Vegan birria tacos (quesabirria tacos)

Name: Vegan birria tacos (quesabirria tacos)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 3 Dried guajillo chili peppers; 2 Dried ancho chili peppers; 2 Dried Arbol chili peppers; 3 Dried pasilla chili peppers; 6 cloves Garlic; 1 Onion; 3 tbsp Vegetable oil; 4 cups Vegetable broth (stock) (you may need more or less depending on your preference of consistency); 1 tsp Mexican dried oregano; 1 tsp Cumin seeds; 3 Whole peppercorns; 3 Whole cloves; ½ tsp Allspice; ½ tsp Ground cinnamon; 2 lbs King oyster mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, or woodland mushrooms (we recommend King oyster ); 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp kosher salt; 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 12 Fresh corn tortillas; 1 cup Vegan mozzarella cheese; Chopped cilantro (optional); Chopped onions (optional); Fresh lime wedges (optional)

Published March 1, 2022 | Updated February 7, 2023 | By Mandy & Jane

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Wow, these vegan birra tacos are SO good! Shredded crispy, meaty mushrooms bursting with umami flavor, cooked in the most fantastic sauce, served in fresh corn tortillas dipped in sauce, and oozing melty cheese, make our vegan quesabirria tacos a real treat to eat. They are inspired by the traditional Mexican dish. this is a recipe you’ll want to make again and again.

A homemade vegan quesabirria taco dipped in broth, with another taco on a plate.

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Why you’ll love this delicious recipe

Our insanely delicious tacos are brimming with flavor; you’ll think twice about going to a restaurant for them again.
The whole family will love this fun and tasty Mexican-inspired treat!
Hard to believe that this fantastic recipe is 100% vegan.

Stop the clocks, this is the moment you found your new favorite recipe. You need our vegan birria tacos in your life. Forever.

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredients needed fresh cilantro, vegan cheese, kosher salt, ancho pepper, farlic powder, onion powder, stock, fresh lime, peppercorns, onion, mushrooms, cumin seeds, Mexican oregano, oil, cinnamon, garlic, whole cloves, allspice, Arbol peppers, apple cider vinegar, corn tortillas, guajillo peppers, & pasila pepper.

How to make vegan birria tacos with step-by-step instructions

Making the best vegan birria tacos is easy if you follow our simple instructions.

A full printable recipe, along with the measurements in both US customary and metric, is available in the recipe card below.

Making the vegan birria broth sauce

Take your dried guajillo chili peppers, Ancho chili peppers, Arbol chili peppers, and pasilla chili peppers, and using scissors, cut the stalk off, and remove the seeds (if you like it spicy, then leave them in).

Place them in a jug or pan of hot water and leave them to soak for approximately 20 – 30 minutes.

Next, line a baking tray with parchment paper and place your garlic and onions, and, using your hands, make sure that they are all covered with vegetable oil.

Now, broil (grill) them in the oven under high heat until you see that they are charred around the edges, approximately 20 – 30 minutes; remove them from the oven and place them in a food processor or blender.

Drain the rehydrated chili peppers and add them to the blender; add oil, vegetable broth (stock), Mexican dried oregano, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, whole cloves, allspice, and ground cinnamon.

Blend until you have a smooth sauce.

Transfer to a pan and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, place the lid on, and simmer for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

Blend chilies, onion, garlic, vegetable broth, and spices together until smooth. — Add cooked onion, garlic, chilies, and spices to a blender and blend until smooth.

Marinate your mushrooms. — Shred mushrooms and then marinate.

Making the vegan birria meat filling

Meanwhile, you can prepare your mushrooms.

Take your mushrooms and, using your hands, shred them, so they are thin slithers of mushrooms.

Place them in a bowl and add oil, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.

Toss the mushrooms, and then cover them and set them aside, leaving them to marinate while your broth is simmering.

Once the broth is ready, place a skillet over medium heat, add oil, and when it’s hot, place your shredded mushrooms, be careful not to overload the skillet, have one layer only.

Cook your mushrooms until you see that they have started to crisp up around the edges and are turning brown, for approximately 12 minutes.

Then it’s time to add your broth; add a ladle or so of sauce to the mushrooms, stir, and cook for a further 3 – 5 minutes.

Place vegan cheese and cooked mushrooms on one side of a dipped tortilla. — Dip the tortilla in broth, and add vegan cheese and mushrooms.

Fold taco. — Cook, fold over, and serve.

Building your quesabirria tacos

Place another skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.

Now, take your fresh corn tortilla and dip it into the birria broth so that the whole tortilla is covered in broth.

Now, place the tortilla in the skillet, add vegan mozzarella cheese and mushrooms to one-half of the tortilla, and cook until the bottom of your tortilla is starting to crisp and turn brown, approximately 1½ minutes.

