This vegan ground beef recipe is made with textured vegetable protein for an easy to make, highly flavorful, high protein meat substitute.
This vegan ground beef makes the perfect meat replacement for dishes like tacos, lasagnas, enchiladas and more.
It’s extremely easy to make in less than 30 minutes, and really tasty with a great texture.
The recipe is based on textured vegetable protein (also known as TVP) and it’s such a great versatile ingredient. We used it in our vegan baked ziti and vegan goulash and it’s also suitable for our vegan shepherd’s pie.
The recipe can also easily be made gluten free so it makes a great meat substitute for anyone who follows a gluten free diet.
Ingredients For Vegetarian Ground Beef:
Ingredient Notes
- Textured vegetable protein (TVP) – is widely available, extremely affordable, versatile and high in protein so it makes the perfect base for this recipe.
- Soy sauce – can be switched for tamari or a gluten free soy sauce for an entirely gluten free option.
- Vegan beef stock or broth – to reconstitute our textured vegetable protein, we used vegan beef stock. You can substitute this for vegetable stock or broth.
How To Make Vegan Ground Beef
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add textured vegetable protein (TVP) to a mixing bowl. Pour boiling hot vegan beef stock/broth (or vegetable stock/broth) over the top.
- Stir it in well with a fork. Then leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add crushed garlic, dried oregano, dried thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, liquid smoke, soy sauce, tomato paste, light brown sugar, maple syrup and ground black pepper to a measuring jug or bowl and whisk together into a sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add the prepared textured vegetable protein (TVP) to the hot skillet and top with the sauce and mix together.
- Sauté until browned (about 10 minutes).
- And your vegan ground beef is ready to serve.
Storing and Freezing
It keeps very well in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. Reheat in a hot pan or in the microwave.
It also freezes very well for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan ‘Meat’ Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (92g) also called TVP
- 1 cup Vegan Beef Stock (240ml) or Vegetable Stock
- 2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Tomato Paste (65g)
- 1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- ½ Tablespoon Maple Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Instructions
- Add textured vegetable protein (TVP) to a mixing bowl. Pour boiling hot vegan beef stock (or vegetable stock) over the top.
- Stir it in well with a fork. Then leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add crushed garlic, dried oregano, dried thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, liquid smoke, soy sauce, tomato paste, light brown sugar, maple syrup and ground black pepper to a measuring jug or bowl and whisk together into a sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add the prepared textured vegetable protein (TVP) to the hot skillet and top with the sauce and mix together.
- Sauté until browned (about 10 minutes).
Notes
- Gluten free – switch the soy sauce for tamari or a gluten free soy sauce for an entirely gluten free option.
- Storing: It keeps very well in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. Reheat in a hot pan or in the microwave.
- Freezing: It also freezes very well for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
I am going to make this tonight exactly as you wrote it. I will come back and let you know how it turns out!
Hope you enjoyed the recipe Daniel!
I just made it and it’s simply AMAZING! I was hesitant about a few spices not going well with it but it turned out perfect. Really resembles sloppy joe meat or taco meat. Flavor was phenomenal and I will me making this again for sure.
That’s great Daniel! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
I loved the flavor! I used it for a taco salad recipe I had that called for ground beef.. It is the best vegan ground beef I have made. My meat eating extended family had no idea it wasn’t animal beef. It will be my go to ground beef recipe now. Thanks you!
That’s great Deena! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
This was delicious and better than the store bought vegan grounds in the US. We recently moved overseas and the store bought version is unavailable here. I made this recipe as listed except I doubled it. Unbelievable. I was so surprised. Thanks so much for publicly sharing this recipe!!!
You’re welcome Glaudy! Thank you so much for your great review!
Really enjoyed this! Thanks so much.
Awesome! Thanks Stacy!
Just wondering how much this recipe makes. Would one full batch be enough for let’s say a pot of chili? Or for your lasagna? Or would the recipe have to be doubled? I would like to make a few batches and then freeze the specified amounts that are called for in a recipe for later use.
Just curious what your thoughts may be. Thank you for a reply.
Hi Dawn, this isn’t a huge batch, it makes around 3 cups in total, enough for a single layer in a 9×13 lasagna. But it’s very easy to double it up.
Looks good. I used to use TVP a lot. I would just mix it straight into a stir fry. I made something similar to this recipe recently and discovered that chopped pecans work too. I imagine you could follow even this recipe and sub in the chopped pecans. It worked great in some black bean chili.
Chopped pecans would be an awesome addition! Thanks for sharing!