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This Chipotle Sofritas copycat recipe tastes just like the original! Shredded tofu braised in spices makes a great vegan option for burritos, tacos, and salads.
Meggan’s notes
To all my meat-eating friends: This recipe tastes better than you think it does. If you took a bite right now, you’d nod your head in puzzled agreement and say, “Huh, this DOES taste really good!”
And to my plant-based friends, I see you! We all need more delicious, vegan options for healthful, homemade meals. This recipe is easy to make at home so you can skip the lines at Chipotle (and it’s always more economical to make it at home, anyway).
Table of Contents
Chipotle Sofritas Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Oregano: Chipotle uses Mexican oregano, but you can use Italian oregano if that’s all that you have. They have different flavors (Mexican oregano tastes more like marjoram) but both taste great in this recipe.
- Olive oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but olive oil is more widely available (and probably already in your pantry).
- Tofu: Start with extra-firm tofu and squeeze it to extract as much liquid as possible. There are two easy ways:
- Wrap in paper towels and place in a dish. Set a heavy object on top such as a cast-iron skillet with cans on top.
- Use a handy-dandy super-slick fast-and-easy tofu press (this is the one I have and it works really well).
- Once you’ve pressed the tofu, slice it into 8 slices. If you your brick is really divided into 2 bricks, cut each slab into 4 slices. You’ll know what I mean once you start looking at tofu.
How to make Sofritas
- In a food processor, combine bell pepper, tomato, onion, water, chipotle chilies and adobo sauce, garlic, red wine vinegar, ancho chile powder, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Pulse until the marinade is slightly chunky and thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, carefully place the tofu in the pan, flip occasionally, and cook until the tofu is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Roughly chop the tofu, or pulse the tofu in a food processor until the tofu is roughly in ¼ inch pieces.
- Place in a bowl and add the marinade. Cover and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator.
- To cook the tofu, heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the marinated tofu and any remaining marinade. Add ¼ cup water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, adding additional water to desired consistency (I prefer additional liquid for serving). Cook until tofu is heated through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 cups Sofritas braised tofu, enough for servings, 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The tofu can be added to the marinade and refrigerated a day in advance.
- Freezer: The marinade can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with marinating the tofu.
- Chipotle Burrito Bowls: Make your own copycat burrito bowls, tacos, and salads at home with my full collection of Chipotle Copycat Recipes:
- Proteins: Chipotle Chicken, Chipotle Steak, Chipotle Barbacoa, Chipotle Carnitas, Chipotle Sofritas
- Sides: Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Rice, Chipotle Black Beans, Chipotle Pinto Beans, Chipotle Fajita Veggies
- Sauces: Chipotle Guacamole, Chipotle Tomato Salsa, Chipotle Corn Salsa, Chipote Tomatillo Salsa, Chipotle Hot Salsa, Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette
Frequently Asked Questions
Sofritas are a spicy, tomato-braised shredded tofu dish. They get their heat from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and are 100% vegan.
Start with extra-firm tofu and squeeze it to extract as much liquid as possible. There are two easy ways: 1). wrap in paper towels and place in a dish. Set a heavy object on top such as a cast-iron skillet with cans on top. Or, 2). use a handy-dandy super-slick fast-and-easy tofu press (this is the one I have and it works really well).
Transfer to a plastic bag, label, date, and freeze indefinitely for future Chipotle copycat recipes. Chipotle peppers are also delicious stirred into mayonnaise or salsa and are a key ingredient in Chicken Tinga (or Cauliflower Tinga Tacos) and Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers.
To make a substitute for adobo sauce, whisk together 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder (or ½ teaspoon EACH smoked paprika and cayenne powder), ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and a pinch EACH of oregano, garlic powder, and salt.
Complete your Sofritas burrito bowl
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Fajita Veggies (Chipotle Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Guacamole (Copycat)
Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Chipotle Corn Salsa (Copycat)
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Chipotle Sofritas (Copycat)
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 1 medium green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1 medium tomato stemmed and quartered
- 1/2 medium onion peeled and quartered
- 1/2 cup water plus additional water as needed for braising the tofu
- 2 chipotle chilies plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano (see note 1)
- ½ teaspoon Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tofu:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or rice bran oil (see note 2)
- 1 (16 ounce) package extra-firm tofu pressed, cut into 8 slices (see note 3)
Instructions
To make the marinade:
- In a food processor, combine bell pepper, tomato, onion, water, chipotle chilies and adobo sauce, garlic, red wine vinegar, ancho chile powder, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Pulse until the marinade is slightly chunky and thoroughly combined. Set aside.
To make the tofu:
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, carefully place the tofu in the pan, flip occasionally, and cook until the tofu is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Roughly chop the tofu, or pulse the tofu in a food processor until the tofu is roughly in ¼ inch pieces. Place in a bowl and add the marinade. Cover and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator.
- To cook the tofu, heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the marinated tofu and any remaining marinade. Add ¼ cup water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, adding additional water to desired consistency (I prefer additional liquid for serving). Cook until tofu is heated through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Oregano: Chipotle uses Mexican oregano, but you can use Italian oregano if that’s all that you have. They have different flavors (Mexican oregano tastes more like marjoram) but both taste great in this recipe.
