Get dinner on the table in a hurry with delicious soy chorizo tacos with black beans. By using canned black beans and Trader Joe’s soy chorizo (or your preferred brand), mealtime is a breeze.
These flavorful vegan tacos are full of crunch, and loaded with all of your favorite toppings. This is a dinner your family is sure to love! Plus, it’s ready in just 30 minutes.
Like many households, our nighttime routine often begins with, “What do you want for dinner?”
Week after week, one dish always gets a mention (and an enthusiastic “Yes!”) – crunchy soy chorizo tacos with black beans.
It’s no wonder that it’s a mainstay in our weekly menu. It’s so easy to make but entirely craveable with black beans & Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, a vegan alternative to pork-based chorizo.
Trader Joe’s soy chorizo is boldly spiced with a blend of paprika, salt, vinegar, red pepper, and garlic powder. This punch of flavor does a lot of the heavy lifting in the final taste of the dish.
Along with black beans, spices, onions, and garlic, these flavorful tacos come together in about half an hour. Load them up with your favorite toppings, and dig in!
Fun fact: TJ’s vegan chorizo has won their Customer Choice Awards so many times, in 2023 they had to take it off the list of options, so that other products could get a chance. And it’s also on my list of favorite Trader Joe’s vegan products.
In this post:
Why readers love this recipe
“I enjoyed making and trying this recipe. It’s simple and takes little time to make and you really can add your own toppings to mixture. I also appreciated the directions of how to heat taco shells in the air fryer.” – Maricar
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Oil: Avocado oil is my go-to, but use whatever neutral-flavored cooking oil you like.
Onion: Yellow onion is my preference in this recipe, as it gets a little sweeter and more mild as it cooks.
Garlic: Fresh garlic adds bite and flavor. (If you don’t have fresh garlic, it can be replaced with ½ teaspoon of granulated garlic instead. Add granulated garlic at the same time as the other spices.)
Soy chorizo: Also known as soyrizo, this veganized Spanish sausage adds a lot of flavor and crumbly texture. It comes in a tube, and most soy chorizo products are gluten-free.
I buy mine at Trader Joe’s, but soy chorizo is sold in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores. You can find soy chorizo options from Cacique and Melissa’s, in addition to others.
Heads up: Remember to throw away the plastic casing that soy chorizo comes in. That’s not edible.
Black beans: Canned black beans are very convenient for this dish. Just drain and rinse before using. If you’d prefer, you can use beans that have been made from scratch. In total, you’ll need 3 cups of cooked beans.
Seasonings: Paprika, ground cumin, ancho chili powder, granulated onion, and salt.
Granulated onion has a more robust flavor than powdered, but can be replaced with onion powder if you’d prefer.
Ancho chili powder is made with just one ingredient – dried ancho chilies. It’s flavorful but not hot.
Don’t have ancho chili powder? It can be replaced with your usual chili powder. However, be aware that the spice level in chili powder blends vary, depending on how much cayenne (or other spicy peppers) they include.
Crunchy taco shells: Crunchy taco shells just have to be warmed in the oven or air fryer for maximum crispiness. A package of Trader Joe’s crunchy shells includes 12 per box, so you’ll need two boxes for this full recipe.
If you’d prefer, crunchy taco shells can be replaced with soft flour or corn tortillas, warmed in a skillet or microwave.
Keep in mind that if you use larger tortillas, they will require more fillings, so you won’t get as many tacos out of this recipe.
Vegan cheese shreds: Trader Joe’s shredded spicy Mexican style blend is my favorite for tacos. But any dairy-free cheddar-style cheese works well here.
Taco fillings: Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro. Use chopped full-sized tomatoes or sliced cherry tomatoes. (Cherry tomatoes tend to hold onto their sweetness when out of season, unlike the full-sized variety.)
Step by step instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
1. Sauté onions in a skillet with oil over a medium heat. Once the onions are fragrant, add minced garlic and sauté about 30 seconds more.
2. Add soy chorizo to the skillet, and cook until lightly browned.
3. Add black beans, and then sprinkle on the following seasonings:
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Ancho chili powder
- Granulated onion
- Salt
Add water to evenly incorporate the spices and make the vegan taco meat saucy.
4. Continue cooking until everything is warm, the water has cooked down, and the sauce has thickened to your preferred viscosity. Then turn off the heat & set aside.
5. Warm the taco shells in the oven or air fryer.
Tip: Taco shells are really hot when they come out of the air fryer. For easier handling, I recommend using toast tongs.
