Best Meat Substitutes That Actually Taste Like Meat

The best meat substitute depends on what you are replacing. For burgers and ground beef, Impossible and Beyond come closest to the real thing. For chicken, seitan and well-cooked tofu win on texture. For cheap, high-protein ground meat in tacos or chili, textured vegetable protein (TVP) is hard to beat. Jackfruit and mushrooms work for shredded and "meaty" dishes but bring very little protein, so pair them with beans or another protein.

Start with the dish, not the product

The common mistake is buying one substitute and expecting it to do everything. A block of tofu will not make a convincing burger, and a Beyond patty is a waste in a stir-fry. Think about the specific meal you miss, then pick the substitute that matches its texture. Texture is most of what makes a dish feel like the original. Flavor is easier to fix with seasoning.

Burgers

Impossible Burger is the closest to ground beef for most people. Its signature ingredient is soy leghemoglobin, a heme protein produced by fermentation, which gives it the reddish raw color and the "meaty" iron note when it browns. Per 4 ounces, Impossible lists about 19 grams of protein, 8 grams of saturated fat (from coconut oil) and 370 milligrams of sodium.

Beyond Burger is pea-protein based, soy-free and gluten-free. The current version uses avocado oil and lists 21 grams of protein, 2 grams of saturated fat and 310 milligrams of sodium per 4-ounce patty. It is slightly less beef-like than Impossible to many tasters but browns well and holds up on a grill.

Both cost noticeably more per pound than store-brand ground beef. They are worth it for the meals where the burger is the whole point: cookouts, a Friday night smash burger, the meal you miss most. For a closer look at the nutrition, see whether Impossible and Beyond are healthy.

Ground meat for tacos, chili and pasta sauce

This is where you can save the most money. TVP is dehydrated, defatted soy flour pressed into crumbles. You rehydrate it in hot broth for about ten minutes and it takes on whatever flavor you give it. A typical serving of Bob's Red Mill TVP (a quarter cup dry) lists 12 grams of protein, and a 12-ounce bag often costs less than a single pound of ground beef while making several meals. Rehydrate it in a mix of water, soy sauce and a little tomato paste for a darker, beefier result.

Lentils and chopped mushrooms also work in heavily sauced dishes like bolognese or sloppy joes. Mushrooms bring savory depth, lentils bring body and protein. A half-and-half mix is better than either alone.

Impossible and Beyond also sell ground "beef" in packs, and these are the easiest drop-in replacement in a recipe if cost is not a concern.

Chicken

Seitan is made from wheat gluten, and it is the most chicken-like option for texture: chewy, fibrous and dense. Protein varies by recipe and brand but is typically high, often in the range of 15 to 25 grams per 3-ounce serving. It is not an option if you avoid gluten.

Extra-firm tofu works for nuggets, stir-fries and chicken-style sandwiches when you press it and crisp it with cornstarch. Freezing it first gives a stringier, chewier texture closer to chicken breast. Tofu is one of the cheapest proteins in the store, with roughly 8 to 10 grams of protein per 3 ounces depending on firmness and brand. Our guide on how to make tofu taste good covers the techniques.

Frozen breaded plant-based nuggets and tenders, from both big brands and store brands, are the lowest-effort option. Many are good, and a bag in the freezer is a legitimate backup plan.

Sausage

Plant-based sausages are one of the strongest categories, because sausage is mostly about seasoning: fennel, sage, garlic, smoke and fat. Beyond, Impossible and several other brands sell links and breakfast patties that most people find convincing in a bun or crumbled into pasta. Homemade seitan sausages, steamed in foil, are cheap to make in a batch and freeze well.

Bacon

Bacon is the hardest to replicate because so much of it is the crisp, fatty, salty, smoky combination. Options worth trying:

• Tempeh bacon: thin slices marinated in soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and smoked paprika, then pan-fried. Tempeh is made from fermented whole soybeans and has about 20 grams of protein per 100 grams.
• Rice paper bacon: layered rice paper brushed with a smoky marinade and baked until crisp. The texture is surprisingly close.
• Mushroom bacon: thinly sliced shiitake or king oyster mushrooms, baked low until crisp.
• Coconut bacon: smoky toasted coconut flakes, best as a topping on salads or baked potatoes.

None of these is a perfect copy. What they do well is deliver the smoky, salty crunch on a BLT or a breakfast plate, which is usually what you are after.

Shredded meat: jackfruit and mushrooms

Young green jackfruit, sold canned in water or brine, shreds into strands that look and pull like pulled pork. Simmered in barbecue sauce, it makes a convincing sandwich. The catch is protein: jackfruit is low in it, often only a gram or two per serving, so pair it with beans, slaw made with a tahini dressing, or a side with more protein.

King oyster mushrooms shredded with a fork and seared hard work in the same way, with a meatier bite. Oyster mushrooms fried in batter are a popular fried chicken stand-in.

Cost and protein, compared

In rough terms, from cheapest to most expensive per serving of protein: TVP and dried lentils are at the bottom, then tofu, then tempeh and seitan, then branded plant-based burgers, grounds and sausages at the top. Jackfruit and mushrooms are moderately priced but are not protein sources.

On protein per serving, seitan, TVP, tempeh, Impossible and Beyond all land in the same range as ground beef, around 19 to 25 grams per typical serving. Tofu is a bit lower per ounce but easy to eat in larger portions. If protein is your main worry, our protein without meat guide goes deeper.

The substitute that matters most is the one for your trigger meal

Most people do not miss meat in general. They miss a few specific meals at specific times: the Friday burger, Sunday bacon, chicken nuggets after a long day. Stock the substitute for those exact meals, and the moments that used to lead straight back to meat get a lot quieter.

When the craving shows up anyway, it usually passes within 10 to 20 minutes. The Spared app is designed for that moment: open it instead of the fridge, ride out the craving, and it counts each one alongside your days and the animals spared. Meanwhile, the right substitute in the freezer means that if you still want the meal when the craving fades, you can have a version of it.

Common questions

Which meat substitute tastes the most like real meat?

For ground beef and burgers, most people find Impossible the closest, thanks to its heme ingredient. For chicken, seitan has the most convincing chewy, fibrous texture. Results depend a lot on cooking: browning hard and seasoning well matter more than the brand.

What is the cheapest meat substitute?

TVP and dried lentils are usually the cheapest per serving of protein, followed by tofu. TVP is especially good value as a ground beef replacement in tacos, chili and pasta sauces.

Are meat substitutes high in protein?

Many are. Seitan, TVP, tempeh, Impossible and Beyond provide protein in a similar range to ground beef per serving, and tofu is close. Jackfruit and mushrooms are the exceptions: they work for texture but contain little protein.

Is tofu or tempeh better as a meat substitute?

They suit different jobs. Tofu is milder and more versatile, good for crispy nuggets, scrambles and stir-fries. Tempeh is firmer, nuttier and higher in protein per ounce, and it works best sliced thin for bacon, crumbled into sauces, or marinated and grilled.