Sofritas is a healthy copycat version of Chipolte's Sofritas but without fat, additives, and sugar. Instead, crumbled tofu is baked and then cooked a second time in a roasted Mexican sauce. You will love this sofritas recipe.
When Chipotle finally offered sofritas as a vegan meat option, my curiosity got the best of me. Although the sofritas tasted good, it was greasy and too sweet. So, like all recipes I attempt to copy, I researched what ingredients Chipotle uses in their sofritas recipe. So, I decided to throw my chef hat into the ring and make healthy sofritas.
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Unfortunately, sofritas at Chipotle include oil and a lot of sugar. So again. They taste great, but on a healthy gauge, not so much!
Is Sofritas at Chipotle Healthy?
According to Chipotle's website, sofritas contain:
Although cholesterol-free, Chipotle's sofritas contain a lot of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, and 5 grams of sugar. So how do they support this as a healthy option? Compared to chicken, carnitas, and beef, sofritas score healthier than worse options.
Like most fast food, regardless of healthy claims, you don't know what you're eating when driving through to grab a "healthy" meal. For that reason, I suggest making sofritas at home.
What are Sofritas?
Sofritas at Chipotle are organic, shredded tofu braised in chipotle chilies, roasted poblanos, and a "blend of aromatic spices." What lacks, however, in the description is the added oil and sugar to mass-produce this processed Chipolte health food.
To make a healthy version, I chose fresh ingredients and roasted my vegetables to make the sauce cook into my crumbled tofu.
Even though most copycat Chipotle sofrito recipes include cooking the tofu in oil, I discovered a quick and easy way to cook the tofu oil-free.
Ingredients
First, it's all about the type of tofu. Select the firmest tofu possible. And then, crumble it using a food processor or grate using a hand grater.
- Sprouted or extra-firm tofu
Then, spread thinly on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In the meantime, make the roasted sofritas sauce. I chose to roast all the ingredients for my sauce, including the limes!
Whether going the sweet or savory route, roasting limes draws out their sugars to lightly caramelize them and concentrate their juices. The result is citrus that is deeper flavored and even more itself. So, skip the sugar and roast the limes.
Not only does roasting limes bring out incredible flavors, and makes it easier to squeeze and maximize the use of the limes.
Sauce Ingredients
- Campari Tomatoes: Campari tomatoes are classified as cocktail tomatoes, slightly bigger than a cherry tomato but smaller and rounder than a plum tomato. They are deep in color and flavor.
- Red Onion: Red onions are sweet and, when roasted, become even sweeter.
- Fresh Garlic Cloves: Roasted garlic provides a warm and robust flavor.
- Limes: Roasting limes give them a lovely flavor.
- Poblano Pepper: Green ones are fresh and crisp, entangled with a rich flavor. In contrast, red poblanos taste sweet and smoky when dried—these peppers mix jalapeno and bell pepper. I used green ones.
- Chipolte Peppers and Sauce: (also called Adobo Chili Peppers in a can). Note: these are not roasted with the other vegetables.
- Cumin: Cumin has a rich, earthy taste.
- Salt: A little salt brings out the flavors of the roasted vegetables.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Cherry tomatoes are a great replacement, but you will need other more petite tomatoes to make up for the size difference in the Campari tomatoes.
- White or yellow onion can be substituted for red onion, or one large shallot also works.
- Jarred minced garlic and garlic powder will usually be the easiest, most common substitutes, but there are other options. Garlic salt can also work in a bind—use ¾ tsp—of garlic salt for one clove of garlic.
- Use bottled lime juice instead of fresh lime juice.
- If you can't find poblano peppers, consider using serrano peppers, ancho chiles, green chilis, banana peppers, habanero peppers, or cubanelle peppers.
- Using dried chipotle powder is a terrific option to substitute chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but it's rare to find. So you can use chipotle chili powder or whole dried chipotle. To use whole peppers in your recipe, soak them in boiling water to soften them. Then go ahead to chop and add to your dish.
- Try ground coriander instead of cumin. Cumin and coriander grow from a plant in the parsley, or Apiaceae, family.
Cooking the Sauce
Once the ingredients are roasted, add them to a food processor with a large blade and pulse on low until the mixture resembles a thick tomato sauce.
Add the chipotle pepper, sauce, and seasonings.
Since this sauce is mixed in after the tofu is cooked, set it aside or place it in the refrigerator until it is cooked.
Cooking the Tofu
When roasting the vegetables, cook the tofu simultaneously for 30 minutes in a 400-degree oven. The tofu gets crispy and ready for the incredible roasted sauce without any oil.
Then transfer the cooked tofu to a large skillet and add the sofritas sauce!
While cooking a second time, at a low temperature, the sauce softens the tofu and absorbs into the tofu creating sofritas!
