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Product Review, The Veg Life

Vegan Kit Kat Review

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Even before going vegan, I wasn’t able to eat Kit Kats, because they not only have milk ingredients in them, but also, they have ‘whey’ – which is the specific part I’m allergic to! Needless to say, I was pretty excited when these were announced.

Unfortunately, these were a big deal, which meant they were sold out for a while. I finally managed to get my hands on one of them back in December, which also kind of sucked, because while it was good and I would’ve gladly bought more, they’ve since been discontinued.

But, I still wanted to post a review of them, in case Kit Kat is taking notes of people who want them to come back, and so – on the off-chance they actually listen and do bring them back – you’ll know whether or not you need to put them on your grocery list.

If you’ve also never had a Kit Kat before, they’re basically just a chocolate bar with little/thin strips of waffer cookies inside, so they have a bit of crunch to them.

This bar came with 4 sticks in one pack/bar, so it was one of the bigger-sized Kit Kats, which was great, because it meant I could make it last a little longer than if it’d been the standard 2 stick kind.

It also didn’t taste like dark chocolate, despite what the wrapper said. It was closer in flavour to the No Whey! Milkless bar, if you’ve ever had those. Not bitter like straight dark chocolate. It also had what I assume is the ‘standard’ waffers on the inside, which added the right amount of crunch. Not super hard, but definitely made a satisfying snap when biting into it.

Because it was winter and I had the heat on, I did end up sticking mine in the fridge, because it got a little melt-y in my pantry. But putting it in the fridge I don’t think affected the flavour or structural integrity of the chocolate bar at all. It maaaybe added a little extra to the crunch, but it wasn’t anything too different.

I gave one of the sticks to one of my friends, and they said they tasted ‘pretty close’ to the non-vegan version. The only thing they said it was missing was more crunch. But I don’t know if that’s for non-vegan-bar-closeness reasons, or just their personal preferance for chocolate bars. So, feel free to take that criticism with as much salt as you’d like.

Another thing I liked about this bar, was the price! It was only $4.79 at Good Rebel, and while that does sound a little more than what you’d expect a chocolate bar to cost, keep in mind, it was the 4-bar size, so I was essentially getting 2 bars in one, and that would’ve made them $2.39 each, which is not that bad of a price at all. Especially when we’re talking about vegan chocolate.

All in all, I really enjoyed this chocolate bar! It wasn’t my favourite kind – that, if you’re curious, is Go Max Go’s Twilight bar, which I highly recommend – but it was pretty good. I definitely would’ve been happy if I’d got some of these on Halloween.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Choose Life Beefless Lover’s Mild Jamaican Patty Review

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I’m going to be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve had any form of a Jamaican Patty. The closest in recent years would’ve been those Oggi’s Calzones I tested a few years ago – and those were supposed to be pizza flavoured!

There were a few years there when I was in school where it seemed like everyone was absolutely obsessed with eating Jamaican Patties for lunch. They were everywhere at one point, and then faded out after a few years. Does anyone else remember that, or was my school just special?

Unfortunately, because of my food allergies, even pre-vegan there were a lot of foods I wasn’t able to try. So, while I personally didn’t eat them, Jamaican Patties were a strangely big part of a few years of my life.

Because of this, I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this patty, but, I’m happy to report, I enjoyed it!

This patty came frozen, individually wrapped, and only had cooking instructions for a microwave. (I have no idea if this is a normal cooking method for this food or not) Because the place I recently moved into has pretty much brand-new appliances, I cooked the patty for 1 minute, then flipped it over and did another 20 seconds, wrapped in a paper towel. (Out of the plastic)

I don’t know if wrapping it in a paper towel was the right move, because it got a little stuck to it post-cooking. The patty also had a very strong flour/corny smell post-cooking that wasn’t there when it was frozen.

Size comparison

The patty was a good size, in my opinion. And, if I’m remembering correctly, it was taller than a ‘regular’ Jamaican Patty. The crust was very flaky, soft, and had an Earthy turmeric taste. There was also a good amount of beefless filling inside, though I didn’t think it really tasted all that beef-y. Not that that’s something that bothers me – if you’ve been around this blog a while, you know I like when plants taste like plants – I just think that’s important to note if it’s something you care about. I can’t say specifically what the faux beef tasted like, other than just, sort of vaguely ‘veggie’.

