What is vegan mince made of? Make the best choice!

If you are interested in plant-based food, you may also want to use meat substitutes. Vegetarian grilled meat and minced meat varieties are on the menu here.


More and more people are interested in vegan alternatives that can usually be used to prepare typical meat dishes. Many of us don't want to go without popular dishes like spaghetti Bolognese.


You can now choose from various plant-based minced meat alternatives on supermarket shelves, in health food stores and online. You are probably interested in what this vegan minced meat is made of .


If you are nutritionally conscious, you don't care about the composition of the processed alternatives to animal mince . Maybe you would also like to make vegan mince yourself ? In this article you will find out more about the topic.

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What turns plant-based raw materials into mince?

Soy and wheat are regularly the basis for meat substitutes. Pea protein is also playing an increasingly important role. Certain processing steps and techniques ultimately give the vegan minced alternatives a crumbly or minced consistency. This allows them to become the basis of dishes we know.


Vegan meat alternatives n they can be high quality legal protein sources. In order to achieve the “ fleshy look ” possible, the basic plant ingredients are often colored with caramel or beetroot juice.


Salt, spices and, for some manufacturers, natural and synthetic flavors are also added. Some producers preserve the products with preservatives.


Every manufacturer has their own little secret with which substitute products for meat are created by processing soy, wheat, etc.


Some recipes are based on the fact that ground, cooked or pureed grain such as wheat takes on a meat-like consistency in various processing steps.


The starting point for all of these products is a porridge or puree. This should have the typical minced meat character for the consumer.


The products all differ in taste. Here you can discover your personal preferences by trying out different products. What else do you have to consider when choosing a plant-based hacking variant ?

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Big differences in quality

Vegan substitute products differ from minced alternatives not only in terms of taste. If you value high-quality food without harmful additives, you should take a close look at this other minced meat.


Preservatives, synthetic flavors and other added substances with the capital E do not always indicate the quality of the vegan minced version . Caution may be particularly necessary if these processed foods consist predominantly of additives and the plant-based raw material takes a back seat.


You can tell the quantitative distribution of ingredients in food by the order in which they are listed.


Many of the plant-based minced varieties have a high salt content. Apparently some manufacturers mean particularly well here. You want to emphasize the taste of a legal product. If you generally pay attention to a healthy diet, the high salt content is a disadvantage.


Here you should rather rely on offers from manufacturers who use spices and herbs to give their vegan mince a convincing taste.


Since the plant-based alternatives to minced meat are processed foods, it is worth taking a look at the test results. The relevant testers like at Ökotest repeatedly examine the meat substitute products for harmful substances.


It has already been discovered that many of these products have a significant mineral content. It is not always clear whether these burdens are due to the materials from which the products are made. Packaging can also play a big role here.

Nutritional aspects

What the vegetable minced products have in common is that they can be a source of vegetable protein. However, it is also worth taking a second look at the composition of the product.


Soy consists of 35% protein and compares with wheat, which has around 10% protein content. This point of view can be interesting if you want to eat a vegan diet that is high in protein.


Basically, depending on the composition of a product, vegan protein sources are just as valuable for your protein supply as animal products. There are differences in the usability of plant and animal protein .


That's why it's so important that vegan cooking takes protein content into account.


When it comes to fat content, legal mince is similar to animal products . It is around 10%. We have a clear advantage with the alternatives when it comes to fiber. Unlike competing plant-based products, animal products contain almost no fiber. A clear plus when it comes to plant-based meat substitutes.

Gefüllte Paprikaschoten mit veganem Hack

How well can vegan meatballs or bolognese be made?

In terms of processing, most of the products here are on a par with the animal versions. Some may turn out to be a little firmer or appear drier.


Unlike some inferior minced meat, the plant-based minced meat versions do not lose any liquid when frying. This can sometimes seem unusual, but it leaves a lot of scope for your personal cooking experience with sauces.


If you want everything a little creamier, you can always add water. The areas of application forvegan mince are just as limited as for animal products. You can make meatballs, bolognese, fillings for vegetables and much more with them.

Mince alternative and gluten

If you have gluten intolerance, you should be careful if you want to choose a plant-based minced version. Many of these products contain wheat protein (gluten) as an adhesive substance that holds the meat substitute product together .


In this context, always remember that this alternative vegan meat product as a whole is not of natural origin. Products of this type consist of different ingredients, which only give the impression of a meat product when combined .


The various ingredients must be held together by other substances. Wheat gluten is a common way to achieve this effect.

Zubereitung von veganen Maultaschen mit Hack

What advantages does plant mince have over the animal version?

Perhaps animal welfare is a priority for you if you prefer the meatless alternative. You want to cook just as versatilely, but you don't want to support factory farming. The ecological footprint of production can also play a role.


Although plant mince is a processed food , production does not use as many resources as the animal versions. You don't always have a price advantage. The price of meat is largely determined by its quality and the way in which the animals are kept.


There are also differences between meat from pigs and cattle. Compared to lower-quality meat, some plant-based minced meat variants are cheaper.


Anyone who finds vegetable protein and fiber important in their diet will particularly like to use these substitute products. Plant minced varieties are valuable vegan protein sources.

Is there anything to be said against plant-based minced varieties?

Some people are bothered by the high degree of processing of these products. Some people aren't really convinced by the taste either. Of course, each of us is free to refine the taste of the plant-based minced variants while cooking.


Meat itself hardly has any taste of its own, apart from fat, which is the flavor carrier. The taste experience only arises when cooking and adding salt and spices. In many cases it is no different with plant hacks.


The heavy contamination with mineral oils that is often found in tests does not speak against vegan substitute products per se. Manufacturers and producers are asked to produce vegan alternatives in a way that excludes such pollution. GREENFORCE products were also tested in a test by Stiftung Warentest. There are no mineral oil residues to be found in our products.


Plant-based foods that are highly processed are subject to the same processing risks when it comes to pollutants as other products.

Make your own vegan mince

You will find many suggestions on the Internet and in cookbooks for plant-based nutrition to make your own minced version . Unlike professionally manufactured products, hardly any wheat or soy is used.


Oatmeal, beans, nuts and many other plant-based foods can serve as the basis for vegan mince . If you've been eating vegan for a while, you're used to giving your dishes a certain feel with plant-based foods.


You can achieve a pulp by grinding, crushing, cooking and mixing with water/other liquids. This can be processed into meat-like products. Here you may be able to create vegetarian grilled meat and one or two vegan meatballs .


Use the suggestions online as inspiration. There are hardly any limits to your creativity when it comes to implementation. Vegan cooking is much more varied and creative than processing animal ingredients such as meat.


Most plant-based raw materials offer wonderful possibilities here. If you make your vegan mince yourself , you know exactly what it is made of.


Our vegan meat substitute products are also ideal if you want to make vegan mince yourself . Thefinished mix for our vegan mince consists of valuable pea protein . In addition, our products are free of any harmful substances.


Dishes such as chili con carne or spaghetti bolognese can be prepared particularly well with our plant-based minced versions. So you never have to go without your beloved classics again.


Many vegans also find at least one favorite among the plant-based chopped products available in stores. Some of these products are already seasoned like a Bolognese sauce or chili con carne. Here you can quickly cook vegan meals in everyday life.

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What is vegan mince made of?

It is important that you have asked yourself this question: What is vegan mince made of ? We have seen that there is no short and standard answer to this.


If you want to know exactly what a certain product consists of, just look at the list of ingredients and ingredients.


As with the animal products, you can set the taste highlights with your own secret for individual seasoning. Let your imagination run wild !