Having Chipotle cravings but don't want to go out? This Simple Sofritas recipe is more affordable, convenient, and delicious! Use this to perfect your homemade burritos and bowls.
After going to the gym, I would sometimes stop by a nearby Chipotle to treat myself. They're a healthier alternative compared to other fast-food restaurants, and their burritos & bowls were tasty & satisfying. Once I switched to a vegan diet, I became curious what their plant-based protein option "sofritas" was. And after ordering it for the first time, I was impressed by how much I liked it!
But what exactly was sofritas, I wondered. And was it something I could make at home?
After doing some research, I found out that sofritas is mainly comprised of tofu. It's simmered in a sauce while combined with bell peppers and onions. Once I experimented with the recipe a few times, I was surprised at how easy it was to make!
Not feeling like going out and spending money at Chipotle? Use this quick and easy recipe to satisfy your burrito or burrito bowl cravings!
Ingredient Highlights
- Extra firm tofu - When crumbled and prepared well, extra firm tofu makes for a really nice meat replacement. It doesn't surprise me that this is the star ingredient in Chipotle's plant-based protein option!
- Yellow Onion - When cooked, these are super flavorful. They provide a hint of sweetness with a touch of bitterness. Feel free to substitute this with other types of onions (e.g. red onions) if yellow onions are not available.
- Green Bell Pepper - Refreshing and lightly sweet, bell peppers are the perfect counterpart to the yellow onions. If you can't find specifically green ones, feel free to sub in other colors like red bell peppers.
- Cumin - Other than being healthy because it contains antioxidants, there are plenty of other reasons to add cumin to this dish. Cumin adds a certain earthy flavor which helps take savoury dishes like sofritas to the next level.
- Smoked Paprika - Very smoky yet not spicy, smoked paprika adds a level of depth to the flavour profile of the sofritas.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce - This really brings out the spiciness in the sofritas. Depending on your spice tolerance and preference, you may want to add less or more of these.
- Tomato Paste - This adds a strong tomato flavor to the dish, making the sofritas particularly tasty.
Why You'll Love Homemade Sofritas
- It's healthy - With tofu being the star of the show, sofritas is quite high in plant-based protein. You also get a smattering of vegetables thanks to the onions & bell peppers. And you get a healthy dose of nutritious spices. All of this combined makes this homemade sofritas dish quite health-promoting.
- It's meal-prep friendly - Want to eat this dish multiple times throughout the week? Feeding a large family? The simplicity of this dish makes it perfect for preparing large amounts. Instead of making just one batch, use 2 or 3 times the amount of each ingredient while cooking so you can have some sofritas left over for another day.
How to Make Simple Sofritas
First off, dice a yellow onion and a green bell pepper. You'll be using these later.
Next we're going to prepare the sauce. In a blender add ¾ cup of vegetable broth. Then add salt, cumin, and smoked paprika (½ teaspoon each). Pour in 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Add 2 garlic cloves. Then 30 grams of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (this should be about 4 peppers). Top it all off by adding 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Blend all these ingredients until smooth.
Afterwards, crumble a block of extra firm tofu in a bowl using either your hands or a potato masher.
Heat your skillet over medium heat. Once it's hot, add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. Feel free to use any other neutral-tasting cooking oil like canola oil. Add the diced yellow onion, diced bell pepper, and crumbled tofu into the skillet. Stir until all three ingredients are well-combined. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally (every 2 minutes or so).
After it's done cooking, pour the blended sauce into the skillet and stir until it's well combined. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally for 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, pour the sofritas into a separate container...and that's it! These go great with bowls & burritos, but don't limit yourself. Feel free to get creative with where you use this delicious and simple dish.
Tips
- Don't use too much vegetable broth. Try to resist the urge to use more vegetable broth than needed when blending the sauce. If you use too much vegetable broth, the end result will probably still taste good but you'll have quite a bit of liquid left over making the dish a bit watery.
- Adjust the spiciness with the chipotle peppers. I recommend using 30 grams of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce when making 1 batch of this dish. However, if your spice tolerance is low, try starting off with 15 grams then working your way up. On the other hand, if you love it when your food is really spicy, feel free to add more chipotle peppers until you reach your desired level of spiciness!
Homemade Sofritas
Equipment
- blender
- small or medium-sized bowl for crumbling tofu
- skillet
Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegetable broth low-sodium
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon lime juice or the juice of ½ lime
- 2 garlic cloves
- 30 g chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (around 4 peppers)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 block extra firm tofu around 350g
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral-tasting oil
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and finely diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
Instructions
- Add all ingredients starting from the vegetable broth to the tomato paste into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Crumble the tofu using either your hands or a potato masher.
- Heat skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil then the yellow onions, bell pepper, and tofu.
- Stir until well-combined and cook for 6 minutes while stirring occasionally (every 2 minutes or so).
- Pour blended sauce into skillet then stir until combined. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally for 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, transfer to a separate container, and enjoy!
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