BEST Vegan Birria Tacos (Authentic Recipe)
Filled with meaty oyster mushrooms and creamy vegan cheese and serve with flavorful birria consommé for dipping, these are the BEST vegan birria tacos! You’re going to love this authentic vegan birria recipe – Taco Night never looked so yum.
What is Birria?
In the last few years, birria has become quite the popular dish and all the rage outside of Mexico.
Birria comes from the state of Jalisco, which happens to be my family’s home state.
There are many variations to the ingredients used in birria, but it’s hard to go wrong when you’re using dried chiles and a ton of spices.
Authentic birria is a slow cooked stew traditionally made with goat meat or mutton. Recently, and because goat isn’t as readily available, many people have started making birria with beef.
The hearty sauce to make the birria broth is prepared with dried chiles, different herbs and spices, and seasonings. All working together to give birria it’s unique taste.
Traditionally birria is served in a bowl and it includes the shredded meat and broth. Toppings like chopped onion, cilantro, and lime wedges are served with it. Additionally fresh corn tortillas are served on the side so you can make tacos as you eat.
Being from the Mexican state of Jalisco, birria is something that I grew up eating. But it wasn’t an every day dish, you see, birria is a special occasion meal.
After going meatless, of course birria is something that I just had to make plant-based.
Vegan Birria Tacos
The traditional birria in Jalisco is made using goat meat, of course we won’t be doing that in my recipe, we’re going to make a vegan version.
To replace the goat, my recipe uses oyster mushrooms instead to give it that vegan meaty and tender texture. The results are amazing and it makes a pretty darn good cruelty-free alternative – read the reviews below and on my Instagram.
So while the traditional meat-based birria takes a long time to make, with vegan birria the process is more straightforward and takes a lot less time to prepare.
Once you have your hearty vegan birria then you can use it to make delicious vegan birria tacos, quesabirria tacos, birria tamales, vegan birria pozole, and vegan birria ramen.
It’s truly a mouthwatering Mexican dish and delicious not to be missed culinary experience!
Vegan Quesabirria
In recent years people have started making quesabirria tacos.
Quesabirria is basically a quesadilla filled with the birria meat.
When making quesabirria some of the consommé is drizzled over the warm tortilla to give it that red color. Then the finished quesabirria is served with a bowl of consommé to dip into.
It’s actually quite a delicious combination with the melted gooey vegan cheese!
Based on My Mom’s Birria Recipe
Many years ago when I decided to veganize birria I called my mom and asked her for her recipe. She gave me a list of all the ingredients she uses which I then took and made a few adjustments to make it fit the vegan birria flavor profile.
The results are incredibly delicious and I can say that having grown up with meat birria, these vegan birria tacos recipe really hits the spot!
Ok, so below are the traditional and authentic birria ingredients my Jalisciense mom uses.
The spices and their quantities used in making birria can differ greatly. I say start off with a base (like my recipe) then adjust from there to your own taste.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• It’s an authentic birria recipe based on my Mexican mom’s recipe.
• This is the most flavorful recipe.
• It’s meat-eater approved too!
• You can make one pot and from it several other dishes from it.
Vegan Birria Ingredients
Mushrooms: I use oyster mushrooms to replace the meat, you can also use king oyster mushrooms instead.
Dried Chiles: Guajillo peppers and I like to add arbol chiles for a little heat. Some people also add ancho peppers.
Spices: All spice, cloves, canela or Ceylon cinnamon, ground black pepper, and cumin seeds -my mom always tells me not too much so it doesn’t over power the other flavors.
Herbs: Bay leaves, dried Mexican oregano — mom says just not too much because it’ll turn the birria sour.
Vegetables: White onion, garlic cloves, Roma tomatoes.
Apple Cider Vinegar(or substitute with white vinegar).
Seasoning: I love to add some Maggi Seasoning to my birria to help give it a deeper umami flavor to the dish. You can substitute it with liquid aminos or low-sodium soy sauce instead.
Broth: Vegetable broth or vegan beef broth.
