Vegan Low Carb Taco Crumbles

6 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

Mix the dry ingredients: gluten, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Mix the wet ingredients together: water, tomato paste, vinegar, olive oil.

Add the wet to the dry and mix together with a fork to make crumbles. (It’s kind of like making the topping for a fruit crumble)

Start warming up the frying pan. (If your pan is not cast iron or no-stick, add a small amount of oil) As the pan warms, add the crumbles. Break them apart with your fingers into little pieces as you drop them into the pan– it doesn’t have to be perfect, there’s still plenty of time for further crumbling.

Cook on low-medium heat. Use your spatula to break up the crumbles even more. If they start to stick to your pan, scrape it with the spatula. (This makes little extra-crumbly pieces)

Cook for about 10-20 minutes, allowing the crumbles to brown but not burn.

Notes:

Spices are completely adjustable. For more spice, up the chili powder and add red and/or black pepper. To mellow it out, add less chili and paprika, up the onion and oregano. If you take out a lot of the spices, cut back on the water in an equal amount
Instead of olive oil, feel free to use coconut, canola, or any other vegetable oil.
These crumbles are cooked on low heat for a long time to avoid the puffiness and chewiness that usually comes with seitan. If you’re in a hurry, it will still taste good but the texture will probably be off.
If you don’t have tomato paste, leave it out and up the oil to 1 Tablespoon.
If you don’t have nutritional yeast, replace it with 2 more Tablespoons of gluten.