Tofu Ground Beef
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Turning TOFU into Vegan Ground Beef is Cheap, Easy and DELICIOUS! You can use this Tofu Ground Beef in just about any DISH!
Look, I love the convenience and taste of store-bought pre-made vegan ground beef. But to be honest, this super savory Vegan Tofu Ground Beef is just as good, it’s way CHEAPER and still packs in a good amount of protein too! In fact, I might say that this is even better than the store-bought stuff. Maybe I’m biased, but maybe I’m right!
Use in any dish you’d use ground beef in, except burger patties. It simply won’t bind together. But any sort of crumbled beef application, this stuff will absolutely shine in!
why you’ll love tofu ground beef
In a nutshell it’s…
- EASY TO MAKE
- AFFORDABLE
- VERSATILE
- CUSTOMIZABLE
- NUTRITIOUS
- AND DELICIOUS!
I’ve been enjoying it all week in tacos, you can add it to pasta sauce, stir-fries over rice and in sloppy joes of course! The possibilities are pretty endless and you can really let your imagination go wild!
It’s a really simple recipe too that comes together relatively quickly!
And it makes for a great Meal Prep Protein as leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated in a matter of minutes for just about any dish you can think of.
INGREDIENTS FOR TOFU GROUND BEEF
For this vegan ground beef recipe, I highly recommend Super Firm tofu that’s vacuum sealed, and doesn’t need pressing.
You can use Extra Firm, but you’ll want to press it and / or bake it longer to dry it out in the oven (I’ll explain in more detail below).
seasonings / marinade
For the seasoning and marinade, we are packing a lot of UMAMI flavor with a variety of sources. A few of the ingredients have substitutions in the recipe, so use whatever you have access to.
The marinade employs staples like soy sauce (or use tamari for gluten-free), nutritional yeast and pantry essentials, If you can, use some Beefless Broth, Gravy Master, and Marmite.
However, you can also substitute with things like Steak Sauce, Vegan Worcestershire Sauce and Tomato Paste. You can also use things like Blackstrap Molasses for color and flavor as well.
And of course feel free to add any other seasonings you might like! Add things like Chili Powder and make a Vegan Chili!
Or maybe some Taco Seasoning for some Nachos!
how to make vegan ground beef
Remove tofu from packaging and pat dry. Crumble into a large bowl.
Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients.
Pour over the crumbled tofu.
With clean hands, toss the crumbles and coat thoroughly in the marinade.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper / cooking spray and spread out the tofu pieces in a single layer. Bake at 350 F / 175 C for 20 – 30 minutes, or until the tofu is slightly dry and chewy.
Transfer the tofu to a large skillet over medium heat, and add 1 cup of liquid (water or veggie broth) and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then reduce most of the liquid.
This step is CRUCIAL so I don’t suggest skipping it. While dehydrating the tofu in the oven will give it a chewier texture, it will also dry it out. When we rehydrate it the tofu, it’s still chewy, but will also be JUICY now too!
Taste and adjust for seasoning. Your tofu ground beef is done!
After that, you can use it anyway you wish! If you want to make it in bulk to use over the week, 3 blocks of tofu seems to be a good enough amount and will fill up a 12 inch pan pretty well for rehydrating. That’s what I did and it worked out perfectly!
use this recipe to make these!
Storage
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container, and eat within 3 – 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Here’s a handy dandy video!
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Tofu Ground Beef
Ingredients
Tofu Ground Beef
- 16 oz Super Firm Tofu *
Marinade
- 1 tsp Vegan Beef Bouillon (or Veggie Bouillon)
- 2-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (or Tamari)
- 1 tsp Marmite (or 1 Tbsp Steak Sauce)
- 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
- 1 – 3 tsp Gravy Master (optional for color)
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Neutral Oil (Vegetable, Canola etc)
- 2 Tbsp Water
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste (optional for more UMAMI)
- 1 Tbsp Blackstrap Molasses (optional)
Instructions
- Remove tofu from packaging and pat dry. You can press the tofu if you wish, but I didn't find it necessary. Crumble into a bowl.
