Millions of people across England love a steak, and below are some good plant-based alternatives for vegans or those who wish to eat less meat. Celeriac Steak (The Veg Space) has a meaty texture and mellow taste, serve with butter bean mash and vegan gravy. Celeriac is a winter vegetable that looks like swede/parsnip and tastes like nutty celery. Often served mashed or in stews, use a good peeler to remove the tough peel, then top and tail.
Keep these recipes and products away from pets, as they look, smell and taste like real meat, but are sometimes made with unsafe ingredients like onion, garlic, mushrooms, jackfruit etc. Read more on food safety for people & pets.
Before farmers beat their fists, know that in a country of 60 million people, there is not enough land for everyone to eat free-range. So if you don’t agree with factory-farming (and most people don’t) then everyone has to eat less meat. A philosophy shared by meat-eating chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who even wrote a vegan cookbook. He says ‘I have a lot of time for vegans. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have a lot of time for me’.
recipes for plant-based steaks
Vegan Steak & Peppercorn Sauce (Gaz Oakley) is a recipe by a talented Welsh chef. It’s made with vital wheat gluten and lots of flavours, served with chips, salad and tomatoes.
Vegan Roast Beef (Carlo Cao) is another incredible recipe by another professional chef, this time from Italian Switzerland. Also made with vital wheat gluten, serve with roast potatoes and grilled veggies.
where to buy good vegan steaks
Sgaia is a company founded by two Italians, in Scotland. It offers amazing easy-to-prepare steaks made from wheat-meat. High in protein and low in fat (with zero cholesterol), choose from original or smoky flavour. You can freeze them (but they can’t be refrozen, once defrosted).
Keep dry ice away from children and pets, and recycle any plastic packaging at supermarket bag bins.
TerraVegan No-beef Steaks (Germany) are sold in good indie shops and farm shops. Made with organic ingredients, these are made with wheat protein and oats, and coloured with beetroot. Contain protein-rich kidney beans and cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast.
Bonsan Organic Kofu Steak is made with a blend of tofu and kombucha. Very tasty and rich in protein, it’s nice with homemade sweet potato chips or a fresh garden salad. Or in a burger, like above.
Vivera Steaks are readily available in shops, very simple to prepare (just fry in the pan for around 10 minutes) and very tasty. Serve with new potatoes and salad/veggies for a complete meal.
what’s with vegan steak bakes?
The problem now in England is that we tend to live our lives by marketing. So why the media rave about a vegan sausage roll that is very high in fat, tasteless and contains palm oil? Every single ‘vegan steak bake’ on sale (Gregg’s, Gingsters, Quorn, Aldi) contains palm oil.
All are simply a cheap mix of ingredients by companies getting on the plant-based bandwagon, not taking any notice of the fact that ‘real vegans’ these days won’t touch palm oil. Make your own vegan steak bakes (School Night Vegan) and stick them in a reusable lunch box! Make your own pastry (to avoid palm oil).
