Enjoy making this Soy Chorizo (aka Soyrizo) for a healthy helping of plant-based power. Lightly spicy, crumbly, and packed with protein and fiber, this tasty soyrizo is ready in less than 30 minutes (plus the marinating time).
Soyrizo is vegetarian, vegan, plant based, gluten-free, nut-free, and low fat.
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Soyrizo
I LOVE Beef Chorizo and any recipe that involves cooking with it! What can I say? Chorizo is my BFF! It’s so easy to make great dishes with it since it packs lots of flavor and it cooks quickly.
Soy meat is a phenomenal way to add plant-based protein and it contains all the necessary amino acids for your body. It’s inexpensive, especially compared to meat, and it has a long shelf life.
I used to buy Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo but now I prefer to make it at home to know exactly what’s in it! I make a big batch to keep in the fridge or freezer, and put together a nutritious dinner on demand!
🩷 xoxo, Ana
Meatlover approved!
My meat lover husband can’t taste the difference between beef chorizo and soy chorizo! That’s a huge win in my kitchen.
Why you’ll love it!
The Ingredients
These ingredients are to rehydrate the soy meat. For this you’ll need:
- Soy crumbles.
- Onion – use white or yellow. Whatever you have at hand.
- A bay leaf and a large garlic clove.
For the sauce
The magic flavors come from the sauce! For this you’ll need:
- Dried peppers – Guajillo peppers, ancho chile and chile de arbol.
- Garlic cloves and onion.
- Spices – ground cumin, dried oregano, paprika, ground cinnamon, black peppercorns, whole cloves, kosher or sea salt, vegetable bouillon.
- White vinegar and Vegetable oil.
**You’ll find the complete recipe and ingredient list in the card at the end.**
Where can I buy soy meat?
Luckily, soy meat can be found at most grocery stores in the organic departments. Latin stores carry it in the spices department or by the meat section. Also, there are numerous places online like Walmart or Amazon.
Did you know that soy meat is very popular in Mexico? It’s used to make many Mexican recipes including this one and soy ceviche!
How To Make Soy Chorizo
First you’ll rehydrate the meat:
Step 1) In a large pot, add about 12 cups (3 liters) of water and bring to a boil. Add the onion, bay leaf, garlic and 1 tablespoon of salt. Boil for 3 minutes. Add the soy meat. Mix all ingredients and continue to cook on high heat for 10 minutes.
Step 2) Remove the onion, bay leaf and garlic. Drain the soy and press it with something heavy or add pressure with the back of a large spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
Make the sauce:
Step 3) In a medium pot, add the dried chiles, onion, garlic and enough hot water to cover them. Cook for about 5 minutes on high heat.
Step 4) Remove the pot from heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
Step 5) To a blender, add the cooked chiles, onion, garlic plus the spices, the vinegar, oil, plus 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chile water.
Step 6) Puree for about 3 minutes or until smooth.
Mix everything together
Step 7) Add the sauce with the soy meat and mix everything together using a spatula or your clean hands. Squeeze the ingredients together to ensure the soy meat is saturated with the sauce.
Step 8) Cover container with plastic wrap and rest in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hour. Preferably overnight.
Ana’s Recipe Tips
- If mixing the mixture by hand wear gloves so that you don’t get your hands stained with the red sauce.
- Use small crumble meat. The spices will infuse better if the soy meat is small.
- What to cook Soy Chorizo. You can use it to make other recipes (see the serving suggestions below) or just cook it in a skillet until it starts get crispy. You can add onions, peppers, cooked cubed potatoes, and or eggs.
- Storing: Refrigerate a batch in an airtight storage container for up to a week.
Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Place in separate batches to cook one as needed
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to enjoy Soy Chorizo with is to add it to scrambled eggs and make breakfast burritos. Another great option is to cook it and add it to smashed potatoes to make crispy taquitos. So good!
Here are a few other recipes to enjoy it with:
Mexican Recipes
Print Recipe:
Soy Chorizo (Chorizo De Soya)
Ingredients
To rehydrate the soy meat
- 3 cups soy meat (about 200 grams)
- ⅓ medium onion (white or yellow)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large garlic clove - peeled
For the sauce
- 5 guajillo peppers - Remove stem and seeds
- 1 chile ancho - Remove stem and seeds
- 3 chile de arbol peppers (optional) - Remove stem
- 2 garlic cloves - peeled
- ⅓ medium onion (white or yellow)
- ⅓ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 black peppercorns
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 cube vegetable bouillon
- ¼ cup white vinegar (60ml)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60ml)
Instructions
Cook the soy meat
- In a large pot, add about 12 cups (3 liters) of water and bring to a boil.
- Add the onion, bay leaf, garlic and 1 tablespoon of salt. Boil for 3 minutes. Add the soy crumbles. Mix all ingredients and continue to cook on high heat for 10 minutes.⅓ medium onion (white or yellow), 1 bay leaf, 1 large garlic clove, 3 cups soy meat (about 200 grams)
- Remove the onion, bay leaf and garlic. Drain the soy and press it with something heavy or add pressure with the back of a large spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
Make the sauce
- In a medium pot, add the dried chiles, onion, garlic and enough hot water to cover them. Cook for about 5 minutes on high heat.5 guajillo peppers, 1 chile ancho, 3 chile de arbol peppers (optional), 2 garlic cloves, ⅓ medium onion (white or yellow)
- Remove the pot from heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
- To a blender, add the cooked chiles, onion, garlic plus the spices, the vinegar, oil, plus 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chile water.⅓ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 16 black peppercorns, 4 whole cloves , 1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt, 1 cube vegetable bouillon, ¼ cup white vinegar (60ml), ¼ cup vegetable oil (60ml)
- Puree for about 3 minutes or until smooth.
