Vegan pulled pork is made with Soy Curls and cooked with barbecue sauce. Make them in the air fryer (my preferred way) or use a skillet.
It’s a saucy vegan protein you can really sink your teeth into!
When you crave a hearty, protein-packed entrée with smoky flavor and plenty of chewy bite, vegan pulled pork is the answer.
It’s made with Soy Curls, and cooked in the air fryer or skillet.
Coated in smoky barbecue sauce, it’s a wonderful complement to an evening of comfort food.
The Soy Curls get delightfully crisp around the edges, while maintaining chewiness down the middle.
Great as part of a BBQ bowl or piled onto a vegan BBQ sandwich.
(Can’t find Soy Curls in your area? Make BBQ jackfruit instead!)
In this post:
Why readers love this recipe
“I made this recipe tonight for my family…everyone gave it a 10 out of 10!!! That has not happened since we went plant-based, 3 years ago!!! So easy, and so delicious!” – Laurie
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Soy Curls: Soy Curls are made with just one ingredient – non-GMO whole soybeans.
They are texturized into shreds & dried.
Look for Soy Curls at Natural Grocers, online, or in the bulk bins of some vegan-friendly grocery stores.
Once opened, remember to store them in the refrigerator or freezer, because they don’t have any preservatives in them.
Vegan barbecue sauce: You can use store-bought or homemade barbecue sauce.
Read the ingredient label & check for non-vegan ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, which can include anchovies.
To make this a gluten-free entrée, be sure to choose a gluten-free barbecue sauce.
Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon no chicken base is my favorite. Or water + bouillon can be replaced with vegetable broth.
Oil (optional): If you’re making this recipe in the air fryer, no oil is required. If you’re making it in a skillet, a little oil is helpful for browning.
Step by step instructions
This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
Since Soy Curls are a dried product, they need to be hydrated first.
Start by soaking them in water + bouillon (or broth) for ten minutes.
Drain over a mesh sieve. Then really squeeze the Soy Curls to get out all of the moisture that you can. (This leads to the best browning.)
Soy Curls are already in shreds. But to make the texture even better for a vegan pulled pork situation, I like to shred the curls even more using my fingers.
They shred in a way that feels similar to string cheese. Don’t worry about the pieces being even.
The shredded texture means that there are more edges to get crispy in the air fryer or skillet.
And it improves the ratio of BBQ sauce to Soy Curl per bite.
Put the shredded Soy Curls into the air fryer basket to dry them even further.
Or if you prefer, cook them in a lightly oiled skillet.
Once they’re dry, remove them from the air fryer or skillet, toss with barbecue sauce, and then brown with oil or air fry for a few more minutes.
Finish with more barbecue sauce if you like for saucier vegan pulled pork.
Serving ideas
Vegan pulled pork plays well with all kinds of Southern favorites.
Pile them onto a vegan BBQ sandwich with coleslaw. Throw them on barbecue nachos (instead of jackfruit) with avocado and shredded vegan cheddar.
Or serve them with:
- Vegan potato salad
- Sautéed kale
- Vegan grits
- Black-eyed peas and collard greens
- Fried green tomatoes in the air fryer or beer battered fried green tomatoes
- Fried zucchini
- Garlicky turnip greens
- Fried summer squash
- Grilled vegetable skewers
- Corn cakes
- Vegan pasta salad
If you love carb on carb action as much as I do, I highly recommend making a burrito with vegan pulled pork, non-dairy mac & cheese (from the Teff Love cookbook), and collard greens.
Pro tip: barbecued Soy Curls are also delicious with a drizzle of vegan ranch dressing on top.
Looking for more ways to use Soy Curls? They’re also terrific in meatless chili and Buffalo Soy Curls sandwiches.
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
Vegan pulled pork
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon vegetarian Better Than Bouillon no chicken base*
- 1 cup Soy Curls
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce plus more for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil divided (Only if cooking in skillet)
Instructions
- Soak Soy Curls in water water & bouillon in a bowl for 10 minutes. Drain them in mesh sieve, squeezing out all excess water.
- Move them to a bowl, and physically pull apart the hydrated Curls into shreds, like shredding string cheese.
- TO COOK IN AN AIR FRYER: Air fry the Soy Curls for 3 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove them from air fryer, move them back to the bowl, toss in ¼ cup of BBQ sauce, and stir them. Make sure all of the curls gets evenly coated. Return to air fryer. Air fry 5 minutes at 400 degrees, stopping twice to shake pan.
- TO COOK IN A SKILLET: Bring skillet to a medium heat with ½ teaspoon oil. Add the hydrated & squeezed Soy Curls to the pan, and fry for 3 minutes, until they are dry and slightly crisp. Remove them from skillet and move them back to the bowl. Toss them with ¼ cup of barbecue sauce, making sure each Curl gets evenly coated. Put the remaining ½ teaspoon oil in skillet, and cook the Curls for 4 minutes longer. Don't move them too much, so that they can get some nice dark marks on them.
- If you like saucier Soy Curls, drizzle more barbecue sauce onto them when serving.Serve with vegan potato salad, collard greens, and/or non-dairy mac and cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Content updated March 22, 2024. Originally posted March 5, 2018.
