Battle - Veggie Burger!
Ever want to eat 7 different kind of veggie burgers in one night? Luckily, my husband and friends did! I LOVE hamburgers, like on a Jughead Jones type of level, its intense. So what about veggie burgers? How do they stand up next to Mr. Ground Chuck? And more importantly, with so many options out there, which one reigns supreme?! My flexitarian self and my omnivore husband Alex, along with our friends - Jessica, an almost vegan (so close!) and vegetarians Michael and Natalie (lovers) are up for the challenge!!
I cooked two of each kind of burger, prepared in the same way, on the stovetop, in a well oiled cast iron pan, according to package directions. One burger was then cut into five pieces so we could each try it on its own. The other patty was cut into three and made into sliders. All with the standard burger toppings of: Lettuce, Tomato, Minced Red Onion, Dill Pickle Slices, Ketchup and Mustard. Our buns were toasted. I cut the sliders in half so everyone got one half slider each, with a piece leftover to fight over or...fight against in some cases!
We all made notes on each of the burgers and then ranked them on a scale of 1 to 7. A ranking of 1/7 would be the highest honor while a rank of 7/7 is terrible. The winner was calculated by combining our scores out of 7 for each burger, the lower the number the better the burger.
The burgers below are ranked from LEAST liked to MOST liked. Let's eat!
I cooked two of each kind of burger, prepared in the same way, on the stovetop, in a well oiled cast iron pan, according to package directions. One burger was then cut into five pieces so we could each try it on its own. The other patty was cut into three and made into sliders. All with the standard burger toppings of: Lettuce, Tomato, Minced Red Onion, Dill Pickle Slices, Ketchup and Mustard. Our buns were toasted. I cut the sliders in half so everyone got one half slider each, with a piece leftover to fight over or...fight against in some cases!
We all made notes on each of the burgers and then ranked them on a scale of 1 to 7. A ranking of 1/7 would be the highest honor while a rank of 7/7 is terrible. The winner was calculated by combining our scores out of 7 for each burger, the lower the number the better the burger.
The burgers below are ranked from LEAST liked to MOST liked. Let's eat!
#7. LICK'S NATURE BURGERS
Sobey's - $6.99 - Frozen - Vegan - 10 Min Cook Time
JULIA Ugh, super salty, too thick, "soylent greeney". 7/7 | ALEX In bun good! Out of bun bad! Tastes charred. 6/7 | JESSICA As a burger, I like it! Gross on its own, flavorless, salty mush. 3/7 | MICHAEL Patty tastes like Yves veggie ground mix, too salty. Also not good on bun. 7/7 | NATALIE SALTY! On its own, "meh". In a bun, doable. 4/7 |
Licks very popular Nature Burger just may have single handily kept me away from all veggie burgers for years, thats how much I detest it. It is wildly praised by vegetarians and even omnivores, but I just don't get it. Too thick, mushy, over seasoned and nearly always on the wrong side of burnt, I have been disappointed by this burger for the last time! I will not be having another one again. Jessica rates it quite high, but never having it plain and not covered in Lick's many wonderful toppings, she soon learns she "really really does not like it on its own". It is of note, that right before we start this evening of veggie burger testing, that Natalie proclaims that she "has never met a veggie burger she has liked, and in fact dislikes any burger of any kind and always has"....this should be interesting.
