitlin

Just made some of this for dinner and absolutely loved it! I served it on tostadas (basially just flour tortillas toasted up in the oven a bit) with a cilantro-lime-Greek yogurt sauce and some mango salsa with mangoes brought back home from India. Loved it! This “taco meat” will definitely be a part of our regular rotation from now on!

I made these last week and they were amazing and super easy to make! I ended up using a mango salasa and balanced the sweetness with a healthy addition of Adobe pepper! We used the left over quinoa meat for nachos the day after! Delicious

Made this for dinner tonight and I cannot believe how much of a familiar meat taste it had. Almost completely identical and the texture was perfect! Thanks for the delicious recipe!

I made this last night, and it was good! The flavors were very nice. I made it exactly as the recipe stated. I used parchment paper and took it out of the oven when it was chewy crunchy but not crispy crunchy. I liked it a lot. Might be better suited as a Taco bowl since it its hard to keep it contained once you start biting into the taco shell, but that sort of comes with the territory when eating tacos. A quinoa taco just means you have to keep your head a little bit closer to your plate when chowing down :)

I tried this last night and it was SO good! My husband said it tasted like fast food, which is a total compliment from a quinoa hater. We put them in tacos, but today I had leftovers with tator tots, salsa, lettuce, and avocado. They might have looked like trashy tot-chos but it was delicious!

I made it, I loved it! Even better-the hubs liked it! We were certain we didn’t like quinoa before this-thanks for changing our minds Dana!

Can I skip the toasting part of the quinoa and use day old cooked quinoa instead?

I made this for dinner last night, and I was very impressed. My husband, who is typically skeptical of quinoa, was suspicious at first, but ended up eating 4 tacos, so I think it is safe to say he liked it. I followed the instructions exactly, and served them in crunchy taco shells with sliced avocado and salsa. I will definitely be making this all summer long! Thank you so much for the genius idea. I would never have thought to use quinoa in this way, but it makes so much sense. I can’t wait to experiment with it more.

I made this recipe last night following the recipe directions exactly. It came out sooo good! Instead of making tacos with it I used it for homemade nachos. I used blue corn chips, avocado, more salsa on top, lettuce, refried beans and Heidi Ho plant based “cheese”. My husband and I couldn’t get enough. Thank goodness there were leftovers. Another wonderful recipe Dana, you are amazing at what you do and I thank you for these animal product free recipes.

As a side note, I recently purchased the Minimalist Baker cookbook for my mother-in-law’s birthday. She cannot wait to start her way through the book making all the wonderful recipes in there. The pictures that accompanied the recipes were beautiful! I will be purchasing this for myself very soon too.

I tried this out last night with some home made salsa that was languishing in the fridge, and everyone excepting the preschooler (who doesn’t like tacos anyway because he is strange) loved it. I served it in crunchy shells with a corn and avocado salad. This is really a great option for people who don’t eat or like ground beef (me) or tvp crumbles (my husband). I think next time I may even skip the crisping step as we like our tacos saucy. Thanks for the addition to my veggie taco repertoire!

Do you know if this will stay decently crispy in a crock pot? I want to bring some to a potluck, but am wondering how to keep it warm and a crock pot seems the best way. Thank you!

I made this last night. I used homemade salsa and water instead of vegetable broth. It was SO delicious! Thank you for the idea.

This was so good! Five stars! Checks all the boxes in regards to my food allergies. Your recipes make me feel like I have no food limitations! Keep up the amazing work. Your talent is appreciated.

The Grateful Canadian

I’ve been making quinoa tacos for my family for about a year now. Hubby is a vegetarian who loved tacos in a past life. We season quinoa (while its boiling) with paprika, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Then reseason, once cooked, with above spices. Then add green onion, Nooch ( nutritional yeast) cooked shallots and bell pepper. Top with all your favorites! It’s our favorite meal! Glad to see it’s becoming popular!

Made this with my own home made salsa recipe and it is do DIE for! Amazing texture and recipe! Thank you Dana!!

Made this for dinner tonight. The only thing I did differently was add juice of half a small lime along with the spices. Ate on tortillas with tomato, lettuce, and avocado. It was really delicious and super easy to make! This is going to be my permanent new taco recipe :D

Delicious!

