Lentil & Mushroom Ground “Beef”
This Lentil & Mushroom Ground Beef is the perfect plant-based alternative to conventional ground beef, and it’s also super cheap, easy and DELICIOUS!
A while back I made some Tofu Ground Beef as an alternative to pricier store-bought vegan ground beef. It’s a great recipe and one of my most popular. And while I don’t think it’s too difficult, I wanted to see if I could come up with a recipe that’s even quicker and easier!
And not only did I come up with 1 recipe, but 3! That’s right we have this Lentil & Mushroom Ground Beef, and I also made a Tempeh Ground Beef and a TVP Ground Beef as well. So check those out too. They are basically the same as this recipe but with some different variations.
All three are super versatile too, you can seriously use this where ever you’d use ground beef! We’ll except in the case of a burger patty or meatballs, but I have recipes for those too!
why you’ll love Lentil & Mushroom ground beef
In a nutshell it’s…
- EASY TO MAKE
- AFFORDABLE
- VERSATILE
- CUSTOMIZABLE
- NUTRITIOUS
- AND DELICIOUS!
I will say while I do dig this version of vegan ground “beef” it isn’t really reminiscent of conventional beef like the TVP or Tofu Ground Beef recipes. But it’s equally delicious in my book, and pretty dang wholesome too. You really can’t go wrong with mushrooms!
INGREDIENTS FOR Lentil & Mushroom GROUND BEEF
Obviously we need some Lentils and Mushrooms! For the Lentils, you can totally make some from scratch which will be even cheaper.
I’m impatient and lazy so I typically buy mine premade, either canned or the kind that are in a vacuum sealed bag. Trader Joe’s makes some good ones too!
For the mushrooms, use whatever shroom you fancy, but I typically just go for the regular old white mushrooms.
seasonings / marinade
For the seasoning and marinade, we are packing a lot of UMAMI with a variety of sources.
The marinade employs staples like soy sauce, nutritional yeast and pantry essentials, If you can, use some Beefless Broth, and Gravy Master. Or you can totally just use veggie broth, and skip the Gravy Master too, that’s mostly for color anyway.
One thing to note is we won’t be using any actual broth, but just the concetrated paste. During my tests I found that adding broth to cooked lentils and mushrooms just made them mushy and gross. They already have enough moisture as is!
For the onions and garlic, you can either use 1/2 cup of diced onions and shallots, and 4 cloves of minced garlic, or 1 tsp each of onion and garlic powder. The choice is yours, both ways will work!
how to make Lentil & Mushroom ground beef
This couldn’t be easier! Chop up your mushrooms. You can do this by hand or with a food processor. Make them as non-uniform as you like. I personally like a variety of sizes in my mushroom mince.
Make the marinade / paste by combining all the ingredients.
If using onions / shallots and fresh garlic, saute those first.
Then add in the mushrooms and cook down until all their water is released, about 6 – 8 minutes.
Then add in the Lentils and Marinade / Paste, stir to combine.
Taste and adjust for seasoning. Your Lentil & Mushroom Ground Beef is done! Enjoy as you wish! Like I said it can be used in just about any application you would use regular ground beef!
Feel free to add in any other spices you like!
soy free option
To make this soy free, simply swap out the soy sauce and miso paste for 2 Tbsp of Coconut Aminos.
other ground beef recipes
Use this recipe to make these
Storage
Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3 – 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
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Lentil & Mushroom Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils
- 8 oz. mushrooms
- 1/2 cup diced onions or shallots*
- 4 cloves minced garlic
Marinade / Paste
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Miso Paste
- 1 tsp Vegan Worcestershire
- 1 tsp vegan beef or veggie broth concentrate
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade / paste.
- You can chop your mushrooms by hand or with a food processor. Just get them into pieces that are slightly larger than what you'd expect in ground beef since they will shrink a bit.
- If using fresh onions / shallots, add them to a preheated pan over medium heat in a little oil. Saute for about 5 – 6 minutes or until translucent and slightly browned.
- Add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 6 – 8 minutes or until they have shrunk and released all their water.
- Stir in the cooked lentils and seasoning marinade / paste. Once heated through, season to taste, and you are done, enjoy your Lentil & Mushroom Ground Beef however you'd like!
This was fantastic. Exactly what I was looking for! I cheated for time and used canned lentils ( I see them in recipes but never found them in stores until today:-)
I used an egg replacement and gluten free seasoned bread crumbs and made a loaf:-) Can I call it meatloaf lol. Anyhoo, super quick and delish! Thanks for the great recipes. BTW, I’m obsessed with the jackfruit tuna. It’s in wkly rotation:-)
I use canned lentils all the time! Glad you liked it and the Jackfruit Tuna, that’s one of my favorites too!
I would call it neatloaf instead of meat loaf but I like silly language play and puns
How could I make burger patties with this? The recipe came out amazing and would love to turn it into a burger!
Glad you like it! That would require some binders like flax egg and breadcrumbs. I haven’t tested that out yet so not sure how much and if it would work!
I made a soup out of this, and it was fantastic. “Hamburger” soup! You could add rice to the soup and get “beef” wild rice soup.
Oh good idea, I’ll have to try it, thank you!!
I used this as the base for veggie Shepard’s pie for st. Patrick’s day, just adjusted the a bit spices to fit and built my gravy around it, but it was KILLER! I used my instant pot to cook my lentils from dry in about half an hour, which keeps it speedy and cheap, and let me cook them with some bay leaves and veggie broth! Absolutely delicious, fast, and easy, and my mom liked it better than her own animal-containing recipe! Rock on, Burger Dude!
OH nice, I gotta try that next time I make Shepherd’s Pie! Thank you!
AMAZING! Thank you! I’ve been desperately searching for a better alternative to the ultra-processed meat replacement grounds for a few months. This is PERFECT, so much healthier, just as convenient, and even better that it can be frozen. I am excited to use this in my next chilli and bolognese! You are a legend 🙂
So glad you like this one, I just had it for lunch with some rice! Thank you!!