Review: Trader Joe's Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto

As usual, Trader Joe's does not disappoint with their vegan options. This vegan pesto sauce might be new. I love that that it's right next to the non-vegan pesto along with the other sauces, and not in a separate vegan section. It also happens to be next to the Zhoug Sauce that I love. 

Traditional pesto has parmesan cheese, and this has cashew butter instead. It changes the texture a bit and makes it more creamy. It's also not as oily as other pestos. 

Trader Joe's Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto ingredients: 

Kale, olive oil blend (olive oil, extra virgin olive oil), water, basil, cashew butter (dry roasted cashews, safflower oil or sunflower oil), garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper.

I made this with pasta and like how it turned out. It smelled so good when I stirred it into the pasta. 

You could also use it as a dip or as a spread on sandwiches or pizza. 

I thought it was not quite as good as traditional pesto, but that could be because of the kale. It's good enough that I would eat it again, but not my new favorite.  I'd like to try another vegan pesto with more basil (or try making my own).

Review: Trader Joe's Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto

First impressions: Looks creamier than I expected. Lighter in color and less oily than other pestos. 

Taste: A slightly blander version of traditional pesto. 

Texture: Thick and creamy. 

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe

Worth buying again? Yes, but I want to try other kinds of vegan pesto too. 

Overall: 4/5

Review: Rising Moon Vegan Ravioli

I love ravioli (all pasta, really). But usually ravioli contains eggs and cheese. I was pleasantly surprised to find not just one but TWO vegan raviolis from Rising Moon at Sprouts: butternut squash and roasted garlic & veggie.

I liked both, but the roasted veggie was my favorite. The butternut squash was a little sweet for me. The roasted veggie had a hint of sweetness but it wasn't overpowering. 

I didn't miss having cheese. The filling was creamy and not dry. It also held together fine without using egg wash to hold the sides together. I actually had less of these fall apart than some vegetarian versions I've had before. 

I like having some ravioli on hand in the freezer for nights when I don't feel like cooking. Now that I've found this vegan ravioli, I won't need to get the vegetarian ravioli with cheese that I used to eat. 

I'm all about finding vegan replacements for my favorite foods that are just as satisfying and delicious. I can check another food off my list with this one!

Rising Moon Vegan Garlic & Roasted Veggie Ravioli ingredients:

Pasta: Organic wheat flour, water, organic turmeric oil. Filling: Organic soy milk (filtered water, organic whole soybeans, calcium carbonate, organic fair trade vanilla flavor, salt, vitamin a palmitate, gellan gum, riboflavin [b2], vitamin d2, vitamin b12), organic butternut squash, organic spinach, organic garlic, organic carrots, organic potato flakes, water, sea salt, organic onion powder, organic tomato, organic black pepper. 

Rising Moon Vegan Butternut Squash Ravioli ingredients:

Pasta: Organic wheat flour, water, organic turmeric oil. Filling: Organic butternut squash puree, organic potato flakes, organic evaporated cane juice, sea salt, organic garlic, organic onion powder, organic black pepper, organic nutmeg powder. 

Review Rising Moon Vegan Ravioli:

First impressions: Oooh this is good.

Taste: Good balance of flavors, savory with a hint of sweetness

Texture: No difference from non-vegan ravioli, smooth filling but not mushy

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Worth buying again? Yes, I'll probably always have some in my freezer

Overall: 5/5

Review: Vegan Rob's Sorghum Cheddar Puffs

Vegan Rob's Sorghum Cheddar Puffs are the first vegan cheese puffs I've tried and I was excited to see them in the store. They're also gluten free and allergen friendly.

What is sorghum?

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain that tastes similar to wheat.

These sorghum puffs tasted like wheat to me, and definitely tasted "healthy." The seasoning tastes good but is overpowered by the sorghum. I'd like to try a version made with corn instead.

As someone looking for vegan alternatives to my favorite non-vegan foods, these aren't good enough for me to replace regular Cheetos. But if you're allergic to corn and looking for allergy-friendly cheese puffs, then these are pretty good.

The sorghum taste grew on me after a while and I did end up finishing the bag.

These also looked more brown than I expected. I like that they don't add orange food coloring, but I wonder if subconsciously I would like them more if they were orange.

If you're craving a cheesy vegan snack, you might also like Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares. Those do contain gluten though.

