Hi, there! B + T from Plant Power Couple here. We’re so happy to be working with California Walnuts to talk about one of our favorite plant-based cooking hacks: walnut meat!
Have you tried making walnut meat yet?!
You’ll be shocked at the texture and flavor California walnuts take on when ground up with the right spices and herbs. It is absolutely game-changing and a real asset in the struggle to get picky eaters interested in more plant-forward meals.
Walnut meat is easy to make and no-cook, perfect for last-minute weeknight dinners when you want to serve something flavorful and healthy but don’t have 3 hours to spend in the kitchen.
Today we’re showing you just how versatile walnut meat can be, sharing two of the ways we most often flavor our walnut meat as well as tips on using these recipes and methods to customize your own walnut meat flavors.
Basic Tips on Making Walnut Meat
- Know how to use it and how not to use it. Walnut meat is great baked on top of pizzas, pasta dishes, hot dips, and casseroles. It also makes great tacos, nachos, wraps, bowls, and salad toppings! We don’t recommend using it in brothy soups and stews, however, or the flavor may get a little lost.
- Soaking the California walnuts in cool water for 20 minutes prior to using them will ensure a more tender texture + help the walnuts soak up all that flavor.
- Make sure the food processor you use has a pulse function. Pulsing the walnuts will create a more meaty texture, rather than blending them which will create more of a paste.
- Keep California walnuts fresh by storing them in the fridge or freezer. Fresh California walnuts are the KEY ingredient in this walnut meat recipe, so make sure you treat them with the proper care.
- Freeze leftover walnut meat for later. We suggest spreading the walnut meat out on a baking sheet and freezing it like that overnight before transferring to another container or freezer-safe bag. This will keep the walnut meat from freezing in one big block.
How to Make Walnut Meat
Now that you have the tips, here’s the basic process you want to follow. Once you’ve soaked the California walnuts, this rest comes together in about 5 minutes!
- Drain the soaked California walnuts, spray with cool water, and add them to your food processor along with the rest of the flavoring ingredients (soy sauce, seasonings, herbs, spices, etc.).
- From there, pulse the mixture about 7-9 times until it looks like a ground meat texture and all of the ingredients are totally combined.
- That’s it! Then, you’re free to use it in your recipes.
Spicy Beef-Style Walnut Meat
Our classic taco-inspired walnut beef is our go-to plant-based meat recipe for tacos, nachos, casseroles, and salads! The mouthwateringly spicy / savory flavor will have you mesmerized.
To flavor our beef-style walnut meat, we use: Soy sauce or tamari, fresh garlic and onion, extra virgin olive oil, nutritional yeast, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper (for a pinch of heat!).
Smoky Sausage-Style Walnut Meat
This vegan sausage-style walnut meat recipe is the perfect vegetarian topping for pizzas, baked pasta dishes, or breakfast tacos. It’s smoky, savory, and has a deep earthy flavor from the ground fennel.
To flavor our sausage-style walnut meat, we use: soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil, liquid smoke, Italian seasoning, onion and garlic powder, ground fennel, celery salt, and smoked paprika.
How to Customize Walnut Meat
The great thing about walnut meat is it’s SO versatile. When choosing seasonings for walnut meat, just think about the dish you’re trying to emulate and what spices and flavors you associate with that.
There are a million ways to do this, but here are some ideas to get you started:
- Incorporate some hot sauce or buffalo sauce with the beef-style version. This would be great for meat-free potato skins.
- Add some heat and maybe a little vinegar to our sausage walnut meat to create more of a chorizo-style meat.
- Sub red onion for yellow onion and teriyaki sauce for soy sauce in the walnut beef – great served on top of rice with steamed broccoli!
- Utilize fresh herbs whenever possible!
- Sun-dried tomatoes add a great sweet / savory flavor and an extra tender texture. Similarly, sauteed mushrooms can also be used!
Hopefully, this post has sparked the inspiration necessary to get you in the kitchen to try walnut meat for yourself! Check out all of our walnut meat recipes to get you started.
