5 vegan meat recipes to try with groceries you may already have

Plant-based meat substitutes come in many shapes, sizes, and textures. And while you can buy some pretty great vegan meat substitutes at your local supermarket, you can also whip up some hearty plant-based meat options from groceries you likely already have in your pantry. You might not think something like a carrot can disguise itself as bacon, but these recipes are here to prove you wrong. Here are 5 amazing recipes for vegan imitation meat that are actually convincing!

Vegan carrot bacon

This recipe comes from TikTok vegan icon Tabitha Brown. After shaving carrots into long, thin ribbons, she seasons them in a marinade of liquid smoke and various spices. After the carrot ribbons have soaked up the sauce, she air fries them for that irresistible bacon-y crunch. If carrots aren’t your thing, someone made a similar recipe out of banana peels if you can believe it. 

Vegan carrot lox

Since you’ve already got some carrots from making vegan bacon, use the leftovers to try out some vegan carrot smoked salmon! These carrot ribbons use a marinade of oil, liquid smoke, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and dill. After baking them for a bit to soak in the flavor, the creator puts them in the fridge to chill. Once cold, these babies are ready to go on a bagel with some vegan-friendly cream cheese!

Vegan mushroom steak

You might not look at a portobello mushroom and think “steak,” but this recipe could change your mind. Well-known TikTok vegan @ballehurns uses a big portobello mushroom cap soaked in a marinade of vinegar, olive oil, and soy sauce. She then blends up some cooked pasta with steak sauce and steak seasoning to make a paste for the mushroom. Lastly, she fries it up to make a pretty convincing dish of vegan fine dining. 

Vegan tofu ham

@theliveinkitchen

✨Vegan Ham✨ Make this for Easter or any time you want healthy, plant based ham! #vegan #veganrecipes #veganeaster #veganham #fyp #recipesoftiktok

♬ Ambient Music 1 – Instrumental

This vegan ham recipe is a great substitute for holiday dinners, or if you just want a smoky and sweet plant-based ham sandwich. Using tofu as the base, the recipe calls for a delicious marinade to give it that sweet and salty ham flavor. After marinating for 30 minutes, bake the tofu in a glaze to give it a delicious, crispy texture. 

Vegan filet mignon

Another excellent vegan-friendly fine-dining recipe from @ballehurns. This vegan filet mignon makes use of a can of kidney beans, tomato paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and of course some steak seasoning. Once that’s blended up, add a cup of vital wheat gluten to make a dough. Then shape your dough into small filets and boil them for 25 minutes. Boiling makes them double in size! Once they’ve grown, marinate them and then fry them up. Bon appétit!

In The Know is now available on Apple News — follow us here!  

If you liked this article, check out this article about 6 healthy rice substitutes.

More from In The Know:

These red-wine braised short ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender

Make this honey-mustard lemon salmon on the grill

Make oven-baked chicken fingers with honey mustard dipping sauce

How to make pulled pork sandwiches in a slow cooker

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: