Vegan Ground Beef
This Vegan Ground Beef is made with TVP! It’s quick, easy and cheap, and best of all totally DELICIOUS and versatile!
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 easier!
And not only did I come up with 1 recipe, but 3! That’s right we have this TVP Ground Beef, and I also made a Tempeh Ground Beef and a Lentils & Mushroom Ground Beef as well. So check those out too. They are basically the same as this recipe but with some different bases.
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!
I’ve been enjoying it all week in tacos, and pasta. Mostly tacos if I’m being honest! If you make this in bulk you can meal prep and just heat some up and throw it into whatever! I’ve been making some of the best tacos of my life in like 5 minutes this way! It’s awesome!!
INGREDIENTS FOR Vegan GROUND BEEF
- TVP – There’s a few brands of TVP but I typically get the kind by Bob’s Red Mill. I can find this at Ralphs (Kroger) and it’s about $6 a bag.
Outside of the US, I believe this is called Soya Mince, so look for that if you can’t find TVP where you live.
- Seasonings – 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 or Kitchen Bouquet, or even Dark Soy Sauce for color.
However, you can also substitute with things like Steak Sauce, Vegan Worcestershire and Tomato Paste.
how to make vegan ground beef
This couldn’t be easier! First rehydrate the TVP in some beefless or veggie broth.
While the TVP rehydrates, make the marinade by combining all the ingredients. You can also blend them up for a better emulsion.
Then add in the rehydrated TVP and cook for a few minutes. Then, pour over the marinade. Stir to combine, and cook for another few minutes. Season to taste, and add any more water or broth if you like.
Your TVP 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! Feel free to add in any other spices you like!
If you want to make it in bulk to use over the week, you can double or even triple the recipe. A single recipe will give you about 1 pound of vegan ground beef.
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.
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!
Vegan Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup TVP
- 1 ⅓ cup Vegan Beef Broth (or Veggie Broth)
Marinade
- 1 tsp Vegan Beef Bouillon (or Veggie Bouillon)
- 1 – 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (or Tamari, Coconut Aminos)
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Mayo or Neutral Oil (Vegetable, Canola etc)
- 2 Tbsp Water
- Salt & Pepper
Optional Ingredients
- 1 – 3 tsp Gravy Master, Kitchen Bouquet or Dark Soy Sauce (for darker color)
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire
- 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Instructions
- Add the dried TVP to a large mixing bowl and pour in the Vegan Beef or Veggie Broth. Stir to combine. Let the TVP rehydrate for about 10 minutes.
- While that's happening, whisk or blend all the ingredients for the marinade together.
- Once TVP is rehydrated, get a large non-stick or well seasoned skillet heated up over medium heat. Add a little oil, and then the TVP. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes to help dry out the TVP a bit more.
- Pour over the marinade, and stir to combine. Cook for another couple minutes. Season to taste. Add any water or broth if it feels a bit thick to you to thin it out a little bit.
- Enjoy as you like! Store in the fridge for 3 – 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Awesome
Very flavorful!!!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! So easy and fairly quick to throw together. It’s very flavorful too. We will be using this on tacos, over baked potatoes and maybe even spaghetti, if there is enough. I was surprised how much it made, definitely equivalent to a pound of beef in volume.
BTW I LOVE your adobo seasoning recipe mixed into tofu scramble. I keep it on hand all the time now. Thanks so much for all you do!
Yay, that makes my day to hear! The Adobo is good, I need to make it’s own recipe card for it, so glad you like them both!
This recipe looks great. I have two questions. Can I use tahini instead of miso paste and coconut amino acid instead of Worcestershire? Thanks
Hi, thanks! The tahini won’t add as much flavor as the miso paste, but you could try adding nutritional yeast, or mushroom seasoning if you have that. You can use coconut amino instead of worcestershire but I would maybe use half!
New to TVP; would I drain it after rehydrating, before adding to sautée mix and marinade, or does it absorb all the liquid as it rehydrates? Thanks!
I don’t drain it, I just rehydrate it in broth and go from there!
how do i get rid of the TVP aftertaste?
Hi, which TVP are you using? I don’t really taste it in this recipe with the Bob’s Red Mill. But you could try rehydrating it in hot water and squeezing it out first too.
is this recipe meant to be eaten straight as is after finished or do we have to cook it (say, saute it a litte) also when we want to eat it?
You can do both, it’s ready right out of the gate, or you can store it for later and reheat in a pan with any sauces or seasonings that you like!
I know if I see recipe from Thee Burger Dude, I will not be disappointed! Great and so tweakable! Had no vegan Worcestershire in frig so used a vinegar based BBQ sauce. Tasty! Convenient to open a bag of frozen veg crumbles from grocery, but I like knowing ingredients I am using. Thank you for making vegan food so accessible.
If I have a recipe, let’s say for Shepard’s pie, once I’ve made this recipe would I then cook it according to the Shepard’s pie recipe, adding in all the seasoning it calls for? Or is this already pretty seasoned and I’d need to adjust for that?
The seasoning is relatively neutral, so in general, I would say that any seasoning not in the beefy marinade you can add (so for Shepherd’s Pie, that would be things like herbs, any additional aromatics like fresh garlic, shallots etc.) The only thing you may want to adjust for is anything salty like soy sauce.
Excellent! I just made a triple batch. I’m storing the extra in the freezer.
So glad you like it, freezer is a good idea! Thanks!
Made your vegan ground beef with TVP and it was amazing! Also, the macros on TVP are insane! 80 calories for 1/4 cup and 12 grams of protein with 4 grams of fiber?! Love to see it! I used corn tortillas and toasted them in my air fryer diced up some onions and tomatoes, with lettuce and cheeze and it was a delicious bite! Also made some of your cilantro lime crema as well! Who needs meat!? You’re not missing it with these tacos!
Oh wow, great idea, that all sounds so yummy!! TVP is the best! Thank you!
I have been meaning to try this recipe for awhile and today I try it with some textured pea protein that I need to use up and WOWZA!! So delicious and easy to make. I added some extra cayenne pepper to up the spice and my tacos were mouth watering. It’s so versatile that I can see This will definitely become part of my meal prep recipe lineup. Thank you
Heck yes, glad you liked it and have it in the rotation! Thanks!
Hello!
how do you freeze and reheat? just throw it in a pan from frozen or let it defrost first? does it not go soggy?
You can freeze it in one big portion, or portion it out into serving sizes. Let it thaw on the countertop for about an hour, or in the fridge overnight before reheating. It doesn’t get soggy in my experience!