Asha
This is so delicious and easy! I used the air fryer method and despite accidentally adding bbq sauce before the first air fry w/o sauce, it was still delicious. And, I didn’t realize soy curlz shred! Shredded is a bonus as an adult with braces 🙂
Cadry Nelson
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Asha! Thanks for the excellent feedback.
Laurie Howell
I made this recipe tonight for my family…everyone gave it a 10 out of 10!!! That has not happened since we went plant-based, 3 years ago!!! So easy, and so delicious! And, because my InstaPot scares me, I used my crock pot and we LOVED it!!! Thank you for introducing us to Soy Curls!
Cadry Nelson
Thank you for the glowing feedback, Laurie! You’ve made my day. I’m so glad that you and your family enjoyed the recipe.
Spring
Should I assume this is a single serving? Love soy curls and before ditching the factory farms loved burnt ends which this would lend itself to as well just chop segments! Thanks
Cadry Nelson
The default serving size for this recipe is for 2 people. However, you can hit the plus or minus sign on the recipe card to increase/decrease to suit your needs. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
The Student-turned-Doctor @ Food for Dissertating
This was so easy and so good! The first time around I had them with corn on the cob and potato salad. I put the leftovers on a hamburger bun and had that with cucumber-tomato salad and more potato salad. Both great meals! Shredding the soy curls is a genius move.
Cadry Nelson
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and I like your serving suggestions! Potato salad, cucumber-tomato salad, and corn on the cob are always very welcome.
Susan
One-year vegan here, and I’ve been looking for an easy intro recipe using soy curls. This recipe is my new BBQ best friend. Easy, quick prep, and delicious on a bun or by itself. Thank you so much for sharing.
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear it, Susan! Thank you for letting me know!
Monica
I have never cooked with soy curls, I’m a 3 week old vegan, and I have chosen your recipe to pop my soy curl cherry for lunch tomorrow. Serving with vegan mashed potatoes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Blue
I need more stars!!!!! This was AHHHHH-MAZING!!!!! I’m a Texas girl, so I didn’t shred the curls (I wanted to keep that *bite*) and I plated them on a slider bun and then topped with some chopped onion and a nice-sized dill pickle slice– H E A V E N ! ! ! Thank you oh so much for this easy and absolutely DEEEEEE-LICIOUS recipe! (If you are reading this comment/rating and you haven’t run to go and make these, what the heck are you waiting for?!?!?! SOOOOOOOO good!)
Cadry
Your comment has made my day, Blue! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, and thank you for taking the time to comment & rate!
Becky
I have made this recipe so many times in my air fryer. The first time I soaked them in water because that’s all I had to work with. I just reread the recipe and realized I’ve never shredded them and I don’t shake them during the 5 minutes and they’ve turned out delicious every time!!! Sometimes I make extra for niece to take to work with her and she reheats them in the microwave and she says they are still amazing!!! Thank you for the super easy amazing delicious recipe!!!
Cadry
I am so very glad to hear that, Becky! Thank you for circling back to let me know!
Lucy
I didn’t find any Soy Curls when we were stateside last month but I was able to order some online and this was the first recipe I made with them. Yum! We had it with mashed potatoes and sautéed chard. Will definitely make again. Love the idea of having this with mac and cheez too!
Cadry
That sounds like such a cozy meal! I’m really glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for letting me know, Lucy!
Becky Striepe
I made these in the air fryer for lunch, and I’m glad I was home alone, so I didn’t have to share! Definitely a new fave.
Cadry
Aw, that’s great to hear, Becky! And I’m glad you didn’t have to share. 🙂
Laura
I am new to the vegan lifestyle so I knew nothing about soy curls. Soy curls where have you been all my life? The recipe was easy. I used my air fryer and the soy curls came out crispy which was wonderful! (Not a fan of jackfruit. Like Cadry says it looks good but I never like it.) I made sandwiches with bbq soy curls, toasted gluten free bread and coleslaw. It was really easy and so good. This recipe is a keeper.
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Laura! Thank you for letting me know.
Kristin
yay! i just got an air fryer and was wondering if i could make soy curls in it. i’m excited to give this a try!
Cadry
Awesome! I hope you love them, Kristin, and congrats on the new air fryer!
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, I love how simple this recipe is and just happen to have all of these ingredients in the fridge right now! I’m going to see if Darrol wants this for supper with a baked potato and kale!
Cadry
That’s great, Becky! You’ll have to let me know if you try it. I love the idea of serving it with a baked potato and kale. I was thinking it would be terrific with sweet potato too!
Tina
Could I use a regular oven? Toaster oven??
Cadry Nelson
A standard oven or toaster oven should work too. Although, I haven’t made this recipe that way to tell you exact details. My best guess would be to cook it at 400 degrees and double the cooking times (16 minutes total).
While you’re cooking, check to make sure the Soy Curls feel crispy before adding the barbecue sauce, and then again after adding the sauce & baking more.
I don’t know if you noticed, but there are also skillet instructions listed too. Hope that helps, and let me know if you try it!