Making your own vegan meat substitute with better ingredients isn't Impossible. You can make a meat substitute that looks like Impossible Burger at home. Any given store bought meat substitute isn't likely to be much healthier than its vegan meat counterpart. It could also cost as much or more than an animal protein option. Here I reduced the fat and sodium plus replaced the GMO soy and heme in my recipe. That's to make it healthier than Impossible Burger for a plant based diet. My inspiration was a recipe on the Modernist Pantry blog. They posted about making a plant based diet meat substitute with their products. I switched up some of the ingredients and proportions to make this a healthier vegan Italian sausage substitute.
This recipe uses a combination of textured vegetable protein, commonly referred to as TVP, and an unflavored vegan pea protein to make up the bulk of our meat substitute suitable for a plant based diet. It uses methylcellulose as a binder to hold everything together. This gives a meaty texture and make it look just like the Impossible Burger that you can buy in the store. The recipe also uses refined coconut oil whipped up with more methylcellulose to make a marbling fat. Link up the Marbling Fat recipe when completed.
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Ingredients
The bulk of our sausage is made up of unflavored pea protein powder and textured vegetable protein. I went with the cheaper brands that I could source on Amazon instead of the specialty products that were recommended. I still had great results for just under three dollars a pound. That's under half the cost of Impossible Burger in the store.
Good vegan beet powder that has the right flavor without adding any sweetness is the key. I'm using a mild white miso for the umami flavor along with some liquid aminos and a bit of Marmite. Adding a combination of rich flavors here really works to make a convincing and satisfying meat supplement that makes being on a plant based diet feel like you aren't missing a thing. The recipe also uses a pinch of powdered smoke to convey the grilled and charred flavor that ties everything together and makes you think "This Is Meaty!"
- Anthony's Premium Pea Protein
- Bob's Red Mill TVP
- Naturevibe Botanicals Organic Beetroot Powder
- White Miso
- Liquid Aminos
- Marmite
- Powdered Smoke
Instructions
We're just measuring all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl before combining all of the separately combined wet ingredients. Keep your marbling fat aside in the freezer until later though. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together well until completely mixed, making sure any chunks of beet powder or miso are broken down. Let the combined mixture sit and rest to hydrate for at least ten minutes. The beet powder is going to give your mix the realistic color and a bit of earthiness to replace the synthetic heme from GMOs, or other additives, found in the commercial brands.
Combine all of your dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately
Mix together and allow to hydrate for at least ten minutes
Measure out grated marbling fat
Form into patties with a silicone mold
Once your mixture has fully hydrated, take your prepared marbling fat out of the freezer and measure out the amount you intend to use. You want to fold the fat into your mixture to gently incorporate it so that the fat stays intact and doesn't get smashed or dissolved.
Hint: I used a large enough of a mixing bowl that I could add all of the fat at once and fold it in gently from the sides. If you have a small bowl, add the fat in two or three parts to avoid ruining the fat texture or making a mess.
Substitutions
The methylcellulose that acts as a binder in this recipe, and also in the marbling fat recipe, is the key to making a good meat substitute texture and mouthfeel. It's available at a few different price points, at varying degrees of certainty of formulation. The Modernist Pantry packet contents looks different than the bulk bag I got online, and it works very well. The bulk bag doesn't say that it's a High Viscosity Methylcellulose and there was conflicting information in the reviews, and no way that I could figure out what grade or formulation I was working with with any degree of certainty. It does seem to work comparably well, I just started using another 5-10% more to make up the difference in performance.
Variations
This might be Italian Sausage but I didn't let that stop me from making burger patties with it. You could also cook this substitute loose in a frying pan like grounds or even stuff it into vegan sausage casings. You can also add red pepper flakes if you want a spicy sausage.
Top Tip
Make this Italian Sausage into patties ahead of time and store them in your refrigerator or freezer!
Equipment
- 1 Silicone Burger Patty Maker
Ingredients
Protein Ground Base
- 100 grams Textured Vegetable Protein
- 30 grams Unflavored Pea Protein
- 6 grams High Viscosity Methylcellulose 7-8g generic MC
- 2 grams Unsweetened Beet Powder
Italian Sausage Flavor Dry Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Basil Dried
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seed
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Sub Red Pepper Flakes
Italian Sausage Flavor Wet Ingredients
- 240 grams Water
- 1 tablespoon Liquid Aminos Sub Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Miso
- ½ teaspoon Marmite Sub Mushroom Powder
Marbling Fat
- 70 grams link recipe here
Instructions
Dry Ingredients
- Measuring the ingredients by weight achieves a more consistent result and is to be recommended if at all possible.
Wet Ingredients
- Blend up the wet ingredients so the miso dissolves. Time and effort breaking down the miso with a spoon works also. Make sure there aren't any chunks when you combine with the dry ingredients. Let rest at least ten minutes to hydrate.
Fold In The Marbling Fat
- Gently incorporate your marbling fat into the mixture.
Food safety
Meat substitutes are still subject to food contamination and spoilage even though they aren't meat. Please store, handle, and prepare your meat substitutes safely like you would other foods.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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