Sofritas is actually fried tofu crumbles braised (aka cooked) in a spicy chili sauce. You can make Chipotle’s famous vegan protein option at home with ease if you follow this recipe step by step. If you are looking for a flavorful tofu recipe to add to burritos, tacos, or salad bowls, try this easy Sofritas recipe.
We have other copycat recipes you may be interested in like this Copycat IKEA Veggie Balls or this Copycat Chipotle Veggie Bowl or this Copycat Chipotle Veggie Burrito with Fajita Veggies or this Copycat Panda Express Vegan Orange Chicken. More to come I promise. Email us which copycat recipe you would like to see next.
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What is Chipotle Sofritas?
You most probably heard of it in connection with Chipotle restaurants. Sofritas is one of their protein options to add to burritos, salad bowls, and tacos. In 2014, Chipotle introduced this tofu-based dished called Sofritas as an answer to the increasing popularity of meatless dishes and vegan diet. Chipotle’s culinary chef said to Insider that “he wanted to find a way to make tofu as good as, if not better than meat.”
So there came Sofritas a crumbled tofu dish braised in hot chilis and Mexican spices. If you eat it alone it will be kind of hot, but mixed with all other burrito ingredients, it will be balanced by them perfectly.
Original ingredients of Sofritas in Chipotle
In Insider’s Sofritas test the creators explained that “they started out with a tofu chorizo in mind, and finally settled on the Sofritas’ chili-inspired recipe. It’s made with shredded tofu that is braised with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos and a blend of Mexican spices.”
We also found this Sofritas review in Orlando Weekly where they talked about Sofritas saying “It’s spicy, but less spicy than I’d expected; the flavor is more just basically savory with strong cumin and pepper overtones. Texturally, it’s got a firmer chew to it than ground beef; it’s not too soft, but it’s neither spongy nor rubbery (common complaints about tofu). I appreciated the fact that there were chopped peppers and larger chunks of tofu apparent in the mix.”
It is not easy to find out all ingredients just by taste and re-create a recipe Chipotle has perfected for a year. Fortunately, Chipotle nutrition calculator provided further clues by listing all ingredients. Some are easy to find and buy as a home cook, some will need substitutions. Here is the list to see for yourself:
- tofu
- bell peppers
- chipotle chili
- poblano pepper
- onion
- garlic
- tomato
- tomato paste
- black pepper
- cumin
- oregano
- red wine vinegar
- red bran oil
- salt
- water
How to make a copycat recipe at home?
Let’s talk about which ingredients we can use and which ones need substitutions to re-create at home Chipotle’s Sofritas.
Veggies like bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes are easy to come by. However, red bran oil is definitely not something I have at home or would even know where to buy.
Why do you need adobo sauce?
None of the articles I found while researching talks about adobo sauce, still most of the copycat recipes use it. Why? I think because it is the easiest way to add some Mexican hotness. Chipotle chilis are the smoked-dried version jalapeno chili peppers. You can buy them dried or as a powder/flakes or canned in adobo sauce. If you buy them dried, you need to soak them and cook them, so using the canned version is in fact the easiest, the quickest and the most flavorful way.
Do you need poblano peppers?
Poblano peppers are also a popular type of pepper in Mexican cuisine. They are not overly spicy, they just add a little kick. Where we live, it is not easy to buy these peppers, but we added a mix of smoked sweet paprika powder and hot chili powder to get the dish as close as possible. If you don’t have any poblano peppers at home, don’t worry, you can skip it and still end up with a delicious Sofritas.
How to make this Sofritas recipe?
Fry tofu slices
Use a firm tofu and press it. If you need to make sure that your tofu is gluten-free, read our “Is tofu gluten-free?” article. We used our trusted TofuBud*, but you can choose any DIY method or tofu press. Pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Slice horizontally the pressed tofu into 0.5-inch slices.