I made this (ahead of time) exactly as directed by the recipe. I then reheated it (microwave) at dinnertime. Made taco with corn tortilla, this amazing quinoa filling, simmered (canned) black beans, feta cheese for my non-vegan sister, pickled red onions, peach salsa, and avocado. Classic margaritas on the side. Best taco night ever!

Thank you, Minimalist Baker geniuses. I heart you.

I don’t use nutritional yeast normally. Where can I buy it? Also, what is the purpose of the nutritional yeast? Is it essential to the recipe or can it be omitted?

Btw, perfect recipe for someone who doesn’t eat beef! ^_^

Thanks!

I saw this photo on an Instagram account…headed straight over to your site for the recipe. I made it for dinner last night and husband requested a repeat tonight! Need I say more?

Hi Dana!

I’m such a fan of yours. You’re my go-to for veg recipes, and I always feel empowered by your easy to follow instructions and straight-forward ingredients. As others have commented, we usually use store bought meat alternatives for taco nights, so I’m thrilled about this recipe & plan to try it this weekend with friends!
Question: Does quinoa freeze well? I’d love to be able to make larger batches to keep and reheat when needed.

Thank you!

Made this last night. It is awesome! I would highly recommend. Also, if you don’t have all the spices, you could always just substitute a packet of taco seasoning along with the salsa.

I made this and it is delicious. I used the “meat” over tortillas for some vegan nachos and I’m hooked.

Could anybody help me figure out the difference between vegetable stock and vegetable broth? I’m in the UK and all I know of is vegetable stock cubes. Thanks!

This was absolutely delicious, pre and post baked. Thanks so much for the idea, it’s one I’m going to repeat over and over!

Made this recipe tonight. Another winner. I used it on a salad. Will use the rest tomorrow on Taco Thursday. Also, I forgot to toast the quinoa. Still awesome. Next time!

Hi! What’s your favorite vegetable stock? I find that the Trader Joe’s stock is too sweet and has too much carrot.

Hi! This recipe is the best thing I found in my inbox yesterday. Thank you!

One question: I don’t use nutritional yeast and was curious whether I can just skip it or whether it was essential to recipe?

Thanks again for sharing this fantastic recipe.

Cheers!
-Kathy

his recipe is absolutely astounding. I was a bit hesitant which is why I purchased some ground beef in case this didn’t work out— after all I didn’t want to ruin taco tuesday— a holiday by my book. While this was baking I ate some of the prepared ground beef tacos— these were done much quicker than the quinoa imitation. I decided the last taco I would eat would be the quinoa one-omg I wish I had waited and not eaten any of the beef tacos because this was seriously so delicious I wished I had more space in my tummy to eat 2 more tacos. Would highly recommend to anyone!! All in all, I have been super pleased by all the May recipes I received in my inbox !!

I was SUCH a picky eater as a kid. If something didn’t have cheese on it or in it, I wouldn’t eat it. Weird because now I really don’t eat a lot of cheese!

The tricolored quinoa looks gorgeous in each taco shell! I bet it smelled amazing in your kitchen after taking it out from the oven!

I am so ready to make this! I always love seeing food on a vibrant 1 color background becuase it looks much more appetizing and cool!

I would pay money to get these recipes in a recipe box so I can create meal plans and grocery lists. :) This is a great idea! Excited to try for taco night instead of our usual Beyond Meat mixture. Thanks!

I find it hard to find a really good- quinoa. Any suggestions on brands of quinoa would be fantastic!

hi Dana,
I did the Quinoa crips from another site. (boiled untiled cooked, then 350 in oven, for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes). I wonder if your oven recipie comes out too crunchy like other one did for me?? can you tell me if texture is super crunchy, or it comes in the softer side, I would love to make this!!

Wow, how creative! I never would have thought of that as a taco filling (and the pics look really nice too!) this is just a small suggestion, but I’d actually like to see more recipes featuring healthy fats, such as grassfed lard, butter, ect. and meat recipes. You always come up with such creative and yummy recipes, and I’d love to see what recipes like that would look like on this blog! Again, just a suggestion here.