- Make the marinade by combining everything in a bowl. Pour over the crumbled tofu. With clean hands, toss the crumbles and coat thoroughly in the marinade.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper / cooking spray and spread out the tofu pieces in a single layer. Bake at 350 F / 175 C for 20 – 30 minutes, or until the tofu is slightly dried out and chewy. Extra Firm tofu may need an extra 10 minutes, so 30 – 40. I would suggest checking it every 15 minutes if you're unsure so you don't dry it out too much.
- Transfer the tofu to a 12 inch skillet, and add 1 cup of liquid (either water, broth, or a mixture, depending on how salty you want the meat, I suggest tasting the tofu before adding any broth so it doesn't get too salty) and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then simmer until the liquid is mostly reduced. About 10 minutes or so. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Your meat is done! Enjoy as you wish! Like I said it can be used in just about any application you would use regular ground beef!
This is a weekly staple in my household! We usually use it for either tacos or sloppy joes. One change I make is that I cut out the soy sauce just to reduce the sodium when feeding to my toddler. Even without though it’s still delicious 🙂
Awesome, glad you like it! Love having good staples!
This is the best recipe for tofu ground beef i’ve ever made! I added a little spicy taco sauce and imitation beef stock to the tofu crumble before baking! I also added the the imitation beef stock instead of water when cooking in skillet. Super yummy. Thanks!
Nice, those sound like some delicious upgrades!
Made this tonight and put it in spaghetti sauce and it was better than the sauce I recently made w meat in it. So much flavor! Thanks for a great recipe.
Heck yeah! Glad you dug it!
Would you suggest freezing before or after rehydrating?
After!
Omg I just found you on Youtube. I’m so psyched to try this recipe out. I’m trying to decrease the amount of meat I eat and increase my plant-based proteins so this is such a great find, thank you for sharing!!! Does this freeze well?
Hi, yes it freezes great! Thank you!
I’ve made this so often that I felt obliged to leave a comment to specifically thank you. Thank you!!!
Awesome, glad it’s in the rotation!!
Dude… I followed this my my second time ever cooking tofu. Just trying to change up my life. Put in a shepherd’s pie. I would of never knew better. If I would of not watched my self make it.
We make this all the time now, it’s unbelievably good and really simple. I have to make it a minimum of 3 bricks of tofu because I literally cannot stop eating it while I’m checking for doneness.
I always use extra-firm tofu and press it for a bit but it does take quite a bit longer to dry out in the oven – like 1hr + 🙂
Awesome! So glad you dig it!
Making this the second time this week! it’s so good thank you for sharing. Can this be frozen?
Awesome! Yes absolutely can be frozen!
Could I put the tofu in a dehydrator after marinating? I’d like to meal prep and freeze the tofu ground beef in bulk.
Yes yes yes! So delicious. My non vegan husband loves it. ( slowly transitioning him into a vegan) hehe
Excellent!!
I have regular Brer Rabbit brand “full flavor” unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap. Do you think this would be too sweet?
Thanks! Linda
Hi, yeah I wouldn’t suggest using sweet molasses!
Thanks! I’ve never tasted blackstrap, so wasn’t sure of the difference.
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Dude… this was another slam dunk. Had it two nights in a row. First night with rigatoni and homemade pasta sauce made with our garden tomatoes, second night as enchilada filling along with some garden squash and peppers. This was the missing ingredient! You have brought a lot of happiness to our household!
That makes my day, so glad y’all are digging it!!
I just finished making this and upon tasting, I’m kind of surprised by how not-salty it is. That’s okay though. I can season further as needed. It would be neat to experiment a little to try and create a chorizo flavored ground tofu. Or maybe add something like methylcellulose to make patties out of it for tofu burgers.
I found this yesterday and hey I had a pack of super firm tofu in the fridge so I tried it. Wow it tastes so good!! I made tacos for lunch with it and they tasted great. So thrilled I found this, it’s a lot cheaper than the pea protein meats I’ve been buying, plus the ingredients are a lot better too. Thank you!!!
Awesome, thank you for the feedback! Glad you liked it!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 Star recipe & my favorite go to for healthy & cost effective ground “meat”! Thank you Thee Burger Dude!!!
Heck yes, thank you!
Well, Dumbalina here accidentally ordered 12 lbs of soy beans. SO I learned to make my own soy milk, and tofu. Now I’m on fire I know what to do with it all. I don’t eat meat so this is a big win for me. Thanks
L😍VE THIS!!!
