Last updated on April 7th, 2019
Do you remember the Tamale Pie recipe I posted here last week? Readers Gene and Linda commented that they might substitute TVP for the ground beef in the recipe. Since I had never heard of TVP, I headed over to Google in search of an answer. Here’s what I found:
TVP is short for Textured Vegetable Protein. The product contains just one ingredient: defatted soy flour. TVP is wildly popular among certain vegans, as it makes a fine plant-based substitute for — you guessed it — ground meat.
Is TVP safe to eat? From reports I’ve read, people who are allergic to soy, or who have certain medical conditions affected by soy, should not eat TVP or any other soy-based product. For the rest of us, TVP seems an excellent source of plant-based protein when consumed in moderation.
Need more information about soy? Check out the above clip from “The Doctors.”
Wanna watch a hunky vegan body-builder (he’s my doppleganger!) discuss the benefits of TVP? Click the play arrow.
And finally, finally, here is my video recipe for some incredibly delicious TVP Burgers! If you’re able to try them, I hope you’ll post your review in the comments field below.
xKevin
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Here’s the printable:
TVP (short for Textured Vegetable Protein) is my new, favorite vegan ingredient. When the plant-based granules are soaked in tomato sauce and seasonings, they make TERRIFIC beef burgers -- without the beef!
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce*
- 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) garlic powder
- A large pinch of salt and grinds of black pepper
- 1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free substitute)
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Toasted English muffins, ketchup and/or barbecue sauce, baby arugula leaves, slices of red onion
Instructions
- In a medium-size sauce pan, combine the tomato sauce, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Then turn off the heat, and stir in the TVP granules. Cover the pan, and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the flour.
- Warm a glug of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, form the TVP mixture into 4 hamburger-size patties. Fry the patties in the skillet until they develop a light brown crust -- about 3 minutes per side.
- Serve on toasted English muffins, with such accompaniments as ketchup and/or barbecue sauce, baby arugula leaves, and slices of red onion.
*A NOTE ABOUT WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE: If you are practicing a vegan diet, be sure to use a vegan version of Worcestershire. (The regular sauce contains anchovies.)
Lisa says
My way of thinking? You can’t please ALL your readers, so cook what YOU and Mr. Fox like, and if you are generous, share those recipes!
Why? Because otherwise you’ll be trying to please us all, and getting requests to use this or that, or more likely, not to use this or that for such and such a reason!
If someone wants to make tamale pie with tvp, they know how to substitute!
I certainly don’t want that to come across as rude (or heaven’s forbid, noninclusive or intolerant!), but really, I read and hear too much lately from and about people needing things catered their way!
“Your non-meat burgers sound good… if only you made them with mashed beans, I can’t eat soy.”
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Lisa – Thank you for that!
Amen Kahwajy says
I tend to stay away from processed foods. The soy products are SO processed I hardly think of them as real food. To each his own. . .
Always love your pics and stories.
E. Renaud says
http://www.evolvingwellness.com/post/what-you-need-to-know-before-you-eat-textured-vegetable-protein-tvp
This is a long article but you can get a lot of information even if you just read some of it. Like peanuts and some other GMO foods like soybeans, it is best to only eat them if they are organic.
Sheri Rice says
I’m chuckling about TVP because it’s an inside joke in our family. My parents were very poor when they first married in 1964 and had my brother. My mom was maybe 20 and she could feed the family in a very small budget. Now 55 years later they still cringe a little recalling eating TVP as a budget extender. For them, despite being vegetarians for many years, it recalls a really low point in their culinary married life – too bad they didn’t have your yummy recipe Kevin!
kim says
I have used TVP for 30 years in spaghetti, pot pies , burgers( not homemade) etc. I even have made my own by freezing tofu. That is all it takes. When you remove form the freeser, give it a squeese and create. So Amen, I don’t agree about processed. Thx for the recipe , Kevin!
Mariayn says
Those burgers sound yummy. I have used TVP for about 22 years. My grandson is now 22 and is 6’4″ with feet to match–we used TVP to help fill the void in that child’s system…oh how he loved to eat. He is in the Navy now and when he came home from deployment first thing he asked for was my “special” chili….that warms a gramma’s heart!
Wendy says
Since >90% of soy on the market is GMO, is there a TVP product available that is non-GMO? Please comment on this, and thank you in advance.
Valerie says
Good Morning Kevin….thanks so much for all the interesting links and for the yummy recipe….will give it a try! 🙂
0re0 says
Of interest to many. Soy is a goitrogen and if you have thyroid nodules or any thyroid problem you shouldn’t be eating foods high in goitrogens.
Linda says
Thanks for the intro to DVP, Kevin. Jury is still out but it might work
for my vegetarian friends. I suppose I could leave it out as well and
just go with the beans though maybe not as “chewy.”
BTW, I tried the Tamale Pie with ground Bison instead of ground sirloin
and it was delicious!
As for Mr. “Doppleganger,” you’ve got that one wrong. You’re much
better looking! But, as usual, your humor is in full swing.
Ardelle F Tuxen says
Too much risk with soy – chemicals used the most on soybeans and corn and almost 100% of soy is GMO. I agree with several comments – Black beans or a combination of beans makes great burgers. Thanks for the research though. I’ll stick with the black beans. I make tacos with a blend of grass-fed beef burger and black beans. Guests love the lighter meal – it is noticeable.