Then, using a spatula, fold over the tortilla, and press down gently to hold it together.

Carefully remove your birria taco, and serve immediately with dipping sauce, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

What to serve with birria tacos

We love eating our birria tacos with pico de gallo, salsa taquera, or salsa roja.

If you want to go super simple, serve with sliced avocado and vegan sour cream.

What are tacos de birria?

Apart from being a social media sensation right now (and rightfully so), birria tacos are an insanely delicious Mexican dish, traditionally cooked with tender meat; possibly the most popular in America is beef birria.

The meat is cooked in a broth, then the corn tortillas are dipped in the broth and placed on a hot skillet; Oaxaca cheese is placed on half of the tortilla, and then the meat is on top of that and cooked until crispy.

That’s how they are usually made, but obviously, we don’t eat meat, so we have a glorious vegan birria tacos version that we’ve fed to the staunchest of our meat-eating friends, and they LOVE it.

If you don’t try any other vegan dish in your life, you’ve got to quesabirria recipe!

How do you replace the meat?

Traditional birria tacos are made with shredded meat; typically, birria meat will be goat meat or, in the US, beef, specifically, chuck roast.

So how do we get a big umami boost in our tacos de birria?

We use mushrooms, giant meaty flavored mushrooms, that, when cooked, will knock you sideways with the taste explosion in your mouth. Seriously.

If you can use all king oyster mushrooms, the flavor will blow you away when cooked in our vegan consume broth.

But we know that you can’t get hold of king oyster mushrooms, so we’ve used a mixture of king oyster mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, and woodland mushrooms,

The trick is to shred them into slithers that replicate shredded meat, cook them until they have crisped up, and then add that amazing birria sauce, this makes the most awesome quesabirria tacos recipe.

Overhead shot of two vegan quesabirria tacos, with taco dipping sauce, onions, chopped cilantro, mushrooms and cheese.

What is the birria broth made from?

There are different ways to make a Birra broth; you’ll usually find it’s meat-based, a goat, beef broth, or even chicken broth.

Naturally, ours is 100% vegan.

Our outstanding vegetarian birria tacos broth has been lovingly simmered, giving the flavors of ancho peppers, Arbol peppers, guajillo peppers, and pasilla peppers to infuse with onion, spices, and herbs.

Are they spicy?

They are perfectly spiced but not spicy.

Of course, you can notch up the spice if you are a fan of spicy food, leave the chili seeds in or add chili powder.

How do I store vegan birria tacos?

We don’t recommend storing cooked meat-free birrias as they tend to go a little soggy.

You can store the cooked mushrooms in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days; when reheating, add a bit more broth.

The broth stores well, it keeps covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, and you can freeze it for up to 2 months.

A vegan birria taco full of mushrooms and cheese, with fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.

Recipe notes and expert tips

Out of ground cinnamon?
When simmering your broth, place a cinnamon stick; remember to remove it after cooking.
Like a thinner sauce?
Add more vegetable broth when blending; add a little at a time, as you can add broth, but you can’t take it away!
Don’t have all the chili peppers?
Be creative; you could use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or other dried chiles.
Want more spice?
If you’re a spice fan, leave the seeds in the chili peppers and add a little cayenne pepper to the broth.
Add a smoky flavor
When marinating your mushrooms, add a teaspoon of smoked paprika.

Overhead shot of vegan quesabirria tacos, with a bowl of dipping sauce, lime wedges, chopped onions, chopped cilantro, a chili pepper and a bowl of pico de gallo.

More easy vegan recipes for you to try

If you like our tacos, why not try these other delicious recipes?

Delicious nut roast freshly cooked with roasted potatoes.

Perfect Vegan Nut Roast Recipe

Hearty vegetable stew freshly made in a Dutch oven.

Vegetarian stew recipe

Easy aloo tikki recipe – Indian potato patties

Peri peri fries

A stack of freshly made sweet potato fritters.

Sweet Potato Fritters Recipe

Homemade vegan birria tacos, ready to eat, with one being dipped into birria broth.

Print Pin Recipe

5 from 77 votes

Vegan birria tacos (quesabirria tacos)

See what the vegan birria tacos craze is all about! Crispy shredded mushrooms full of meaty flavor and creamy vegan cheese, all cooked in a corn tortilla that's dipped in the most insane vegan birria taco sauce consommé that you will LOVE. This Mexican-inspired dish is a firm family favorite and perfect for Mexican night!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Servings

Calories441

Course: Main course

Cuisine: Mexican Inspired

Author: Mandy Applegate | Splash of Taste

Utensils

Food processor or

Blender