Hey everybody!
Today I've decided to list some of my favourite meat-free products which taste like meat to me. Transitioning to vegan can seem hard when you think you'll miss things that you normally eat. I used to eat a lot of meat and with today's increasing demand for vegan substitutes, it has never been easier for you to give up the killing, but keep tasting the food!
In this list I have compiled family favourites which can be eaten vegan (and fool those that aren't), including: burgers, sausage rolls, chicken, mince, sausage rolls, takeaways and more!
I'll keep updating this when I find new things that resemble their meat counterpart that I have tried and liked.
1. Greggs' vegan sausage roll
Now I used to be an absolute sausage roll monster a few months back, so it is amazing that I don't have to give them up! Greggs took Britain by storm when they released this tasty treat. You can get it for £1 at your local Greggs - the same price as one of their normal sausage rolls, which is amazing, as these taste divine and cruelty free.
2. Classic Miami Burger
I had one of these at a BBQ in the summer and I was very pleasantly surprised! To me they taste like beef burgers which is a nice change from the bean/potato-y burgers that often exist as veggie burgers. Its fun to show people that they don't shrink when cooked like beef does, yet tastes really quite beefy. They go for about £3.50 for two, which is quite pricey but then again, how often do you cook burgers on a BBQ at home? Definitely worth it if you miss the taste of a beef burger in my opinion.
3. Louisiana Chick'n Burger
These guys are by the same brand as the classic Miami burgers. I had one of these chicken-style burgers the other week and although it wasn't exactly like a normal chicken burger, it did taste really nice and almost had the taste of the chicken in Bird's Eye's family classic chicken pie. I would have this again for a chicken style thing to eat if you're missing chicken burgers! For £3.50 like their beef-style counterparts, I'd say these are still a bit pricey but if you really liked chicken burgers, these are a good alternative in my opinion.
4. Linda McCartney's Shredded Hoisin Duck/Hoisin Duck Meal Kit
For this product, you can buy just the shredded hoisin duck on its own in a freezable bag, or buy the kit which comes with the shredded hoisin duck and Chinese pancakes (just like if you were to get them from a Chinese takeaway). Hoisin duck is one of my favourite foods ever, so when I learned that Linda McCartney had made one that was suitable for vegans, I bought it so fast! I have to say, this did not disappoint AT ALL. I really enjoyed this so much and if you gave it to me a few months ago without telling me, I would've believed that I was just eating normal duck. They've done such an amazing job with this product that its unbelievable in my opinion. I added extra hoisin sauce of my own because I love hoisin, but it tasted fine without any extra as well. There are crispy parts too which is extra amazing that they were able to replicate the texture and taste so well. You can get this for about £2.50 for jus the shredded duck, or £4 for the kit.
5. Morrison's Meat Free Mince
My family eats a lot of mince based things so it was great news when our closest supermarket released this. The stuff is £1.50 for 400g which is around the same price/cheaper than regular mince which is a bonus. Mum and I shared this in a chilli con carne that we made and it was a really good substitute that my non-vegan mum enjoyed. I've also used this in a vegetarian lasagne before which was nice. Like normal mince, it needs to be in a sauce for it to taste good such as in bolognese, chilli or something else. Really easy substitute to make and I don't think many people would notice that much of a difference between this and regular mince once its cooked.
6. Quorn Crunchy Nuggets
If you would've given me these when I was eating meat, I would not have even noticed a difference. These nuggets taste like a mix between chicken dippers and chicken goujons - amazing! I bought these for around £2.50 and I think that they make a great treat for when you really want some fast food but are still eating vegan. They taste great and look great and my avid meat-eating brother thought they were nice too, which is good since I haven't eaten chicken in so long.
7. Iceland No Bull 'Meat' balls
The other day I had these in some meatball sauce along with some spaghetti. They tasted lovely and the whole dish was even better when I added a whole load of nooch to it! These bad boys are £2 for around two servings of meatballs exclusively in Iceland. They made an awesome substitute and did taste like beef (just a different seasoning I guess to 'normal' meatballs). I didn't eat meatballs that often anyway before I was vegan, but tasting these reminds me of how much I actually love the dish, and I cant wait to have more cruelty free deliciousness!
8. BirdsEye Green Cuisine Meat-Free Swedish Style Balls
These meatballs go for around £2.50 and are made by big brand BirdsEye. These are absolutely perfect just like the Iceland ones above as a replacement for meatballs. It has been a while since I had the Iceland ones so I can't say which is my favourite at the moment but I sure did love them a lot. In a pack you get 3 portions (12 meatballs). My brother ate these without knowing they were vegan and didn't say anything so they fooled an avid meat eater! Again, with a bunch of nutritional yeast, the dish was amazing and meatballs is probably one of my absolute favourite meals at the moment.
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As I say, when I try more meat substitutes that I think taste close to their animal-sourced counterparts, I will add them to this list. If there's anything you think should be on this list, leave a comment down below and I'll be sure to try it when I can. The next things that I'm hoping to try myself (that will hopefully make the grade) are Linda McCartney's shredded chicken, Linda McCartney's scampi bites and the Beyond Meat Burger.
Until next time, thank you for reading.
- the veggie frenchie
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