Vegan Corned Beef
This Vegan Corned Beef is tender, rich, and meaty, and it’s perfect for dinner, sandwiches, and more. This vegan meat substitute is high in protein, low in fat, oil-free, and highly tasty and filling.
Are you a vegan and get tired of eating the same old boring foods day after day? Me too. So here I’d like to offer up another delicious vegan alternative.
Reuben is my all-time favorite sandwich. And I don’t discriminate. I used to have a favorite Reuben variant from each of my favorite places before I became vegan. From the classic corned beef Reuben to the turkey Reuben to the most outlandish BBQ brisket with slaw. Every Holiday, I cook Reuben latkes.
Corned beef has high sodium and fat content despite having protein and vitamins and minerals including iron and vitamin B12, so I attempted to take it to the next level by making vegan corned beef.
I like to think I’m a pretty creative person. As a vegan, I thought it would be fun to see if I could create my own rendition of traditional corned beef: vegan corned beef. After all, there are so many ways you can make beans taste delicious; it seemed only fitting (and interesting) that I attempt to mimic the taste of traditional corned beef.
It’s also my take on what makes vegan corned beef good and delicious.
This delicious recipe uses wholesome ingredients and a few simple steps to make your own Vegan Corned Beef. It is delicious served on its own, or with a wide variety of roasted vegetables, or to fulfill your craving for Reuben.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE DETAILED RECIPE, BUT I REQUEST YOU DON’T SKIP THE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE BLURB.
Also, see Vegan Colcannon, Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, and Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
Why Do You Like This Recipe?
If you’re looking for a great dish to impress your vegan guests at your next party, then this is the recipe you need! This vegan corned beef is:
- Easy to prepare.
- Vegan, dairy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free.
- Require minimal pantry ingredients.
- Perfect to make ahead.
- Vegan corned beef is a delicious, healthy, and satisfying addition to your diet.
- The taste and texture will astound you!
- An ultimate vegan lunch or supper!
- Perfect St Patrick’s Day meal.
- It is kid-friendly.
- You can also use this recipe to bulk-prep high-protein vegan dinners for the week ahead of time.
Okay, let’s start!
Recipe’s Ingredients
- Kidney bean: I used kidney beans in this corned beef recipe, but any beans will work! Kidney beans provide an abundance of antioxidants. Black beans would work great in this dish as well.
- Water or vegetable broth: You can use any broth you have on hand and even make your own with vegetable peelings. If you are not vegan you can use beef or chicken broth for a more rich and deep flavor. You can use water if you don’t have any broth on hand.
- Onion: Feel free to substitute white, yellow, and red onions for the recipe, though I love yellow onions.
- Garlic: As for garlic, you simply can’t miss the garlicky flavor! I used 3 cloves for maximum flavor. If you don’t have fresh ones you can use dried ones.
- Red bell pepper: Red bell pepper offers a citrusy and sweet flavor.
- Green onion: If you don’t have green onions, you can use scallions as well.
- Thyme: The flavor of fresh thyme is lemony, minty, and earthy. You can use dried thyme instead of fresh thyme if you don’t have any on hand.
- Bragg’s Liquid Aminos: Made from soya beans, this sauce will fulfill the need for protein. It is a crucial ingredient in vegan recipes, and I simply love it. It is also gluten-free, so no worries there.
- Celery salt: Celery salt is a combination of regular table salt and ground celery seeds, and sometimes also powder celery stalk and leaves. A gently peppery bite, a green, grassy flavor, and a slightly bitter aftertaste have all been attributed to this salt.
- Beet Powder: (Optional for red color). The distinctive red color of corned beef can be obtained with beet powder. If you don’t have beet powder, fresh beets can be boiled in a vegetable broth to extract their natural color, then removed and cooled before being used in a dish, if desired. If using bouillon cubes, prepare bouillon cubes with beet juice or beet boiling liquid. You can substitute a few drops of red color instead.
- Potato: You can use any type of potato.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste is umami-rich. It is a great cheap way to thicken, and add color, and flavor to pasta sauces, soups, stews, and other semi-liquid dishes. To avoid an excessive tomato flavor or an acidic edge in the sauce, don’t add too much.
- Cardamom and Coriander – are added to give a boost in flavor.
How To Make Vegan Corned Beef?
- Heat ¼ water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, bell pepper, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add Bragg’s liquid amino, celery salt, beet powder, potato, and ½ cup water.
- Bring the skillet to a boil, cover the skillet, and reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove the cover and make sure the liquid evaporates.
- Stir in tomato paste and mashed kidney beans and cook through. Serve immediately.
Chef’s Notes
As with any recipe, whether it’s corned beef or anything else, there are a few simple tips that you should follow while making what you’re going to eat.
- Gather and measure all the ingredients before starting the recipe to avoid any possible inconvenience.
- While I was preparing the other ingredients for the dish, I put the diced pieces into a bowl of water to prevent them from turning brown. This helps in removing excess starch as well.
