What is vegan hamburger meat made of?

It depends on the brand, but most plant-based meats are made from pea or soy protein, a type of fat, and some sort of binder , but they may also contain natural and artificial flavors to make the product taste more like meat.

Can you make your own plant based meat?

Make easy, delicious vegan ground beef using textured vegetable protein mixed with tomato paste and seasonings . Alternatively, make a black bean burger using black beans, eggs, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and bread crumbs. You can also make meatless chicken with wheat gluten and chickpeas.

What makes a vegan burger taste like meat?

Researchers at Impossible Foods discovered that by adding heme to their plant-based burgers, they could capture a lot of the aromas we associate with meat . They call it their "magic ingredient," and, combined with yeast extract, it does seem to do a pretty good job.

Why do plant-based burgers taste like meat?

Heme is found in a protein called hemoglobin that is found in every living plant and animal , and is something we've been eating since the dawn of humanity. This ingredient not only makes Impossible Burgers taste like meat, but helps them stay juicy, moist, and slightly red at the center.

What is used to make plant-based meat taste like meat?

Soy protein concentrate and pea protein are common ingredients used to mimic the true taste and texture of real meat. Editor's note: Some plant-based meat options, notably Impossible Foods products, contain GMO soy.

Is it cheaper to produce plant-based meat?

Alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute has revealed that, in 2022, plant-based meat was 67% more expensive than animal meat .

How do you make plant-based meat taste like real meat?

Umami is what gives savoury dishes that meaty, brothy taste – typically found as MSG. Some manufacturers will use what you might call an “umami bomb” to give plant-based applications the hearty, meaty taste consumers want from traditional meat.

How is vegan burger meat made?

Plant-based burgers get their ingredients from plant sources, like peas, soybeans, black beans, and more . Unlike the burgers you probably grew up eating, these burgers don't have meat in them or animal-derived products, like dairy or eggs.

What is the main ingredient in vegan meat?

The plant-based burgers and sausages found on supermarket shelves are made by extracting the protein from plant foods, often pea, soy, wheat protein, and mushrooms . But a myriad of additives are needed to make these products look and taste like traditional meat.

Are vegan burgers healthier than meat?

“Compared to a meat-based burger, Beyond and Impossible contain roughly the same amount of saturated fat and more sodium ,” she says, both of which, when over-consumed, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Are vegan beef burgers healthy?

Interestingly, the plant based burgers may not be the best choice for people following a heart-healthy diet , as they are higher in saturated fat than turkey burgers and contain substantially more sodium than lean beef burgers.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (2024)

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This vegan ground beef recipe is easy to make with whole-food ingredients and is the most delicious vegan ground meat ever. This plant-based alternative to ground beef is full of umami flavor with the taste and texture similar to real meat! Use it as a substitute for hamburger meat in all your favorite recipes.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (1)

Jump to:

Why you’ll love this vegan ground beef recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions
How to make it
How to store and serve
Variations
Vegan Taco Meat
Italian Recipes with Vegan Ground Beef
Debra’s Pro Tips
Vegan Ground Beef FAQs
More Healthy Meal Prep Ideas
📖 Recipe

If you’ve been buying beefless crumbles and you’re ready to make vegan ground beef from scratch instead, I’ve got a wonderful recipe for you. This vegan ground meat recipe is super satisfying, incredibly delicious, so versatile and a great source of protein.

Use 1 ½ cups of this vegan beef to replace one pound of ground beef in all your favorite recipes that call for the real thing. Make a batch for your weekly meal prep and then use this as the main ingredient for vegan meals like sloppy joes, vegan hamburger helper, spaghetti sauce, vegan meatloaf, chili mac and anything that calls for taco meat.

Read the labels of meat substitutes found ready made in grocery stores. After the shock wears off, try this vegan ground beef substitute that’s made with simple ingredients and perfect meaty texture.

