DIY Vegan Ground Beef
With Yves closing its doors on production, make this instead and save $, too!
If you have been to any grocery store in Canada, and have an interest in plant based food, then you know what ground round is. It’s a plant based protein, made popular by the company Yves. Yves’ product line is abundant and accessible. Which was actually my favourite part about Yves. The product itself was average, but I loved that you could find their products at any grocery store in Canada. With them closing down this fall, there will be a huge gap in the market. Hopefully it will be filled soon.
In my opinion, their most popular product was their ground round. At one point you could even get it at Costco. It is a vegetable based protein similar to ground beef, and it has three different flavours. Plain, Italian and Mexican. I almost exclusively bought the Mexican one for a easy taco night, but all of them do the job at replacing ground beef and have done the job for decades. So my first thought was, what can I give my community to fill the hole left by Yves.
The answer, DIY veggie ground round. Actually extremely easy to make, just using a few ingredients. It is also cheaper, uses fewer ingredients, and can be seasoned however you want! I get my TVP from Bob’s Red Mill - grab some here or your local store!
See the full recipe below.
Basic Ground Round
Ingredients:
1 cup TVP, soaked in water for 10 minutes and then drained
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp nutritional yeast
Method:
In a large pan, over medium heat add the olive oil and warm for 30 seconds. Then add the shallots and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the TVP, and the rest of the ingredients. Mix to combine. If it looks like things are sticking, add a splash of water. At this point it is done and you can add it to any of your favourite ground beef recipes.
Mexican Veggie Ground Round:
Ingredients:
1 batch of the plain ground round
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 lime, juice and zested
1/4 cup red salsa
Method:
In a pan over medium heat, add the plain veggie ground and the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine and serve on top of nachos or as a taco base!
Bolognese Veggie Ground Round:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 batch plain veggie ground round
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup cashews, soaked and drained
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
Your favourite paste, cooked according to the box
Method:
In a blender, combine the cashews, lemon water and salt until very smooth. It should be as thick as dairy cream. Add more water if needed.
In a medium size pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the plain veggie ground round and tomato paste. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes. At this point everything should be bright red. Mix in the cashew cream.
Remember to cook your pasta and save some of that starchy pasta water to loosen up the sauce a bit if it’s too thick. Add the pasta to the meat sauce and a few laddels of pasta water if it looks too thick. Toss to combine and top with vegan parm.