Friday Forum: Gardein vs. Beyond Meat
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Call them meat replacements, plant-based meats, or simply one of a billion ways vegans get their protein. Beyond Meat or Gardein. Pick one, tell us why, and share your favorite recipe.
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Call them meat replacements, plant-based meats, or simply one of the billion ways vegans get their protein.
Beyond Meat or Gardein. Pick one, and tell us why.
It’s no secret that Gardein and I have history. Gardein played a small, but happy, role in my vegan transition. Each introduction of a new product brought on serious amounts of veg-glee (veg-glee: the emotion of becoming excited upon seeing a new vegan food to try). But then came Beyond Meat. It’s non-GMO. It has the toothy chewy texture of chicken and, from what I remember, the same flavor profile. I have fooled several friends with my (no) chicken noodle soup this winter. I’m looking forward to trying the new crumbles and am slightly disappointed I wasn’t one of the bloggers they asked for a review. – KD
Here’s the thing: I really, really love some Gardein products. The crispy chick’n tenders are a staple in my freezer. I also really dig the orange mandarin chick’n, beefless burgers, and the chipotle lime chick’n strips. And lately, I’ve really enjoyed their meatless meatballs. Beyond Meat, on the other hand… I have yet to taste the beefless crumbles, but the taste, texture and convenience of their chicken strips? Man, that’s some pretty good stuff right there. Not to mention, the folks over there sent me a pretty nice package for my birthday – gotta love some good customer service. This could be the Sophie’s Choice of plant-based meats! – Daria
I personally don’t buy either as I am perfectly content with legumes, tofu & tempeh as my main protein options at mealtime. I have had both, and both are fine, but neither are options I feel I need to have in my fridge. – Anya
GARDEIN! Their scallopini is a good part of any stir fry, and it’s juicy with a nice, versatile flavor. Because of this one product, I rate it the highest. Beyond Meat may be best for brand new veg-heads because it seems like a close resemblance to meat. – Amy
Gardein – not only is it available at more stores but I lose it when I see all the different kinds, even the ones I didn’t know existed. I’m literally like:
I have to default to Gardein because I haven’t actually tried Beyond Meat. I will have to do a taste-test after seeing how Beyond Meat fares in the ‘competition’! It does seem from looking at the two products’ websites that Gardein has more overall offerings, but perhaps Beyond Meat is superior in taste/texture. I love the Gardein 7-grain chicken strips and in preparation to answer this question prepared a delicious wrap with them, including shredded cabbage, sprouts, avocado, Wildwood vegan aioli and Sriracha! See? – Linden
Now it’s your turn! YDV readers, share your pick in the Gardein vs. Beyond Meat battle. While you’re making that difficult decision, perhaps sharing a link to your favorite recipe might make it easier to choose. We sure wouldn’t mind seeing (or making) your favorites!
Do you have a question or topic you’d like to have answered or discussed? Simply email us.
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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.
Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…
So I just tried a patty of Beyond Meat and a patty of Gardein. I liked both and would eat both but, I really did prefer the Beyond Meat patty better. The Beyond Meat patty was definitely more flavorful, the texture did feel more like beef, and yes,it is the same color of a rare-ish beef burger (I had to remind myself that it was due to beets..). So, if you miss the taste, texture and color of a real beef burger but don’t want to contribute to the slaughter of cows, then I would suggest trying the Beyond Meat. But, as I said in the beginning, both were tasty and I would choose either one to throw in-between a bun.
So far I haven’t had a Beyond product that I actually like.
They all leave a filminess in my mouth.
They aren’t horrible, but there are so many other products out there I prefer.
I’m also not a huge fan of their gimmicky marketing, and one recent blurb on a package I read was interpreted as they are saving animals by creating meat in a lab.
I know, I know, they meant fake meat, but if I wanted to enjoy meat, I’d eat meat.
I love working with Beyond Meat products. I use the grilled “chicken” strips in my street tacos. The trick is to add a marinade. Here’s my recipe for my my mojo sauce that I team up with my tacos al carbon.
Tacos Al Carbon: http://cyn-fully-delicious.blogspot.com/2014/05/vegan-tacos-al-carbon-mas-famosa.html
Mojo sauce marinade: http://cyn-fully-delicious.blogspot.com/2014/06/high-octane-mojo-sauce.html