Thank you for the substitutions: marmite and browning sauce are not things I’ve ever purchased, but I certainly have steak sauce and vegan Worcestershire sauce. I really appreciate not having to come up with my own subs. Also, I already know this will be too salty for my husband so next time I will add Dr. Greger’s umami sauce for the soy sauce. Quite tasty crumbles…thank you!
Awesome, glad you liked it and the subs worked!!
I usually freeze my tofu then press it the heck out of it, marinade and cook. Would this allow me to skip the baking step to dry out in your opinion?
I haven’t tried that out but if that’s what you usually do then I think it should totally work! Just use whatever tofu you normally use as super firm doesn’t really benefit much from freezing.
Thee Burger Dude, Thank-you so much for this recipe!!! Best ground beef substitute I’ve tried. Works great in everything. Tacos, sloppy joes, lasagna we’ve even used it for enchiladas. Usually make a double batch on the weekend to use during the week. Again Thank-you.
Awesome, it’s great for meal prepping! Glad you like it!!
Super excited to try this, especially after all the rave reviews. I do have a question though. If I am going to add this to a vegetarian chili, wouldn’t it rehydrate then? Even if I add it at the end, if there are leftovers, does it still resemble ground beef?
Thank you!
Hi, I haven’t tried this, but in theory I see no reason why it wouldn’t work, so I’d say go for it!
Dear Burger Dude… This recipe is soooo good. A huge hit here in our house! We have been making our own tofu from Hemp hearts. You just blend the hearts 1 cup to 3.5 cups water. Strain , and then heat up the resulting milk. When it starts to boil it begins curdling…no coagulant required. The resulting tofu works perfectly with your recipe. I’m making some again tonight! We did your Bolgnese , the Sloppy Joes and tonight it’s Hemp tofu tacos. Thanks so much Dude. Appreciated big time. Alan.
Amazing, glad that worked out!
Is using just firm tofu out of the question? It’s all I have on hand if it’s a matter of longer drying time I don’t mind. Would there be another reason?
Yeah you may just need to bake it for longer. I would press it overnight too if possible before baking.
Hiya, i just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
i’ve been wanting to vegetarian for a while now, but bc of food intolerances i can’t eat most store bought substitutions. This recipe has been a game changer! it’s easy to follow and tastes absolutely amazing
Awesome, glad to help!!
Your recipe is delicious! It’s definitely a keeper! I want to try your other recipes from your channel, thanks!
Thank you, hope you enjoy the others!
I just had vegan tacos tonight and they were everything I hoped (and dreamed) they would be. I’m going to have them for lunch tomorrow too. Thank you so much for developing and sharing this recipe. <3
Awesome so glad you dug em!!
Turned out great. I used passato to moisten.
Excellent idea!
I’m making this tonight for the first time. Already looks amazing.
Hope you enjoy!
I make the non-fancy version of this because I can’t get my hands on things like marmite locally. I make this every week now. It goes in everything. Even the kids devour it. Hands down better than any meat I’ve tasted. Can’t thank you enough!
Oh nice, so glad it still works out, marmite is indeed expensive in the US! So glad the kids like it too!
Dude! So freaking good. I almost can’t stop eating it right off the baking sheet. I always double the recipe for this very reason. You are the master!
That’s awesome to hear! Yeah, whenever I find myself constantly “testing” and snacking I know it’s a good recipe, so glad you dug it!
My husband and I are just starting to go vegan. Our son and his wife went vegan about two years ago, and he has been encouraging us to follow him. Today I cooked tofu for the first time. My husband who hates tofu loved this. I made a total plant based 7 layer bean dip with the tofu as the meat layer. Huge hit. Thank you for helping me have a home run on the 1st try.
Nice, so glad to hear it worked out!!
This has become my go-to beef substitute.
Excellent, glad you like it!
I’m trying to cut down on red meat so I made this for a lasagna. Now I have real texture issues with tofu, and it always has an underlying aftertaste that I don’t care for. But this weird combination of flavors WORKS. I am not vegetarian, so I used beef Better than Bouillon, Worcestershire sauce instead of the steak sauce because I didn’t have the latter, and real parmagiano-reggiano instead of the nutritional yeast. I would probably leave it in the oven a bit longer (I used pressed extra-firm tofu) next time to get that firm chewiness of ground beef, but holy cow, did this amaze me. So worth the extra work.