Why you’ll love this vegan ground beef recipe

Easy swap in place of ground beef in your favorite recipes
Good source of vegetable protein
No highly processed soy products and fake food like TVP, beyond meat, meatless crumbles, soy curls, tofu crumbles etc.
Budget friendly
Meal prep rock star

Ingredients and Substitutions

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (2)

Lentils: Use beluga lentils, green or brown lentils. Red or yellow lentils will turn to mush and don’t work well in this recipe.
Mushrooms: I used shiitake mushrooms, but baby bellas also taste great and any variety will give you the satisfaction of this umami-rich ingredient.
Walnuts
Onions: I like the added sweetness the red onion offers, but you could use a white or sweet yellow onion.
Spices: garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin and black pepper.
Tomato paste
Tamari: For a soy free ground beef, substitute with coconut aminos.
Nutritional Yeast

How to make it

If you have uncooked lentils, you’ll need to cook them before you begin. Go to the recipe card for easy directions to make them on the stovetop or in an instant pot.

I mince the onion, mushrooms and walnuts by hand, but you could also use a food processor.

Step 1: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use water or vegetable broth to saute veggies until beginning to soften. Although you could use olive oil in the pan, using a little bit of water or stock works just as well.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (3)

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (4)

Step 2: Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring until everything is well distributed. For best results, stir constantly and break up any small pieces that have formed.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (5)

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (6)

Step 3: Whisk together tomato paste, tamari and water, then stir it into the veggie mixture until evenly dispersed.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (7)

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (8)

Step 4: Mix in the cooked lentils. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until crumbly. It will take about 10 minutes to become browned and crumbly, resembling ground beef.

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (9)

How to store and serve

Serve: Use in all your homemade recipes that call for ground beef. One and half cups of vegan ground beef is equal to one pound ground beef that’s been cooked. See variations below for some great ideas.
Store: Completely cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 3 months.
Freeze: Use freezer safe containers and freeze in smaller portions so you can use in your favorite recipes.

Variations

Start with the basic vegan ground beef recipe and use it as a substitute in all your favorite recipes that call for ground meat. 1.5 cups will replace 1 pound of ground meat. Meal prep a batch of this and then hello easy dinner any night of the week!

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (11)

My absolute favorite way to enjoy this vegan beef recipe is loaded onto some hummus and scooped up with chips. Use my roasted cauliflower hummus for a low carb alternative.

Vegan Taco Meat

Skip the seasonings in the vegan ground beef recipe card and instead use with 2 tablespoons of my homemade no salt taco seasoning. Now you have a vegan taco meat that is so delicious. I make a batch weekly so I’m always ready for vegan tacos (lettuce wraps optional), veggie fajitas, burrito bowls, taco salad, taco bowls.

Vegan Meat Nachos

Follow directions above for vegan taco meat and take it to the next level with a tablespoon of dry ranch dressing mix as well. Layer corn chips with the vegan minced meat, enchilada sauce and sliced jalapenos on a baking sheet. Heat in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until heated through, then spoon on some vegan sour cream, guacamole, fresh cilantro and sliced scallions. Make a batch of fresh salsa when tomatoes are in season!

Vegan Meat Enchiladas

Use the recipe above for vegan taco meat and add that as the filling in my vegan enchilada casserole. OMG…next level umami satisfaction for an easy make ahead vegan dinner.

Italian Recipes with Vegan Ground Beef

Vegan Stuffed Vegetables

Follow my easy recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls and use this delicious vegan ground beef for the stuffing. You can do the same for vegan stuffed peppers or stuffed zucchini boats.

Pasta sauce

Stir into your favorite marinara sauce and serve over spaghetti or zucchini noodles for an easy dinner that everyone will adore. Sprinkle on some chopped fresh basil if you’re feeling fancy! Or, use that vegan meat sauce to make the best lasagna ever!

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Vegan sloppy joes bring back childhood memories and make an awesome main dish. Bring a 15-oz can of tomato sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon chili powder and 2 cups of this vegan hamburger meat. Stir well and cook for 5-10 minutes until heated through.

