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.
Jump to:
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.
Want to save this recipe? 📩
I'll email the link so you can come back to it later!
Keep an eye out for more delicious recipes. Unsubscribe anytime.
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.
Sheri Anne says
This is a 20 star recipe!!! I just made it and my mind is blown! This taste just like ground meat!! This is my second recipe to make from your website and they have both been out of this world good!! Thank you Lori for this recipe!!! I put it in some corn tortillas and rolled them up and put them in the air fryer with a toothpick to hold them together . Boom! Taquitoes!!! :))
Deb says
Great idea to use them for taquitos! I used your idea for dinner last night.
Becky says
This created such a satisfying plant based meat alternative. I was actually surprised how delicious it is! Enjoyed some of it immediately after cooking - with roasted vegetables on the side - I wanted to see how it tasted. I plan to use the leftovers today to make cabbage rolls. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Dan says
Hi,
The recipe asks for 4 oz. dry soy curls. Is that by weight or just 4 oz. in a measuring cup, like 1/2 a cup?
Other than that question, the recipe looks very good and I'll give it a try. Thank you for providing it!
Lori says
Hi Dan - yes, it's 4 ounces by weight, or half of a standard bag of soy curls. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Karin says
This is so good ! I made it exactly. as directed and it did not disappoint ! I will be using it in a few different dishes this week, and I have a strong suspicion that time for the flavors to marry in the fridge is going to improve it even more . This recipe is a keeper
Kat says
Love your reasoning about using ingredients that are more filling. Makes sense for my family too! I don’t want to spend time cooking a meal that will leave everyone hungry an hour later.
This was fantastic- going into our regular meal rotation. Thanks!
Maureen says
I buy soy curls in bulk direct from Butler Foods so always have smaller pieces and crumbs. I bag the SC into ziploc bags in eight ounce portions and keep them in the freezer. This is a great recipe to use some of the crumbs :).
Mary says
This looks delicious! Do you think this could be used to make meatloaf?
Lori says
Thanks, Mary! As the recipe is, it won’t bind together enough to make meatloaf. It would take some additional ingredients, like lentils plus a grain.
Andrea says
This is the Best! I am going to make a Shepherd's Pie with it next.Thank you so much.
Diana says
I just made this as I had mushrooms that needed to be used. It’s amazing! Looks just perfect for tacos! Already thinking of other ways to use it, thanks a bunch!
Brigitte says
I made this with 1 table spoon less Tamari sauce , if your broth is already salty this makes it too salty . It is a wonderful recipe that you can use endlessly . I replaced the 1 table spoon with some liquid smoke to your taste maybe 1/2 tsp it adds more flavor less salt . I didn’t cook it after it was blended with the food processor . I wanted to use it the next day for a Sheppard pie so there was no need to thicken it right away . You use the sauce you like for Sheppard pie . Also if you are going to use this in a spaghetti sauce or ground beef macaroni with a red sauce you don’t need this thicken . You can always thicken when using it . Like if you want to make stuffed peppers you don’t want this mixed thick because you will use rice . I like it just like that than it’s always ready when you need it . I will make batches of it and freeze it .
Cammie says
Can't wait to try this! Was wanting a recipe for a meaty feeling to make some Bierocks. Think this might be perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Susan says
Cammie, did you make bierocks with this mixture?
Shellie says
This sounds great and I can't wait to try it out. If I were to make it into burgers, would 1 flax egg be enough for a binder or would you suggest something else.
Lori says
Haha I was hoping no one would ask that Q until I have a chance to test it. 😉 That's next up on my list. You'll also need some oats or bread crumbs to help it bind. I'll report back asap with amounts, and if you feel like experimenting let us know how it goes!