Intro to Textured Vegetable Protein
TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein, isn’t talked about nearly as much as its counterpart tofu, which is really unfortunate because it’s truly awesome! If you’re trying to hit a protein goal, it can come in clutch. TVP has great macros and is incredibly versatile; after reading this article you, too, will be a believer!
TVP is also sometimes referred to as Textured Soy Protein, Soy Meat, Soya Chunks, etc. It is just a de-fatted soy flour product. You will often see it used as a substitute for ground meat in recipes such as tacos or sloppy joes, but it has so much more range than that!
You can usually find TVP at your local grocery store near the flour alternatives, like chickpea flour, etc.; you can also buy it online. My go-to is Bob’s Red Mill but I think they are all about the same honestly. It’s a shelf-stable product which is great because it won’t take up fridge space like most other proteins! TVP is around 55 – 60% protein, and is also a decent source of fiber, iron and potassium.
It can be a little intimidating at first because you’re like “ummmmm….what do I do with this dry hard crumbly stuff?” Never fear – TVP is not hard to master and once you get the hang of using it, the possibilities are endless! In almost all cases, you will need to add moisture back to the TVP in one way or another. There are a couple of ways to do this – you can straight up add water or vegetable broth, or you can just mix TVP with ingredients that already have a high water content (for example mushrooms, pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt).
Different Ways to Use TVP
Using TVP as a Meat Substitute
TVP is an excellent meat substitute, specifically for cases where a recipe would normally call for ground beef/chicken/turkey/etc. Typically if you’re going to use TVP for this, you will want to re-hydrate it while adding your seasoning. To do this, I add the TVP and a 1:1 ratio of either water or vegetable broth in a pan – for instance, if you’re using 1 cup of TVP, you should usually use around 1 cup of water. The liquid will soften the TVP and a good portion of it will end up cooking off in the process. Right after I add water/vegetable broth, I like to add my seasoning – whether that’s onion powder, basil, soy sauce, syrup, etc. Doing it this way allows you to really mix everything together well so that you can get even seasoning across the TVP. Once you’ve flavored the TVP, you just continue cooking on medium-heat until it gets to the moisture level you want. You will generally want to keep a close eye on this and stir regularly so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Alternatively, you could mix all of this in a bowl, and bake it in the oven on a baking sheet, flipping half-way through – this is a more hands-off approach and may save you some time. Keep in mind the texture you’re going for when you start cooking – for things like taco “meat” you may want to leave more moisture than if you were making “bacon” bits. Here are some of my favorite uses for TVP as a meat substitute:
As a Rice/Grain Substitute
TVP can add a great rice-like texture to a dish, so sometimes we will use TVP in place of rice for less carbs and more protein! Depending on what the flavors of the dish are, you may want to just re-hydrate and cook the TVP without seasoning or you may want to add some complimentary seasoning to the TVP to work with whatever you are eating with it. In this Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry recipe we just used TVP as a base to put the curry on where we would’ve normally used rice. You could also use this approach in any kind of veggie bowl you make to add a little extra protein!
As a Stuffing
Using TVP as a stuffing may be one of my favorite ways to use TVP! This year, we made this High Protein Stuffing that had all of the flavors of a normal stove-top stuffing but not all the carbs. For something like this, you will still want to re-hydrate the TVP and add seasoning as discussed earlier. If you will be using the “stuffing” in a mushroom, for example, you may not need to re-hydrate the TVP first because the water content of a mushroom is so high that when it bakes in the oven, it will soften the TVP all on its own. In a recipe like this one for High Protein Stuffed Mushrooms, you can just mix in the seasoning with the dry TVP; I generally add a “flax egg” (which is just ground flax and water) in as well to make sure the seasoning sticks and to also add a bit of extra moisture. You would then just bake this in the oven; I really like recipes like this because they are a lot less labor-intensive.
In Cookies
Alright, so if you’re already familiar with TVP, using it in baked goods and sweets may seem a little crazy, but trust me; it’s an absolute game changer! It can add texture and a ton of protein, and since TVP is pretty much flavorless, the possibilities are limitless! We will be covering a few baked goods in this post, but first up is cookies!
I don’t know about you, but I have not found a single store-bought protein cookie that I can genuinely say I enjoy eating. They are expensive, usually dry, don’t have a lot of flavor, and the macros are honestly not amazing. Making your own homemade protein cookies with TVP is super easy and takes very little time or effort. For making cookies, you won’t even need to re-hydrate the TVP first – you just need to make sure you have something in the “dough” that will add moisture – some examples may be a flax egg, vegan Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, etc. Once cooked, you end up with chewy and moist cookies; the texture is similar to an oatmeal cookie. It is important that you make sure you have enough sweetness in your cookies to cover any TVP flavor that might be there – you could use syrup, brown sugar, or even flavored protein powder for this. These High Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite TVP cookie so far and literally take 15 minutes to make from start to finish!
In Muffins
Once again, using TVP in muffins may sound a little weird, but trust me; it works fantastically well! You will need to make sure you have a good ratio of wet/moist ingredients (such as pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt, etc) to TVP, but once it’s cooked, it is a great texture and the TVP is undetectable. These TV(P)rotein Pumpkin Craisin Muffins are my favorite that I’ve made so far. You could always use this as a base recipe and change out the mix-ins and replace them with something else!
In Pie/Cheesecake Crusts
I’ve never felt like pie or cheesecake crusts really add much to the dessert; they’re just kind of the vehicle for the good stuff which is the filling. This is why I think TVP crust is perfect! It adds some usually much needed texture and doesn’t really impact the flavor; it also adds a ton of protein to whatever you’re making! Because pie and cheesecake crust is pretty dry and firm, the only wet ingredient I add is flax egg; this also helps hold the crust together. You can do just a slightly sweetened and spiced crust like in this Pumpkin Pie recipe, or a nice subtle chocolatey crust like the one in this Triple Chocolate Cheesecake recipe!
You could also use a TVP crust in a savory pie, such as a quiche! You would just want to flavor it with more savory spices.
In Oatmeal/Baked Oats
Another great way to use TVP is in Oatmeal or Baked Oats. Basically you just substitute out the oats or maybe do 50/50 oats and TVP! Since your oatmeal or baked oats recipe already has wet ingredients, you will not need to re-hydrate the TVP beforehand.
As Breadcrumbs
TVP can also be used in place of breadcrumbs, either to coat something that you will be baking/frying/air frying or on top of something like a casserole/mac & cheese. Because TVP doesn’t have a ton of flavor, you’ll want to season it before using it as breadcrumbs. I would recommend mixing in your seasoning and also a flax egg or vegan butter to get the spices to stick to the TVP better. In this High Protein Mac & Cheese recipe, we used seasoned TVP breadcrumbs on top and it turned out great!
Hopefully this article has turned you into a TVP fanatic as well; I’m starting a support group so the more of us, the better! Feel free to message us with any TVP- related thoughts and questions you may have!
Author
Protein Deficient Vegan
