Once you learn how easy it is to make your own homemade vegan ground beef, you will never need to buy premade meatless crumbles again! With just a few simple ingredients and about 10 minutes of your time, you can have an inexpensive, high-protein, beef-like meat substitute to use in any of your favorite recipes.

A white skillet filled with homemade vegan ground beef made from mushrooms and TVP.

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This vegan ground “beef” is made from TVP (textured vegetable protein), mushrooms, and soy sauce to give it a beefy texture and flavor. Use in place of ground beef in most recipes. Toss it into pasta sauce, casseroles, soups, stroganoff, tacos, or anywhere you would use beef crumbles.

No need to buy expensive premade vegan ground beef substitutes like Beyond meat crumbles when you can make your own for a fraction of the price!

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s quick and easy to make in just a few minutes.
  • Homemade meatless crumbles will save you a lot of money.
  • TVP is a healthy, low-fat, high-protein, alternative to meat.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

  • Onion – this is optional, but it gives the plant-based ground beef a lot of flavor.
  • Mushrooms – for flavor and texture. You can leave them out if you want, but they provide a lot of flavors and a great texture. I like to use crimini mushrooms, but you can also use button or portabella mushrooms.
  • Water – for correct moisture level. You could use Not Beef-Flavored brand broth for a beefier flavor as well. (Omit the salt if you are using broth.)
  • TVP – for the beef texture and protein. TVP stands for textured vegetable protein. It is soybean flour that has been cooked, formed into small pieces, and then dehydrated. You can buy it at most natural food stores, or larger grocery stores, or order it online. You can read more about it in my guide to TVP.
  • Soy Sauce – for a beefy flavor. You can also use Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for a gluten-free alternative.
  • Garlic Powder – for flavor.
  • Onion Powder – for flavor.
  • Paprika – for flavor and color. You can use smoked paprika for a smoky beef flavor.
A close up of meatless crumbles being stirred in a skillet.

🔪 Helpful tools

  • A Food Processor – to help chop the onions and mushrooms up into very small pieces. You don’t need one, but it saves a lot of chopping.

🥄 How to make vegan ground beef

Step 1 – Chop up a small onion very fine (you can use a food processor to mince it) and saute the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat for 5 minutes.

Step 2 – While the onion is cooking, wash and chop 8 oz. of mushrooms into tiny pieces. (I toss mine into a food processor to get them very small.) Add the mushrooms to the skillet once the onions become translucent.

Step 3 – Sprinkle the onions and mushrooms with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms release their juices and become soft.

Step 4 – Add 1 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, and stir well.

A collage of 4 images showing the process of frying a chopped onion, adding chopped mushrooms, and then water and seasonings.

Step 5 – Once the liquid starts to boil, add 1 3/4 cups TVP and stir well.

TVP added to a skillet of cooked mushrooms and broth to make meatless crumbles.
TVP added to the broth.

Step 6 – Sauté the beefless crumbles until all of the excess liquid is absorbed.

Spice it up – You can add a little salt and black pepper to taste or spice it up with some cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper if you would like.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

  • To make this recipe quick and super easy, you can omit the onion and/ or mushrooms. They provide flavor and texture, but it’s still good without them.
  • You can also use broth instead of water. You may want to use low-sodium broth or omit the salt if you do this.

🍲 Ways to use vegan ground beef

🍞 How to make gluten-free vegan beef crumbles

This recipe is gluten-free as long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce like Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.

🥡 Storage and reheating

Refrigerate: This vegan ground beef will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days in a sealed container.

Freeze: Homemade vegan beef crumbles freeze well and can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating: Reheat the meatless crumbles in the microwave for about 3 minutes or pan-fry in a little oil until warm.

🍔 Can I use it just like ground beef?

You can use it in place of beef in recipes that calls for the beef to be cooked in a skillet and added as crumbles to a dish. It alone will not be able to keep its form as a veggie burger.

If you want to use it in this way you will have to use a binder to hold it together as I do in my Meaty Vegan Meatballs. You can check out my post on how to substitute an egg to figure out which egg alternative you want to use to bind the meatless ground if you need it to hold together.

A close up of homemade meatless grounds in a white skillet.

If you are looking for a meatier vegan beef recipe, you can use my vegan beef seitan. It works great for vegan beef stew, vegan pot roast, and seitan roast beef.

🌟 More meaty vegan recipes

📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!

📋 Vegan ground beef recipe

A white skillet filled with homemade vegan ground beef being stirred with a wooden spoon.
Diet
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5 from 5 rating

Vegan Ground Beef

Yield: 8
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
An easy way to make homemade vegan meatless crumbles that you can use in casseroles, soups, stew, and sauces as a ground beef alternative.
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Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup onion, chopped fine
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup mushrooms, chopped (an 8 oz. container)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, (or Tamari or Liquid Aminos for gluten-free)
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 3/4 cup TVP

Equipment

  • A food processor is helpful.

Instructions
 

  • Chop up a small onion very fine (you can use a food processor to mince it) and saute the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat for 5 minutes.
  • While the onion is cooking, wash and chop 8 oz. of mushrooms into tiny pieces. (I toss mine into a food processor to get them very small.) Add the mushrooms to the skillet once the onions become translucent.
  • Sprinkle the onions and mushrooms with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms release their juices and become soft.
  • Add 1 cup of water, 2 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and stir well.
  • Once the liquid starts to boil, add 1 3/4 cup TVP and stir well. Saute the beefless crumbles until all of the excess liquid is absorbed.

Notes

  • To make this recipe quick and super easy, you can omit the onion and/ or mushrooms. They provide flavor and texture, but it’s still good without them.
  • You can also use broth instead of water. You may want to use low sodium broth or omit the salt if you do this.
Serving: 0.5cup, Calories: 106kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 391mg, Potassium: 64mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 62IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 2mg
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