This Tofu Ground Beef is amazingly affordable, easy to make and delicious. It's versatile and can be used just like ground beef: in tacos, pasta, casseroles, chili, burritos and much more. The tofu is seasoned to perfection, then baked until it gets the perfect, meaty texture.
If you'd like more easy and delicious tofu recipes, check out this Baked Tofu With Peanut Sauce, Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu and this Crispy Air Fryer Tofu next.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Versatile
- Easy to make
- Affordable
- High in protein
- Full of flavor
- Great texture
- Made with simple ingredients
The beauty of tofu is that it can be used in so many different ways. This tofu ground beef is one example. Use this any way that you would use ground beef. I love using this in Tofu Bolognese, Tofu Tacos, Vegan Sloppy Joe's and wraps.
It's also lot more affordable to make your own ground beef out of tofu, than using the store-bought vegan ground beef, since tofu is a lot cheaper.
Tofu Ground Beef Ingredients
- Extra-firm tofu - Extra firm tofu will give you the best texture. Super firm tofu also works well. Anything softer, it will be a bit mushy. If you'd like even more chewy texture, freeze the tofu in its package and let it thaw completely. Squeeze out excess water and then marinate.
- Soy sauce - Soy sauce will give a deep, umami flavor that is similar to beef and adds a nice saltiness. You can also use tamari sauce to make this gluten free.
- Steak sauce - This will add a meaty flavor and I like to use it instead of Vegan Worcestershire sauce, since that can sometimes be harder to find.
- Tomato paste - This adds another umami blast to the marinade. This isn't shown in the photo above, but I like to include it.
- Seasonings - I used a blend of cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, nutritional yeast, onion powder and garlic powder. For more smokey flavor, add some liquid smoke.
- Neutral tasting oil - I used avocado oil, but any neutral tasting oil will work. It's important to add fat to this recipe, since ground beef has a lot of fat. This will make the tofu more delicious and satisfying.
Step by step instructions
Step one: In a large bowl, mix together all of the marinade ingredients and stir well until combined.
Step two: Squeeze out any excess water out of the tofu block and crumble it into the bowl with the marinade. No need to use a tofu press. Stir it well until every piece is coated.
Step three: Spread out the marinated crumbled tofu crumbles in a single layer on a sheet pan with some parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until chewy, a little crispy and golden brown.
Step four: Heat a large skillet on the stove with a little oil on medium heat. Add the baked tofu crumbles and a cup of vegetable broth. Stir and cook until the broth is cooked off.
Expert tips
The texture of the tofu depends on the cooking time. The longer you bake it, the chewier and crunchier it will be. The less you bake it, the softer it will be. Bake it according to the texture that you like.
To make the vegan tofu crumbles more fatty and satisfying, drizzle a little more oil on top of it when you spread it out on the baking sheet, before baking.
The reason we bake and dehydrate the tofu and then rehydrate it on the stove is because baking it really seals in and compounds the flavors into the tofu.
It also creates a nice chewy texture. But when you bake tofu, it makes it dry and loses much moisture. Sautéing it and rehydrating it on the stove, gives it a better, chewy texture, while adding back in some moisture.
Serving suggestions
Use this tofu recipe any way you would use ground meat or meat substitutes. It tastes amazing in a pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce to make a Tofu Bolognese Pasta Sauce. This is a great recipe to use in Vegan Sloppy Joes, in a Tofu Wrap with some Vegan Ranch Dressing, or in a Korean inspired stir fry over jasmine rice.
This also works amazingly well in a chili. You can skip the rehydrating part, and add it in toward the end of the cooking time, if you'd like to keep it a bit more chewy. If you're cooking a Vegan Instant Pot Chili, just add it in with all the other ingredients.
I also love using this as Tofu Taco Meat. Heat it up on the stove with some taco seasoning and put it over some warmed wheat or corn tortillas. It makes an easy meal for a busy weeknight.
If you'd like to use this to make a burger, you need to add other ingredients to help bind it. Add in a grain like quinoa, rice or oats and then add in lentils or black beans, a flax egg and lots of seasoning. Pan fry it or bake it so it doesn't crumble and fall apart.
Storing
Fridge - Store in an airtight container for five days. This recipe is great to meal prep ahead of time.
Freezer - This vegan ground beef recipe freezes well. Just thaw it out in the fridge and then heat up in a skillet on the stove.
Recipe FAQs
Tofu makes an amazing beef alternative. To make it flavorful, season it with umami rich seasonings like soy sauce, tomato paste and nutritional yeast. Add in savory seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Using an extra firm or super firm tofu is best and to get even better texture, bake it.
Use extra firm or super firm tofu to start. For an even more chewy texture, freeze it in its package and then completely thaw it out. Baking tofu also gives it a chewy, meaty texture.
Tofu is considerable less expensive than meat. Where I live, tofu costs around $1.60/lb and $3.99/lb for the super firm tofu. A more affordable pound of ground beef at my local Kroger grocery store costs $6.50/lb.
