Review: NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets

If you're new to plant-based protein, vegan chicken nuggets are a less-intimidating option to start with. It seems like nuggets are easier to replicate because chicken nuggets are so processed anyway.

I tried Boca's chik'n nuggets a few years and they were pretty good. I heard some buzz about NUGGS and wondered how they would stack up.

The NUGGS website calls their plant-based nuggets, "The Tesla of Chicken" that are "engineered with the world's most advanced nugget technology." (It must be fun to work on their marketing team!)

I have to say these were even better than other vegan nuggets I've tried. They really nailed the outside crispy coating. I also love that the spicy version is actually spicy. About twice as spicy as Boca's spicy chik'n patties.

I went in skeptical and ended up craving these. The same thing happened to me with Tofurky plant-based deli slices.

Another unique thing about NUGGS is they're always improving the recipe and post the updates like a tech product's release notes. It's kind of cool to read through the releases and see what changes they've made over time. This review is for NUGGS 2.0.

NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets ingredients: 

Water, Soybean Oil, Textured Wheat Protein, Soy Protein Concentrate, Breadcrumbs, Wheat Flour, Corn Flour, Wheat Protein Isolate, Yeast Extract, 2% or less of: Modified Food Starch, Corn Starch, Tapioca Dextrin, Sunflower Oil, Potato Starch, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Methylcellulose, Sea Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Calcium Chloride, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Paprika, Dextrose, Natural Flavors

Review: NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets

First impressions: Smells good

Taste: Spicy, chicken-y flavor. Reminds me of Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets, although I haven't had those in a long time. 

Texture: Very crispy

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe
Better than other vegan options? Yes

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Tofurky Oven Roasted Deli Slices

I tried Tofurky's hickory-smoked deli slices earlier this year and ended up craving it more than I expected. I tried their oven roasted deli slices next.

These were very similar to the hickory-smoked slices. I'd have to try them side-by-side to notice a difference.

Tofurky makes other flavors of vegan deli slices, but the oven roasted and hickory smoked are the ones I usually see in stores.

I've been eating these Tofurky slices the same way I used to make turkey sandwiches. I lightly cook them in a frying pan to warm them up, add mustard, and eat on a toasted hoagie roll. These would probably taste great on your favorite sandwich too!

Tofurky Oven Roasted Plant-Based Deli Slices ingredients:

Water, vital wheat gluten, organic tofu (water, organic soybeans,magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), expeller pressed canola oil, natural flavors, sea salt, contains less than 2% of onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leek, lemon juice concentrate, cornstarch, garbanzo bean flour, white bean flour, rosemary extract, calcium lactate, potassium chloride.

Review: Tofurky Oven Roasted Plant-Based Deli Slices

Taste: Similar to turkey

Texture: Similar to processed turkey deli meat

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe
Better than other vegan options? Yes

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices

Violife is one of the most recommended vegan cheeses I see on vegan food blogs. It's also used by a lot of vegan restaurants. So I thought this would be a good choice to start trying vegan cheese.

First of all I love their packaging. The inside plastic package is resealable and easy to open. It's also labeled, so you still know what it is if you get rid of the paper outside. 

I tried this both cold and melted. When cold, it was easier to tell that it's vegan. The texture is not quite there, but it does look and taste more like dairy cheddar cheese than I expected. 

Next, I tried it on a vegan egg sandwich with JUST egg. I tried melting it from the residual heat of the hot sandwich but that wasn't enough. The edges didn't melt and the texture was slightly gritty.  

I tried again but this time by I put the Violife slice on top of the JUST egg in the pan and covered with a lid. This worked a lot better and it melted all the way. I did get a funny giant bubble though.

Final verdict? Pretty good on a sandwich, but I wouldn't eat it by itself. 

Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices ingredients:

Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Food Starch-Modified (Potato & Corn), Potato Starch, Salt (Sea Salt), Cheddar Flavor (vegan sources), Olive Extract, Paprika extract & Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin B12.

Review: Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices

First impressions: Looks more like dairy cheddar cheese than I expected

Taste: Similar to cheddar cheese but doesn't have as strong of a flavor

Texture: Takes longer to melt than dairy cheese, but once melted the texture is similar

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes
Better than other vegan options? This is the first one I've tried.

Worth buying again? Maybe

Overall: 4/5