Sue says
Hi Kevin I really really appreciate you trying out a recipe for TVP .I realize you can’t please everybody as one person said ,however I am very grateful.
I have been trying to have a plant-based Whole Foods way of eating for my father who has prostate cancer .
I love listening to the 5 min YouTube summaries by Doctor Michael McGreger ,his website is http://www.nutritionfacts. org
he reviews thousands of research articles old and new, hiswebsite is non-profit, and has an extensive index about foods, diseasesand health. His 3-5min you tubes are so helpful but also worth watching his hour lecture “how not to die” ; there is a similar one on how not to have a disabling conditions.
Anyway I have been wanting to cook with TVP for ages because I remember using it in my 20s – I’m now in my 60s – BUT I need to figure out a recipe that my dear 88 year old father would feel is virtually LIKE meat (hes burnt out on bean burgers and generally mushiness of most vegan dishes )
I’ve yet to succed with my FATHER with bean burgers …. ie past the polite stage …
So…..
I am really happy that you took the initiative AND are. open-minded /curious/playful/ creative enough to engage yourself – to explore AND MASTER! using TVP!!
GOLD star for you!!!
Soya products have also been proven in very large studies to block true estrogen in patients with hormone driven cancers (prostate and breast cancer)
Very large Studies have shown how soya isoflavins daily reduce recurrence of hormone-driven cancers, where as dr. mcgregers site shows repeatedly how animal protien (especially DAIRY) including amino acids in chicken ,eggs and fish, stimulate or feed the growth of prostate and breast cancer and other cancers.
So the days of eating meat for me are gone and same with Dad.
Thank you so much again!!! If youd found TVP was a bust id have appreciated knowing you tried !!
I would love to see more TVP and vegan recipes just because at my age and having survived breast cancer and my father having prostate cancer, I really need to follow recommendations by that wonderful doctor Michael McGregor and miss the chewiness of meat.
I’ve always loved your recipes as the best on the internet. Your friendly, affable approach to cooking and gardening feels like sharing time with a good friend who is generous,wise and humble. Sorry to make you blush 🙂
PS you can get organic/non-GMO TVP. Not all but many tofu brands are organic .(avoid soya oil as a mass produced veg oil as with any mass produced non organic processed products).
Organic produce , soy and grains are also non-GMO.
So I hope we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater regarding organic ,non GMO soya products…
Like everything there are pesticide Laden,GMO foods and there are organic and non-GMO …for virtually everything.
Thanks so much for being such a good sport: open minded and creatively industrious (ie trying out a new ingredient and actually producing a useful recipe) ….about TVP! Yahoo!
Sue
Lori Schmidt says
If I remember correctly all of Bob’s Red Mill Products are GMO free. Not all are organic but the ones that are have it on the label. I learned along the way that if it is organic (free of pesticides and herbicides etc.) it means it is GMO free as well but GMO free does not mean it is organic. I make Chilli and Taco “meat” salad with TVP. I try not to use too much soy so also find that Quorn meatless crumbles make a good ground beef supplement (it is a british pr0duct which uses mycoprotein rather than soy here is a link https://www.quorn.us/mycoprotein and can be found in numerous US stores. Thanks for being adventurous and looking at more humane options to meat.
arj says
Thank you for offering a vegan recipe. 🙂 I’m excited about the simplicity of this recipe since most veggie burger recipes have long lists of ingredients and steps. Thanks, Kevin! Always a pleasure.
Ingrid Cattley says
I am an Australian and don’t understand what you mean by “plain tomato sauce”. Do you mean a commercial/homemade tomato based pasta sauce, passata, or something else?
By the way, thank you for your wonderful recipes. Every one that I have tried has been easy and absolutely delicious.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Ingrid – Sorry for the confusion. Plain tomato sauce is just ordinary, unseasoned tomato sauce. If you make these TVP burgers, let me know how they turn out for you!
Birdie Casson says
I missed it! where can I find the Tamale Pie recipe?? my mom used to make it. I forgot about it until I saw this. Would love to make it for my family
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Birdie – The tamale pie is wonderful! Click here for the recipe: Tamale Pie
V. Gan says
Wonderful recipe, but lots of misinformed comments here about soy, GMO, goitrogens, processing and such. Lots of “organic panic” here.
Firstly: the majority of soy in the US for human consumption is non-GMO. The vast majority of the soy grow in in the world which is GMO is grown for livestock feed.
In massive concentrations which people do not typically eat, soy *could* theoretically act as a goitrogen however there is no epidemic of thyroid disorder in those East Asian nations which consume it regularly, or among vegans and vegetarians who may consume it regularly. What happens in a test tube in a lab does not necessarily translate to the real world.
As far as ‘processing,’ processing just means preparing food. It’s not inherenlty bad. What that commenter may mean is “ultra processed” food which can be when good stuff is removed and bad stuff is added. This usually applies to junk food devoid of fiber or nutrition.
TVP may not be a whole food item in itself but it does confer some of the benefits of soy consumption on top of the fact that it contains no fat AND it’s a highly affordable, high protein food source. It’s a good way to add protein and delicious chewy texture to healthy recipes which may already contain plenty of nutritious vegetables and whole grains.
For someone who is athletic and wants more protein in their diet, TVP is a good way to get some extra protein without gorging on whole beans and getting bloated and windy, and without breaking the bank with protein supplements. Other high protein options include super firm tofu, tempeh and seitan (a wheat-based protein source) which some may argue are healthier than TVP. TVP is just an affordable option.