8 Minute Read
There’s a few things you should know about me. I’m a food fanatic whose also very particular about the way she eats things. You know those people who don’t like the different foods on their plate to mix, or who eat their food in a particular order? Yea, you can totally put me in that band camp.
And since I’m also mostly vegan, or plant-based, or whatever people are calling it these days, I take the challenge of finding scrum-diddly-umptious food very seriously. Which brings me to why I’m writing this blog post on a cold-ass February morning from my janky co-working space. We gotta talk about these beyond meat recipes that came up with. They’re about to blow your freakin’ mind.
There’s one advancement in alllll of history that totally changed the game when it comes to not only eating, but vegan eating. And it can be summed up into 2 words: Beyond Meat.
So what the hell is Beyond Meat?
Even if you’ve been living under a rock, or anAlberta tar sand that’s recently been excavated, you’ve probably heard of Beyond Meat at least once. And that’s because they’ve found a way to make meat alternatives that taste like REAL MEAT.
OK, OK, so it’s not exactly the same, but its definitely a fraternal twin. Seriously.
Now, if you’ve ever tried meat substitutes before, you’d know that some of them are absolutely disgusting, and others just don’t taste like the real thing. Nice try fellas, but you didn’t make the cut. But Beyond Meat is a total game-changer. I don’t know what the hell they’re doing in their labs, but I wish the rest of the world would take note from the innovation that’s goin’ on here.
Their burgers taste like burgers! Which is insane considering they’re made of pea protein. And they’re chik’n tastes almost like chicken. And definitely has the most chicken-ey texture of any alternative I’ve tried. It’s the power of science (which is real BTW, and not just some smoke politicians are blowing up your ass. Science is real, people!)
OK, OK. Focus, Shannon, focus!
You gotta try these burgers. Why? Because they’re more than just burgers. They’re the missing ingredient to any meat recipe you’ve ever wanted to make (minus the meat). So I’m gonna share 4 Beyond Meat Recipes that don’t actually involve slapping it on a bun. C’mon, that would be child’s play. We’re kickin’ it up a notch. Hell, we’re kickin’ it up a few notches!
Here are a few tips for making these recipes:
- I use Pig Tickle on just about anything I cook, but especially when cooking my favorite beyond meat recipes. I talk about it in a previous blog post I did on plant-based foods, but it’s basically a smokey, sweet, yet savory spice blend made in small batches out of Colorado. I buy that sh*t by the pound . . . literally. It’ll totally up the ante on your cooking game.
- If you’re using a stainless steel pan (which you totally should be because non-stick cookware is baaaaaad), it’s best to use a metal spatula instead of a plastic or silicone one because, on high heat, the meat tends to stick to the pan and you need something solid to scrape it off. PS — the parts that get stuck to the pan are f**king delicious! My husband and I call them “the goodies.”
The Baddest Beyond Meat Recipes You Will EVER Try
Beyond Meat Balls
Serve with pasta or as an appetizer with a dipping sauce
Recipe Time: less than 20 mins
- Take 1 pack of Beyond Meat burgers (thawed out)
- Grab small chunks from the burger patties and roll them into 1-inch balls. It should give you about 24 meatballs for each pack of Beyond Meat
- Sprinkle with Pig Tickle Seasoning
- Put about a teaspoon-and-a-half of olive oil into the pan, and use your spatula to coat the bottom of the pan (this will help the meatballs from sticking)
- With the seasoning side placed down on the pan, sauté the meatballs on medium-high heat for a minute or so (or until the bottom is dark brown)
- Sprinkle pig tickle onto the unseasoned side of the meatballs
- Turn the meatballs over (you may need to do some scraping here since the meatballs tend to stick to the pan)
- Sauté for another minute or so (until both sides are brown)
FYI Beyond Meat now makes pre-packaged meatballs, but let’s just say I was ahead of the game when I came out with these years ago.
Beyond Ground Beef
These meat crumbles can be put into a smokey chili, shepherd’s pie, Jamaican beef patty, lasagna, or eaten the way I ate ground beef growing up: on a plate with some white rice and corn . . . mmmm.