Hi Dana,

Great recipe and I am definitely going to make it. Do you have a good salsa recipe that I could use as we don’t have access to Trader Joe’s here in New Zealand and salsa itself is not a big thing here yet either.
Many thanks
Heather

This is absolutely brilliant! As a fellow healthy food blogger, I appreciate your creativity in the kitchen and cannot wait to make this! Quick question: I’m out of cumin, and am wondering if there is an alternative spice that could be substituted? Thank you!

What an amazing recipe!!!! Genious recipe!!! I can’t wait to make it!!!
By the way your book arrived today!!! I absolutely love it!!! Have seen only a third of it and already I want to make each and every recipe!!!
Congratulations Dana !!! It’s an amazing cookbook!!!

I wasn’t a picky eater as a kid, but I literally had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost every single day. I hated the way meat and cheese sandwiches tasted after sitting in my lunch box all morning.

These quinoa tacos sound and look amazing. Must try ’em!

YUM!
If you aren’t vegan(like me´) and can’t find nutritional yeast, could you just use parmesan cheese?

Wow great recipe looks super yummy!
Izzy x

So simple but so appetizing! I love this filling idea.

Wow! I MUST try this immediately!!!! I love grilling mushrooms to make lil “steak” pieces out of them for tacos, but this is next level! Definitely making this when I get home and making a nummy taco salad!

I haven’t read the title before I looked at the first picture and my immediate thought was – are you back on meat diet?! :) Looks so so so much like mince!

Yum this looks great! I’ll have to try it out!

Thanks!!!

xo
Allie

This looks SO good! Ever since I’ve gone vegetarian, Ive been craving some ground beef tacos like we made when I was a kid. These look perfect!

I have to say-this is RIGHT up my alley. I’m currently eating Mexican rice and avo from last night’s dinner- it would have been amazing with this!! And, I was just like you as a kid…picky beyond picky. Basically unless it was white and made of gluten, I was out lol. So glad times have changed!

Yum! Looks like it would be great as is (for me) or mixed with ground turkey (for the non-vegans). That’s the mark of a great recipe for me! Can’t wait to try this.

This is such a great idea – my husband and I make veggie tacos all the time. We have been vegetarians for a long time and have tried to avoid using lots of fake meat products. This is such a great alternative! Thanks for sharing!

This looks great!! A+ on the creativity with delicious quinoa. I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, but am trying to incorporate more hearty, vegetable-based meals into my diet. I’ll add this recipe to the list.

These look SO tasty! I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate quinoa into our diet. Thanks guys!

Great idea for a summer supper! I’m going to add diced, sauteed veg to the mix and garnish with the avocado sitting on the counter top. Roasted sweet potatoes, side salad. Dinner tonight solved! Hope the picky-tarian will like it!

I really need to make these, they look and sound amazing!! xx

Sam

What a unique and healthy idea! I’m going to have to try this! It looks great!

I’ll be making this soon for sure. We do tacos weekly at our house, using packaged veggie “meat” crumbles. I usually just make retried beans for myself but this week it’s quinoa!

My reason for commenting: I recently read that cooking quinoa with closer to a 1:1 ratio of quinoa:liquid may be ideal. I was skeptical but tried it with a 1:1.5 ratio and that worked great. Have you experimented with quinoa-to-liquid ratio? I see you have a 1:1.75 ratio, and most places I still read 1:2.

I love the idea! It’s so much more affordable than nut taco meat, too. Definitely gonna try this some time soon

This is definitely a unique way to make tacos! They look wonderful!

Have to say, first time I ever seen quinoa as a substitute for taco meat. Pretty genius!

I think I love you…
Due to dietary restrictions I can’t eat the nut meat taco fillings that are so popular, even though they look so good. This is such a great alternative! I love when quinoa gets overcooked and crunchy…going to try this ASAP! Thank you so much!

Yum this looks amazing! I have made mexican style quinoa before and it’s just delicious. Can’t wait to try it in a taco!

Love this idea! Tacos are a favorite at my house, and I am always looking for new filling ideas :)

Wow these sounds amazing! I love quinoa and have never thought to use it in this way. Definitely going to have to try this one :)