SOY/EGG free vegetarian mince

[Beeloux]

Hi all,

Cooking a meal for friends and family on Saturday but a lot of vegetarians attending.

Planned on making a rather complex dish which usually includes mince beef (already bought the other ingredients).

Planned on using vegetarian mince instead only to find that quorn and the other ones in the supermarket have egg/soya in them.

Ds is awaiting his results for his allergy testing for both as he comes out in immediate widespread hives whenever he’s ate either. He recently experienced it just by touching raw egg while I was cooking).

He normally loves the said dish I’m cooking so don’t really want to have to make him another meal.

Before I go through more ballache make a vegetarian and minced meat version, could anyone recommend an egg/soya free plant based minced meat?

Any advice appreciated 😊

Shredded mushrooms? Shitake will probably give the best results.

For ready-made options, both Beyond and Moving Mountains are egg and soy free. Both based on pea protein.

Red lentils work well in cottage pie, tins of borlotti/kidney beans for chili.
What are you making?

you would have to tripple check, but I think the ‘beyond meat’ plant based mince is vegan (therefore no egg!) and soy free. I had it once and it was rather nice.

I’d do green lentils (simmer for 20mins or whatever the packet says) and shredded mushrooms in place of the mince.

We regularly make a vegan bolognese. Instead of mince we use either two tubs of roughly chopped chestnut mushrooms, or two tins of green lentils.

My DC regularly request the mushroom version - both committed meat eaters, but I can't always afford meat.

If you ever want a steak alternative, the marinated portobello mushroom steak by Minimalist Baker is absolutely incredible. I didn't bother with the chimichurri, just did the marinade.

If stuck for pudding she has a quick and easy vegan that I keep meaning to make.

Sorry, the vegan mango sorbet appears not to have uploaded. Reposting so it's not missed.

I think I'd go with a firm ish lentil instead - puy maybe? Or I've always found half-lentil half-Beyond quite good for things like Shepherds pie.

For anyone else reading and not relevant to the OP as it has soya... DH recently made a veggie chilli with Linda McCartney veggie mince. I have no allergies/intolerances but it really upset my digestion (and hasn't when I've eaten it before). Must have changed the recipie or something.

What a kind thing to do — reworking the whole dish so your guests and your son are safe at the same table. Since his reaction is immediate widespread hives, I'd treat this as a proper allergy rather than an intolerance, which mainly changes one thing: with a true allergy it's not only the ingredients list that matters but cross-contact, so it's worth scanning for the "may contain egg/soya" line in the small print, not just the bold allergens.

A couple of practical steers:

• For a dish you're hosting, I'd lean whole-food rather than a packet mince — brown or green lentils, or finely chopped/blitzed mushrooms (chestnut or shiitake give the meatiest, savoury result), or a half-and-half of the two. It's cheaper, it behaves beautifully in anything tomato-based or a chilli/bolognese, and — the real win — there's nothing hidden in it to react to. A lot of the ready-made veg minces are built on soya or bound with egg, exactly what you're steering around.

• If you'd rather a ready-made one, some of the pea-protein ones (Beyond Meat's mince, for instance) tend to be soya- and egg-free — but do read the actual pack each time, because recipes change and some are made on lines that also handle soya. One quiet thing to know: pea protein is a legume like soy, and while a soy allergy doesn't usually mean a pea problem, if he's not had much pea protein before it's worth a tiny trial on a calm day rather than debuting it at a dinner with guests.

• Lentils and beans are legumes too, but they're a very different kettle of fish from soy and rarely an issue unless he's specifically reacted to them — I'd just introduce any brand-new one gently.

Since she posted on the 21st that she was hosting it that Saturday, your advice would only work if OP had a time machine, but thanks anyway AI and hopefully you’ll figure out an answer to the dichotomy of how bad you are for the environment soon!