Beefless filling amount

Also, even though I did get the mild one, there was (unfortunately) still a bit of spiciness to the filling. It wasn’t overpowering to the point of making my tongue tingle, but I was also glad I had my water bottle with me.

For something that was only $4.69 (Good Rebel), it was also surprisingly filling. It was more filling than the snack territory I thought it’d be in, but definitely wasn’t enough to be considered a whole meal. (I had to eat ‘real’ dinner maybe 2 hours after)

This is definitely something I’d buy again, especially if I were to find it at a regular grocery store, or if it was available at a gas station or something. There are definitely worse vegan options out there.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gusta Turkey Veggie Deli Slices Review

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I wanted to start this year’s reviews off on one of the products that would be replacing a staple at my house: Gusta’s Turkey Flavoured Veggie Slices.

If you didn’t hear the news, unfortunately, Yves has been discontinued. It was not a great way to end 2025 for sure, but luckily, Gusta stepped up to fill the gap. (A little too quickly*, according to some people)

So, I wanted to answer the big question: is Gusta actually filling the void left by the 40-year legend?

Right out of the gate, I thought the packaging could use some improvements. The slices came in a sort of plastic sack-like bag, which… was not the most appetizing way to package a product that’s brown.

The slices were also all lumped together, there was no paper separator or anything, they were just layered one on top of each other, the same way Yves’ were. Unfortunately, unlike Yves, the Gusta slices don’t have that small rind, and are very clearly a different texture, because they were extremely difficult to separate. Unless I carefully slid a knife between the top slice to gently separate it from the slice underneath, they tore.

And, they didn’t even tear straight across, they tore jagged. I believe this is because of the way the product is made – when you rip it in your hands, it separates the same – but, this cross-stitch connection made for a thicker slice, which I think, was a good thing!

Example of the jagged tearing

If you’ve eaten Yves deli slices for anything longer than once in your life, I’m sure you can related to the pain of getting those so-thin-they’re-see-through couple of slices that were somehow present in every pack.

The smell, I’ll admit, made me a little apprehensive. There wasn’t anything specifically wrong with it – it was just a little… strong, for a deli slice. I hesitate to use the word ‘weird’ here, because the slices did taste how they smelled, but I’m not yet sure if that’s a good thing.

To me, these slices had a slightly smokey flavour, and reminded me of what I remember white-meat turkey tasting like. They didn’t give me that, ‘Oh no, you just ate meat’ thing that Beyond Meat does, but it also wasn’t quite veggie enough to not-notice.

It was like an odd, no-man’s-land between the two flavourings.

I would say, I think the slices would be more enjoyable if Gusta picked a side. Either make them more veggie tasting, so they almost completely blend into a sandwich, like the Yves ones, or make them stand out more, so you know you definitely have a Gusta deli slice in your mouth.

These slices were also weirdly… dry? Like, they had a sticky-ish juice/sauce/whatever on them when you pulled them out of the pack, but when you actually put one in your mouth, it was somehow dry? I don’t really know how else to describe it, but I thought that was odd, too. (This was another contributing factor to why it reminded me of white-meat turkey)

I had my non-vegan friend try a slice, as well, and they agreed they tasted dry, and went on to say: they are pretty close, reminiscent of thick-cut turkey slices, like the kind you’d put on a toothpick. In a sandwich – which mustard or something – you wouldn’t be able to tell as much (that they’re not real meat).

So, feel free to factor that into your decision however you’d like.

I also didn’t exactly count how many slices were in the pack, but I know it was definitely more than 10, just from the sheer number of times I ate them. And, they were selling at a comparative rate to Yves. ($6.49 from Good Rebel)

Deli slice size comparison to my pointer finger

Now, to be fair, I haven’t bought a lot of other Gusta products – I had only sort of peripherally heard of them, but learned recently, apparently they’re Canadian! – so I don’t know if this packaging and taste is on-brand for them or not.

What I do know, is that these deli slices are a new product for this company, and I feel like you can tell. They haven’t quite honed these to perfection, but I think, with time – and, if they’re willing to listen to our feedback – they could very well fill the hole left by Yves.

*On the Yves discontinued announcement post, Gusta had made some comments announcing they were coming out with deli slices, and some people had… opinions about the way they went about this announcement. One person commented (to Gusta) something like, ‘Wow, Yves’ body isn’t even cold yet, and you’re coming in to take over?‘ which I thought was hilarious, but the comments have since been deleted, so I guess not everyone agreed. (I thought I had screenshotted it when I saw them the first time, but I apparently didn’t)

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Smirnoff Ice Green Apple Review

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Important: This is the last article of 2025! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 19th, 2026 with the first article  of the new year! (First short story will go up the previous Friday)

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of alcohol. Not only do I not enjoy a lot of flavours, but I’m also very sensitive to it’s affects.

But, ‘tis the season’ of mostly, family drama – despite people telling you it’s really about world peace or something – so doing an alcohol review for this month seemed appropriate.

I consider Smirnoff Ice Original my go-to for alcohol, so the one day I walked into LCBO and saw two other flavours, I decided it just made sense to take a chance on them.

LCBO had this flavour and a pink one that I thiiiink was raspberry? But, that was a few years ago, so I’m not sure if I’m remembering correctly. (And/or whether or not it’s still a flavour)

What I do remember though, is how much I liked this green apple flavour! The apple taste wasn’t over-powering, or taste like cough syrup from my childhood – which was a description I used for one of the cherry-flavoured drinks – but I don’t know if I’d tasted the ‘green’, at all. Since it was alcohol, it fizzed on my tongue and burned down my throat, anyway, so that made it hard to tell.

It had the same amount of alcohol content as the Original (7% for an 11.2oz glass bottle) and was within the same price range! The only ‘downside’ to trying to buy the flavour, was it either came in a four pack of the small bottles, or as a single in the big (1L) bottles. This means that, if you just want one personal sized bottle, you’ll have to forgo this flavour. I did check the Smirnoff website and it didn’t say if the flavour was listed in tall cans, as well, but I don’t think it’d hurt to ask your local store, if you really wanted to try one.

Or, you can always buy the four pack, try one, and then host a holiday party or gift the extras to friends/family.

And, in case you missed my Surprising Vegan Alcohol post, yes, Smirnoff Ice is vegan! Which means you can indulge in it guilt- and worry-free during these next few busy, hectic weeks. (Or, any other time of the year)

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Lightlife Smart Tenders Plant-Based Chicken Review

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Important: This is the 3rd last article of the year! I’ll be taking the last half of December, and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th 2026, with the first short story of the new year! (First article will go up Jan. 19th)

This year has surprisingly shaken out to include a lot of faux meat reviews, so I’d like to apologize in hind-sight about that. I usually try to pick food items that I think go with the seasons (like soups/heartier foods in the cold months) and are a good mix of products, but clearly that doesn’t always work out the way I plan. Next year I promise I’ll try to add a wider variety!

For right now though, we’re gonna do one more faux meat review – the last one of the year! (Faux meat review, not over-all product review)

Mostly I know Lightlife through their notdogs (which I haven’t done a review of because it would be one line – they taste like a hot-dog), so I was somewhat surprised to learn they made a few other faux meats, including bacon, ground round and sausages. Ironically, their website doesn’t list these faux chicken Smart Tenders, but it also says they’re an America company, so I’m not sure if they’ve been discontinued, or are just showing a different product range than what’s available up here. (Ontario, Canada)

These tenders come in a pack of 5 and it looked like they are vacuum packed in a plastic bag/wrap inside of the cardboard box. If you’ve been around a while, you know how I feel about companies using unnecessary plastic in their packaging, so while I’m glad the tenders weren’t individually wrapped, I’m a little annoyed that plastic is still the standard. But, I’m not a food safety person, so if that’s the way it has to be for health-standards, I’ll understand. (Albeit bregrugingly)

On the plus side, these tenders were a good/proper chick’n finger size, and surprisingly thick. They didn’t look like much in the package, but once I got them out and separated, they were thicker than my finger, and slightly longer, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of them whole when I got them out of the plastic, because they were all stuck together and I had to start cooking them as a ball. (I didn’t know I was going to use them that day, otherwise, I would’ve defrosted them first) Once I got them cut into chunks though, you could tell how much chick’n they had!