- Refrigerate for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze for later use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is salted cured beef. The meat was preserved by curing and salting before refrigeration. The traditional method of making what we now refer to as corned beef involved curing any kind of meat. Beef brisket is used to make corned beef in the United States.
Brisket is a typically kosher cut of beef that is cured to make it soft, thus you may have seen it in Jewish delis. Irish immigrants frequently resided close to Jewish communities and purchased their meat from kosher butchers; they then incorporated potatoes and cabbage.
This is how corned beef and cabbage came to be associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Many supermarkets sell vacuum-sealed portions of corned beef in the meat section.
Why Is It Called Corned Beef When There Is No Corn?
Corned beef takes its title from the dry curing procedure that was used to preserve the meat. Large, coarse salt pellets known as “corns” were placed on top of a slice of beef in order to draw away moisture and stop bacteria from growing.
What Is Vegan Corned Beef?
My recipe for vegan corned beef includes kidney beans, veggies, spices, and more… You’ll enjoy it! You’ll never have to miss a Reuben sandwich again because it is extremely flavorful and pairs well with so many different dishes.
Is Vegan Corned Beef Healthy?
Yes! Because this vegan corned beef is prepared with kidney beans, which are a fantastic source of low-fat protein and fiber. They are high in iron, phosphorus, folate, copper, and potassium. Phytonutrients are also found in red beans.
High-fiber and protein-containing kidney beans may promote weight loss by slowing the digestion of carbohydrates.
Kidney beans help normalize blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. They may also help to keep your colon healthy and lower your chance of colon cancer.
How To Serve Vegan Corned Beef?
It’s delicious on its own, however, you can serve it with additional roasted vegetables. I enjoyed my corned “beef” in form of a Reuben sandwich or with some garlic rice.
How To Make A Ruben Sandwich From Vegan Corned Meat?
Layer your prepared vegan corned beef with vegan Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Vegan Thousand Island Dressing, rye bread, and then grill until golden brown.
Other Ways To Enjoy Your Corned Beef?
You can make:
- Corned Beef Hash
- Corned Beef Pancakes
- Leftover corned beef soup
- Reuben Casserole
- Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls
- Potato and Corned Beef Chowder
- Corned Beef and Cabbage Casserole
- Corned Beef Cottage Pie
Can I Refrigerate The Leftovers?
Yes, leftovers may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days covered.
Can It Be Frozen?
Yes, it freezes well. I prefer to portion it out first, then place it in meal prep containers, and freeze it.
Thanks for reading this blog post on Vegan Corned Beef. I hope it has inspired you to try out a new vegan dish. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below. And if you tried this recipe or any other from our site, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! Thanks for visiting my Recipes, and I hope to see you again soon.
Other Related Recipes
- Vegan Tofu Scramble
- Skillet Potatoes and Onions
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- Venezuelan Arepas
- Vegan Ackee
- Blueberry Banana Smoothie
- Baked Plantains
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Vegan Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of cooked kidney beans or 1-15 ounce can of kidney beans
- 3/4 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom optional
- 1/2 teaspoon beet powder (for color) optional
- 1 medium potato finely diced
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
Instructions
- Heat ¼ water or vegetable broth in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, bell pepper, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add Bragg’s liquid amino, celery salt, beet powder, potato, and the remaining ½ cup water or vegetable broth.
- Bring skillet to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove the cover and make sure the liquid evaporates.
- Stir in tomato paste and mashed kidney beans and cook through. Serve immediately.
I used jackfruit instead of beans, but aside from that change it was delicious! Thank you for another amazing recipe :)
interesting replacement I might have to give that version of Urs at try. I love jackfruit
I’m anxious to try this, my husband also used to love corned beef sandwiches. I’m curious if you have the recipe for the little round cornbreads in the picture also?
Those might have been mashed potatoes if I remember correctly. just peel & cut some potatoes into cubes then boil them till soft. when ready mash the potatoes & add some vegan butter + pinch of salt & about 1 teaspoon of potato starch or any starch if u don’t have Potatoe starch specifically. then mix it all well & also don’t add to much butter since u want the mash potatoes to not be too soft that they can’t maintain a shape. flatten the mash potato on a tray then use a circle mold to pull them out in circles, u can cut them however you want though like squares would be easier to prepare. then place them in your air fryer OR you can also deep-fry in some oil till golden brown if u prefer.
Can you press this into a loaf pan so it’s sliceable?
That is such a great idea Rene, I need to try it.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe I will try and make it soon
We had this last night. I made it as written with all the optional ingredients. I mashed the beans well and left some pieces. Just delicious. We’ll be having this often.
This is awesome Alocasia, I’m so happy to know you enjoyed it. Thank you for leaving your feed back with us!
We’re having this tonight, I can’t find anything about mashing the beans or how mashed they should be. Thanks!
Oh my goodness, my first thought was “this would make a great rueben”! I love your recipes & can’t wait to make it.
Thanks for this recipe. Tasted great, little too salty(liquid aminos). Will definitely make again.
The recipe ingredients lists coriander powder, ground cardamom and green onion but they are not listed in the instructions. Planning to make today. I will update with a review.