Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) was a mainstay of 1970s and 1980s vegetarian cooking, and it’s still stocked by most natural foods stores. Many groceries and online retailers carry Bob’s Red Mill brand of TVP.
There’s no doubt that TVP’s popularity has declined over the years as the quality of vegan meats has improved. That said, TVP remains an excellent way to add some heft to homemade vegan chili, sloppy joe’s, and veggie burgers. You can’t beat the price. Plus, unlike some vegan meat alternatives (like seitan), TVP is gluten-free.
What is TVP?
TVP was originally developed, not for the sake of pleasing vegans, but as a cheap way to extend hamburger and other ground meat products. It’s also a common pet food ingredient. Agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland has trademarked TVP, so you’ll therefore see the ® registered trademark symbol on the packaging of commercially-made brands.
The stuff caught on in the vegetarian community during the 1970s because, seasoned appropriately, TVP can be made into a wide variety of cheap, delicious, and easily-prepared vegan dishes.
As its name implies, TVP is essentially pure protein. Its processing involves removing all fat and carbohydrates from soybeans, yielding tan flakes resembling rolled oats. Unlike dried beans, TVP requires minimal cooking and quickly plumps up when added to boiling water. Like tofu (another soy-based ingredient) TVP readily absorbs the flavors of any recipe it’s a part of, making it an extremely versatile cooking ingredient.
TVP Recipes
Cooking with TVP is a fun way to go retro and experience the way vegans ate back in the bell bottom era. Louise Hagler’s 1975 vegan classic, The New Farm Cookbook, makes extensive use of TVP in all sorts of recipes. There’s no doubt that Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods make vegan burgers and meatballs that offer a beefier taste and texture, but a nicely-seasoned TVP-based recipe is cheaper by far and offers an easy old school meal idea that’s perfect for novice vegan cooks.
If you like TVP, give Butler Foods’ Soy Curls a try. It’s made from ground soy that has been extruded into wonderfully chewy French fry-sized strips. Since the fat from the soybean isn’t removed, Soy Curls offer better texture and a richer flavor than TVP. This product works wonderfully in vegetarian chili and other meaty vegan foods, most notably barbecued burgers.