Vegan Rob's Sorghum Cheddar Puffs ingredients:

Organic sorghum grain meal, sunflower oil, tapioca maltodextrin, sea salt, natural flavors, onion powder, lactic acid, malic acid.

Review: Vegan Rob's Sorghum Cheddar Puffs

First impressions: The look more brown than I expected

Taste: The cheddar seasoning tastes good but the puff has a strong wheat flavor that makes it taste like a health food

Texture: Similar to crunchy Cheetos

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes

Worth buying again? Maybe

Overall: 4/5

Review: Sweet Earth Cauliflower Mac

I tried this vegan cauliflower mac because I love both cauliflower and mac, and I thought the picture on the box looked good.

Maybe I have high standards because I love mac and cheese, but I wouldn't get this again.

If you don't cook it in the microwave you have to transfer it to an oven-safe container which is an extra step I don't really want if I'm tired enough to eat a frozen dinner.

It also takes a long time to cook. The directions say 35-45 minutes. It took 50 minutes for me in the toaster oven.

I don't think it looked like the picture on the box, but did look better after I stirred it up.

Before cooking

After cooking/before stirring

After cooking and stirring

It tasted a little boring but not bad. There was a lot of garlic. I like garlic but it was a little too much for me. I love roasted cauliflower but it was bland here.

I didn't finish eating this. I ate about half before the garlic was too much, and there wasn't something else in it that I liked enough to make me want to keep eating.

Sweet Earth Cauliflower Mac ingredients:

Water, Cauliflower, Cauliflower Puree, Gemelli Pasta (Durum Wheat), Sweet Potato, Parmesan Style Cheese Alternative (Filtered Water, Palm Fruit Oil(1), Modified Potato Starch, Canola Oil(3), Natural Flavors (Plant Sources [Contains Autolyzed Yeast]), Vegetable Glycerin, Sea Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Bamboo Fiber, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Lactic Acid (Vegetable Source), Calcium Lactate (Vegetable Source), Nutritional Yeast, Chickpea Miso(1) [Rice Koji, Whole Chickpeas, Sea Salt, Water, Koji Spores], Sunflower Lecithin, Citric Acid, Annatto), Onion, Canola Oil(3), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Bread Crumbs (Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Salt), Nutritional Yeast, Sea Salt, Garlic, Cornstarch, Wine Vinegar(1), Natural Flavors (Coconut), Dijon Mustard (Vinegar, Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, White Wine, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Spices), Spices, Mushroom Broth Base (Water, Mushrooms, Salt, Cane Sugar, Maltodextrin, Onion Powder, Soybean Oil, Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Cornstarch(2), Natural Flavor), Chives, Smoked Paprika, Locust Bean Gum, Granulated Garlic, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Turmeric, Thyme. 

(1)Organic. (2)Non-GMO. (3)Non-GMO Expeller Pressed.

Review: Sweet Earth Cauliflower Mac

First impressions: Doesn't look like the picture

Taste: Bland + garlic

Texture: Creamy after you mix it up

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes
Better than other vegan options? I like Annie's Vegan Mac better

Worth buying again? No

Overall: 3/5

Review: Trader Joe's Zhoug Sauce

It can be hard to find vegan sauces. There have been so many times where I made a vegan meal and had no problem with the main ingredients, but didn't know what sauce to use. It seems like almost every sauce at restaurants has mayonnaise in it. 

So I'm glad that I tried Zhoug Sauce from Trader Joe's. They call it "a very spicy green herbal sauce with Yemeni roots." It's made from cilantro and jalapeños blended with oil and spices. It's an herbs + oil sauce like pesto and chimichurri (both of which I also love), but in my opinion the cilantro and spices in Zhoug Sauce work with a wider range of foods. 

This vegan sauce is so flavorful and you can use it on everything. The different herbs and spices work well with a lot of types of food. So far I've had it with tacos and falafel. It would also be good on sandwiches or as a dip. 

It is very spicy, so only use a little bit at first. Definitely don't eat a big spoonful all at once like I did. 

Zhoug Sauce ingredients: cilantro, canola oil, jalapeño peppers, chile flakes, garlic, cardamom, sea salt, cumin seed. 

Review: Trader Joe's Zhoug Sauce

First impressions: Woah that is really spicy!

Taste: Bright and flavorful with heat that builds as you eat more. 

Texture: Similar to pesto, you might need to stir to mix in the oil thoroughly. 

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Worth buying again? Yes, this is a staple in my fridge now. 

Overall: 5/5