Updated 2020! El Burrito offers a vegan twist to traditional Mexican cuisine with their time-tested, popular, soy-based meat alternatives. Their original line focuses on chorizo and taco meat alternatives, but they also have more Americanized ground beef and sausage alternatives. Nevertheless, their soyrizo and soytaco are the most readily available products and the ones we’re covering.
Tasting Notes for El Burrito Soyrizo and SoyTaco
This product listing is in our old format, so my review notes are within the post for you to read. But if you’ve tried their products, don’t hesitate to leave your own rating and review below.
Soyrizo
El Burrito’s Soyrizo is remarkably similar in flavor to their SoyTaco. It gives a subtle Mexican flair to any dish with seasonings that are delicious and spicy, but by no means hot. I sautéed the Soyrizo with onions and tomatoes, and then stirred it into some cooked brown rice with avocado. It was a wonderful, and incredibly simple lunch.
The Soyrizo has a slightly higher amount of canola oil than the SoyTaco, for more binding power I would assume. I found it a bit more difficult to cook with. It was quite soft, and stuck to the spoon easily. Luckily, ensuring that Soyrizo is cooked through is not a worry, since there are no animal products in it. Also, we were pleased enough with the taste and texture, that the shape was not a concern.
Ingredients (Organic version): water, organic textured soy protein (organic soy flour), organic soybean oil, organic distilled vinegar, organic seasoning (organic chile pepper, organic spices, salt, organic paprika, organic dextrose, organic ancho chile powder, organic onion powder, organic garlic powder, sea salt, natural extractives of paprika), salt, organic caramel color, natural extractive of paprika (for color). Contains: soy.*
Nutrition (per 2-inch piece): 90 calories, 4g fat, 6g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugars (includes 0g added sugars), 7g protein.*
SoyTaco
My meat-eating husband quickly devoured the soft corn tortilla tacos I made with this filling. The texture was very “meaty”, and could fool many non-soy eaters.
I mixed in a half a cup of organic black beans while heating, and had some diced tomatoes and lettuce ready. The flavor was mellow, rich with tomatoes and a pleasant blend of spices. It was on the mild side, which I always prefer products to be. It is easy to heat something up with jalapenos and hot sauce, but taming an overly spicy product is usually an uphill battle. The taco seasoning we make at home contains more ground cumin for flavor, which I prefer, but I enjoyed the SoyTaco nonetheless.
I do agree that it works well in tacos, and would be a great vegan meal-helper for burritos, enchiladas, and Mexican pizza.
Ingredients: water textured soy protein (soy flour), seasoning blend (spices, dehydrated onion, salt, garlic powder, potato flour, dried lime juice [rice maltodextrin, lime juice from concentrate], organic caramel color), distilled vinegar, soybean oil, wheat fiber, salt, xanthan gum, natural flavor (yeast extract, natural flavor, salt), caramel color. Contains: soy.*
Nutrition (per 1/4 cup): 80 calories, 3g fat, 7g carbs, 3g fiber, 3g sugars, 7g protein.*
The Facts on El Burrito Soyrizo and SoyTaco
Price: $4.59 per 12-ounce package
Availability: El Burrito products are sold at Safeway and other mainstream grocers. You might also find their product under store brand labels.
Certifications: El Burrito products are Non-GMO Verified, Certified Gluten Free, and Certified Kosher Pareve. Select varieties are Certified Organic.
Dietary Notes: By ingredients, El Burrito is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian.*
For More Product Information: Visit the El Burrito website at elburrito.com.
*Always read the ingredient and nutrition statement prior to consumption. Ingredients, processes, and labeling are subject to change at any time for any company or product. Contact the company to discuss their manufacturing processes if potential allergen cross-contamination is an issue for you. No food product can be guaranteed “safe” for every individual’s needs. You should never rely on ingredient and allergen statements alone if dealing with a severe food allergy.
A pretty solid option for meat alternatives
You can read my specific notes in the post above, but I wanted to give it a star rating. Overall, we were impressed with these soy sausage alternatives. They’re pretty tasty!
2 Comments
My local health food store no longer carries El Burrito Soy Taco meatless filling. I would like to purchase multiple packages, can you help me? I am Ok ordering them online. I live in Tucson, Az.
I would reach out to El Burrito directly as they may not see this comment promptly and we aren’t affiliated with them.