The tenders didn’t have too strong of a smell, either, which I really appreciated! They only smelled once they started to cook, but it wasn’t over-poweringly meat-like, like the Beyond Meat products are. It was more subtle.

That was true for their taste, too. They had a ‘realer’ taste of meat than the Gardein products, but I would say were about halfway between Gardein and Beyond Meat. You could tell they were made out of plants, but they were close enough to give my brain that small warning it gets when it smells meat.

I also learned, these tenders are the same chick’n that’s used in PizzaPizza’s Plant-Based Boneless Bites, so it was that flavour, but without the breading. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but before I was vegan, I used to love PizzaPizza’s Boneless Bites. I used to like them so much, I started referring to them as ‘crack chicken’. Their plant-based Bites are also very worthy of that label, so if you haven’t tried those yet, I recommend you do!

These are also worthy of the label, so I definitely recommend these tenders, as well. I will say though, they have a bit of a weird aftertaste that I can’t quite put my finger on, so if you do decide to try these, I recommend you put them in something, instead of eating them plain.

I ended up putting them in a simple pasta I made (tri-coloured butterfly noodles, frozen peas, hemp hearts, the tenders, faux butter, a little oat milk and then just some oregano and basil), and they definitely added to the dish, instead of taking away. Their flavour was enough to know they were there, pleasantly, but they didn’t steal the show. Which I think is an important quality if you’re making a product that you want people to mix in/cook with other things, instead of eating it ‘plain’.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Nashville Hot Chick’N Tenders Review

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If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that I’m not exactly a fan of spicy food. It lights my mouth on fire, burns up my tongue, makes me sweat and isn’t easy going out, either. So, it might surprise you that I decided to try something with the words ‘Nashville hot’ in the name voluntarily.

It might also surprise you to hear, I actually liked them!

I first tried these tenders back in January 2023, and have had them a few times since, and I have to say, they’ve been slowly growing on me!

These tenders are slightly longer than the 7 Grain Crispy Tenders, and a little thicker, which might explain why they only come 8 to a bag. But what these tenders lack in quantity, they make up for with flavour!

They’re not overtly spicy like I had assumed they’d be – when you open the bag, there’s no puff of spice to sting your nostrils – and when you’re eating them, you don’t get any heat until the after-burn on the swallow. If we ignore the spice factor, they taste the same as their other faux chicken products and they have a pretty interesting breadcrumb coating.

If they had a non-spicy version of these tenders with the exact same breading, I would definitely add them to my weekly shopping list!

Another thing I appreciated about these tenders is that you can easily cut them up and add them to things like rice or pasta, and they won’t overpower the dish at all. The flavour of the tenders is great at seeping out and permeating the rest of the dish, so if you, for example, add them to pasta, I would recommend not adding additional spices if you want to avoid a tongue-burning-disaster when you go to eat.

If you’re not too big into spice, like I am, but are still curious to try them, I’d recommend eating them on their own, with some kind of dip to cool off your mouth. I chose a fairly easy homemade ranch, but I’d imagine any non-spicy dip would do the trick.

As I said earlier, they only come 8 to a bag, but I actually don’t mind that with these. Between their bigger size and their spice, I think 8 is a good number to get you through the week.

Also, they aren’t any more expensive than Gardein’s other faux chicken products, so the only deciding factor in whether or not you should add them to your grocery haul would be whether or not you feel like getting a new batch of taste buds.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

NotCo Chicken Burger Review

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I don’t know very much about the NotCo brand – aside from their partnership with Kraft Dinner – so when I saw they had chicken burgers, I was obviously curious and had to try them.

