The Best Affordable Vegan Meat Alternatives
Magpye is an amazing company in Northumberland, where a couple make vegan pies (without palm oil) then fill them with vegan steak and chicken, and sometimes vegan steak and blue cheese! They are even made with pastry made from regenerated local wheat.
Keep these faux meats away from pets, due to unsafe ingredients like garlic, onion and salt. For the same reason, don’t give them to garden birds or wildfowl (salt is toxic, and fat can smear on feathers, affecting waterproofing and insulation).
Recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside doesn’t recycle.
The range includes:
- Steak & ale (in onion gravy)
- Chick’n, Leek & Bacun (in creamy parsley sauce)
- Mince & Onion (in homemade gravy)
- Mushroom & Roasted garlic
- Roast Chickn’ Dinner (in a pie!)
Why Choose Vegan Meats?
England is a country of around 67 million people. This means that although most people eat meat (though the amount of people who don’t is growing rapidly), there is simply not enough land for everyone to eat free-range meat, from animals that graze outside and have access to cosy indoors barns,
This means that most meats sold in England are either raised in factory farms here, or imported (for instance, most factory-farmed Danish bacon is imported to the UK for supermarkets).
So it’s not ‘harming traditional farmers’ to try faux meats, because people who eat meat will support them anyway by eating free-range meat. But for everyone else, then it’s good to discover some good vegan alternatives. And these are not just animal-kind, but cholesterol-free and not linked to cancers, like many processed meats (bacon is an obvious example, due to nitrates produced when cooked).
Old vegan meats used to be dire – dehydrated textured vegetable protein that you would hydrate and have to add things to make it tasty. But today we have all kinds of options, made from pea protein and other natural ingredients like tempeh (an Indonesian fermented soy) and seitan (a wheat-meat that looks, tastes and smells just like meat).
Moving Mountains (plant-based meats)
Moving Mountains Foods (sold in shops and wholesale to hotels and restaurants) is one of the better brands, made with pea protein and sold in easy-to-recycle packaging.
This brand sells burgers and other faux meats like sausages and hot dogs, along with faux fish fillets and fish fingers (as good as the captain’s!)
Avoid sausages for young children and choking hazards (for older children, slice them lengthwise and lengthwise again into strips, to prevent choking).
The brand was founded by a vegetarian entrepreneur, who was told by his GP to give up dairy for his health. He did, and now this brand sells millions of plant-based alternatives to the masses.
Their burgers hold up well for a barbecue or in a pan, always staying tender and moist. You’ll also find faux versions of chicken, beef and pork.
There are also plant-based versions of:
- Beef (including bolognese mince and ‘meatballs’)
- Pork (including hot dog sausages)
- Chicken (including nuggets)
Vivera (plant meats from The Netherlands)
Vivera is a Dutch food brand that is sold in UK groceries, mostly based on sustainable tofu, so packed with protein. All items are affordable and easy to cook.
This is quite an interesting story. The brand began (under a different name) as a meat butcher. But as people requested plant foods, it began to add them to the range. Eventually they were so popular, they decided to give up selling meat, now only sells plant-based foods, and changed their name!
Now sold across Europe, the range includes:
- Plant-based steak, mince and bacon
- Plant-based chicken breast & pieces
- Plant-based kebabs
- Plant-based salmon fillets
- Mini protein-bites
Planted (tasty vegan meats from Switzerland)
Planted is also a European brand (from Switzerland), again widely sold in UK grocery stores. This one is setting the standard for ethics, sustainability and taste of faux meats.
The range includes:
- Steaks and burgers
- Chicken schnitzel and nuggets
- ‘Pulled pork’ and Bratwurst sausages
- Kebabs and ‘vegan duck’
The brand’s ambassador is meat-loving wrestler Christian Stucki. A passionate amateur chef, he has made this brand uber-popular (the chicken is even now sold in Swiss Subway restaurants). He says their plant-based steaks blew him away, and the natural ingredients and nutrition make it a great swap.
Linda McCartney’s Vegan Lamb Steaks
Pairing vegan lamb with fresh mint sauce is one of England’s favourite meals. So look in stores for Linda McCartney’s vegan lamb steaks, made from textured soy protein, onion and seasonings.
MOCK Lamb Pieces are sold at Welsh vegan pub The Queen Inn. These mock lamb pieces cook from frozen in just 8 minutes, so are ideal for kebab shops and food service. They are also Halal-certified
Juicy Marbles & Redefine (vegan meats for food service)
Juicy Marbles uses natural ingredients (secret recipe!) to create gourmet plant-based steaks and joints, you would not know the difference. Also available for food service, they are also super-easy to cook.
Redefine is one of the new lab-created meat companies, eaten and recommended by chef Marco Pierre White. It’s like ‘real meat’, but created with plant-based non-GM wheat and soy protein, alongside beetroot and yeast extract. Available for food service.
Homemade (vegan) Luncheon Meat Recipes
Do you remember visiting the shops as a child, and watching the man with the machine create luncheon meat slices? These seitan deli slices (Happy Vegannie) are the updated animal-kind version! No cholesterol either, which means you can eat more of them! Use them in sandwiches or on pizza.
Keep these slices away from pets (they look, smell and taste like meat).
This is not the simplest of recipes, but ideal for ambitious home chefs or professional cooks. It uses a blend of firm tofu and seitan (wheat-meat) along with soy sauce, liquid smoke and cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast (rich in vitamin B12).
People often wonder why vegans make ‘fake meats’. The truth is, that’s the taste that most people like. And in a country of 60 million people, even people who eat meat have to know there is not enough land for everyone to eat free-range.
Even meat-eating chefs like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall say people have to eat less meat, if you don’t agree with factory farming. Plant foods are also all cholesterol-free!
Vegan Luncheon Meat Slices
These vegan luncheon meat slices (Sarah’s Vegan Kitchen) also use a base of tofu and vital wheat gluten, with lots of spicy flavours and cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast.
Vegan Smoked Deli Slices
These vegan smoked deli slices (Full of Plants) are a bit more advanced to make. Created by a French chef, use them in sandwiches, pizza, salad or with vegan grilled cheese. They are made with tofu and vital wheat gluten, with saltiness to replicate the taste of real meat.
Note this is NOT a beginner recipe, you’ll need to find seitan and tofu (Tofoo makes both in Yorkshire). But if you run a cafe or are an ambitious cook, give it a go! You can then use the sliced to top pizza or put in sandwiches, or mix into pasta dishes. Sure to impress!
Where to Buy Vegan Deli Slices
You can buy both vegan deli slices from Tofoo (organic and made in Yorkshire, this tofu company now offers seitan products too). Recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
Also look in stores for Vegusto vegan meat slices. If they are anything like their wonderful vegan cheeses, they are worth buying!
