These Homemade Meatless Crumbles can be customized with spices for any dish. This is the basic recipe for the traditional crumbles.
These Homemade Meatless Crumbles are an easy to substitute Vegan meat for its carnivore counterpart. It’s a recipe from my cookbook Quick and Easy Vegetarian – a cookbook of 75 satisfying and simple plant based recipes. I use this recipe in dishes like these Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats or Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers.
These Homemade Meatless Crumbles are made with cauliflower and walnuts as the base. Cauliflower is so super versatile for many dishes and this recipe just adds to the list. The walnuts give these crumbles a hearty texture and adds in the protein factor.
The spices can be swapped out to substitute the meat in a Mexican dish, Asian cuisine, any type of cuisine you can imagine. The recipe included in this post is the basic recipe that can be added to pasta sauce or incorporated into your morning omelette.
The recipe is easy to execute – simply mix all the ingredients into a food processor, mix it up, and bake in the oven.
I make big batches of these crumbles and freeze them. They will stay for up to a month in an airtight container. Simply thaw out in a pan and add to anything you are making.
My meat eating partner loves to mix in a big jar of salsa and eat these meatless crumbles as a dip with chips.
I will also use chili spices and throw these crumbles into vegetarian chili in the winter. Add a few eggs into the raw mixture (though this will no longer be Vegan crumbles) and form burger patties, then bake for the same 30 minutes, flipping the burgers halfway through.
These are as versatile as delicious. Enjoy!
Cauliflower Walnut Crumbles - Vegan Meat
These Cauliflower Walnut Crumbles can be customized with spices for any dish. This is the basic recipe for the traditional crumbles.
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sze florets
- 2 cups raw walnuts
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 1/12 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
- To the bowl of a food processor, add the cauliflower, walnuts, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Do not over process or the cauliflower will begin to liquify.
- Use a spoon to push down some of the larger pieces of cauliflower until the mixture is meatlike and crumbly.
- Pour the cauliflower mix onto the prepared baking pan and spread out as evenly as possible.
- Bake the cauliflower walnut mixture for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.