Soy Chorizo and Fried Egg Breakfast Tacos

Chorizo is one of my all-time favorite ingredients to cook with. I love the combination of fatty pork with bright, punchy spices, and I use it in everything from sauces to pastas to seafood. In fact, I love it so much that one of my go-to breakfasts is a simple combination of corn tortillas, cooked chorizo, and a fried egg. It’s easy, flavorful, and can be garnished with just about anything you have in your fridge, from crumbled cheese to sliced radishes.

Now that I’m trying to eat less meat, I’m experimenting with new plant-based meat alternatives in hopes of finding ones that allow me to prepare my favorite meat-filled dishes without sacrificing flavor. My current obsession? Soy chorizo: soy-based sausages made with the same warming spices as traditional chorizo that I now use in my beloved breakfast tacos.

Soy chorizo can be found at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and several other specialty grocery stores. It’s most commonly sold in links, similar to standard pork sausages, but is also available pre-crumbled. The typical retail price is about $5 for 12 ounces.

Soy chorizo comes encased in a thick plastic tube that makes it look just like chorizo. To remove it, simply slice the plastic open with a sharp knife or pair of scissors, and peel it away. The casing is not edible, so you can’t slice soy chorizo into rounds and cook it like you can traditional chorizo. Instead, you’ll treat it like regular, casing-free bulk sausage.

The easiest way to cook it is to heat a bit of oil in a skillet, add the chorizo, and cook until brown and crisp, breaking it into smaller pieces as it cooks (this only takes four to five minutes). The packaging instructs you to cook it until it reaches 165°F, but if you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, an easy way to tell if it is done is to look at the color. The soy chorizo should be slightly darker and very fragrant.