Any good fake meat out there?

The bottom line is NO – no matter what the substitute is, NOTHING has the same taste, texture, flavor as meat.

Even the so called healthy substitutes (ground turkey instead of ground beef) are a poor substitute. Turkey bacon is not bacon. Veggie bacon will make you gag it is so bad.

If you want to eat less meat, then have meat at only one meal a week, and have fish or chicken or salad or tuna the other days.

But the synthetic stuff (substitute meat) will NEVER satisfy.

@AshlynM I like Morning Star sausage links and their maple flavored sausage patties. I am not a vegetarian and do enjoy meat but I don’t eat meat as often as I used to.

@si3tech: I love the Morningstar Garms sausages as well. The texture, the taste, all appealing. The trick, @AshlynM, is not to be comparing items to meat, but trying new things.

The Morningstar sausage patties are awesome!
I typed that before I saw the answers above.

Morningstar mini corndogs are very good, too, for a treat.
Subway has the Garden Veggie Patty, and, while it doesn’t resemble meat, it’s a tasty substitute. Perhaps Burger King, as well. I don’t necessarily look for fake meat so much as products that will stand in the stead of meat. Tasty options that work in the same applications as meat would.

I’m pretty sure I heard on NPR that whole Foods just premiered the veggie patty that bleeds (beet juice), and it sold out, quick. They were making hay with bleeding vegetables and foods on Wait, Wait!.
Waffles that bleed as a diet food?

As a side note: I once bought a case of Morningstar sausage patties and had them coming out my ears. I heated a batch and fed them to a young man that was all about meat. Particularly ham and sausage. When I told him they were veggie, he literally would not believe me. I had to produce the packaging. The bottom line is, you have to have an open mind.

Dad always used to say, and I assume he knew what he was talking about, that beans and corn will give you all the protein of meat.

@kritiper Yep, beans and corn or beans and rice combine to form a complete protein which we need. People often do not realize that just because a vegetable/nut source has some protein it is not the complete, essential 8 amino acids that form a complete protein such is as found in meat and dairy products.

@AshlynM Are you just talking about red meat? Do you eat chicken, eggs, cheeses, tuna fish and other fish/shellfish? All of these are good alternatives to red meat.

Well, if you’re wanting to eat less meat, then eat less meat. Why do you need a substitute?

Are you looking for something “meaty” like a Portobello mushroom. Many people them substitute for hamburger patty with cheese, lettuce and tomato.

I love Morningstar “ribs” and Boca spicy chik’n patties

Quorn is good. It’s far and away the best substitute for chicken in recipes.

I’m not a fan of imitation meat, as vegetables and fruit are wonderful enough as they are.

But there’s a vegetarian Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood has soy “chicken” and “pork” and “steak” that’s really good. You would not notice anything off about it if you tried it without knowing it’s soy.

They also have non-“meat” dishes which are excellent, but I think most people go for the “meat”.

So to answer the question, yeah, it’s out there. But I don’t know how they do it so well.

@Dutchess_III In my case as well as others, the “substitute” is actually another tasty source of protein. 4 sausage links have 18 grams of protein!

There are lots of other sources of protein other than manufactured, fake meat. If you want to cut it out of your diet, then cut it out of your diet.

Well, @Dutchess_III, the OP specifically asked for information about fake meat. Maybe she wants information about fake meat, not an over-simplified directive on how to eat.

How is it over-simplified?

@AshlynM , are you looking at becoming vegan or vegetarian? are you simply trying to reduce the meat in your diet ? How are you defining meat?

Have you talked with your doctor about a possible increase of soy / tofu in your diet? I’d recommend this if you haven’t done so already.

Other sources of protein are all well and good, but the thread starter specifically asked about “fake meat”. So I’d assume that she’s looking, for reasons of taste, etc, for “fake meat”, not other sources of protein.

I’m afraid I can’t be of much help, I’m very much a meat eater, but my wife is a vegetarian so I’ve tried a few things. Those burger patties, in my view, suck no matter the brand (though I’ve only had the Morningstar and Boca brands, so maybe some are better). As far as “chicken” goes, Morningstar Farms’ substitutes are good, but Quorn is supremely excellent. It’s not exactly like chicken, but it’s got a really good flavor and a very meaty texture. I’m also fond of Morningstar’s “riblet” patties (actually, I prefer them to actual pork riblets).

That’s right. We’re talkin’ bogus burgers, charlatan chicken, phony frankfurters, ersatz steak, or whatever other ways one can alliteratively insult the integrity of meat! ;-p

I like the Morningstar sausage patties, not the links. I also like Morningstar original veggie patty, and their Italian something or other, but the Italian patty has cheese in it.

Regarding if it really is like meat. Not really. The sausage is the closest. I’ve heard some chicken substitutes are white good, but some are made from egg so beware.