Oil: I use olive oil but you can also use avocado oil or vegetable oil of your choice.
Corn Tortillas
Cheese: Your favorite melting vegan cheese (like VioLife vegan mozzarella shreds) if making the birria quesadillas.
Ingredient Notes
You can find oyster mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms at Whole Foods, farmer’s markets, select grocery stores or Asian markets. If not replace them with sliced cremini mushrooms.
Some people use just jackfruit or a mix of oyster mushrooms and jackfruit. But if you don’t like mushrooms then use jackfruit instead.
If you don’t like either mushrooms or jackfruit you could try soy curls.
If you don’t have white onion you can use brown, and if you don’t have fresh garlic cloves you can use garlic powder.
Fresh tomatoes are always used but in a pinch you can use canned – just don’t use tomato paste!
What Are Not Authentic Birria Ingredients
Dried chili peppers are what’s needed for making authentic birria. Guajillo chiles are the main chile used. Some people also add ancho chiles, but try to avoid using chili powder or cayenne pepper because they will not yield the authentic birria flavor you’re looking for.
I’ve seen some people using chipotle peppers in their recipes, these are not an authentic birria ingredient and their strong flavor will completely change the taste of your birria.
Another recipe I saw also called for maple syrup…nope! Not only is this ingredient not authentic to Mexican cuisine, there’s no place or need for it in birria or vegan birria!
How to Make Vegan Birria Tacos
As I previously mentioned, making vegan birra is incredibly easy – so much easier than meat based one.
Step 1: First thing is to start by making the adobo sauce used for making the broth. To a medium pot add the cleaned and deseeded dried chilies, tomato, onion, and garlic and cover with plenty of water. Simmer until everything is soft.
Step 2: Use a slotted spoon to add the cooked veggies. Pour half a cup of the boiling broth into a blender cup. Add a crushed bay leaf and blended until smooth. (A high speed blender would be perfect for this.)
Step 3: Place a strainer over a large pot and strain the blended chile mixture into it. Discard the remaining bits.
Step 4: To the pot add all of spices, the vinegar, some Maggi seasoning and vegetable broth. Stir to well combine. place a lid on the pot, and leave to simmer over medium heat. This creates the flavorful slow cooked consommé.
Step 5: While the birria consommé simmers let’s make the vegan meat and our taco filling. In a large skillet or large non-stick pan, heat the oil and once hot add the thinly sliced onion. Sauté until soft and translucent.
You can also get this going while the sauce ingredients boil.
Step 6: Add the shredded mushrooms to the pan with a splash of Maggi seasoning, and sauté until soft and a little bit crispy.
Step 7: Add the cooked mushrooms to the pot, cover, and allow to simmer for at least another 15 minutes – the longer you leave it the more flavor develops. Before serving taste the broth and adjust the seasonings as desired. The birria is ready to serve, in any way you’d like.
How to Make Vegan Birria Tacos and Vegan Quesabirria
Making vegan birria tacos or vegan quesabirria tacos is not only easy, but such a scrumptious treat.
Step 1: After you’ve made the birria, you want to separate some of the vegan birria meat from the broth. You can use a slotted spoon or a sieve to do so.
Step 2: Heat a cast-iron skillet or comal or large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot place some corn tortillas on it. Then place some shredded cheese onto half of the tortilla. After 2-3 minutes or once you have melted cheese, add a couple of tablespoons of the vegan birria filling, fold in half.
Step 3: Drizzle some of the birria broth over the tortilla and allow to cook for a few minutes. Carefully flip over add more broth and cook until golden brown or to your desired taste.
Step 4: Serve with a small bowl of the birria broth to dip your vegan birria tacos into. Serve the broth with a drizzle of lime juice, chopped onion and chopped cilantro.
How to Serve
Birria consommé is total comfort food. It’s perfect for the cooler days of autumn, spring, and the best way to warm up on those frigid winter days too.
It’s also perfect for special holidays like Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day.
