I made my own version of Chipotle's Mexican Tofu Sofritas. just to see how close I could come. Not sure how I did but these ARE delicious!
Sofritas was Chipotle Mexican Grill's first vegan option on their menu and is simply shredded tofu braised with poblano, chipotle peppers, and spices.
This was inspired by my Tofu Tacos, and pairs well with this Mexican Street Corn Salad.
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Ingredients to make Mexican Tofu Sofritas
If you can find SUPER firm tofu, it will make an excellent crumble, otherwise, you can use Extra-Firm and just press it very well.
- Super-firm Tofu
- Poblano
- Onion
- Small Tomatoes
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- Tomato Paste
- Smoked Paprika
- Nutritional Yeast
- Chile Powder
- Cumin
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Garlic & Onion Powder
See the recipe card for quantities.
Sofritas Recipe Instructions
This recipe is as easy as crumbling a block of tofu.
All of the remaining ingredients get tossed into a blender. You mix the two and bake. Easy peasy.
Use super-firm (sometimes called "high protein" tofu) if you can find it, otherwise extra firm will do but make sure to press it to remove as much moisture as possible.
Then crumble it into a bowl so it resembles the texture of ground beef.
Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano, cut it into smaller pieces, and add to your blender. Peel the onion, cut it into quarters, and add that too along with the tomatoes. This is the base of our sauce.
Now add all the other ingredients with the exception of the water, and blend. This sauce then gets poured into the tofu and mixed well.
Spread the crumbles evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Turn OFF the oven, but leave the crumbles in there for an additional 30 minutes to continue drying out, stirring occasionally.
The drying process cooks away any moisture and concentrates the flavors. Then we simply add them to a skillet and add either veggie broth or water to rehydrate them into some of the juiciest sofritas you ever had.
Substitutions
- Tofu - instead of super-firm tofu, you can use extra-firm, just press it well.
- Tomatoes - I really like Campari Tomatoes but you can also use Roma
- Chipotle Peppers - these guys really make the flavor of this recipe but if you cannot eat them try adding a little chipotle chili powder or extra smoked paprika
- Ancho Chili - if you cannot find Ancho chili powder try using regular McCormick chili powder with a tiny bit of Cayenne.
- Mexican Oregano - is usually found in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store near the salsas, refried beans, dried chiles, etc. If you cannot find it you can use regular Italian oregano instead.
Variations
- Spicy - feel free to add additional chipotle peppers, green chile, or jalapenos to spice this up even more
- Uses - the sofritas make excellent sofritas bowls, tacos, tostadas, or burritos
- Sofritas Bowl - make a meal by adding rice, black beans, fire-roasted corn, and corn tortillas
Storage
Store the sofritas in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, and they should be good for 2-3 days. You can also freeze them right after the baking step and rehydrate them in a skillet when ready to use.
FAQ
Sofritas were introduced by Chipotle Mexican Grill in 2013 as a vegan option on their menu.
Crumbled organic tofu, simmered in a spicy sauce made of poblano peppers, onions, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and spices
Tofu, soymilk, miso, tempeh, edamame and other soy products are high in nutrients such as fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein, and zinc. Researchers have found that women diagnosed with breast cancer who ate the most soy lived significantly longer and had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer recurrence than those who ate less. - https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/soy/
The original Chipotle Mexican Grill recipe used shredded, organic tofu. I have previously used cauliflower and mushroom to imitate beef crumbles, so they might work with some tweaking to the recipe. There are also various plant-based crumbles in the stores but they are much higher in oils and fats and are already flavored - so again, the spices in the recipe would need to be adjusted.
Related
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Print
Mexican Tofu Sofritos Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop, Blender
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
I made my own version of Chipotle's Mexican Tofu Sofritas. just to see how close I could come. Not sure how I did but these ARE delicious!
Ingredients
- 16 oz block super-firm tofu
- ½ cup low-sodium veggie broth or water
Sauce
- 1 poblano pepper (7 oz)
- 1 white onion (6.5 oz)
- 3 small tomatoes (about 2.5 oz each)
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 2 chipotle peppers and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbs nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp Ancho chile powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp Mexican oregano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Press tofu to remove as much moisture as you can
- Crumble tofu into a large bowl (so it resembles ground beef)
- Remove seeds and stem from poblano and cut it into large pieces
- Peel onion and cut into quarters
- Cut tomatoes into quarters
- Add all the cut veggies and all of the spices to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add sauce to tofu and mix well.
- Spread evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 min.
- Turn off heat, stir crumbles and break apart any large pieces, and return to oven to continue drying out for another 30 min.
- Add tofu to skillet and add ½ cup broth or water to rehydrate
- Simmer until heated through and liquid has evaporated
- Serve with your choice of garnish
Paula
Hi Chuck.... these sound really good...can't wait to eat them. Having this at Chipotle's today. I'd like to make these and freeze the sofritas. Having hand surgery so need to have to meals easy to prepare. You mentioned freezing and then rehydrating them in a skillet. Do you make extra sauce and put that in a skillet and reheat? Water? Would you please elaborate a little more about this. Thanks.
Chuck Underwood
In water, just to get the crumbles moist again, after you thaw them
Jim T.
Very Tasty, I must admit I did make several alterations: I used 2 poblanos, and a lot more chipotles and adobo sauce (I like spicy hot everywhere all the time!) I also added lots of hot homemade salsa, guacamole and black beans. I had to refuse the use of the blender since I tend to like things a little bit chunky. In any event, it made for some seriously great tacos on soft corn tortillas!
Judy G
Never tried the Chipotle version, but this recipe is soooo good! Thanks, Chuck, for the delicious Mexican foods you create for us.
Sarah
This is so so good! I doubled the tofu because one package didn't look like enough for all the liquid from the sauce. And I'm lazy so I just sauteed the tofu instead of baking it. 😁
Ken O
Thanks Chuck, you have the right touch, oil-free visionaries always appreciated
Judith
Many of us who love your recipes can’t eat spicy foods. How would you suggest that we modify this recipe and have it still taste delicious? Thanks
Chuck Underwood
I think I covered that in the new FAQ section of my blog post.
Judy Shepherd
I found Chickpea tofu a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty good. Might work here for those who are allergic or don't want soy.