How Vegan Beef Is Made: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Production

We’ve been on a vegan and vegetarian beef learning journey lately. We’ve talked about what they are, how they may be better, and how they impact the environment. Here, we can dive deeper into how they’re made and, if you’re curious, if you can make some on your own! 

But listen. We can’t just go out and reveal how big brands make their vegan beef products. We’d like to know them ourselves! We can give you a general idea, and that’s what you’re going to read up on in just a little bit. 

Are you raring (100% a pun intended there) to go? Let’s get to it! 

What Is Vegan Beef Made Of?

Like many plant-based alternatives, vegan and vegetarian beef can be made with ingredients like soy, beans, wheat or wheat gluten, mushrooms, and even pea protein. How they’re used all depends on what kind of beef they’ll be mimicking. It’s the texture they want to match first before they get to taste.

As for taste, it all depends once again. Beef is savory. That’s why often seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic, onion, celery, soy sauce, and mushroom powders are used. Regular beef mince imitations are oftentimes less seasoned (of course). But vegan beef products like, say, jerky will most likely come with a variety of flavors in tow. 

Plant-based substitutes are said to contain more sodium than regular beef and we can’t deny that. Taste plays a huge role in the acceptance of food and food alternatives. That’s what makes people want to eat more of it. So that totally makes sense. 

Like with any healthy diet, balance is key. Don’t go and eat too much of anything. It can be bad for you in the long run!

How To Make Vegan Beef?

With one of the most common ingredients of vegan beef being soy, we think this is a great example when we go about how plant-based meat is made. 

We all know soy or tofu is a prepared food with varying textures. We also know that this isn’t a particularly dry ingredient. If you take even the firmest of all the tofu options out there, they would still contain moisture. While firm tofu can also hold its shape quite well, it still won’t pass as a beef patty or ground beef.

So what happens is that tofu is compacted and pressed into shape while squeezing all that moisture out. This is a way to dehydrate and create vegan beef itself. Once dehydrated, crumbles of soy can be seasoned to match the taste of real beef. They can also be further processed into other foods like vegan deli slices, sausages, or patties.

Wheat gluten is also another popular ingredient for vegan beef alternatives. You can actually make some at home if you want! What you’ll need is your base - this would be a mixture of veggies or a savory stock or sauce which you can add vital wheat gluten to. For simplicity’s sake, it may be a base of sauteed garlic, onions, and seasoning. This base must then be put inside a blender and pureed so that it can combine with the vital wheat gluten. 

Once you combine that puree and vital wheat gluten, you must knead until it becomes a firm dough. It’s like making bread dough! Plop that dough into a pan and let it steam. Once it’s done steaming or cooking, that loaf-like food is now your very own homemade vegan beef. Think meatloaf but with no meat. 

Now this homemade vegan beef may not look like your familiar sausages, patties, or ground beef options, but it does a fantastic job as a stand-in protein. Drizzle some gravy over it and serve with mashed potatoes. It makes a complete and tasty meal!

Check Out: What is Vegan Beef? In-Depth Analysis

Is Beef Vegan? It Can Be!

There are many reasons why one might start to seek vegan beef alternatives. No matter what your reason might be, we’re always here for you. 

Replacing animal meat with vegan alternatives is so easy nowadays. But it can still be easier! Get all your groceries here at Vegan Essentials. You don’t even have to leave the house to get your plant-based essentials. We’ll deliver them to you safely and soundly.