Looking to add plant-based nutrition to your breaded meat and poultry items? Vegetable-based crumbs are not only gluten-free, they also contribute protein and fiber while keeping ingredient legends simple and clean.

Veggie LLC, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, debuted its new vegetable crumbs at IFT19, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition held June 2-5 in New Orleans. Available in a range of colors based on vegetable source, the fat-free crumbs are a blend of dehydrated vegetable and potato, along with some yeast for umami. 

A dehydration process removes most of the vegetable’s inherent sodium, yielding a product with nominal sodium (less than 25 mg per 30 g serving). This process also removes much of the vegetable flavor, while keeping the nutrition intact. The crumbs can be made with any vegetable, with the resulting product containing four times the serving of vegetable.

The purple carrot, for example, contains 100 calories, 4 g of fiber, 3 g of protein, 15 mg of sodium and 10 percent of the Daily Value for potassium, a nutrient of concern in the US diet. Other offerings in the company’s launch include orange carrot and red beet. The crumbs are currently manufactured in Poland, with plans to start production in the US.

Also at IFT19, AGT Foods, Bismarck, North Dakota, showcased its vegetable crumb product made from only one ingredient: milled dry yellow peas. Manufactured without any processing aids or chemical compounds, the pea crumbs come in fine, medium and coarse grades, allowing for different textures on breaded items. 

Because the ingredient may hold up to three times its weight in water, the pea crumbs also function as a binder in ground and formed products, such as meatballs, nuggets and patties. The single-ingredient crumbs retain texture after frying.