6. Fill the warmed shells with the soy chorizo & bean mixture, chopped romaine, shredded vegan cheese, tomatoes, and cilantro. Then serve right away.
Make it your own
You can make vegan chorizo tacos your own by varying the toppings.
- Soy chorizo can be replaced with seitan chorizo. I especially like the kinds from Upton’s Naturals and Herbivorous Butcher. (Keep in mind that seitan isn’t gluten-free, though, if that matters to you.)
- Instead of crunchy taco shells, use soft or flour tortillas.
- Replace chopped tomatoes with dollops of roasted tomato salsa or salsa verde.
- Replace romaine with shredded cabbage mix.
- For a spicy kick, add splashes of hot sauce and jalapeño pepper slices.
- Add even more toppings, like black olives, avocado, guacamole, pickled red onions, pickled shallots, and/or non-dairy sour cream.
Serving ideas
Serve these delicious soyrizo & bean tacos with any of the following:
- Chips and salsa (Roasted tomato salsa, tomatillo salsa, or pineapple salsa are tasty options!)
- Spanish rice (I especially like the frozen kind from Trader Joe’s for easy dinners.)
- Southwest salad with grilled corn
- Refried pinto beans
- Sweet fried plantains
Storage instructions
Store leftover vegan taco meat and toppings separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Then reheat the taco filling in the microwave or a skillet on the stove.
Chopped lettuce & cilantro may brown over time, but everything else will keep for about 4 days.
Soy chorizo & black beans also freeze well. When you’re ready to enjoy it, simply move it to the refrigerator to thaw, and reheat as listed above.
FAQ
Not quite. Trader Joe’s carries everything in this recipe, except for two of the spices. They don’t sell basic paprika. (They only have smoked.) And they don’t sell ancho chili powder (or any standard chili powder blend).
Definitely! That’s what I do most of the time since we’re a household of two.
Use kitchen scissors to cut the soy chorizo tube in half right at the middle bend. Move one half to a resealable container to store in the fridge for later, and use the other half in the tacos.
Then halve all of the remaining ingredients, and follow the same instructions.
Yes, this soy chorizo tacos recipe is gluten-free.
Typically, soy chorizo, crunchy corn taco shells, vegan cheese, and individual spices are gluten-free, and obviously, so are the vegetable toppings. However, it’s always a good idea to read ingredient labels before buying.
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Crunchy soy chorizo tacos with black beans (Easy Trader Joe’s dinner!)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or your preferred neutral-flavored cooking oil
- ¾ cup chopped onions
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 12 ounces soy chorizo
- 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans drained & rinsed (3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
- Generous pinch of salt
- ¼ cup water
- 20 crunchy taco shells
- 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 ½ cups vegan cheese shreds Mexican blend or cheddar style
- 1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Put oil in a non-stick skillet and bring to a medium heat. Add chopped onions, and saute 3 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
- Once the onions are soft and fragrant, add minced garlic, and saute about 30 seconds.
- Add soy chorizo to the skillet and brown it, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add black beans to the skillet. Then sprinkle on paprika, cumin, ancho chili powder, granulated onion, and a generous pinch of salt. Use a spatula to combine everything.
- Add water to evenly incorporate all of the spices and make the taco meat saucy and not dried out. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened a little, about 3 to 5 minutes. Once it's ready, turn off the heat and set aside.
- Warm the crunchy taco shells in the air fryer or oven. You can follow the instructions listed on the box, or use my guides here:To warm taco shells in the air fryer: Put crunchy taco shells directly into the air fryer basket. I like to leave them stacked inside of each other just as they are in the box, so that they don't fly into the heating element or curl shut at the end. (If you're making all 20 tacos, you may have to work in batches.) Air fry at 360 degrees for 3 or 4 minutes, or until browned to your liking. Then remove from the air fryer. (Be aware they will be hot. Use toast tongs for removing from air fryer, if necessary.)To warm taco shells in the oven: Put crunchy taco shells onto a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly warmed and crisp. Then remove from the oven.
- Fill the heated shells with the soy chorizo & black bean mixture, chopped romaine, vegan cheese shreds, tomatoes, and cilantro. Then serve right away.
Maricar Tinio
I enjoyed making and trying this recipe. It’s simple and takes little time to make and you really can add your own toppings to mixture. I also appreciated the directions of how to heat taco shells in the air fryer.
Cadry Nelson
Thank you, Maricar! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Also, thank you for taking the time to rate & comment!
David
Such an easy and delicious weeknight dinner!
Cadry Nelson
So glad you’re enjoying it!