Once you make your vegan birria you can serve it as a vegan birria consommé.
All you do is serve in small bowls, top with chopped onion and fresh cilantro and serve with some warm corn tortillas and lime wedges. If you use homemade corn tortillas it’ll taste even better.
For the quesabirria tacos serve a small bowl of the consommé then on the side serve with the vegan birria tacos some lime wedges, chopped onion, and chopped cilantro.
You can also serve with a spicy hot salsa if you’d like, but not entirely necessary.
Taste
This vegan birria tastes hearty, meaty, savory, a tad spicy, and so close to the traditional one. There’s so much flavor packed into each spoonful.
Now when you add the crispy, cheesy, quesabirria it raises the taste to a whole new level. You dip your birria taco into the consommé and your tastebuds are going to explode with so much goodness.
How to Store and Reheat
To store leftover vegan birria allow it to first come to room temperature then store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days.
Mushrooms don’t freeze too well but you could freeze leftovers if you’d like.
To reheat pour into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
👩🏽🍳Nancy’s Tips
Amigos, remember what I told you earlier about being able to make several different dishes from just the birria. Make sure to give my vegan birra ramen, vegan birria tamales, and vegan birria pozole a try.
Gracias
If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. I’ll pass on your comments to my mom. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
More Vegan Mexican Stews
Now that the temperatures are starting to drop, make sure you have these recipes on your weekly meal plans.
- Vegan Pozole Rojo
- Vegan Pozole Verde
- Vegan Menudo
- Vegan Mexican Lentil Soup
- Sopa de Fideo
- Sopa de Conchas
- Fava Bean Soup
- Vegan Charro Beans
Vegan Birria Tacos Recipe
Ok amigos I hope you make my vegan birria recipe as soon as possible – I promise it will be something you make over and over again. I think it will become your favorite vegan birria taco recipe.
You can enjoy this vegan birria anytime of the week or make it for special occasions or holidays.
Don’t let the ingredients list or instructions scare you off. I’m very thorough and it really isn’t that difficult to cook. Plus you can make a big batch and enjoy it throughout the week or freeze it to eat later.
This recipe has so much flavor packed into it and it’s even a meal you can get meat eaters to enjoy!
Leave me a comment letting me know if you try it so I can tell my mom. Also don’t forget to leave a star rating in the recipe card below.
BEST Vegan Birria Tacos
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 lb oyster mushrooms shredded (will yield 9 cups raw)
- 2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil more if needed
- 1 medium white onion halved and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoons Maggi Seasoning
Broth Ingredients
- 4 large guajillos
- 2 whole chiles de arbol optional for a little heat
- 2 small roma tomatoes
- ½ medium white onion cut into 4 pieces
- 4 large garlic cloves
- water for boiling
- 1 whole bayleaf crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Mexican dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground canela
- 2 teaspoons Maggi Seasoning
- 1½ to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- salt to taste
- 2 to 4 cups of vegetable broth
Quesabirria Ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded cheese I use vegan VioLife Mozzarella Shreds
Instructions
Vegan Birria Instructions
- Use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe clean the chiles, then cut off the stem and deseed. In a pot place the chiles, the tomatoes, onion, and garlic cloves. Pour enough water to cover them and simmer until chiles are rehydrated and the onion is soft.
- Once the chiles have rehydrated, use a slotted spoon to remove them and vegetables from the pot and place into a blender. Add the crushed bay leaf and ½ cup of the boiling broth, blend until you have a perfectly smooth salsa. You can use more boiling broth if needed.
- If you have a Vitamix or Ninja blender you don’t need to strain the salsa, but if you don’t and your blender isn’t too powerful then use a colander to strain the salsa into a pot.
- Then add the oregano, ground black pepper, allspice, ground cumin, ground clove, canela, 2 teaspoons Maggi Seasoning, the apple cider vinegar, and stir until well combined.
- Mix in 2 cups of the vegetable broth and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Do not add more broth yet!
