I’ve never really made tacos that often at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love tacos. In fact, they are one of my favorite foods. I just prefer to buy them from a restaurant than make them myself. Enter my Tofu tacos featuring cilantro honey lime coleslaw.
Every time I would eat tacos in a restaurant I would end up feeling bloated, have reflux, and generally feel not so good.
I really like learning to make food at home because you can control what goes into it. If you make your own food from scratch then you don’t have to use artificial ingredients, or any products with “hidden” ingredients, or products that have a lot of chemicals in them we shouldn’t be eating.
I’m not saying that I’m 100% perfect and I eat 100% healthy 100% of the time. Just take a look at some of my other recipes and you’ll see that! I’m just saying that by slowly learning how to make your own food at home and learning how to cook and control the ingredients, you can make a steady change in your life that will allow you to eat the occasional “bad/cheat” meals (see stuffed cheesy garlic bread). 80/20 rule, anyone? 🙂
Foods that I notice that makes me feel not so great in restaurants are usually the ones I want to try to make at home. Since I’ve noticed feeling not so great after eating tacos in restaurants, I decided to try making my own recipe.
I was a vegetarian for 8 years, started eating meat again, then slowly transistioned back to somewhat of a vegetarian diet. I eat meat every so often when I feel like I need it, but overall, not so much.
Given that, I decided to try to make tacos using tofu instead of beans or chicken. I’ve never had tacos with tofu before, so I didn’t even consider it as a possibility.
The first time I attempted this recipe it wasn’t so great. It was ok, but not “wow!”. The second and third time I made it though, it turned out just right. The tofu was crumbly but not too dry this time. Perfect! And I topped it with my cilantro honey lime coleslaw for an added crunch.
I still eat tacos at restaurants every so often (Chipotle anyone?), but these will definitely be my new go-to for making tasty tacos at home!
What’s Inside?
- Tofu– I used extra firm tofu, pressed it for about 15 mins (I wanted it to retain a little moisture, but not too much), and crumbled it with my hands (the fun part!).
- Tomato Sauce– The tomato sauce gives the tofu added moisture and adds a great tomato flavor that complements the taco seasoning (more on that later!)
- Tomato Paste– This adds an extra richness to the tomato flavor.
- Taco Seasoning– Ok, so I tried making my own taco seasoning, but eh. Before that I used the recipe that’s on Gimme Some Oven that is absolutely amazing. Since Ali’s taco seasoning is impossible to improve upon, I decided that I HAD to use it in my recipe and link it here. So yummy and no artificial ingredients that you may find in commercial pre-blended taco seasoning packets.
- Yogurt– I use greek yogurt as a sauce that I usually put on the bottom of the tortilla instead of the top. It’s just easier that way. Mix with with some herbs and yum!
- Cilantro– This is what I add to the greek yogurt. Makes for some extra great flavor!
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
How to Make Tofu Tacos featuring Cilantro Honey Lime Coleslaw:
The first step to making my tofu tacos is to press the tofu. Don’t worry, no fancy equipment is needed. I don’t even own a tofu press. Here’s how to press tofu:
- Open the pack of tofu and let it drain. Pat the block of tofu dry with a towel.
- Wrap tofu block in several paper towels, or a kitchen towel and place on a dinner plate.
- Put another dinner plate on top of it (upside down) and put some kind of weight on top. I use a 5lb hand weight that I use to workout. Gotta be resourceful! 😉
- Let this sit for 15 minutes.
- Remove weight and dinner plate and take the towel off.
- The tofu is ready to use!
After pressing tofu crumble it up with your hands. Make sure there are no large pieces left.
Add tofu to hot skillet with some olive oil and let it cook for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes, add the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, and taco seasoning and let cook for another 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
In a separate small bowl mix together the greek yogurt, cilantro, lemon juice and salt.
Spread yogurt mixture on tortilla, place tofu mixture on tortilla, and top with my cilantro honey lime coleslaw for an added crunch!
Equipment Needed (affiliate links):
Hope you enjoy!
PrintTofu Tacos featuring Cilantro Honey Lime Coleslaw
My vegetarian twist on tacos
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: tacos
- Method: sautee
- Cuisine: mexican
Ingredients
- 1 block Extra Firm Tofu
- 1 can, 8oz Tomato Sauce
- 1/4 cup Tomato Paste
- 3–4 tbsp Taco Seasoning
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup Cilantro Chopped
- 1–2 tbsp Lemon Juice Fresh
- 1 pinch Salt
- Soft, corn tortillas
- 1 batch Cilantro Honey Lime Coleslaw
Instructions
- Open and drain 1 package of extra firm tofu. Once drained, take tofu block out and pat dry with paper towels.
- Wrap tofu in several paper towels or a kitchen towel, place on dinner plate and put another dinner plate upside down on top of the tofu block. Place a weight (I use a 5lb dumbbell weight) on top. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
- Once the tofu has sat for 15-20 minutes, unwrap it and crumble it with your hands or a fork until there are no large pieces left.
- Heat a skillet with some olive oil (roughly 2 tbsp) and place tofu in skillet and let cook for 3 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add in tomato sauce, tomato paste, and taco seasoning (see note). Let cook for 5-7 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and tofu mixture has a good consistancy.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together yogurt, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt.
- Heat tortillas, either 10 seconds in the microwave, or 10 seconds on each side in the skillet.
- Take the yogurt mixture and spread desired amount on the tortillas.
- Place desired amount of tofu mixture over the yogurt mixture.
- Top with my Cilantro Honey Lime Coleslaw.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
I use Gimme Some Oven’s recipe for taco seasoning. As mentioned earlier, I’ve been using this recipe for a while, I love it, and I tried to make my own but realized that her’s cannot be improved upon. 
As far as the amount of taco seasoning I put on the tofu, what I listed above is approximate. I tend to like a lot of seasoning, so I may use more or I may use less, depending on varying factors. Be sure to season, taste, and adjust to your own preferences!
