Mexican food is one of my favorite foods, I am pretty sure I lived off of taco salads my whole 4 years in college. That said, since becoming a vegan I have been on a mission to discover vegan alternatives for Mexican food. Surprisingly, I had to look no further than a simple walnut for my favorite vegan Mexican taco filling. Not only does it have the consistency of ground meat, but it is easy to make, tasty and jam packed with vitamins and minerals. Walnuts are anti-inflammatory, improve heart and bone health, boost your metabolism and are a great source of protein, healthy fats and dietary fiber.

Ingredients :

1 1/2 Cups of whole raw walnuts

2 Tbsp cumin

1 1/2 Tbsp chilli powder

1 Tsp garlic powder

1/2 Tsp cayenne

1/2 Tsp salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Soak walnuts for up to 8 hours. You can get away without doing this step, simply add a Tbsp of water to the food processor when processing walnuts. Not soaking the walnuts may change their texture but they will taste just as great.
2. Add soaked walnuts and all spices to a food processor and pulse until a ground meat consistency is achieved.
3. The most important step is the final taste test. Taste your mixture and add whatever flavors your vegan meat may be missing. I personally love to change how spicy I make my meat depending on what I am putting it in or on.

In the above picture I added the vegan meat to red cabbage cups and topped it with fresh cherry tomatoes and corn salsa. Comment below with your favorite Mexican food and I’ll dig into delicious vegan alternative!