Today, there are so many amazing plant-based meat substitutes on the market that you could make tacos for days and never miss the real stuff. Personally, my favorite vegan “crumbles” are by Gardein. While these crumbles stack well up against other brands in low calorie count and high protein, there is another option I’ve recently discovered: making your own!

Using only TVP (also known as textured vegetable protein), onion, and some household spices, you can have your own homemade vegan ground beef in less than 15 minutes! TVP is fairly cheap and goes a long way if you use it right. Super high in protein and low in fat––it’s essentially defatted soy flour––it is the perfect texture for making ground mock meats. In this recipe, I also show you how to incorporate the vegan ground beef into a meal. It would also be great for tacos or Italian dishes!

INGREDIENTS

½ onion

minced garlic

1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)––I use Bob’s Red Mill brand

vegetable broth

salt

onion powder

cumin

poultry seasoning (yes, poultry seasoning is vegan!)

vegan Worcestershire sauce

1. Chop up your onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.

2. Place the dry TVP into a medium sized bowl.

3. In a measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of warm/hot vegetable broth. Add salt, onion powder, cumin, and poultry seasoning to the broth. You can use as much or as little as you like, depending on how flavorful you want your beef. You can also add more later!

4. Add the broth to the dry TVP until it starts to soften. I don’t usually use the entire cup of broth, but save it in case you need to add it while sautéing.

5. Add softened TVP to the onion. Sauté on medium heat for a few minutes or until mixed well. Add vegan Worcestershire sauce to taste.

I ate my vegan beef on top of pasta with beluga lentils and roasted acorn squash (cut squash in half and roast on 350 degrees until soft). It would also work great for tacos (add taco seasoning) or in spaghetti sauce (add Italian seasoning and more garlic). Happy cooking!