These burgers were better than your standard veggie chicken burger for so many reasons, and I’m so happy I decided to try them! Their sizing, for one thing, was surprisingly good. They were, dare I say, slightly bigger than an actual burger!

Their breadcrumb coating was also nice. It had the classic texture of what I remember chicken burgers having, and they felt pretty solid when pulling them out of the bag. Like you could man-handle them a little without needing to fear they would break in your hand, y’know?

Speaking of the bag, I loved that it was purple. It also only had instructions for oven or grill cooking (usually, I cook burgers in a frying pan), so I cooked them in the oven. On the plus side, the instructions said they only need about 10 minutes total, with a flip in the middle before they’re done, so they weren’t a pain to cook at all.

A small pet peeve of mine is when cooking instructions say things like: Frying Pan: 10 minutes, Oven: 30 minutes.

They don’t really change colour when they’re done, and the first time I made mine, it did get a little softer/more breakable, so I didn’t think 10 minutes was enough. Luckily, more than one come in a bag, so I was able to experiment a few times after the tester I made for the review. I found 15-18 minutes was better for my oven. But of course, ovens vary, so I would recommend checking after the time on the bag, and then throwing them back in if they feel a little squishy.

Sometimes with vegan food, it’s hard to know if a food is supposed to remain squishy after it’s cooked, or if it’s supposed to firm up, so I always exercise caution when cooking vegan products.

Also luckily, these guys firmed up a little after longer cooking, so if yours come out a squishy, pop them back in!

I kept my tester burger simple, with just some lettuce and a mayo’d bun. I also cut out a piece of the burger to eat ‘plain’ on the side.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a ‘real’ chicken burger (at least 9 years), but these burgers had the flavour and texture of what I remember. They’re not eerily close like Beyond Meat products, but it’s enough to tell you’re not just eating breaded tofu.

Also, the cross-section of what the inside looks like showed off a great texture.

One thing that is not-so-awesome about these burgers is the fact only 4 come in a bag, and they were $7.49 (Metro), so I wouldn’t recommend making them a new staple. But, I can definitely recommend you try them at least once – especially if they’re on sale – as they’ll be a welcome addition to help you close out the summer.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Crabless Cakes Review

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If you’ve been around here a while, you’ve probably seen me talk about not liking the taste of seafood.

‘So Ater,’ you’re thinking (probably), ‘why would you do a seafood product review?’

That’s a good question!

And the answer is: Because they were recently used as a replacement in my grocery order, so they’re fresh on my mind. Also, crab cakes seem fitting for a summer review.

These cakes, as you may have guessed, are not my favourite Gardein product. But, I’m going to put my bias aside (as best I can) and give you a proper review of them.

Gardein’s Crabless Cakes actually surprised me with how big they were. I’ve obviously not had a real crab cake in… well I don’t think I’ve actually ever had a crab cake, even pre-vegan, but I assumed these would’ve been smaller. Closer in size to their Manadarin Orange Nuggets. They were maybe double the size? And definitely thicker.

The upside of them being bigger than I was expecting is, unfortunately, dampened by the fact there is only 8 cakes in one bag. Now, I’ve only got these twice, so I don’t know if it’s the norm or if I just managed to get duds/end of the line batches each time, but that’s something to be aware of.

For someone who doesn’t like seafood, I was glad there weren’t very many, but if you like them, you’ll definitely want to grab more than one bag.

These cakes had a good breading on them. They weren’t too crunchy (cooked in the oven) but the breading wasn’t too soft, either. It was a nice in-between. If I’m remembering correctly, I would say it was close to those frozen fish filet things.

The faux crab/filling itself is where my dislike for these became apparent. It oddly enough, didn’t have that classic fish taste. (Or ocean, which is why I also don’t like seaweed) What it did taste like to me – other than ‘bad’ – was weirdly enough, mint?

Not super strong like toothpaste, but it was more subtle, like candy cane mint?

I have no idea if mint is a flavour that’s supposed to be/usually found in crab cakes, but I found it weird. I don’t like mint in my food. No mint chocolates for me. It’s just too tied to toothpaste for me to want to swallow it. (I do like the smell of it, though!)

