If you’ve gone plant-based but you’re still thinking about turkey, missing the joys of jerky, or wishing you could eat wings, we have your solution! These are the best vegan meats you can buy at the grocery store.
We have tasted an unbelievable amount of vegan meats here at Sporked. Some are very, very good, but some are extremely bad. Lucky for you, we compiled this list of the best meatless meats on the market. If you’re a meat lover but a meat hater, this list is for you.
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After trying every vegan loaf on the market at Thanksgiving time, managing editor Gwynedd Stuart came to the conclusion that “Gardein makes the best vegan turkey loaf out there.” Unlike most vegan loaves, which are extremely dense, Gardein’s is “super tender.” Plus, “the breading encasing the loaf is lightly seasoned and adds just a little bit of crunch and texture.” It also comes stuffed so you don’t have to make your own stuffing! Gwynedd liked that the “celery [gives] it some crunch, while [the] cranberries contribute a subtle tart sweetness.” The star, however, is the vegan gravy. Gwynedd “would be stoked if someone served this to me on Thanksgiving” and I agree!
Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling led our vegan jerky taste test and could not get enough of this Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. Buffalo Dill Jerky. In her review, she called it “fun” and “exciting.” She loved that it “has the butteriness of Buffalo sauce with lots of creeping heat that warms your face.” Plus, “there’s the tang of dill—almost like a pickle.” And Justine isn’t the only LVJC fan at Mythical. It’s also Rhett & Link’s favorite vegan jerky!
My mom has been making me vegetarian muffalettas with this Yves’ veggie salami for years. I was nervous it wouldn’t hold up in our taste test against all the newer brands, but I didn’t need to worry. This veggie salami doesn’t taste like salami, but it is really dang good. The texture is meaty and there are spices peppered throughout. You could make an incredible veganized sub with this Yves Veggie Salami.
I’ll say it: Gardein’s Ultimate Frozen Vegan Buffalo Boneless Wings are as good as storebought boneless buffalo wings (the meat kind). And they certainly are, by far, the best vegan buffalo wings we tried. Our favorite part of these meatless morsels is the texture. The plant-based “wing” pulls apart like real, dark meat chicken. We also loved that these came with sauce instead of being already sauced. These are perfect and I definitely think you should buy them.
You probably already know this, but Impossible’s plant-based chicken nuggets are incredible. They’re juicier than any of the other vegan nuggets we tried and also have the most chicken-y flavor. This is one of the few vegan meat products that I think could trick a meat eater. These were a hot commodity when they came out, but now you can get them for cheap at Trader Joe’s. This is a huge win for all of us.
Field Roast Signature Stadium Plant-Based Dogs are real hot dogs minus the meat. These are another vegan meat that I don’t think a meat eater could spot if they were handed one in a warm bun slathered with mustard at a baseball game. They even have a little casing snap which no other vegan hot dog on the market has been able to replicate. Moving forward, these will always be my first choice of vegan meat logs (which includes sausages).
Impossible is at it again. Gwynedd tried a whole slew of veggie burgers and determined that when it comes to Impossible, the “texture is excellent.” This is a faux meat burger that “chars up super nicely on the outside, just like a real burger.” It also “has crumble and it has fat.” There’s a reason why Impossible burgers are so popular and it’s because they’re really dang good. Top this with melted American cheese, raw onion, lettuce, pickles, and mustard, and you will not miss the beef at all.
Jordan is an L.A.-based writer and comedian who believes all food should come with extra sauce. When they're not writing for Sporked, Jordan is at the movies or sharing an order of french fries with their elderly chihuahua.
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