Mix everything together
- Add the sauce with the soy meat and mix everything together using a spatula or your clean hands. Squeeze the ingredients together to ensure the soy meat is saturated with the sauce.
- Cover container with plastic wrap and rest in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hour. Preferably overnight.
- Now it's ready to be enjoyed to make your favorite recipe!
Notes
- How To Cook Soy Chorizo. You can use it to make other recipes (see the serving suggestions below) or just cook it in a skillet until it starts get crispy. You can add onions, peppers, cooked cubed potatoes, and or eggs.
- If mixing the mixture by hand wear gloves so that you don’t get your hands stained with the red sauce.
- Use small crumble meat. The spices will infuse better if the soy meat is small.
- Storing: Refrigerate a batch in an airtight storage container for up to a week.
Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Place in separate batches to cook one as needed
Your Private Notes
Nutrition
⭐️ I love to hear from readers and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! Don’t forget to subscribe for all the latest updates!
I made this for our vegetarian visitors. The results were great. I use a little water and baking powder to brown the crumbled firm tofu.
Thank you,
Very tasty. I’ve tried a number of other recipes and I will stick with this one!
I only had firm tofu on hand, so I used that instead of soy meat. I quartered the tofu block and then brined the pieces using the same ingredients for cooking the soy meat. Used just enough water to cover all the ingredients. Instead of boiling per the instructions, I just let the tofu chunks bathe in the brine for 10 minutes. Afterwards, I pressed the tofu chunks to squeeze out additional water while preparing the sauce .
*CHEF’S KISS* my meat-eating spouse even said he couldn’t taste the difference!
I love that I get to make my soyrizo from scratch, thank you Ana!
I decided to try this recipe because commercial soyrizo has so much sodium and when you make anything yourself you can control that. I was very happy with the results. Scrambled with eggs and potatoes it is just what I was looking for.
Thanks so much!
This tastes just how I remember chorizo. I’ve tried multiple different vegetarian versions and this is the best one. I also love how easy this recipe is. It’s a keeper
Hi! I rarely write reviews but I just wanted to say that this recipe is PERFECT!! I’m a displaced Texan, so as white as I am, I still grew up with fire Mexican food and it’s still one of my favorite cuisines. Even though I’m not vegetarian, I’ve always preferred soyrizo over chorizo, and had been craving a nice soyrizo, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito for like… years hahah. A pack of soyrizo is always the first thing I buy when I go back to the states. This last time I was home, I bought a bunch of dried chiles SPECIFICALLY to make your recipe, and omg it was worth the seeds all over my luggage 😭😭😭😭 thank you for this!! I made it this past weekend for a Mexican expat in my gaming group who’s vegetarian and never gets to really eat much variety because of it and she immediately asked for the recipe (and taught me how to properly roll a burrito, oop.) This was absolutely 10/10, will make REGULARLY.
Just made this today, I fried some up right away and made a batch of breakfast burritos. At first when I tasted the pepper sauce/marinade I thought it was to vinegary, after frying it though the acid tasted balanced out.
I really enjoy this recipe, next time I might add a chipotle pepper to the mix.
Hello!
I’m really excited to try this recipe because it’s impossible to get chorizo where I live. It’s also impossible to get fresh chiles, so I only have dried ^^; Will those work? Do I still follow the directions as written where I boil them and then blend them?
Can’t wait to make a big batch of this and freeze it! breakfast tacos are back on the menu <333
Hi Gina! I’m so happy to hear you’ll give this recipe a try! When you say you only have dried chiles, is that in powder form? This recipe calls for dried chiles that you boil so if that’s what you have, then just follow the instructions and you should be good to go! You’ll love them! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Absolutely love this recipe! I made it last weekend and will probably stop buying soy chorizo at the store. I’ve tried other soy chorizo recipes but this one is the best I’ve tried! Thank you, Ana!
Have you tried making this with tofu?
I have not Amy! I would assume it would be good if you crumble it very good! Just skip the step on cooking the tofu like instructed for the soy meat. Afterall, soy meat is almost as tofu right? If you try it let me know how it turns out!
I bought a bag of homemade granola in the little tienda in the village where we live in Mexico. Turns out it was soy protein and it is truly disgusting with milk LOL but this little mishap was a revelation for my wife and me who have recently switched to a semi-vegetarian/vegan diet. We tried store-bought vegetarian chorizo which tasted great but we wanted to know exactly what we eat so we tried your recipe and all I can say is WOW, thanks for this recipe.
This looks great! Simple, quick, and oh so delicious! Thanks for amazing recipe!
I’m AMAZED how good this tastes and how similar it is to beef chorizo both in flavor and texture! Much less greasy too! Without compromise, a much healthier alternative. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I love a good spicy recipe. A healthy and plant-based one is even better! Thanks for sharing so many ways to use it! I want to try them all!
I’m always amazed by how much soy resembles meat. Soyrizo with eggs and potatoes looks delicious. I definitely need to try that!
It was such a simple recipe to follow. Turned out so delicious, and spicy at the same time. Loved it.
Thank you so much Savita! I’m delighted to know you liked it. The spices are perfect in my opinion lol!
I can’t believe it is actually a soy one. Definitely need to give it a try over the weekend!
Thank you Mahy! You’ll love it!
Delicious ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you! I was literally talking about how much I missed Soyrizo here in Portugal the other day.
yay! Now you can make it! I bought my soy meat at Pingo (but have seen it at every grocery store). You can buy the dried chiles in Portugal here https://www.marthatome.com/malaguetas-secas or https://thechilliexperience.com/garden/
Enjoy Stephanie!
xo,
Ana
This vegan chorizo turned out amazing! So flavorful and I know exactly what I’m putting in it. Thanks for the recipe!