Recipe Time: less than 15 mins
- Chop and sauté onions and carrots in a pan. Remove from the heat and set aside in a bowl
- Sprinkle 1 pack of Beyond Meat Burgers (thawed out) with Pig Tickle Seasoning
- Using the same pan you used for the onions and carrots (to cut down on dish clean up), put about a teaspoon-and-a-half of olive oil into the pan, and use your spatula to coat the bottom of the pan (this will help keep the meat from sticking)
- Put the burger patties into a pan on medium-high heat, and use your spatula to chop up the meat chunks into ground-beef-sized chunks
- Sauté for a few minutes, continuing to break up the chunks and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the bottom chunks from burning
- Give the meat a taste once it looks cooked and add more Pig Tickle as needed
SIDE NOTE: Beyond Meat also makes crumbles, which you can technically use for this recipe, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The meat crumbles are okayyy, but they don’t compare in any way to the taste and the meat-like uncanniness of the burgers. I initially thought theywere from the same base, but there’s definitely something different, either in the ingredient list or in the way that it’s prepared.
My Homemade Beyond Meat Crumbles
Beyond Just a Hunk of Meat
Options for inhaling this sh*t:
- Serve on a plate, alongside some greens and your favorite carbs
- Get some kale/lettuce wraps going with hummus and freshly sliced tomatoes and your new favorite protein (I whip this up all the time when I need a quick, healthy lunch)
- Tacos!!!!! Chop the burger patty into chunks, and add them to a couple of tortillas with fresh pineapple, kale, tomato salsa, jalapeños, and my other favorite ingredient: chipotle mayo
- Serve on a bun with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and a mammoth serving of chipotle mayo
Recipe Time: 5 mins
- Sprinkle 1 pack of Beyond Meat burgers (thawed out) with Pig Tickle seasoning
- Put about a teaspoon-and-a-half of olive oil into the pan, and use your spatula to coat the bottom of the pan (this will help the meat from sticking)
- With the seasoned side facing down, put the burger patties into a pan on medium-high heat
- Sprinkle the top, unseasoned side with pig tickle
- After a minute or so (or when your smoke detector starts to go off), use your spatula to scrape the burger from the bottom of the pan. If its dark brown in color, it’s time to flip the burger
- Sauté the remaining side for about a minute
Hold onto your taste buds. I’ve saved the best of my beyond meat recipes for last . . .
BEYOND BACON BITS!
Recipe Time: less than 20 mins
- Sprinkle 1 pack of Beyond Meat Burgers (thawed out) with Pig Tickle Seasoning
- Put about a teaspoon-and-a-half of olive oil into the pan, and use your spatula to coat the bottom of the pan (this will help the meat from sticking)
- Put the burger patties into your pan on medium-high heat and use your spatula to cut up the meat chunks into ground-beef-sized chunks
- Sauté for a few minutes, continuing to break the chunks into smaller pieces (aka the bits!).
- Continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent the bottom chunks from burning. There is a high potential for burning here since the bits are so small, so watch your damn pan!
- Overall, you’re looking for a brown, crispy consistency. If some bits seem more cooked than others, remove the cooked bits with your spatula while cooking the rest until crispy.
Throughout the cooking process, taste the bits and add more seasoning to your liking. You’ll end up with a bowl full of Beyond Bacon Bits that you can use for salads, snacking, or simply satisfying your bacon cravings.
So whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or even a balls-to-the-wall carnivore, you’re missing out if you haven’t tried these beyond meat recipes. They enable you to eat a plant-based, high-protein diet, with knockout flavor and a low carbon footprint (compared to animal proteins). From a sustainable standpoint, the only negative here is the packaging it comes in. But truthfully, even if you bought regular meat, it would come in packaging too.
So what are you waiting for? Go get that PLANT-BASED MEAT!!!
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions about these yummy beyond meat recipes, give me a holler in the comments below.