TOTAL: 27
TOTAL: 27
#6 GOGO ORGANIC QUINOA BURGER
Stone Store (Natural Food Store) - $6.89 - Dry Mix - Vegan - 4 to 6 Min Cook Time + 5 Mins Soak
JULIA Very moist, crunchy outside, its tastes like being alone. 4/7 | ALEX Heavy, very quinoa, "ok" flavor. 3/7 | JESSICA Crispy and hard, heavy, ambivalent about flavor. 6/7 | MICHAEL Dry, but not salty, has an earthy, strong quinoa taste, but little else. 6/7 | NATALIE Earthy and kinda bitter in bun. Out better, less bitter but still, kinda bitter. 5/7 |
Our last burger to taste and different from the rest, GoGo is a shelf stable dry mix, that you add water to and form into patties yourself. Still pan fried, but unlike the rest of the burgers it gives you a great opportunity to personalize by adding your own herbs and spices of choice. (or a crap ton of hot pepper flakes, but may be just me) It was found to be quite bland, but filling, and also versatile as you are not limited to having it only as a burger patty. When I say "this tastes like being alone" I am referring to those lonely wednesday nights we have all had at some point, where you are all out of food and energy. I imagined finding a mix like GOGO in the back of the cupboard, and that this forgotten burger mix, is the only thing standing between you, and a mediocre dinner for one. Its really not all that bad...but it does kinda taste like the back room of a dry good store.....
TOTAL: 24
TOTAL: 24
# 5 ZOGLO'S BURGER
Food Basic's - $5.99 - Frozen - Vegetarian - 14 Min Cook Time
JULIA Falafel tasting, not veggie burger like. Disappointed. 5/7 | ALEX Grainy, "falafelesque", tastes like a burnt hash-brown. 7/7 | JESSICA Doesn't taste like "meat", not a lot of flavor, Natalie stole my second piece! 7/7 | MICHAEL Remind's me of the battered pork chops my mom used to make, and she was not a good cook. 3/7 |
Wow what a room diverter! Zoglo's, a brand I am only recently aware of, showed up in the freezer aisle of my grocery store and I was very excited. Their fake meatballs were fantastic so I was jazzed to try the burgers and had thought they might even win....nope. They were the only burger I had to use extra oil to cook (they required "frying") and flavored with a confusing mx of spices that made it taste more like falafel than a burger. A real turn off to everyone but Natalie, who went nuts for them! So much so that she was stealing other people's pieces and wistfully reminiscing about how the taste brought her back to her homeland....the rest of us would prefer to not experience it again. Michael's love for his mother and our "wild card" Natalie's high ranking of Zoglo's saved it from utter defeat.
TOTAL: 23
TOTAL: 23
# 4 and # 3 TIE! SOL CUISINE ORIGINAL BURGER
Stone Store - $ 5.89 - Frozen - Vegan - 6 Min Cook Time
JULIA Kinda flavorless, but also spicy? "Plasticky", don't want to eat more! 6/7 | ALEX Tastes exactly like a McDonald's burger, bad by itself. Touch spicy. 4/7 | JESSICA High expectations, but disappointing. No flavor, "wheaty". Do not like. 5/7 | MICHAEL Almost like a perfect blend between Zoglo's and Yves. Salty. 2/7 | NATALIE Nice start, but a fake aftertaste, kinda fishy tasting. 3/7 |
Oh Sol Cuisine, you make me feel....like this...so forgettable, I don't even know what to say about it. There are other flavors? Maybe try those? Zzzzzzzzzzz.....what?....oh yeah, Michael liked it.....zzzzzzzzz....Natalie thought it as deserving of third place.....zzzzzzzz.........and i'm done.
TOTAL: 20
TOTAL: 20
#3 AND #4 TIE! GARDEIN BEEFLESS BURGER
Sobey's - $4.59 - Frozen - Vegan - 6 to 8 Min Cook Time
JULIA The texture is the closest to meat, but is a little dull. Would be great on BBQ! 2/7 | ALEX Good texture, a little dry, bad flavor. 5/7 | JESSICA Taste's like meat! Good texture, dry, but has a charcoal flavor. 2/7 | MICHAEL Has a fake "ketchupy" or BBQ flavor. 4/7 | NATALIE Tastes like cologne, gross!!! Could not finish. 7/7 |
For calling itself "beefless", Gardein certainly did not look it. I would call it the most "meaty" of the bunch, but then Natalie would call it "gross" so who is to say. Jessica really liked it and Alex and Michael put it in the middle ground for flavor. It definitely had that fake meat texture that could go one way or the other. It was one of the only "out of the box" thinkers, by putting serving suggesting on the back of the package, including thawing and crumbling the burgers for other dishes. It had a strong smoky flavor that may be helped along by cooking it on a BBQ. It was around this burger that I had finished my second glass of wine and we were all just shouting out words like "meaty" "smokey!" "ketchupy" and "gross!" Natalie may pay to never eat it again.
