These jerk tofu burritos with avocado cilantro sauce are bursting with Caribbean flavours, protein, antioxidants, and colour.

A couple of months ago, I posted a recipe for jerk tofu bowls. Jerk sauce has been one of my favourite flavour discoveries of late, and I’ve become a bit obsessed with finding different applications for it. This time around, I’ve developed a recipe for jerk tofu burritos which feature jerk tofu crumbles (baked so that it becomes chewy and takes on the texture of ground meat), avocado-hemp-lime-cilantro sauce, roasted sweet potato, cilantro lime rice, cabbage slaw, and salsa.

They are pretty epic, and do require a bit more time to prepare than some of my recipes. But I can promise you that the results will be worth your time and effort… and you can always pick and choose which fillings to include, depending on how much time you have. As long as you make the jerk tofu crumbles, roasted sweet potato, and sauce, everything else is optional. And also, they make a big batch: enough for 6 generously stuffed burritos. So, depending on how many people you are cooking for, you could have enough for dinner and a few lunches.

jerk sauce ingredients

To make these burritos, you’ll need to start by making the jerk sauce: It’s the star of the show! You’ll need the following ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, chili flakes, lime juice, tamari, brown sugar, and water.

jerk tofu burritos ingredients

For the jerk tofu: Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper, firm or extra firm tofu, and the full batch of jerk sauce.
For the roasted sweet potato: Sweet potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.
For the cilantro lime rice: Brown rice, water, lime juice, and cilantro.
For the avocado cilantro sauce: Hemp, lime juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, maple syrup, sea salt, pepper, water, avocado, and cilantro.
For the quick cabbage slaw: Red cabbage, extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, garlic, sea salt, and pepper. I actually had some of my Detox Kale Cabbage Slaw on hand, so I just used that when I photographed these burritos.

how to make them

Make the jerk sauce: Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 8 minutes or so. Add the thyme, allspice, cinnamon, and chili flakes, and cook for a few more minutes to allow the spices to brown. Add the lime juice, tamari, and sugar to an upright blender, followed by the contents of the skillet. Blend until smooth, adding water a tablespoon at a time to help it along. The sauce should be quite thick. Transfer into a container until ready to use.
Make the jerk tofu: Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Add the diced pepper and several twists of black pepper. Cook until the red pepper has softened slightly.
Lightly grease or line a large baking sheet with parchment and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Crumble the tofu by hand into a large bowl. Just make sure that the chunks of tofu aren’t too small, as they can burn easily. Add the sautéed onion/garlic/pepper and all of the jerk sauce. Stir to coat and transfer onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even browning. It’s ready when all of the sauce has been absorbed and the tofu is browned, but not burnt. It should also have a chewy, almost meaty texture if you want to taste a piece to be sure that it’s ready. Everyone’s oven is different, so it may take more or less time to achieve the proper texture.
While the tofu is in the oven, you can prepare everything else.
Make the roasted sweet potato: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cubed sweet potatoes in a heap in the middle. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread into an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes, or until fork tender. (You can roast this at this same time as the tofu.)
Make the cilantro lime rice: If using brown rice, start it at the same time as the jerk tofu; if using white rice, start it now. Combine the rice, salt, and water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low, stir, and cover. Cook for 45 minutes for brown rice, or 15 minutes for white rice. Once cooked, fluff with a fork and add the lime juice and cilantro. Cover and set aside.
Make the cilantro avocado sauce: In an upright blender, combine the hemp, lime juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, maple syrup, sea salt, pepper, water, avocado, and cilantro. Blend until smooth.
Make the quick cabbage slaw: Place the shredded cabbage in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic. Drizzle over the cabbage and toss to coat.
Assemble the jerk tofu burritos: Warm the tortillas first if they are tough/not pliable. Place a handful of sweet potato, a couple spoonfuls of rice, a generous amount of jerk tofu crumbles, slaw, sauce, and salsa down the middle of a tortilla. Fold up and enjoy. Alternatively, if you’d like baked burritos, omit the cilantro avocado sauce. Fill the burritos as instructed minus the sauce, and place in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Lightly brush each burrito with oil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Serve with the cilantro avocado sauce and salsa for dipping.

change it up

Skip the tortillas and enjoy all the components as burrito bowls, if you like. I often enjoy leftovers in this format.

more tasty tofu recipes to try

I hope that you love these vegan jerk tofu burritos! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.

Enjoy!