Debra’s Pro Tips

Vegan Ground Beef Recipe - Debra Klein (12)

Let the veggies and spices dry out in the pan and become crumbly so they resemble real ground beef in texture.
Spice blends like taco seasoning, italian seasoning or dry ranch mix are a great way to quickly change this basic vegan hamburger meat into something that better suits your recipe.
Spoon some into lettuce cups the next day for a legit quick high protein lunch.
Bake sweet potatoes, stuff with this plus some assorted roasted veggies for a delicious and satisfying easy meal.
Follow the Five tips for baking the perfect sweet potato or Microwave Sweet potato, and then stuff with this Vegan Ground Beef for an awesome dinner.

Vegan Ground Beef FAQs

How much vegan ground beef is equivalent to one pound hamburger meat.

Substitute 1 ½ cups vegan ground beef for recipes that call for 1 pound of ground beef.

Is vegan ground beef healthy?

Plant based proteins offer many health benefits and can be less expensive than meat. Homemade vegan ground beef is the best way to ensure that the meat substitute you’ve chosen is made with healthy ingredients. Many commercial vegan meat brands contain TVP which

TVP: Texturized Vegetable Protein is a heavily processed soy product that often contains MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and other ingredients that often cause side effects. It’s important to read the ingredient label of all meatless crumbles including beyond meat when deciding on meat substitutes. Heavily refined ingredients in food products are not consider healthy.

Can you freeze vegan ground beef.

It’s easy to freeze vegan ground beef. First, make sure it has come to room temperature. Second, be sure to use freezer safe containers. Third, freeze in small quantities so you can easily defrost and use in recipes. One cup silicone molds are perfect for this.

More Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

Cold Sesame Noodles with Tahini
Vegetable Bouillon Powder
Vegan Meatball Recipe
Easy Vegan Lentil Chili Recipe

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📖 Recipe

Vegan Ground Beef

Author: Debra Klein

This vegan ground beef recipe is easy to make with whole-food ingredients and is the most delicious vegan ground meat ever. Use it as a substitute for hamburger meat in all your favorite recipes. This plant-based alternative to ground beef is full of umami flavor with the taste and texture similar to real meat!

5 from 122 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 cups

Calories 229 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup dry beluga lentils
▢ 1 red onion minced
▢ 3.5 oz sh*take mushrooms minced
▢ ¾ cup minced walnuts
▢ 1 tbsp tomato paste
▢ 1 tablespoon tamari
▢ 2 tablespoon water
▢ 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
▢ 2 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
▢ 1 tsp ground cumin
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Prep: Cook lentils. This can be done up to 5 days in advance. Add the 1 cup dry lentils to a small sauce pan with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes for al dente lentils. See notes below for how to cook them in an instant pot.
Prep: Mince onion, mushrooms and walnuts. You can use a food processor or a sharp knife and cutting board.
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Use 1-2 tablespoons water or vegetable broth to saute onions, mushrooms and walnuts for about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while.
Turn down the heat to medium-low. Stir in nutritional yeast, cumin, garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Keep mixing until everything is evenly dispersed.
Whisk together tamari, tomato paste and water. Then, pour it onto vegetable mixture and mix well.
Stir in lentils and cook, stirring occasionally until crumbly, resembling ground beef. It will take about 10 minutes.

Notes

Lentils: 1 cup dried beluga lentils will yield 2 cups cooked. Substitute with 2 cups cooked brown or green lentils, or even black beans or pinto beans.

To cook lentils on stovetop: Rinse and drain beluga lentils, then place in small saucepan with 3 cups water. Simmer gently, uncovered for 20 minutes until cooked through but still “al dente” and then drain any remaining liquid.

To cook beluga lentils in the instant pot: Rinse and drain lentils. Place in instant pot with 1 ¾ cup water. Make sure the valve is sealed. Set to high pressure for 6 minutes. Use natural release.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 229kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 13gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 195mgPotassium: 252mgFiber: 9gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 214IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 4mg

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!