TOTAL: 20
TOTAL: 20
#2 AMY'S CALIFORNIA BURGER
Sobey's - $ 6.39 - Frozen - Vegan - 6 to 8 Min Cook Time
(Contains Walnuts)
JULIA "Restauranty", crumbly, crunchy, has a meaty texture. 3/7 | ALEX Tastes healthy, grainier, meaty. Pleasant aftertaste. 1/7 | JESSICA Not a huge fan of the texture, seemed healthier, more veggies. 4/7 | MICHAEL Grainy, very salty, yet least amount of taste on a bun with toppings. 5/7 | NATALIE Least "burgery" would be better in a different context. (ex. with rice) 2/7 |
An Amy's burger is kinda like what you expect to arrive in front of you at a restaurant. And thats not a bad thing! Its trying really hard to be different, we all agreed that it was yummy, but pretty much every one of us referred to it as "healthy" tasting. Which I am assume translates to...."I wish it wasn't so healthy tasting". I think what really held this patty back from the top spot was its non traditional burger taste, while it made it stand out against the rest of the soy protein wannabes it also put it into another category....of what? I don't know, but you can eat it with rice if you want or whatever.
TOTAL: 15
TOTAL: 15
# 1 YVES "THE GOOD" VEGGIE BURGER
Food Basics - $5.49 - Refrigerated - Vegan - 6 to 8 Min Cook Time
JULIA Surprising! Expected to not like these. "McDonaldsy" Fake char marks disturbing. 1/7 | ALEX Looks like a burger, thin, smokey, a little rubbery, like McDonald's 2/7 | JESSICA Tastes like a burger from a fast food place! Tender, meaty, I enjoyed eating it. 1/7 | MICHAEL More burger like, the texture is closer to tempeh, I do find it dry. 1/7 | NATALIE Blegh! Tastes like blandness and fake meat. Cold. Didn't hold the heat well. 6/7 |
I almost did not include this brand in the taste test, as it is a name that is very well known, and widely available, but also not very well regarded. I have heard "well there's Yves I guess" when lamenting about veggie options. I do use their ground meat substitutes often, in chili, tacos and bolognese sauce, but I have never before been a fan of the burger they offer. It should be noted that this burger has been revamped since the last time we had all tried it. In the past, the patties were small, lifeless and grey, and the very thing that stops so many from trying any meat substitute at all. I added them to our list because I thought they would be a good litmus for the others, helping them stand a chance because "at least its not Yves" And then look what happened! Yves new burger went and won! They are new, but outside of size, not one of us could pinpoint just how they were new. But they had changed into something wonderful. They made up for their past with the best flavored and textured burger of them all. Not according to Natalie, who loathed them, but...well I have some theories about our childlike attachment to McDonald's....damn you Micky D's! And this burger was pretty close to a Happy Meal. Kudos to a Canadian, reasonably priced, and easy to get, meat alternative burger.
Way to go Yves! Winner of Battle - Veggie Burger!!
* If Yves is reading this, the fake char marks are weird and disturbing....ix-nay.
TOTAL: 11
Please stay tuned for our next Bad Hunter Battle. Battle - "Chicken" Nugget!
Be seeing you,
Julia
Way to go Yves! Winner of Battle - Veggie Burger!!
* If Yves is reading this, the fake char marks are weird and disturbing....ix-nay.
TOTAL: 11
Please stay tuned for our next Bad Hunter Battle. Battle - "Chicken" Nugget!
Be seeing you,
Julia
You can follow Bad Hunter on everything there is to follow, links for the Facebook and Twitter sites are up along with a Pinterest page full of Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes. There is also a Google + page and always feel free to send an email to: [email protected]
If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!