TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein

No particular reason for this brand except that it was $2 at my local grocery. I’m not vegan nor vegetarian. This is based on soy.

I decided to give TVP a try simply because at the moment fresh vegetables and meat is  getting quite  expensive and I wanted not exactly a total alternative to meat but a way to bulk it out and still keep the meal filling.

Things I learnt and what I did to make my meal below.

TVP needs to be hydrated and it needs flavour. I used equal amounts of hot stock (using a cube) and TVP in a bowl, let sit for 5 mins or so giving it a stir and covered.

While that was sitting I made my spaghetti bolognaise as per usual but only putting about 1/4  the amount of beef mince in. When all was ready and gently simmering I mixed in the hydrated TVP and let simmer for as long as able to absorb all the flavours.

My hubby didn’t notice anything amiss so I’m guessing that this meal was ok and served with garlic bread as usual.

Will I use again, yes.

I think for the moment I will keep it to meals with sauces like spaghetti sauce, lasagne, taco, burritos or maybe my next try will be as a savoury mince.

From what I can gather there is a different way to prepare  the TVP, different stock to TVP ratios for things like rissoles, meatballs, hamburgers, meatloaf etc.

For now I think I’m happy with how it’s going. My meat to TVP ratio will probably change as time goes by.

Let me know if you’ve given textured vegetable protein a go.

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