I dont try to “substitute” meat, I just try to not eat meat, and eat other proteins like legumes, leafy greens, etc.

Guess I’m trying to eat less red meat but not cut it out entirely. I do eat chicken and fish. I have only heard about this fake meat a couple of years ago.

Huff, huff, huff. Whew! Got here as fast as I could.

As you probably know, I have been a vegetarian since 1990, so I have sampled a lot of fake meat products. I shall list some of my favorites. I am giving you my favorites based upon what I think tastes good to me, not necessarily what seems like a “vegetarian version” of an existing real meat product. I don’t care about that, I just care that food tastes good. Most fake meat products only bear a slight resemblance to actual meat, and that’s OK by me.

If you put aside the idea that a fake meat product is going to be exactly like something you have eaten as real meat, then you can actually enjoy some of these products as something delicious in and of themselves. Also, don’t worry about all the flak that you will hear from people who would never try any fake meat products if their lives depended on it. I am giving you an opinion from my own perspective, a vegetarian who eats and enjoys fake meat products on occasion.

Vegetarian Plus Vegan Black Pepper Steaks

Cacique Soy Chorizo

Field Roast Vegan Frankfurters

Lightlife Smart Deli Bologna

Trader Joe’s Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels

Yves Veggie Cuisine Deli Bologna

Tofurkey Oven Roasted Deli Slices

Sophie’s Vegan Toona

Morningstar Farms Original Sausage Patties

Lightlife Smart Bacon

Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips

Field Roast Vegan Apple Sage Sausage

Starlite Cuisine Vegan Chipotle Chicken-style Rolled Tacos

Morningstar Farms Grillers Original Burger Patties

Yves Meatless Pepperoni

Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs

Gardein Pocket Meals BBQ Pulled Porkless Shreds(1).JPG

Kardamom!! Huzzah!!

If @AshlynM wants any vegetarian recipes, please just let me know. With or without fake meat. I love food and I love to cook and I have a huge collection of recipes. Just let me know what kinds of things you like to eat.

@Kardamom Thank you, your list is helpful

@AshlynM You are so welcome : )

I’m not sure where you are located, but if you ever get to the Los Angeles area, especially the San Gabriel Valley, there are tons of Asian Vegetarian Restaurants that specialize in dishes with fake meat that are delicious. I was so thrilled when I discovered some of these places. You could eat at a different place every day of the month and not eat any meat.

Oh, there is nothing that tastes like a steak or hamburger if that is what you are going for. I’m not sure why you are cutting out red meat, but just know all animal products have cholesterol if that’s your motive. You may have a different reason.

If you eat vegetarian long enough your tastes change, but as long as you’re cheating here and there nothing will taste like beef in my opinion. That’s my experience anyway.

I always think it’s better to eat less animal, so I’m not trying to discourage.

@JLeslie “Regarding if it really is like meat. Not really. The sausage is the closest. I’ve heard some chicken substitutes are white good, but some are made from egg so beware.”

Yeah, there’s the sometimes tricky distinction between “vegetarian” and “vegan”. Vegetarian may be made with some animal products (as many vegetarians are still ok with consuming egg and dairy products). Vegan should have no animal-derived products whatsoever.

www.gardein.com

Is a brand created by Chef Tal Ronnen.

Some of them are absolutely delicious. Better than meat.

@Darth_Algar Since the OP is still eating some neat I assume she is ok with some eggs and dairy, but if she is “counting” animal protein, and trying to limit it, then the eggs and dairy count.

I personally prefer my vegetarian products to be vegan, because I eat vegetarian to avoid animal. I do eat meat though. I just try to limit it. Something vegetarian with loads of butter in it defeats what I am trying to achieve.

@JLeslie “I personally prefer my vegetarian products to be vegan, because I eat vegetarian to avoid animal. I do eat meat though. I just try to limit it”

What? This makes no sense to me. You eat vegetarian to avoid animal, but you eat meat? ummmmmm

@anniereborn I try to limit animal in my diet for health reasons. To me eating a grilled cheese or scrambled egg is about the same as eating a steak regarding my health. Being vegetarian for humane reasons is something else, and I do actually get uncomfortable if I really think about an animal being slaughtered for my consumption, but I haven’t been uncomfortable enough yet to give up meat altogether.

It’s frustrating to me when the only vegetarian options are still laden with animal fat and cholesterol.

Tal Ronnen is a vegan chef and has also published a cookbook. The fact that he is vegan is one of the things that I find so impressive because the food he produces is so extraordinarily delicious that you wouldn’t even realize that it is totally vegan were you not aware beforehand.

And this applies equally to his cookbook dishes as well as the Gardein products. It really is a revelation of what vegan can be when infused with creativity.