My neighbor recently asked me for recommendations for veggieburgers, and my SO and I started writing up this list and I thought I’d share it here, hope that’s okay. It’s a bit more commercial than a lot of the stuff I post here, but meat substitutions are honestly the easiest way I’ve found to get friends and relatives to try vegetarian stuff. It’s easy to cook, guilt free, and with any luck, at least some of these options fit easily into their existing routine. From conservative relatives to friends on camping trips, we’ve gotten good results with these.
By it’s nature, this list will be tailored to American brands accessible in my geographic reach. If you have any recommendations of your own, I’d love it if you shared them.
Hamburger:
- Impossible/Beyond Burger for closest fit to the real thing. They’re even better if you pour a little worcestershire sauce (turns out this has anchovies in it whoops) on them
- Trader Joe’s Quinoa Cowboy Veggie Burger - really good breaded veggieburger. Crisp them up so they don’t fall apart, good with pickles and cheese. Personal favorite, try seasoning them like you would chili.
- Trader Joe’s Veggie Masala Burger - good basic bean burger.
Chicken:
- Quorn’s Meatless Homestyle ChiQin Cutlets are like chicken breasts, good on their own or chopped up in sandwiches, stir fry, pasta, or soup
- Quorn makes a breaded, cheese-and-pesto-stuffed version which is awesome on its own, sort of like the premade Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu from the freezer section.
- edit: Daring. Plant Chicken Pieces
Nugs (you really can’t go wrong here, they’re all good):
- Morningstar Farms Vegan Chicken Nuggets (regular and buffalo): closest I think to the real freezer-section thing (minus the gristly bits) and probably the cheapest
- Impossible Chicken Nuggets - also very close, sometimes more expensive
- Trader Joe’s Chickenless Crispy Tenders - a little bit their own thing but very good
- Gardein Breaded Turk’y Cutlets - my personal favorite. These are a bit small so I’m counting them as nugs
Bacon:
- Morningstar Veggie Bacon Strips, it’s not super close but it’s a similar experience, a little easy to burn if you like it crispy
Deli meats:
- Tofurky brand Hickory Smoked Deli Slices
Sausage:
- Morningstar Breakfast sausages - good in breakfast sandwiches, omelets, rice, or just on the side
- Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo - this is awesome in all kinds of stuff, including soups, rice, pasta, and fauxganoff
- Field Roast Classic Recipe Plant Based Sausage Breakfast Patties - great in soups and rice dishes, especially spicy ones
- Impossible Sausage - these are apparently the closest fit to grilling sausages though I haven’t tried them yet
Steak:
- Trader Joe’s Beefless Bulgogi - This stuff cooks up more or less like steak tips and goes great in stir fry, and especially in soup, where it even holds its shape and texture and lends a nice flavor
Turkey (Thanksgiving style):
- Quorn Meatless Turkey-Style Roast - my SOs recommendation
- Trader Joe’s Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast - my recommendation
For a bacon alternative, I’m a fan of tempeh. Cut thin and then fry in oil with some soy sauce and smoked paprika.
I came here to post something similar. Except, instead of paprika I would use nutritional yeast.
I would slice the tempeh thin, and fry with a small amount of oil. Then when they’re nice and crispy, I would splash them with tamari. And while the tamari and oil are sizzling together, I would toss them repeatedly with the nutritional yeast. You gotta be quick with that part tho.
The end result is this crispy umami awesomeness that goes great with a bunch of dishes. Tacos/burritos, on top of a stir fry, pasta dishes, or even just served on their own next to whatever other side dishes you’d like.
The Stella McCartney duck shreds (made of setien, soya and seasonings) are my favourite fake meat. They’re delicious, don’t need cooking (defrost first tho obv) and you get a good sized bag for a couple of £, which is cheaper than most other fake meat products where I live.
I eat these in wraps with chilli oil, cabbage, cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce. Or I chuck a handful on rice and season it with some chilli oil, crushed garlic, mushroom soy sauce and add whatever vegetable I have in the fridge, usually cabbage or a finely diced ripe tomato.
There are vegan brands of worcestershire sauce, such as Annie’s
Here in NZ the cheap Pam’s brand has an accidentally vegan Worcestershire sauce (that’s like half the price of the fishy imported stuff)!
Honestly I’ve found that my meat-eating friends and family members find a well-made seitan superior to the majority of commercial vegan meats! As an example, the best vegan burgers I’ve ever made used washed-flour seitan simmered in a simple dark/mushroom soy sauce, onion, garlic, pepper, and bay broth for a couple hours before being barbequeued.
Daring chicken is amazing. They sell a breaded, but the original flavor unbreaded is kind of shocking in the right use. It’s best when sautéed (it browns well), but too much of it in stir-fry or sandwich feels a bit rubbery. It’s so tasty that you might be tempted to use it for something like orange chicken, but again, rubbery.
Also, if you’re interested in making your own alternatives, I love a kneaded seitan. You’ll need a really good stand mixer or a huge amount of stamina, but it’s worth it. Frontier’s no-chicken broth powder is one of my go-to seasonings for everything, but it particularly shines for seitan. https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Broth-Powder-No-Chicken-1lb/dp/B0001M0YT4/ref=asc_df_B0001M0YT4/
