Spicy Soyrizo-Potato Tacos With Chile-Lime Crema...Featuring Frieda's Meatless Soyrizo

Living in San Antonio, we naturally eat quite a bit of Mexican food...and one of our favorite foods is chorizo (chor-EE-so). Unlike Spanish chorizo, which is cured sausage that’s sliced into rounds...Mexican chorizo is a highly-seasoned fresh sausage that’s removed from its casing and broken apart into crumbles as it cooks in a skillet. It’s spicy and a bit tangy from the addition of vinegar. Chorizo is yummy, but it has one big downside: it’s usually very high in fat! So imagine how intrigued I was when my friends at Frieda’s sent me a coupon to try a healthier meatless version of chorizo called soyrizo.

When he heard the word SOYrizo, Michael was a bit skeptical...having grown up eating the real deal. But, he was interested to give the soyrizo a try since Casa Garcia has our share of cholesterol issues. We don't eat regular chorizo very often for health reasons, so we were excited to find a guilt-free product that could enjoy more often! I decided to feature the soyrizo in a meatless dinner: Spicy Soyrizo-Potato Tacos with Chile-Lime Crema. The flavorful veg-friendly taco filling contains Yukon gold potatoes, onion, Anaheim pepper, and soyrizo. After everything is combined and cooked into a hash-like consistency, it’s scooped into warm flour tortillas and topped with a cooling chile-lime crema and creamy jack cheese.

Spicy Soyrizo-Potato Tacos 

With Chile-Lime Crema

adapted from Food and Wine

Step 1:  Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil; add 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes that have been peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Cook the potatoes for 12 minutes, until tender. While the potatoes cook, saute half a chopped yellow onion, 1 seeded and diced Anaheim chile, and 2 grated garlic cloves in 2 tbs. olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-heat.

Step 2:  While the veggies are sauteing and the potatoes are cooking, make the chile-lime crema. Add the following ingredients to a small bowl: 8 ounces lowfat sour cream, 1 tbs. chile powder, the juice of a small lime, 1/3 cup milk, and 1 tsp. salt. Whisk well to combine and set aside in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the tacos.

Step 3:  When the potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, squeeze the soyrizo from its plastic casing -- each package contains 12 ounces of soyrizo. Using a sturdy spoon, thoroughly combine the soyrizo with the veggies. Cook the soyrizo-veggie mixture over med-high heat for about 10 minutes, breaking it apart -- until the mixture is cooked through and starting to brown. Remove the soyrizo-veggie mixture to a bowl and clean out the skillet.

Step 4: Add 1-2 tbs. olive oil to the clean skillet and then add the cooked potatoes. Brown the potatoes over med-high heat until they are just starting to turn golden -- about 3-4 minutes per side. Add the reserved soyrizo-veggie mixture. Gently combine with a sturdy spoon, being careful not to overly break apart the potatoes...you want to see some potato chunks in the taco mixture. 

To assemble the tacos, scoop some of the soyrizo-potato mixture into warmed flour tortillas. Top with the jack cheese, a drizzle of the chile-lime crema, and some chopped green onion. I served these tacos with tortilla strips and chunky salsa on the side. This mixture makes enough for abouy a dozen tacos, and it refrigerates will to have for breakfast or lunch the next day!

Seriously...what’s not to like about these tacos?  Potatoes, onions, and a little kick from the Anaheim pepper...all held together by the spicy goodness of the soyrizo. And about the soyrizo? It was really good! It has all the spicy goodness and texture of regular chorizo...without all the fat and excess calories that you usually have to deal with when you cook pork chorizo. Michael said that flavor wise, he wouldn’t have known the difference if I hadn’t have told him that he was eating a meatless chorizo substitute. That’s high praise, folks! 

The verdict: Frieda’s Soyrizo was a huge hit at Casa Garcia! Each 2-ounce serving has just 90 calories and 4 grams of fat. Another common way chorizo is served in Texas is to brown it, then scramble eggs with it. That's one of the most popular breakfast tacos here in San Antonio! Cooked chorizo is also yummy mixed into refried beans for a fantastic burrito filling. Soyrizo can easily be subbed for chorizo in both of these preparations. For my Texas readers, Frieda’s Soyrizo is available at your local HEB...you’ll find it in the Produce department, near the bagged salads and pre-chopped veggies.


Disclosure: Frieda's sent me a coupon to try their Soyrizo. However, all opinions expressed are my own based on my experience cooking with and eating the soyrizo.

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