Cook The Mushrooms
- While you wait for the salsa to simmer you can cook the shredded oyster mushrooms. In a large enough sauté pan to fit the mushrooms, heat up 2 Tablespoons of oil then add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent.
- Then mix in the shredded mushrooms, and drizzle the teaspoon of Maggi seasoning over them and cook until they have softened and are a bit crispy.
- Add the cooked mushrooms to the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until ready to serve. Then taste and adjust seasoning if desired. At this time you can add more broth if you'd like to make a thinner broth.
- To serve the consommé top with finely chopped onion and fresh cilantro, serve with warm corn tortilla and some lime wedges.
Quesabirria Taco Instructions
- After you’ve made the birria, you want to separate some of the “meat” from the broth. You can use a slotted spoon or a sieve to do so.
- Heat some corn tortillas on a hot comal, then place some shredded cheese on top of the tortillas. Obviously for a fully vegan meal use your favorite melting vegan cheese. For a vegetarian quesabirria you use Chihuahua cheese, or asadero or even Oaxaca cheese would work.
- Next you can add a couple of tablespoons of the strained vegan birria over the cheese. Fold in half moon shapes and allow cheese to melt and tortilla to crisp up a bit.
- Drizzle some of the broth over each quesabirria. Cook for a few minutes, flip and repeat and cook until the bottom side is nice and crispy. Serve with a bowl of the consommé. Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
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Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
Hi! I made this last night and it was excellent! Thank for you posting it – it was so fun to make at home after trying a version in Mexico : )
Hi Jess! Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This is my second time making. I use jackfruit because my husband doesn’t like mushrooms. SO very good! Thank you.
Thank you so much Serena, glad to hear you both enjoy it. Jackfruit is a great substitute.
I added a little cocoa to mine. It’s so delicious. Soy curls & JackFruit are great to use with this.
Yum and yes soy curls, jackfruit or mushrooms are great for birria — even shredded tofu or eggplant.
This looks amazing! How do shred the mushrooms?
Hi Nikki,
I just pull it apart with my fingers to created the shreds. Enjoy!
!
I just tried it and it became absolutely delicious Nancy! Thank you!!
Thank you Albert, so happy to hear you enjoyed it.
These were absolutely incredible. I followed this recipe almost exactly except I substituted shredded tofu for mushrooms (oyster mushrooms are a tad pricey for our budget). My husband is vegetarian and he’s always been envious when I order birria tacos. I knew I had to treat him when I came across this recipe. It was fairly time consuming to prepare but it was totally worth it. A wonderful recipe for both vegetarians and meat eaters!
Thank you so much Alicia, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the birria tacos. Yes they do take a bit of time but like you said, so worth it!
I absolutely adore this recipe. It’s in my weekly rotation and I still always look forward to it. Usually I even double it, since it’s one dish my always-picky mother outright loves. Thank you so much for this one! All of your recipes are great, but this one is particularly amazing.
Hi Kat!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I love that your mother also loves my vegan birria recipe, that’s amazing and such an honor. Really appreciate your comment and rating, they’re a big help for me and my website. Hugs!
So delicious! I made this for a picnic, and they were a big hit. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed the birria tacos!
I would like to thank you and your mother for this incredibly delicious recipe.This is my 2nd time preparing these because my family and i absolutely loves them!
This will definitely be added to our rotation.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, that makes me really happy to hear! Enjoy 🙂
This was amazing!! I’m trying to eat less meat and have been craving birria taco. I love mushrooms so this recipe was perfect. I had king oyster mushroom and regular oyster mushrooms and let me tell you this is my go to recipe from now on. I made a spicy salsa to go with it and we ate it all.
Thank you so much Rosie, I’m so happy to hear you and your family are enjoying my recipe. 🙂
Made this at least 5 times. This is a delicious recipe! So flavorful and authentic. If mushrooms are pricey I’ll use 1/2 jackfruit and mushrooms and it’s fabulous!
That’s such a great idea to mix the mushrooms and jackfruit. I do that sometimes too and they work well together. Thank you for the feedback! 🙂