This vegan ground beef recipe is so satisfying, full of umami, and made with healthy, whole-food ingredients. It's a great base recipe for everything from stuffed peppers and spaghetti, to chili mac and tacos! It's a great source of protein and fiber and has a meaty texture that even omnivores love! This vegan ground "beef" is also oil-free and easily made without nuts.
This plant-based ground beef recipe was inspired by our favorite vegan taco meat. It's made with soy curls and ground walnuts, and a reader commented that it tasted just like Beyond Meat but more affordable. And I thought, "She's right! It really is beefy."
So I ditched the taco seasonings, added meaty mushrooms, and now we have a high-protein, satisfying, and healthy vegan ground meat option to use any way we like.
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Why You'll Love It
- Easy and healthy swap for ground beef in your favorite recipes.
- Great source of plant-based protein.
- Meaty and satisfying and won't leave you hungry!
- Freezer-friendly and great for meal prep.
- Unlike store-bought beefless crumbles, you're in control of the ingredients!
This vegan ground beef is delicious as-is, yet the seasonings are light enough that you can take it in different directions. Add Italian herbs and a binder and turn it into meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers.
Use it in lasagna, casseroles, stews and soups, and hearty dinners like this vegan beef and cauliflower skillet.
Or simply pile it on top of your favorite grain, add a sauce and some greens, and call it dinner!
Best Ingredient to Replace Meat
When I'm creating a vegan version of something high in fat, calories, and protein, I usually gravitate toward ingredients like beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, TVP, and seitan. These are more filling than vegetables, which are sometimes too low in calories, if you know what I mean.
A ground beef substitute made from cauliflower or mushrooms isn't going to keep me or my weight-lifter husband satisfied for very long!
But that's the great thing about versatile homemade dishes like this. If you're watching your calories or fat intake, it's very easy to tweak the ingredients for your specific dietary needs.
Since the texture of tofu is a little soft for imitating beef, soy curls were an easy choice. If you're not familiar with soy curls, be sure to check out this post: Soy Curl Recipes + FAQs.
Soy curls are chewy and more firm than tofu and work really well here. Black lentils or TVP are good substitutes if you don't have soy curls.
This vegan ground beef also includes mushrooms and either sunflower seeds or walnuts. The added richness from nuts or seeds really takes the flavor over the top, but you can omit them if needed.
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Ingredients
- Soy Curls - if you're not in the U.S. and don't have access to soy curls, black lentils, soya chunks, or TVP are other options.
- Broth - any good quality vegetable broth you like is fine. This is for rehydrating the soy curls, and adding moisture to the finished meat.
- Mushrooms - I chose baby bella (cremini) mushrooms for their darker color so the beef would be brown, but other varieties will taste great, too.
- Onion - I usually use yellow onion but other varieties are fine, too.
- Walnuts or Sunflower Seeds - since beef is high in fat, I wanted to add some richness to our vegan ground beef. Walnuts contribute a slightly darker color, but raw sunflower seeds work very well, too. The nuts/seeds also add bite and texture.
- Nutritional Yeast - a small amount adds to the overall savory flavor. I recommend this non-fortified nutritional yeast by Sari Foods.
- Smoked Paprika - adds red color and a hint of smokiness.
- Tamari - for saltiness and umami. Or use soy sauce if you don't need gluten-free.
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Vegan Ground Beef
- Soak soy curls in broth for about 15 minutes while you prepare the sauté in Step 3 below.
- Reserve ¼ cup of the broth, and drain the rest. Lightly squeeze the soy curls to remove excess liquid.
- Dry sauté the onion and mushrooms until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic, soy curls, and smoked paprika, and cook until the soy curls are heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large food processor (I use this 14 cup Cuisinart) pulse the nuts or seeds, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper until the nuts/seeds are chopped.
- Spoon the sauteed mixture into the food processor and drizzle with tamari and vinegar. Pulse 7 or 8 times or until it resembles ground meat.
- Return the vegan ground "beef" to the sauté pan, and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Dissolve the corn starch in the reserved ¼ cup broth. Pour into the pan and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. The soy curl beef should now appear more moist, slightly clumpy, and lightly browned.
And that's it! You just made some tasty vegan ground beef. Enjoy it as is, or add more spices or seasonings. It's totally up to you.
Ways to Use It
You can use homemade vegan ground beef in pretty much any recipe that calls for ground beef, like vegan chili, soups, sloppy joes, shepherd's pie, enchilada casserole, stuffed peppers, lasagna, and more.
Note that soy curls don't bind together in the same way ground beef does. So for dishes like vegan meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers, you'll need to add a binder. Vital wheat gluten is an easy and reliable option. Or to keep it gluten-free, try a starchy, cooked rice and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Substitutions
- Nut-Free - sunflower seeds are delicious in the recipe. The color of the finished ground beef will be slightly lighter than when made with walnuts.
- Gluten-Free - the recipe is gluten-free as written. Just make sure your broth and tamari are certified gluten-free.
- Soy-Free - since the base of this recipe is soy curls, unfortunately I don't have a tested, soy-free option to share with you. But if you feel like experimenting I suspect brown or black lentils would be great, similar to our lentil taco meat!
