If you're looking for a clean, plant-based and easy ground beef replacement, walnut meat is a great option.
This recipe is super easy and versatile--mix up the seasonings the way you see fit to perfect the taste. If you enjoy your food with a little kick, you can add some cayenne pepper or diced jalapenos.
This plant-based ground beef alternative works in tacos, taco bowls, burrito bowls, nachos and can be seasoned to fit the dish you're going for.
For this recipe, the base is walnut meat and baby bella mushrooms, diced onion, minced garlic, seasoning and a little bit of oil when you sauté and warm the meat in your pan.
This recipe will make 4-5 servings of walnut meat. You can refrigerate leftovers for 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
What You'll Need:
Skillet / Pan
Wooden / Plastic spoon
Large Sized Food Processor (you can finely dice your walnuts and mushrooms with a knife or use a smaller food processor, if you do not have a large food processor. It will just be a bit more time consuming with dicing by hand or processing in batches).
Bowl or dish to soak your walnuts in
Ingredients:
2 cups of whole unsalted walnuts (pre-soaked in warm water for 20-30 minutes)
1-2 cups of baby bella / cremini mushrooms, diced (you can sub for white button mushrooms)
1 tbsp of olive or grapeseed oil
2 tbsps of soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
2 tablespoons of ketchup (I used Solomon's Spicy Ketchup that I get from Mariano's--the best ketchup I've ever had!)
1 tsp of cumin
1 tbsp of smoked paprika
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of liquid smoke (optional)
Toppings that work great with Victoria burritos, tacos, bowls, nachos and more:
Vegan sour cream
Vegan cheese shreds
Salsa
Cilantro
Jalapeno
Tomatoes
Black Beans
Red onion
Greens (I've used mixed greens/arugala/romaine lettuce)
Directions:
Add oil to pan and heat on low
Add walnuts to food processor and do short pulses until mixture mimics the texture of ground beef (do not process too finely). If using a knife to chop, finely chop walnuts.
Add chopped mushrooms to food processor, seasonings, soy/tamari/coconut aminos, ketchup, liquid smoke (optional). If hand chopping walnuts/mushrooms, add these items to the heated pan
Sauté the mixture on low-to-medium heat, until it is lightly browned, about 10 minutes
Stir in a little more olive oil if desired, to mimic the richness of ground beef
Remove from heat and enjoy! Did you try this? Tell meeeee! Tag me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, wherever you like! All my social media is listed at the top of my home page HERE.
