Recipes

Mushroom & Oat Ground ‘Beef’

While our home isn’t vegan, and I have no desire to be again (I was a long time vegan for years), I do enjoy cooking plant based nearly daily. We don’t consume a lot of meat, but I had noticed we were eating more of late. I wanted to back down from that, and get back to where beef is a treat, not a daily dinner focus. A long time ago I was happy to use meat substitutes, in recent years I don’t use them. They are highly processed and full of questionable ingredients. Many which Alistaire is allergic to, such as soy, pea protein and wheat. Add in that these products are expensive to buy, and often leave me with stomach discomfort, it is easy to see why I would buy a $7 brick of grass fed beef instead.

I had seen Vegan Oat and Mushroom Ground Beef on Power Hungry’s blog and decided to try it when mushrooms were on sale recently. I changed the recipe a bit over a few tries, to dial in flavor, texture, and personal preference. The original recipe calls for nutritional yeast, which gives a savory, meaty flavor but it gives me niacin flush if I consume it (many commercial broths contain it as well), so I removed that. I tried the flax sub she mentions, but the texture was too slimy. In a second batch I dialed it in, and this is our version. I have made patties, ground ‘beef’, and oat loaf with it so far. Of the three, the ground ‘beef’ is my favorite. Gluten-free as a bonus.

Take the time to finely chop the mushrooms and onion. This make children more likely to eat it, but also keeps everything the same size, for better texture.

And last, the price really makes it worth the effort. I paid less than $5 to make 3.5 pounds, where as grass fed ground beef is $7 for one pound here on average.

Mushroom & Oat Ground ‘Beef’

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/3 cups water
  • 16 ounces button mushrooms
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive or avocado oil
  • 2 Tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1 Tbsp granulated garlic
  • 1¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp fried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3½ cups rolled oats, gluten-free if needed, divided

Directions:

Process the mushrooms in a food chopper/processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a large saucepan. Repeat with the onion.

Add in the water, oil, aminos, herbs, and salt.

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add half the oats into a blender or dry grinder container and process into little bits.

Add it and the remaining whole oats into a large heat safe mixing bowl.

Pour the mushroom mixture over the oats, stir well, making sure there are no pockets of dry oats left.

Let cool a bit, stirring periodically.

Weigh out into 3 portions (about 1.2 pounds) each. Package and chill for 2 days, or spread in freezer bags and freeze for later use (just thaw in refrigerator).

Makes about 3.5 pounds of ‘beef’.

Cooking tips

Patties/burgers:

Divide a package into 4 to 6 patties. Place on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet. Preheat oven to 400°, bake for 25 to 35 minutes. I finished our patties in a skillet on the stove, in a bit of avocado oil, to give the burgers a crispy texture.

Meatloaf:

Line a 9×5″ bread pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375°. Spread 2 portions mixture in pan, pack into corner. Bake for 45 minutes, take out and spread ketchup on top like frosting. Return to oven, bake for 20 minutes longer. Remove from pan, using paper to lift up. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Ground ‘beef’:

Add oil to skillet, heat over medium-high. Add in a portion, saute until golden, scrambling often with a spatula. Serve sprinkled on top of meals, don’t mix into sauces as it will get soft.

~Sarah