What Are You Making with That? Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) Chunks

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

I was squatting down in front of a bin in the bulk foods section of a local store, when someone asked, “What are you making with that?” He was curious about the TVP chunks that I was scooping into a container. I told him that I planned to use the chunks in a curry sauce with cauliflower. More questions followed – How do you cook TVP chunks? What else can you do with them? How do they taste? Do TVP chunks have protein? We chatted for a while. Afterwards, I kept thinking about TVP chunks, a product I use every few weeks.

TVP is made from defatted soy flour which is made into a paste and formed into different shapes like strips, chunks, and flakes. The shapes are dehydrated. I often use the chunks in recipes in place of seitan strips or cubes or instead of diced tofu. Since the dehydrated TVP chunks are shelf stable, they can be kept on hand to use anytime.

To rehydrate the TVP chunks I put them in a heatproof bowl and cover them with boiling water. I let them sit, covered, for about 10 minutes and then drain off any excess liquid. Rehydrated TVP has a fairly bland taste. Some recipes call for soaking TVP chunks in hot broth, instead of water, to add flavor. Since I usually use them in highly flavorful sauces, I don’t find it necessary to use broth for soaking.

According to USDA’s nutrient data base, an ounce of dried TVP has approximately 125 calories, 17 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, 11 grams of carbohydrate, and 6 grams of fiber. TVP supplies iron, zinc, and some calcium and by itself, is low in sodium.

Here are 10 ideas for dishes that include TVP chunks:

1. Make or buy a curry sauce, heat it, and mix with rehydrated TVP chunks and steamed vegetables of your choice.
2. Barbecue TVP chunks – combine rehydrated TVP chunks with a commercial or homemade barbecue sauce and heat on the stovetop or in the oven or microwave. Serve on a bun or over cornbread.
3. Make a flavorful brown gravy and add rehydrated TVP chunks and pre-cooked stew vegetables (e.g. carrots, potatoes, turnips, and parsnips). If you are looking for a good gravy recipe, Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD has lots of ideas. If you want a good stew recipe, see the Seitan Stew in this article and replace the seitan with rehydrated TVP chunks.
4. Rehydrated TVP chunks are great in a stir-fry! Add them along with longer cooking vegetables like onions and carrots so they can soak up lots of flavor.
5. TVP chunks can be add to your favorite soup recipe or canned soup. If adding them to a soup recipe, you can skip the rehydrating, as long as they are in a hot liquid in the soup pot for at least 10 minutes. If you are adding them to canned soup, either heat them in the soup or rehydrate the chunks before adding them to the soup.
6. Sauté rehydrated TVP chunks with sliced peppers and onions and spices and wrap in a whole-wheat tortilla or serve in whole-wheat rolls.
7. When you make fried rice, add rehydrated TVP chunks. Here’s an easy recipe for fried rice.
8. Mix rehydrated TVP chunks with Chocolate Mole Sauce (see the mole sauce recipe in The Savory Side of Chocolate from Vegan Journal).
9. Make Chef Nancy Berkoff’s Hungarian Sauce, add sautéed mushrooms and onions, and rehydrated TVP chunks and serve over cooked noodles or other pasta.
10. Try a shepherd’s pie. Combine rehydrated TVP chunks with leftover cooked vegetables, add some gravy, top with mashed potatoes and bake until hot.