The texture of the filling was another… let’s call it an ‘interesting’ aspect of these cakes. It was what I remember canned tuna being – you know, that flaky, soft/squishy texture? – and since they were so big, there was a lot in a mouthful. (Even though I did bite them in half)

But again, I don’t know if flaky is a good or bad thing for people who enjoy crab cakes, so….

Another good thing about these crabless cakes – because I like to end reviews on a good note – is that they weren’t more expensive than the other regular Gardein products. So if you do choose to get these, they won’t cost you anything extra!

Except maybe in your mouthwash budget.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Silk Cheddar Style Dairy-Free Slices Review

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Now that we’re well into BBQ season, I thought it was time to review a newer cheese on the block, from a long-standing dairy alternative company: Silk!

If you’ve been around here a while, you’ll know I love Silk’s Chocolate Almond and most of their other flavours of plant-based milks. But did you know they also make cheese?

Yep, it’s true!

Before you get too excited, they only make two flavours that I’ve seen: cheddar and mozzarella. The good news though is that what they lack in flavour offerings, they more than make up for in availability!

I’ve seen their cheese slices in many ‘regular’ stores that stock their milks, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get your hands on some to try!

Also, I’m happy to report the same things I love about their milks, are some of the things that make their cheese great!

It’s hard to describe if you haven’t had them – or tried too many other plant-based cheeses – but their cheddar slices are creamy and soft. The texture was so different from what Daiya and VioLife slices are like, I actually thought the first pack I got might’ve gone bad! I (wrongly) assumed they were ‘slimy’.

Luckily a non-vegan friend told me that that texture was not only normal, but actually made them closer to feeling like real cheese? I’ve been vegan now for 8 years, and have been allergic to dairy for longer, so it’s been a long time since I had ‘real’ cheese, so I had to take their word for it. (This also means if you eat dairy cheese more regularly and decide they’re wrong, come for them, not me)

After learning they weren’t bad, I decided to try a slice by itself, before sticking it into a sandwich. I like to do this with all the products I can, so I can get a taste for the product itself, without it being masked by other flavours.

Again, it’s been a long time since I’ve had dairy cheese, but to me, these slices definitely tasted like cheddar. There was no doubt about what flavour they were supposed to be, unlike some of the VioLife slices. Don’t get me wrong, the VioLife slices I’ve tried all taste good, I just often don’t notice a difference in slice flavour, it’s all just kind of ‘cheese’ to me.

These Silk slices hold up great on their own, though I don’t know if I’d recommend eating them like that exclusively, and they hold up really well in a cold sandwich (deli slices, lettuce, etc.). They have enough taste to not disappear/become overshadowed by the other flavours, but aren’t super distinctive or overpowering enough to completely takeover.

Also, they melt really well if you want to put them on top of a burger! I don’t remember what they’re made out of, but they melt the fastest out of any vegan cheese I’ve tried thus far. One downside to melting these slices I’ve noticed is, sometimes, after they’re melted, if you bite into the burger (or whatever you melted it on), the whole slice will slide off into your mouth, instead of sticking to the burger. Understandably, that can be kind of annoying, but it doesn’t happen every time, so I’m not sure if it just means the slice wasn’t melted long enough, or if it’s only certain batches or what.

Another thing that we can put in the con column for these slices is trying to get them out of the package. They come in a pretty standard cheese pack, there’s 10 in one pack, but trying to peel the slices off/pull them apart can be difficult. Because they’re so soft, unless you’re extremely careful and/or use a knife to slide underneath, they usually end up breaking into a million pieces, instead of peeling off in one full slice.

This isn’t a problem if you say, want to melt them into something, but when you’re trying to make a sandwich, it can get frustrating.

If the don’t want to change the formula to give the slices slightly better structural integrity – which I would understand, because taste-wise, they’ve hit the nail on the head – maybe they should think about adding one of those wax paper separator things that some burgers come with?

If I, someone who has full range of motion/function have this much difficulty pulling their slices apart, sometimes I wonder how much harder would it be for people who have mobility issues?

