Vegan Steak Tacos: Recipe and Instructions

You know steak and frites – such a famous French classic dish, for which one will pay good money. You probably heard of Califa y Leon taqueria; they are famous for being a Michelin-starred taco place in Mexico, where you get an award-winning taco with thin slices of quickly grilled sirloin steak, drizzled with lime and salt, and topped with a simple salsa. Simple but delicious. Classic Mexican carne asada tacos are usually made with thin slices of beef, grilled and then cut into bite-sized pieces for tacos. 

How About Vegan Steak Tacos?

For my flexitarian take on carne asada tacos, I am going to use Beyond Meat steak pieces.

I fried sliced onions on low for a good 20 minutes to achieve that umami-rich caramelised flavour and added a packet of Beyond Meat steak pieces and finished in 5 minutes.

That’s all for your protein, how easy it is!

Vegan Steak Taco Assembly

So I’ve used a touch of my Chipotle Salsa Roja, and also some of my Chipotle Cashew Crema. The former brought brightness and spiciness, the latter added a touch of richness (cashews contain a good amount of fat) to my tacos.

I’ve added my quick avocado-onion-coriander salsa and topped it with shoestring fries (which is actually quite optional, but I have decided that it would be a nice playful touch). 

The result: these tacos are incredibly easy, have an irresistible crunch, plenty of plant-based protein (I’ve used an entire packet for my tacos, which is 38 g of pea protein), and my favourite chipotle kick, from both salsa roja and chipotle cashew crema.

You really need to make some homemade tortillas to turn this into a feast

My easy step-by-step instructions to assemble vegan steak tacos:

• 1 – Get your delicious tortillas ready (see here which masa harina to choose and which colour of corn you’d like better). I’m using my favourite yellow corn Masienda masa harina here.
• 2 – Prepare your protein filling. I’ve used Beyond Meat as I find its texture to be really good. See my article about plant-based Mexican food that eats like a night out (with my flavour matrix).
• 3 – Use chipotle salsa roja and cashew crema (here are my instructions on salsas and sauces).
• 4 – Chope a simple fresh topping like a classic avocado – onion – cilantro one. 
• 5 – Make a quick batch of shoestring fries. 

Vegan Steak Tacos: Addictive & Delicious

I must say, I love how delicious and rich in flavour these tacos are. Beyond Meat steak pieces are a tad expensive where I am now, otherwise I’d eat it way too often. But I definitely encourage you to try and enjoy fully plant-based tacos that wouldn’t lose the flavour battle with the real carne asada. Check it out!

Note 1: My homemade chipotle cashew crema is delicious. But it tends to die on me very quickly. As a single guy, I just do not eat that much. Which brings me to think it’s not a bad idea to invite friends a bit more often. But let’s get back to the issue – you can substitute the creamy and fatty element of this taco with a store-bought vegan cheese that will melt relatively well (vegetarians who eat cheese normally can’t go wrong with cheddar or mozarella here). So I’m here making a quick version of the vegan steak taco and using Violife ‘Epic Cheddar’, which I find has a more pleasant flavour than theirs mozzarella. Here we go:

Note 2: For more tips about making tacos with Beyond Meat, check out my smash burger tacos article, where you can see how to make an easy burger patty with Beyond Meat mince and enjoy a plant-based version of such a delicious taco, too.

[Taco Craft | Salsa Magic | Proper Tortillas]