Learn how to make delicious vegetarian chopped liver from a Jewish family recipe. This meat-free recipe truly mimics the flavor of chopped liver. It includes whole food ingredients – nothing processed. With a healthy blend of sautéed onions, hard boiled eggs, peas, and walnuts, what’s not to love?
Chopped liver is an iconic Jewish dish. I usually make it the traditional way, which I’ve outlined in great detail in this post. But lately we’ve been eating more meatless meals. I’m gravitating towards vegetarian recipes, and this one fits the bill!
There are so many variations on meat-free chopped liver. A reader named Sheri Ellyn Gross shared this particular version with me back in 2010. She calls it “Aunt Bev’s Mock Liver.” Of the recipe, she says: “I make this every year for the holidays. My Mom likes it better than the real thing.”
Sheri’s background is Ukranian. Her grandparents came to America in the early 1900’s from Kiev, Russia, and settled in Chicago. Her great grandfather was a baker by trade; he opened a bakery in Chicago and became famous for his challah and other breads.
My family really enjoys Aunt Bev’s recipe. It is much lighter than traditional chopped liver, and has plenty of protein. Although nothing beats the real thing, the flavor of this Vegetarian Chopped Liver might surprise you.
Many thanks to Sheri Ellyn Gross for sharing Aunt Bev’s delicious Vegetarian Chopped Liver recipe with us!
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Aunt Bev's Vegetarian Chopped Liver
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (the original recipe calls for vegetable oil)
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- 4 peeled hard boiled eggs, divided
- 15 ounces peas, drained (1 can)
- Salt and pepper to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot enough to fry. Sauté the chopped onion for several minutes until it softens and caramelizes.
- In a food processor, combine sautéed onion, toasted walnuts, 3 of the peeled hard boiled eggs, and peas.
- Pulse, then process until the puree resembles chopped liver. Add salt and pepper to taste, and process again to blend.
- Chop up the remaining egg. Garnish the vegetarian chopped liver with the last chopped egg and parsley. Serve with crackers for spreading, or matzo during Passover (if you are celebrating Sephardic style - peas are considered kitniyot). Enjoy!
Nutrition
Can this be frozen?
This chopped “liver” recipe is great. I like it better than the real thing. I plan on making it for Rosh Hashanah. Can you make it in advance and freeze it?
Really loved this. Only modification was a Clove of garlic and a tablespoon of ghee.
Also was wondering if this would be freezable?
Can I use sunflower seeds instead of walnuts?
I haven’t tried that before so I’m not sure what the end result will taste like.
It was delicious…just as I remember the real thing, even better…I used frozen peas, defrosted but not cooked..Big oooops…it came out Pea Green…so I told my company it was a vegi spread..they loved it…next time I’ll cook them…will definitely make it again,,
Thanks for the good-to-know heads-up! I had also considered using frozen peas, because I abhor the taste of canned ones.
I have made a very similar recipe for 3 decades without the peas. During Pesach it seems I’m constantly making this because I swear my son inhales it.
I made it with brown lentils I’d cooked till soft. Yummy, and the right color!
Just made this today and LOVED it! I nearly devoured the whole thing after making it – it almost didnt make the dinner table! The best part- I also used some of it in another recipe that requires pureed liver and that dish also turned out great!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I changed it a bit and sautéed mushroom with opinion. Great recipe. It’s delish!!
I keep coming back this recipe it’s amazing!! I make it year round!! Thanks for sharing it!!
This recipe is great. I have been using the same recipe using mushrooms instead of peas. It was a nice surprise to see that you can make it with peas saving me time to chop the mushrooms and then saute them with the onion. Try it with mushrooms.
Has anyone tried peanutsin place of walnuts?
I tried it with peanuts, and the result was a bit of a peanut flavor that detracted from the chopped liver taste. It wasn’t awful (my family still ate it), but I recommend almonds if you need a substitute.
Ahhh, this is a mock “Chopped Liver” I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how you can make “Veggie Chopped Liver” it just didn’t compute, so when I gave the recipe a “Look See” it then made sense. I just learned about a year ago that the only way you can prepare chicken livers is to broil them.
I just made this for tomorrow night’s Seder so it would have overnight to “ripen.” Honestly, I was licking the spatula and cannot wait to see how much better it COULD BE tomorrow!! Thank you! And I totally agree that the canned peas are perfect.
Awesome Jano! 🙂
I make this same recipe and it’s absolutely fabulous. I am vegetarian , but like to make some traditional foods on the holidays! This is one of my regulars.
I have been a pescetarian for a long time and I have been craving chopped liver. I wanted a simple recipe and came across this one. The only thing I did different was used crushed (almost to a powder) walnuts left over from last Pesach. (I always have leftover and freeze them adding them to cookies etc to use them up). The recipe was excellent and easy. Unfortunately I needed money and sold my food processor and had to use a blender. It didn’t blend together as well but worked good enough for me. Thank you.
Tori –
We had an “early” seder yesterday (to aid family travel). I made a number of recipes… and hands down, Aunt Bev’s Vegeterian Chopped Liver was the one that everyone kept praising me about (and fighting over to bring home the leftovers! – I doubled the batch..)
My sister-in-law is vegetarian, and she said this will be a regular staple for her now. The meat eaters, and the “traditionalists” all couldn’t get over how much it looked and tasted like “real” chopped liver.
The coloring was just right, too. I think that must have been the toasted walnuts.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It was amazing, delicious, and simple to make!
Happy Passover everyone!!
Fabulous David! My family loves it too. Chag Sameach!
I toasted the walnuts, and used lentils. I actually parboiled the lentils and then finished them in the fried onions risotto style. Added a lot of delicious flavour. I also seasoned with a bit of balsamic vinegar and a touch or honey. And finally caramelized a whole onion, sliced for the topping. It was delicious! I’ve been eating it on rice crackers!
Heidi, you used lentils instead of peas or in addition? Does it taste like chopped liver your way? I see
recipes for lentil chopped liver, and I was wondering if this should have lentils in it, but I just missed that part. I think they are two separate types of mock chopped/vegetarian liver. Which one would be the better tasting (more like the real thing)? I guess I’ll have to make both and see. Thanks for the suggestions.
I have been using green/brown lentils for making veggie chopped liver. Very good taste, most people think it tastes like the real thing.
I saw there was a comment from back in August of 2012 about leaving out the yolks so I thought I’d give a little bump and see if anyone’s made this with just egg whites.
Hi Tori! I just have to say that your website
is one of the highlights of my (increasingly computer-
concentrated) day! GREAT Mock Liver recipe, too.
Keep up the wonderful work and THANKS!!
xxxLisa
Sruli and Lisa, Klezmer musicians
Thank you so much Lisa! 🙂