Dixie Diners Club Texturized Vegetable Protein - Beef Not 1 lb Bag Pack of 6 - Vegan and Gluten Free - No Added Sugar - 25g of Protein - Low Fat and Low Sodium - Vegan/Vegetarian Meat Substitute

Wow, I am shocked at how well this turned out. I'm a hardcore carnivore and actively avoid vegan/vegetarian stuff but my BP is up and I need to lose some weight so I figured "what the heck" and bought a bag of this. I took a 1/2 cup of this, a 1/2 cup of hot water, added a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of garlic, salt, and some steak seasoning mix. Microwaved the bowl for 2 mins and took a taste and I was pleasantly surprised - It actually tasted and felt pretty darn close to ground beef! I can't vouch for it mixed plain but if you season it up a bit it's more than passable! Gonna make a cheesesteak out of what I mixed up right now, will try tacos next and post an update!

Let me preface my review by stating that I started converting a lot of my food purchases a few months ago to things that would withstand long-term storage without going bad. I'm a widow, living alone, and cooking for one is the absolute pits. I originally purchased freeze-dried meats in a can (you know the ones I'm talking about). After I had used them for about a month, I went to reorder and stock my pantry. Alas, the pandemic had hit in the meantime and it seems that a multitude of other people had the same idea. Soooo, I went on the hunt....I didn't search just Amazon, either. I knew the names of several brands and checked out their sites. "Sold Out" and "Out of Stock" were favorite phrases I ran across. I don't eat much meat, at all, so I resigned myself to doing without any meat in my diet once I ran out of what I currently have left. Somewhere in my journey, I stumbled across a listing for TVP. Curious as to what that was, I dug further. Once I saw the product showing up on individual sites...and there seemed to be stock on hand...I went back to Amazon to see if I couldn't do better...and I did. Hence the purchase of the product listed above.I have had some minimal experience with soy additives as years ago I used to buy ground beef that had been extended by soy protein. It was budget friendly which was important back then raising two kids...they never knew the difference. As far as they knew it was just hamburger. Ya gotta love kids!So, I ordered this product figuring I'd give it a whirl and see how it turned out. Even if it wasn't great, it would still help fill my belly, right? Let me tell you that I have been most pleasantly surprised and pleased with this product. I'll lay out how I used it earlier in the day. I reconstituted 1/2 cup of granules and a tablespoon of dehydrated onions with beef broth, letting it sit while my Instant Pot cooked my pasta. When the pasta was ready, I mixed the 'meat'/onion mixture and spaghetti sauce into the pan of pasta. As soon as I started mixing it up, I looked at the contents of the pot and all I saw was a pot of spaghetti with lots of 'ground beef' mixed in. Granted, that's just the presentation. As to the taste test? Let me tell you, it was like eating spaghetti with hamburger mixed in. It tasted like spaghetti with hamburger. The texture even resembled hamburger bits. It chewed like hamburger bits. I'll get at least three meals out of that pot of spaghetti so it's all good. I couldn't be more pleased and will definitely be purchasing this product again.If you're looking for a protein source free of worry, then this is something you should try. I have to admit that I'm glad supply and demand forced me to try this product as I've been getting increasingly concerned about products coming from meat processing plants during our current situation. I also like the fact that this dry product can sit in a jar on the shelf and I don't have to worry about spoilage.1/28/21 UPDATE: I'm still using this product, almost on a daily basis. I've refined my recipes so my Instant Pot cooks my one-serving meals (pot in pot) and I don't even have to worry about leftovers going bad in the fridge. Anyway, this product is still a great addition to my pantry and I've discovered many ways to use it. These little bits give me some protein in my diet that I might not have otherwise since I haven't even left my house since August of 2020. Ya gotta love Amazon and their Subscribe and Save program. At any rate, this product is still a staple in my pantry and used quite often. If you're looking for an alternative to meat products, you should try this.

OK, when you are pouring the water to rehydrate this "meat" it has an off-putting smell. If you've ever had a puppy and you had to soften its food with warm water, that's the smell, but don't let that deter you. After I diced up some onions, and put in taco seasoning, and cooked it on the stove, no one in my family could tell that they were not eating meat. I've also used it with spaghetti sauce and again no one could tell the difference. This is some great stuff! If you are trying to sneak in some meatless dinners on your family this is the tool you need! Oh and I almost forgot it's so much cheaper than buying ground beef in the store. Out of the one bag I bought I have fixed tacos for 6 people and spaghetti sauce for 6 and still have probably and half a bag left. My family are big eaters so that's saying something. I got two full meals and probably have two more left in the bag for $11 and some change! Can't beat that! Another thing I like about this is you can store it in your cabinet and it doesn't take up refrigerator space. I already ordered 2 more bags.

This is an excellent vegan ground beef alternative! I made sausage patties using it and they turned out great! I also crumbled some up to make a tofu scramble for breakfast burritos.

I purchased two bags as a test, they arrived in two days, and the product was fresh not expired (as one negative review indicated). In fact, I did a little research on TVP and found that expiration dates can largely be ignored, dry on the shelf it should last for years, and dry in the freezer it should last for years and years and years, which is largely why I decided to try it.For my first test I just dove in, I followed the directions for reconstituting, but I used about 50/50 water and teriyaki, formed it into a patty, and threw it on the grill. Didn't work, this resulted in a pile of crumbles that somewhat resembled the ground beef you find in the tacos at your favorite fast food taco place. In fact, I ended up rolling it up in a flour tortilla and eating it like a burrito, it was not bad at all. Then I hit the internet for some recipes (should have done this first) and found that you need to use some kind of binder, like an egg, or corn starch, or gluten, to make it stay together like a hamburger patty, and don't be afraid of a little oil.Long story short, I'm going to order a bunch more to have on hand for the pending apocalypse ... and for camping.Addendum: Early on in the pandemic lockdown, I was ordering anything that vaguely resembled food, and accidentally purchased several cans of the original "Manwich" sauce thinking it was a heat and eat product, it was not, it requires hamburger meat ... but guess where it works really well? :)