Vegan sausages have been booming in recent years. Find out how the supermarket versions compare, and what to know about vegan sausages before you buy.
We asked a large consumer panel to blind taste 10 frozen vegan sausages to find the tastiest options on the market. We tested branded and supermarket sausages. Less well known brand Miami nabbed the top spot, out-performing big hitters like Beyond Meat, This, Meatless Farm and Future Farm.
Read on to find out how the supermarket versions compare, and what to know about vegan sausages before you buy.
Best vegan sausages
Only one vegan sausage brand impressed our testers enough to nab a Best Buy, but several alternative brands weren’t too far behind. Some of these are more widely available, so you might find them easier to track down.
Best Buy: Miami Burger Plant-based Lincolnshire Sausages – 71%
Miami sausages take the top spot in our frozen sausage taste test, with 64% of tasters saying that they would happily eat this sausage in place of a meat sausage.
Despite receiving an average score for their aroma, these sausages were the only ones that scored top marks for appearance, with some tasters highlighting the nice crispy skin. Tasters also loved the colour and moistness of these sausages.
Beyond Meat Plant Based Sausage – 68%
Beyond Meat’s plant sausage comes in just a couple of percentage points behind our top scorer, and with good scores across the board.
Like Miami’s sausages, 64% of tasters said that they would eat this in place of a meat sausage. Tasters particularly enjoyed the thickness of these sausages, with an overwhelming 89% of them claiming they were ‘just right’.
Future Farm Vegan Sausages – 68%
Scoring a joint 68% with Beyond are Future Farm’s vegan sausages, which come in a bit cheaper at £3.50 a pack. They scored well for flavour, texture, aroma, and appearance. Tasters particularly liked the thickness and colour of the sausages.
Several other vegan bangers were considered decent by our tasters, though supermarket own-labels tended to fall further down the table, and Linda McCartney’s offering didn’t impress tasters at all.
- Meatless Farm Plant Based Sausages – 65% Tasters really liked the flavour and appearance of these bangers, and thought they were the ideal colour, with 76% of tasters thinking it was ‘just right’.
- THIS Isn’t Pork Plant Based Sausages – 65% These sausages didn’t look or smell that appealing, according to our tasters, but they loved the flavour and texture, scoring them highly for moistness and strength of flavour.
- Aldi Plant Menu Ultimate No Pork Vegan Sausages – 63% Aldi’s sausages also received low marks for aroma, appearance and colour, but it’s worth persevering as tasters did like the flavour and texture of these cheaper vegan bangers.
- Moving Mountains Plant-Based Sausages – 62% These sausages look the part, but aren’t anything to write home about – especially for the price. They got average marks for aroma, taste and flavour.
- Morrisons Plant Revolution Meat Free Sausages – 61% Our tasters thought these sausages had a tantalising smell, and were a good thickness and colour, but the taste itself was underwhelming.
- M&S Vegan Plant Sausages Frozen – 57% 70% of our tasters would not be happy to eat this substitute in the place of a real pork sausage. It scored well for texture but fell down on flavour.
- Linda McCartney Vegetarian Sausages – 45% These sausages failed to impress our tasters, with low scores across the board. They won’t pass as a meat substitute either – 71% of our tasters weren’t convinced.
What are vegan sausages made of?
Vegan sausages are typically made from pea or soya protein, though some are mushroom-based. We noticed many vegan sausages weren’t gluten-free, so check the label before you buy if you have an allergy or intolerance.
Vegan sausages aren’t necessarily good for you just because they are plant-based. They can have quite high salt and sodium levels, and a different nutritional profile to the meat version (though of course, these aren’t exactly healthy either). However, when you compare fat content, Tesco’s pork sausages come in at a whopping 25.3g of fat per 100g, whereas the vegan sausages are around half of that at 12.6g of fat per 100g.
Can you get enough protein from vegan sausages?
Yes. The recommended protein intake in the UK is 0.75g of protein per 1kg of body weight, making it on average 56g for men and 45g for women. A couple of vegan sausages will help you towards this, with most having around 11-13g protein for two sausages.
Are vegan sausages more sustainable?
The general consensus among experts is that eating less meat is better for the planet. Plant-based meats use less water in the manufacturing process than regular meat products and emits less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
However, soya farming also has some issues. As a crop, it has high demand for resources such as water, soil, energy and agrochemicals. Its growth and cultivation also contributes to deforestation in tropical South American countries, though this is partly to do with its use for animal feed.
Pea or mushroom protein-based sausages therefore may be a better option if you’re buying primarily for environmental concerns.
Original source: https://www.which.co.uk