Suggested Ways to Eat Sofritas
- Taco filling
- Burrito filling
- Crunchwrap Supreme
- Lettuce wraps
- Taco salad
- Chipotle Bowl
- Quesadillas
- Layered Taco Dip
- Taquitos
- Mexican Lasagna
Recipe FAQs
Yes, as per Chipotle. Chipotle popularized the dish and referenced it with the spicy ground (or shredded) tofu in tomato and pepper sauce.
Yes, sofritas are healthy. This low-calorie and low-fat tofu-based dish is an excellent alternative to meat.
Sofritas are spicy but less spicy than you would be expected; the flavor is savory with strong cumin and pepper overtones.
Tips
- Cook the tofu and roast the vegetables to save time.
- Cut the vegetables for the sauce to the same size, so they cook at the same rate.
- Pules, DO NOT blend the sauce ingredients. The result should be somewhat thick and chunky.
- Wear gloves when cooking peppers. Remove the veins as well as the seeds.
- For a hotter sauce, choose red poblano peppers instead of green.
- Use a non-stick pan for cooking without any oil. If the sofritas stick, add a small amount of vegetable broth or water. Then stir to release stuck pieces.
Regardless of the Mexican dishes, sofritas make the perfect plant meat!
If you love this sofritas recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you.
📖 Recipe
Sofritas
Ingredients
- 14 ounces Sprouted or Extra-Firm tofu crumbled
- 4 Campari tomatoes cut in half or comparable tomato based on size and juiciness
- ½ red onion cut into similar sized pieces
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 limes cut in half
- 1 poblano pepper stem, and seeds removed; cut in half
- 1 adobo chili pepper chipotle + 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preparing the Tofu
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the extra firm tofu from the package and press dry with paper towels. The more firm the tofu, the less drying or pressing necessary. I used sprouted tofu, which is the firmest tofu available.
- Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and place in a food processor fitted with a large blade.
- Pulse until crumbled.
- Pour the crumbled tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before using a spatula to transfer the tofu to a large skillet.
- In the meantime, make the sofritas sauce.
Sofritas Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the tomatoes and limes in half.
- Remove the skins from the garlic cloves.
- Cut the red onions into large chunks.
- Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano pepper and cut in half.
- Place the tomatoes, red onion, garlic cloves, limes, and poblano pepper on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool before pulsing in the food processor.
- Squeeze the limes into the food processor and discard rinds.
- Add the adobo chili pepper (chipotle) + the adobo sauce, cumin, and salt
- Pulse until a thick sauce is formed. It should be chunky, not thin.
Making Sofritas
- In a non-stick skillet, add the baked crumbled tofu.
- Add the sofritas sauce.
- Cook on medium-low and stir, combining the tofu and sauce until the sauce is absorbed into the tofu.
- If the mixture begins to stick, add a small amount of water or vegetable broth.
- When the sauce and all fluid dissipates, remove from heat.
- Use in your favorite taco, burrito, chipotle bowl, taco salad, lettuce wrap, or any a variety of other favorite Mexican dishes.
Notes
- Whether going the sweet or savory route, roasting limes draws out their sugars to lightly caramelize them and concentrate their juices.
- The result is citrus that is deeper flavored and even more itself. So, skip the sugar and roast the limes.
- Not only does roasting limes bring out incredible flavors, but it also makes it easier to squeeze and maximize the use of the limes.
- Use extra firm tofu or sprouted tofu, which does not need to be pressed.
- Make sure to use gloves when working with peppers of any kind.
- Remove the seeds and the veins of the peppers and discard before roasting.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Peter Leventhal
Made it last night. Fantastic! No oil. No sugar. Still super delicious. Thank you for the recipe
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Peter, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it.
Keri Mager
I was so excited to make this for our chipotle bowls this past weekend, and they were sooo good! Thanks so much for this!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Keri, I'm so glad you liked the Chipotle bowls. Thank you for the feedback.
Emily
What brand of adobo chili peppers do you use? I’m having trouble finding an oil free one!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Emily, La Costena brand has 0 fat; although soybean oil is listed in the ingredients, it's so minuscule it doesn't register as containing fat. I found this brand in the Mexican food section of my Frys (Kroger) store. Or, you can buy the dried version and boil water to rehydrate them. However, be careful, as the dried version is much hotter.
Rhoni Epstein
This looks out of the Sofrito world!
Kathy Carmichael
Rhoni, haha thank you. Let me know if you like it. Look for the whole copycat Chipotle Bowl coming soon!
Chris
Does this have a lot of heat?
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Chris, not at all. The heat comes from the adobo pepper and the sauce. If you want to test out the heat, just start with half the adobo and sauce, taste, and then adjust to your personal preference. I hope this helps.
Susan l Wright
wow I have been hoping to have someone send this to us so I can make it and you did it I can't wait to try this thank you so much
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Susan, I made a copycat chipotle bowl too. I will be posting it today or tomorrow. I also used the leftover sofritas for a quesadilla. My husband and kids loved it. I hope you do too.