Makes about 4 cups || Total time: 25 minutes
This homemade vegan chorizo is a wake-up call for any dish that needs a Spanish flair. Scrambled tofu, yes, but don’t stop there. Think of it as the little black dress of crumbled vegan sausage: it fits every occasion. Tacos, pasta, roasted potatoes, breakfast burritos, nachos. There’s a whole list below if you need convincing.
What I really love about this vegan chorizo recipe is that it’s fast and easy and it’s all pantry ingredients. Walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, a few spices…nothing you need to make a special trip for. And yet the result is something that feels super sophisticated. The kind of thing you’d see on a menu at a nice restaurant and think, oh, they made their own chorizo, cool. That’s this. You made that. And it’s gluten free vegan chorizo, so basically everyone at the table is covered.
The texture is the thing to pay attention to. Walnuts are perfect here – naturally rich and fatty, they do the work that sausage usually outsources to questionable things. Pulse them to coarse crumbs, not dust, then blend with oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, and a splash of apple cider vinegar until it looks like crumbled meat. Pieces no bigger than a pea. From there it bakes for ten minutes, just enough to dry it out and get some color on the edges. It firms up as it cools.
Use it where ever you need a little vegan chorizo glow up. A few ideas below!
Brilliant Ideas On How To Use This Walnut Chorizo Recipe
Tofu Scramble with peppers and onions
Tacos with all the fixins
Breakfast Nachos loaded with avocado salsa and cashew cheese
Over roasted potatoes or a fully loaded baked potato with sour cream and queso and everything
On Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese for a smoky, spicy upgrade
Mixed into pasta with just olive oil and garlic, or mixed into Marinara
In breakfast burritos or any burrito, really
In empanadas with potato and green olives
In a crunchwrap! With beans and cheese and lettuce and pico
On pizza with roasted peppers, mushrooms, and olives
Over avocado halves or (oh yes) avocado toast with chili oil and flaky salt
With rice and beans and avocado (obviously)
In a Tofu Omelet with spinach and cheese
Stuffed into peppers or zucchini
Sun-dried Tomato Walnut Chorizo FAQ
Can I make this vegan chorizo without a food processor? Yes! Mince the onion and garlic. Roughly chop the walnuts to about pea size, and chop the sun-dried tomatoes until they’re almost pureed. Mix everything together in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes to soak in. Spread onto the tray and proceed. It’ll be a little different, but still good.
Can I use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes? Nope. The oil is part of what makes this work. You would have to do a bit of futzing for it to work with the dried ones.
Is this walnut chorizo gluten free? Yup yup yup – every ingredient here is naturally gluten free.
How long does it keep? About a week in the fridge. Freezes well too, up to a month.
Is it spicy? Mildly. The cayenne is there but it’s not a heat seekers situation. Add more if you want it to have some real kick.
So this is plant based chorizo? Hells yeah. This is your homemade plant based chorizo, no packaging required. Am I just writing this for SEO? Maybe! Hope it worked.
If You Like This Vegan Chorizo Recipe You Might Also Like:
Walnut Sun-Dried Tomato Chorizo
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 cups walnut halves
- 1 small yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes in oil tightly packed with oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional, looks pretty)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the garlic until chopped. Add the walnuts and pulse to chop into fat chunks. Add the onion and pulse again to chop.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, along with the apple cider vinegar, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated and resemble crumbled meat. You don’t want to puree it, but don’t leave large chunks either, pieces should be no larger than a pea.
- Spread the mixture out on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and it’s ready to use.