- We used our UnoCasa cast-iron skillet* but you can use frying pan as well and heat it over medium/high heat.
- Add a bit of oil and fry the tofu slices until they get a golden brown crust. (See below picture for reference)
- Once ready, chop the slices in a food processor to end up with a “ground beef”-like texture.
Prepare the marinade
- The marinade is mainly the mix of spices and veggies. Apart from a couple of veggies you only need to measure most of the ingredients. For the vegetables you need to wash and largely chop bell pepper, peel and cut the onion in half, and peel the garlic cloves.
- It takes like 2 minutes tops to make this flavorful marinade. After you have measured all ingredients, add them to the food processor and blend them chunky (See below picture for reference). Or rather pulse them. You don’t want a smooth puree, it should rather look like a chunky Marinara Sauce.
- Take a mixing bowl and mix marinade and tofu crumbles well. Leave it for 30 minutes to marinate.
Braising the tofu crumbles
The term “sofrito” in Spanish means small pieces braised in cooking oil so this dish is exactly like that: crumbled tofu pieces cooked in a spicy Mexican sauce.
- We used our UnoCasa cast-iron skillet* but you can use frying pan as well and heat it over medium heat.
- If you feel the sauce became too thick at the end of the marinating time, add a bit of veggie broth. Start with ¼ cup (0,5dl).
- Add the marinated tofu scrambles together with the whole marinade sauce and cook for about 10 minutes.
What to serve with Sofritas?
Sofritas in Chipotle is a protein option added to burritos, salad bowls, tacos and more. We added to our Copycat Chipotle Vegan Burrito Bowl (pictured below) or you can make a DIY bowl or burrito to match your taste with ingredients like:
- fajita veggies (bell pepper and onions),
- sweet potato rice,
- cilantro brown rice,
- chopped tomatoes,
- fresh tomato corn salsa,
- hot salsa,
- shredded lettuce,
- guacamole,
- vegan nacho cheese sauce,
- vegan queso dip,
- shredded vegan cheese,
- spring onion, chives, cilantro,
- lime
- tortilla chips
- flourless tortilla
More vegan Mexican recipes
Try to add it to one of the below Mexican or Tex-Mex-inspired recipes:
Copycat Chipotle Sofritas
Equipment
Ingredients
To fry the tofu slices
- 12 oz Firm tofu -> gluten-free tofu brands
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
Tofu marinade
- 1 Bell Pepper
- ¾ cup Chopped tomatoes canned
- ½ cup Veggie broth
- 1 tsp Red wine vinegar
- 1 Chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce
- 2 Tbsp Adobo sauce
- ½ Onion (medium)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- ¼ tsp Ground coriander seeds
- 2 tsp Ground cumin seeds
- 2 tsp Oregano dried
- ¼ tsp Thyme dried
- ¼ tsp Hot chili powder or flakes
- ½ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
Instructions
Frying the tofu slices
- Use a firm tofu and press it. Pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Slice horizontally the pressed tofu into 0.5-inch slices.
- Use a skillet or frying pan and heat it over medium/high heat.
- Add a bit of oil and fry the tofu slices until they get a golden brown crust.
- Once ready, chop the slices in a food processor to end up with a “ground beef”-like texture.
Preparing the marinade
- Wash and largely chop bell pepper, peel and cut the onion in half, and peel the garlic cloves. Measure all other ingredients.
- Add all marinade ingredients to a food processor and blend them chunky. Or rather pulse them. You don’t want a smooth puree, it should rather look like a chunky Marinara Sauce.
- Take a mixing bowl and mix marinade and tofu crumbles well. Leave it for 30 minutes to marinate.
Braising the tofu crumbles
- Use a skillet or a frying pan and heat it over medium heat.
- If you feel the sauce became too thick at the end of the marinating time, add a bit of veggie broth. Start with ¼ cup.
- Add the marinated tofu scrambles together with the whole marinade sauce and cook for about 10 minutes.
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