- Mushrooms - if you're not a fan of mushrooms, increase the amount of soy curls by about 1 cup, or substitute cauliflower rice to replace the volume.
Recipe Yield
The recipe makes enough for 2 to 4 servings, depending on your appetites and what else is served. So if you're cooking for more than just a few people go ahead and double the recipe.
Leftovers taste great, and it freezes well, too!
FAQs
Store leftover vegan ground beef in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat on the stovetop or in a microwave. From frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Absolutely, and the best part is that it's easy to adjust at the end of cooking. So you can prepare the recipe as written, then taste it and decide whether you might like to add oil. We think the walnuts add the perfect amount of richness, but depending on how you plan to use it, you can always make adjustments.
I hope you enjoy this healthier vegan ground beef recipe as much as we do. If you try the recipe please share your feedback with us in the comments below!
Recipe
Vegan Ground "Beef" (Gluten-Free, Oil-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry soy curls (half of a bag) - or sub 1⅓ cups TVP
- 1¼ cups vegetable broth
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 8 ounces baby bella or portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ cup raw sunflower seeds or walnuts - walnuts create a darker "beef" color
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari
For final saute:
- 1 tablespoon corn starch or arrowroot
Instructions
- Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Place soy curls in a large bowl and cover with the broth. Let them soak for 10 to 15 minutes. After soaking, reserve ¼ cup of the broth, and drain the rest. Lightly squeeze the soy curls to remove excess moisture, then set aside.
- In the preheated pan, dry sauté the onion and mushrooms until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, rehydrated soy curls, and smoked paprika, and cook until the soy curls are heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large food processor combine the nuts or seeds, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pulse until the nuts/seeds are chopped. Spoon the soy curl mixture into the food processor and drizzle with vinegar and tamari. Pulse 7 or 8 times or until it resembles ground meat.
- Return the mixture to the same sauté pan, and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Dissolve the corn starch in the reserved ¼ cup broth. Pour into the pan and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. It should now look more moist, slightly clumpy, and lightly browned. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired. Enjoy vegan ground beef as is, or use in other recipes.
Notes
- Gluten-Free - the recipe is gluten-free as written. Just make sure your broth and tamari are certified gluten-free.
- Soy-Free - since the base of this recipe is soy curls, unfortunately I don't have a tested, soy-free option to share with you. But I'm sure brown or black lentils would be great! See this lentil meat for inspiration.
- Mushrooms - if you avoid mushrooms, increase the amount of soy curls by about 1 cup, or substitute cauliflower rice to replace the volume.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and ingredients used.
Jan says
Lentils, if cooked too long, make this not crumbly at all. I'll try it again, and make sure to not over cook the lentils. Taste is a little "beany"
Lori Rasmussen says
Hi Jan. The recipe doesn't call for lentils. Although, black or brown lentils are mentioned as a potential substitute for soy curls, they're not going to have the same texture. Did you use one of those or a different variety?
Julie Falsetti says
This is delicious. The only change I made was sauteing the mushrooms and onions with a little oil.
Edamommy4life says
I made this with the TVP and loved it! Next time I'll dice the mushrooms up small and then I can skip the food processor step all together. To lower the fat, I used half the walnuts and left out the salt to lower the salt content. Reduced sodium tamari was enough. I didn't find it bland at all. Very yummy recipe. I plan to make it often. Thank you! It was perfect in your beefc and cauluflower skillet recipe.
Chris says
Can this recipe also be dehydrated for backpacking?
Lori Rasmussen says
Hi Chris - I'm not sure, but that's an interesting thought! Since the recipe starts with a dehydrated product (soy curls or TVP), I think your best option would be to add dry seasonings and salt to that, then rehydrate and cook it at your campsite.
Randy Stanard says
Has anyone tried using cashew instead of sunflower seeds or walnuts? I'm not a fan of walnuts and I alway keep pounds of cahews in the pantry, so I always have them on hand.
Didn't know if the type of nut makes much difference in this recipe.
Lori Rasmussen says
Hi Randy, I haven't tried it with cashews but sounds good to me. They are lighter in color and naturally a bit sweeter than walnuts, but if you don't mind those two things, go for it!
Katherine S says
I have to agree with the other comments, this is the BEST! We make it all the time and it occurred to me that I hadn't left a comment. I have shared this recipe with several vegan friends and they all love it too. Thanks for all of your recipes! I love your site!
Rachelle ThibodeauRachelle Thibodeau says
Wow! I’ve been an avid vegetarian cook for nearly 40 years and using Soy Curls for about 15. This is hands down the best ground beef substitute I’ve had. I used the full batch in shepherd’s pie where it had to really shine and it did.
I was very sceptical of an oil-free recipe but the walnuts and flavours made it rich enough.
I substituted 2 oz dried mushrooms, soaked and drained), so this is a great pantry staple recipe that I’ll make over and over.
Deb says
This turned out really, really good! It was a terrific way to use up the soy curl "dusting/powder" left over from my bulk bag of soy curls, and the pieces of walnuts too small to use for anything else. I used them as a filling for taquitos as another reader suggested.
Doina says
This is hands down the best vegan ground beef recipe. I made it for stuffed cabbage rolls, but it will now be my go to recipe for any time I want a flavorful plant based food.