If you'd like to save even more money on tofu, go to an Asian grocery store. They always have the best tofu prices.
More Tofu Recipes
If you loved this recipe, leave a 5 ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Easy Tofu Ground Beef Crumbles
Ingredients
- 16 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon steak sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add together all of the marinade ingredients and stir well until mixed.3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon steak sauce, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons water
- Take your block of tofu over the sink and squeeze out excess moisture. Crumble it up into the bowl with the marinade. Stir it well with a spoon or your hands, until every piece is coated well.16 ounces extra-firm tofu
- Add a little oil to a baking sheet, or cover with parchment paper. Spread the tofu crumbles in a single layer onto the baking sheet. Drizzle with a little more oil on top.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the tofu looks a little crispy on the outer edges, chewy and golden brown.
- Heat up a skillet on medium heat with a tiny bit of oil. Add the baked tofu crumbles and one cup of water. Stir and cook until the liquid has cooked off and absorbed.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Tori
My husband found this recipe, and made this for us last night. We made burritos with this, refried beans, tomato, shredded cabbage, and a bit of alternative cheese. It was so delicious! This recipe is a keeper, and we’ll be making this part of our rotation.
Thank you for doing the work of putting this together, and sharing with us all. We appreciate you.
Maria
I love hearing that so much! I'm glad you all enjoyed it and I'm honored to be part of the regular rotation!
Leigh
The best “ground beef” I’ve ever tasted even though I burnt it a little bit. Can’t imagine how good it will be without charred pieces 😉 Definitely a keeper.
Maria
So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for sharing
DaNisha
I don’t have nutritional yeast can I sub or omit?
Maria
You can omit. It just gives it a deeper flavor. A little bit of tomato paste or miso paste can also give a savory flavor
Christy
I’m not vegan but I like to eat meat-free most of the time. This recipe is spot on! I made a rice bowl with this and my husband couldn’t tell that it wasn’t ground turkey. I’m literally making a double batch right now to store in the freezer. Thank you so much for perfecting exactly the kind of tofu recipe I was looking for!
Maria
I'm so glad you loved the recipe, Christy!
Pam Elliott
Made this tonight for dinner. Delicious! Great taste and more importantly texture is amazing!! I will be making this a lot!
Susanne
I'll admit that when Pinterest recommended this to me, I was skeptical. In the last 6.5 years, my food restrictions from allergies and food intolerances have gotten insane. Gluten/wheat free, corn free, allergic to honey, pineapple, baking soda, peanuts, menthol (which includes all mint, oregano, basil, marjoram, sage and maybe sunflowers that I'm aware of.) Corn is in nearly every processed food made in the U.S. and it's even in my local water. Finding recipes that I can have is honestly rare. I've been vegetarian for about 20 years, 2 of which I was vegan, but even so, it's still difficult for me to find "safe" recipes. I thought I knew all the ways tofu could be made. I grew up in a cattle ranching town, so missing the hamburger texture is something I've never outgrown. I just didn't like that an animal had to be killed for hamburger to be, well... hamburger. It has been years since I've been able to eat the commercially made burger crumbles, and honestly, they always had a weird aftertaste or strange texture. So I did not have high hopes for this recipe.
You blew my mind. I had to make some substitutions because of my restrictions, but I did as close as I could to see if it would work. I think I skimmed through the directions because I don't remember there being any steps after cooking it in the oven. But for me, I didn't need them. I was stunned when I tried that first batch because it was easy and the texture was better than hamburger was! The next night I wanted it again but I was feeling hot and lazy and didn't want to have the oven on. So I did a little experiment. I made half a recipe and put the uncooked seasoned "burger" in a glass pie plate and microwaved it for 3 minutes. I stirred it to break up the pieces getting stuck together and nuked it for another 3. I repeated that again for a third time. 9 minutes of cooking instead of 45 and it was perfect! I like it more on the softer side because my stomach doesn't digest it well when it's cooked too much.
I have been making this almost every night for the last three weeks and I love it so much! There are a massive amount of recipes I can convert now to fit my restrictions, like casseroles, pasta dishes, in veggie wraps, and I can even have a burger pizza! 😁 I'm not really one to gush so much about something like this, but it has massively altered what I'm able to cook. I also have a severe chronic illness that leaves me with very little energy, so a simple food like this has a major impact. I may or may not have mixed it with mayo one night and ate it as a lettuce wrap with tomato... 🤭
From the bottom of my heart, thank you *SO* much! 🥰
Maria
Wow! This right here, is why I do what I do. I'm so glad that you found a new safe food that you enjoy! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Blogging can be a lonely thing and sometimes I wonder if I'm helping people at all. Your comment really inspired me to keep doing what I'm doing and I'm so glad that this recipe helped make your life more delicious and easier!
Ben
Love this! Easy to make and I love using it in pasta sauce and for burritos!
Tamara
Turned out amazing! Great texture. I used it in a pasta sauce for spaghetti night.