This copycat chipotle sofritas recipe is so delicious, healthy, easy to make, ready in 30 minutes, and tastes just like the original!
When I made this recipe for the first time it blew my mind. It tastes even better than Chipotle's and it's also much healthier.
Chipotle sofritas go amazingly well with dishes like burritos or tacos, but you can actually add them to your favorite recipes as your source of plant-based protein. It's full of flavor, so delicious, and ready in no time.
Whether you're new to plant-based eating, or not, this is a super tasty and affordable alternative to animal-based protein. That's why it's included in my Veganuary recipe collection.
Although sofritas are delicious by themselves, they go really well with rice, veggies, and some sauce like guacamole dip, vegan sour cream, or vegan cheese to make a vegan burrito bowl.
They also can be used anywhere else you need a protein-packed filling or topping, like vegan burritos, vegan tacos, or nachos.
Jump to:
🌟 You’ll love this recipe because it is
- Made with simple and easy-to-get ingredients. If you can't find chipotle peppers in your area I give you an alternative below.
- Really affordable.
- A healthier alternative to the original recipe.
- Perfect to eat by themselves or to make tacos, burritos, and all kinds of Mexican-style recipes.
- Better than Chipotle's!
🧾 Ingredients
- Firm tofu: firm or extra firm tofu work best for this recipe. Soft or silken tofu is not a good choice as it will fall apart easily.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic.
- Onion.
- Green bell pepper: some recipes call for poblano pepper, but I think this dish is already spicy with chipotle pepper, so I prefer to add green bell pepper instead.
- Tomato.
- Chipotle pepper in adobo.
- Adobo sauce: I used the sauce in the chipotle pepper can.
- Tomato paste.
- Red wine vinegar: the original recipe is made with this type of vinegar, but any other kind will work as well.
- Ground cumin.
- Dried oregano.
- Salt: I used ionized salt, but any salt will do.
Ground black pepper: fresh ground black pepper tastes amazing. However, I find store-bought more convenient and also easier to measure with a teaspoon. - Water: it can be replaced with vegetable stock for extra flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when it’s hot, add the tofu slices. Cook over medium-high heat until both sides are golden brown.
Step 2: Roughly chop the tofu into small pieces with a knife, or pulse the tofu in a food processor. Set aside.
Step 3: Add all the sauce ingredients except the water to a food processor and blend until well combined.
Step 4: Pour the sauce into a large frying pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 5: Add the tofu and stir to coat.
Step 6: Pour the water to make it a little saucy. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
📋 Substitutions & variations
- Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite oil for this recipe, but any other will do.
- Make it oil-free: just omit the oil and cook the tofu in a non-stick frying pan.
- Feel free to use any type of onion you have on hand.
- I used the adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers.
- If you can't find chipotle pepper in adobo, don't worry, just replace it and the adobo sauce with 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- If you omit them, you'll need something to make your Chipotle sofritas spicy, like cayenne pepper or chili powder. Add it to taste until it's spicy enough for you.
- Red wine vinegar can be replaced with other vinegar like apple cider or white vinegar. Lemon or lime juice can also be a good alternative, but I think vinegar works best.
- Feel free to customize your Chipotle sofritas with your favorite herbs and spices.
🍽 Equipment
To make this recipe you'll need:
- Measuring tablespoons and measuring cups (or a scale) to weigh your ingredients.
- A frying pan and a spatula or wooden spoon.
- A food processor. You can use a knife if you don't have one to roughly chop the tofu into small pieces, but a food processor is the best choice.
- To make the sauce you could use a knife, a high-speed blender, or an immersion blender instead of the food processor.
❄️ Storage
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezer: store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. It might change the texture slightly (maybe a little chewier), though.
- Thaw: transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
💭 Expert tips
- I hardly ever press my tofu, it saves me time and effort and I think it's not necessary.
- If you press it, you'll get extra crispy tofu. You just need to wrap the tofu in a clean towel and apply a steady weight to squeeze out the moisture. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If you freeze the tofu and then defrost it, it'll become more porous, absorb flavors more easily and give it a more meat-like texture. I don't do it very often to keep things simple.
- Not into spicy food? Just omit the chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce and use 3-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce instead.
- Using a food processor is the best choice. A knife can be used to chop the tofu, but with the food processor the size and texture of the tofu crumbles will be just perfect.
❓Recipe FAQs
Sofritas is a popular plant-based protein option at fast-food chain Chipotle, made with chopped tofu that is braised in a spicy sauce made of a blend of spices, chipotle peppers, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.
It can be added to tacos, burritos, salads, and more.
Of course! Just store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through.
Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if necessary.
Extra-Firm tofu has the least amount of liquid and is an excellent choice for this recipe.
However, I find it too dry sometimes, so I prefer to use firm tofu because it has the proper amount of liquid without falling apart like silken or soft tofu, but it's not as dry as extra-firm tofu.
As I explained above in more detail, I hardly ever press my tofu and I'm so happy with the results.
But for extra crispy tofu and if you want the tofu to absorb even better all the flavors from the sauce, you can press it.
The only soy ingredient in this recipe is tofu, so just replace it with any other source of plant-based protein like seitan, chickpea tempeh, or legumes like chickpeas, lentils, or black beans.
🌯 More vegan Mexican-style recipes
⭐️ Did you like this copycat Chipotle sofritas recipe? Please consider giving it a 5-star rating and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Copycat Chipotle Sofritas
Ingredients
For the tofu:
- 1 block firm tofu, about 14 ounces or 400 g, drained, patted dry, and cut into 8 slices
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the sauce:
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped, I used yellow onion
- 1 medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 medium tomato, roughly chopped
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, or any other type of vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when it’s hot, add the tofu slices. Cook over medium-high heat until both sides are golden brown.
- Roughly chop the tofu into small pieces with a knife, or pulse the tofu in a food processor. Set aside.
- Add all the sauce ingredients except the water to a food processor and blend until well combined.
- Pour the sauce into a large frying pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tofu and stir to coat. Pour the water to make it a little saucy. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite oil for this recipe, but any other will do.
- Make it oil-free: just omit the oil and cook the tofu in a non-stick frying pan.
- Feel free to use any type of onion you have on hand.
- I used the adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers.
- If you can't find chipotle pepper in adobo, don't worry, just replace it and the adobo sauce with 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- If you omit them, you'll need something to make your Chipotle sofritas spicy, like cayenne pepper or chili powder. Add it to taste until it's spicy enough for you.
- Red wine vinegar can be replaced with other vinegar like apple cider or white vinegar. Lemon or lime juice can also be a good alternative, but I think vinegar works best.
- Feel free to customize your Chipotle sofritas with your favorite herbs and spices.
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezer: store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. It might change the texture slightly (maybe a little chewier), though.
- Thaw: transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
Eric Lovelace says
This is really good! I have not tried the Chipotle version but it cannot be better than this. We use it when we make vegan Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supremes!
If you are in a super hurry, try our shortcut version of this recipe: Crumble 2 blocks of tofu by hand into the skillet, mix in 1 or more cups chunky salsa + pack of taco seasoning, and cook it down for 8-10 minutes.
Iosune Robles says
Thanks for the idea! I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Angela says
Excellent! Very flavorful. Would not change. Thank-you!
Iosune Robles says
Thank you so much Angela 🙂 Have a nice day!