- Olive oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but olive oil is more widely available (and probably already in your pantry).
- Tofu: Start with extra-firm tofu and squeeze it to extract as much liquid as possible. There are two easy ways:
- Wrap in paper towels and place in a dish. Set a heavy object on top such as a cast-iron skillet with cans on top.
- Use a handy-dandy super-slick fast-and-easy tofu press (this is the one I have and it works really well).
- Once you’ve pressed the tofu, slice it into 8 slices. If you your brick is really divided into 2 bricks, cut each slab into 4 slices. You’ll know what I mean once you start looking at tofu.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 c. Sofritas braised tofu, enough for servings, 1 c. each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Hello! Thank you for the recipe. How large would one serving size be (1 cup vs 1/2 cup)? Thank you!
FYI – use Mexican oregano! It has a completely different flavor profile but ultimately the correct flavor profile.
Hi,
I have question 🙂 is there any chance to substitute the chipotle chilis and adobo sauce? I live in Europe and don’t think I can buy it here. Loved the sofrita at chipotle’s though 🙂 I don’t eat very spicy if that helps haha
Best,
Lisa
Hi Lisa! One of the characteristics of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce is the smokiness. So, if you wanted a substitute that was mostly unrelated (you probably don’t have chipotle chili powder there, for example), you could try smoked paprika. It is NOT the same, of course, it won’t taste the same. But it might taste good? Mind you, I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know (and I don’t really know how much to use either, not without testing it, but you could add a spoonful at a time and go from there). But if I were going to try to use something that wasn’t chipotles in adobo, I’d probably try smoked paprika. If you can find any dried chilis of any kind, though, they would be worth using! I’m not sure what you have. I hope this helpful or at least gives you something to think about. Good luck! If you have more questions, just let me know. Thanks! -Meggan
I’m American and lived overseas with this same issue. I found a European (Spain) company that makes smoked chillies, La Chinata. If you find a good adobo sauce recipe, use the smoked and dried chiles in place of the smoked ancho. You can toast them, then grind into a powder, and then add to your homemade ancho sauce.
https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Smoked-Peppers-Gluten-Product/dp/B017FGJS9U
I have made this recipe multiple times now with no adjustments to put in salads and it tastes great. It’s just spicy enough to feel the heat and I can always add some hot sauce if needed. Since my can of chipotle chilies had too many for me to use at once, I froze the extras and they worked just as well when I made this again.
Hi Hillary, thank you so much! That’s amazing, I’m so glad. It’s always nice when people like the recipes on my site. 🙂 Take care. -Meggan
Do you have suggestions or substitutions for the ancho chili powder? Would regular chili powder be a no-no?
Hi Crystal, if you want it to taste like Chipotle’s Sofritas there is no substitute for the ancho chili powder (other than throwing a few whole ancho chilies in, instead). But if you aren’t worried about that, you could definitely try substituting regular chili powder, or another chili powder (chipotle chili powder, for example). It will change the flavor, but if YOU like it, that’s all that matters. I hope that helps. Good luck and if you need anything else just let me now! Thanks. -Meggan
Hi, I cooked this dish because my daughter became vegetarian and she likes the Chipotle’s a lot so I decided to try It at home. I think the recipe is good and it’s pretty tasteful. However it is way too spicy for is…the sauce even stinks our eyes! Did I get the wrong adobo sauce? I bought the Embasa Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. I tasted it by itself and it’s really spicy. I am a person eat decent spicy level but this one is so much! Lol.
Any feedback is great!
Hi Janice, I’m sorry that this is too spicy for you! You didn’t buy the wrong thing.
The recipe card SHOULD say that you adobo sauce and “chipotle chiles to taste, if desired.” As you have found out, Chipotle chiles are incredibly spicy, so how many you add (if any) depends on your personal preference/tolerance for spicy food, and also the size of the peppers in the can you have.
In an attempt to give you some information on how many to use, I have a Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper recipe on my site which has a filling to stuff 4 large bell peppers. This recipe uses 2 chipotle chiles. People with very low tolerance of spicy food have found this dish to be very spicy with the 2 chipotle chiles. For me, I am constantly working on my ability to consume spicy food (I feed myself spicy food as practice because it gets easier over time), and I am fine with the 2 chipotle chiles in that dish. If you think you have a high tolerance for spice, you could do 2 chipotles in this sloppy joe recipe. If you’re not sure, do 1. If you know spicy food is hard for you to eat, don’t do any! Just do the adobo.
Hopefully this helps!
Meggan
I love this. I follow your recipe exactly, except I roast the tomato and the pepper which I think adds a lot of flavor. Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Gonna try this todaty
This was really good, although I need to work with the texture of the tofu. Mine came out way too fine. I think next time I will just try chopping the tofu rather than using the processor. But I mixed it in with some backbeans and corn to add more texture to it, and it tastes amazing!
Absolutely delicious! I need to work on the tofu texture a bit but the sauce is spot on. Well done!