It might not be considered a big deal for most people, but sometimes it’s annoying enough, it can mean the difference between choosing their slices, and choosing a different brand’s.

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I post new product reviews on the 13th of every month!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Supreme Saus’ge Links Bratwurst Review

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After trying the Beyond Meat Sausages, I’ve been a little more hesitant to try some of the newer/improved faux meat products that have come out in recent years. They have begun making some of them taste more like meat, and it’s too close for me to find enjoyable.

So when I heard of these Gardein Supreme Saus’ge Links, I wasn’t exactly jumping out the door to try them.

But working means not always doing things you’re looking forward to, so I finally sacked up and bought some to try. And, to my happy surprise, they weren’t that bad!

I first tried these sausages back in January, but decided to wait until the summer to review them because I figure you might be on the hunt for some new BBQ favourites.

These sausages came in the same sized box as their Supreme Burgers (which I don’t think I’ve reviewed yet), and they only came with four saus’ges in the box. They were what I like to call ‘proper’ sausage size – not too slim like the faux notdogs, and not weirdly long like some of the breakfast links – they were perfectly fat and short.

They also came in just one conjoined plastic sheet, which I liked because it’s less plastic than individually wrapping or packaging the links would’ve been. There is also clear seams on the plastic, so if you don’t want to cook all four links at once, you can just cut out the ones you want to use without inadvertently opening and needing to wrap up the remaining ones.

Because I’d never made them before, I decided to just cook them alone in a frying pan, which according to the box would take 19 to 25 minutes. When I took the links out of the plastic, they didn’t immediately smell like anything, but once they started to cook, there was a very strong sweet smell, that reminded me of maple syrup. The links also browned pretty fast, and I didn’t write down the exact time it took them to cook, but I did note it wasn’t as long as the box said. If I’m remembering correctly, I think I did 8 minutes on one side, then flipped and did another 6 minutes. (On my stove’s Medium setting)

One thing I did not like about these saus’ges was that they absolutely wrecked my pan!

I have no idea why, but they spit all over the place! I didn’t even add very much oil, and it’s not like I was constantly moving them around. All I did was flip them once. I noticed this is something that happens when I cook the Beyond Meat burgers/sausages as well, so I don’t know for sure, but it seems to be a weird by-product of the more realistic faux meats.

Luckily, it only looked like they killed my pan. Some water soaking in the pan immediately after cooking (once it was cooled down) and just a regular wash with a sponge and dish soap later, the pan was perfectly fine.

Once they were no longer cooking, the maple syrup/sweet smell dissipated, which I thought was a little odd. I initially thought the sweet scent was somehow activated during cooking, and once they were done, the links would continue to smell like that, but that turned out not to be the case. I don’t think they smelled specifically very ‘meat-y’ either, they just kind of had that done cooking smell. Or maybe I was just nose-blinded by the maple syrup, I didn’t notice.

These links had a great texture, and a good taste! As I said above, they weren’t super close to meat like the Beyond Meat products are, but they also definitely did have a meat-y taste. They also had what I described as an ‘undercurrent’ of flavour that I couldn’t quite place. My notes said ‘my best guess is mint, but not the toothpaste or candy cane mint flavour – it’s closer to when mint is in shampoo and has that ‘cooling’ effect, but in your mouth?’

This was actually a flavour I noticed in the Beyond Meat sausages, as well. At that time, I thought it might’ve been the fennel because they had the whole seeds/pods/whatever they’re called in them. But I’ve since been told fennel doesn’t have that cooling/mint effect, so I don’t know what else it could be.

I did read the ingredients, and there definitely is not any mint in the saus’ge links, so it might be just be a weird taste-bud thing.

I definitely wouldn’t let that odd description stop you from trying these saus’ges. Overall, they’re good! And I’m betting they’d be even better tasting if you cut them up and added them to something like a pasta or rice dish.

That said, they are on the slightly expensive side ($10.99 when I got them at Loblaws), so maybe best to keep them for those special BBQ summer occasions with family/friends.

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