Vegan Taco Essentials for Plant Based Taco Night

Excluding from meat and dairy from your diet should not exclude you from taco Tuesday!

Anyone can prepare a delicious and easy taco dinner at home, regardless of their dietary status. We’ve put together this list of the top plant-based taco ingredients from our taste tests for anyone cooking up a vegan taco night. These are the best ingredients for vegan tacos to have on hand for a homemade, plant-based Mexican feast.

The Meat: El Burrito Soyrizo

Many brands make soyrizo, but El Burrito is the best. It’s spicy, savory, and meaty. Toss this in a pan and crisp it up for the supreme plant-based taco filling. I would take this over veggie ground beef any day of the week. It’s already seasoned, which cuts down on time and ingredients. In my opinion, this is the perfect “meat” for vegan tacos.

Read the full ranking of the best vegan sausage

The Shell: Old El Paso Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit

I love the Old El Paso Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit because it has a little something for everyone. Slather some vegan refried beans onto a soft tortilla, slap it onto a crispy shell, and you can make a double decker taco.

Read the full ranking of the best taco kits

The Cheese: Violife Mexican Shreds

Violife makes great vegan cheese and their Mexican shreds are no different. These are great straight from the fridge but also melt beautifully if that’s more your style. If you’re looking to have a white people vegan taco night, grab a bag of this vegan shredded cheese.

Read the full ranking of the best shredded vegan cheese

The Sour Cream: Sprouts Plant Based Sour Cream Alternative

Plant-based sour cream options are few and far between and, to be honest, generally not that great. This Sprouts dairy-free sour cream is the best version of what’s available and does taste pretty good. Use it as is or blend it up with some lime juice, garlic powder, cilantro, and chipotle peppers for an incredible creamy chipotle sauce. Your vegan taco night will thank you.

Read the full ranking of the best vegan sour cream

The Guacamole: Wholly Guacamole Avocado Verde

Store bought guacamole is good, but store bought avocado salsa is great so I recommend grabbing a container of this for your avocado-based topping option. This is tart, creamy, very avocado-forward, and definitely one of the best ingredients for vegan tacos.

The Salsa: Casa Sanchez Foods Hot Salsa Roja

Casa Sanchez Foods Hot Salsa Roja is an incredible store bought red salsa. Grab a container to load onto your taco and to serve as a side with tortilla chips. Mix this into your vegan sour cream for a creamy, zesty taco sauce. Pour a container of this salsa into a pan with black beans and you have a delicious bean side for your tacos. Add some vegetable broth and blend that bean side dish up and now you have a tasty black bean soup. This salsa can be used for so many things.

Read the full ranking of the best red salsa

The Bonus Ingredient: Trader Joe’s Vegan Nacho Dip

If you like queso on your tacos rather than shredded cheese, or maybe you’re someone who takes cheese-less cheese seriously and you want both on your tacos (which I respect), grab this Trader Joe’s vegan nacho dip. It’s the best option for vegan queso and, conveniently, one of the most affordable! Get this if you really want to plus up your vegan taco night.

Read the full ranking of the best vegan queso