Lazy Vegan Friday: Breaded Turkey-Less Stuffed Roasts from Trader Joes

Lazy Vegan Friday is where I talk about a prepared vegan product I’ve found somewhere in the world. Today it’s time to talk (not) turkey.

On a recent trip to the USA we stopped into the new Trader Joe‘s in Buffalo, NY (1565 Niagara Falls Blvd) and saw these Turkey-Less Stuffed Roasts in the freezer section. Since it was the first day of our weekend road trip, we opted to leave it and pick it up on the way back. We never did. But some kind soul at JC’s work independently brought a package back for us that very same weekend. It’s good to have friends (especially ones that visit the USA occasionally and bring us treats.)

Where do I begin with these stuffed turkey-less roasts? First of all I’d like to point out that on the back of the package it says it’s a product of CANADA. Why am I not eating this everyday? Why can’t I buy them and stuff my freezer with them and have nice little pods of not-turkey, stuffed with cranberry and other stuff? In short, I liked this whole bunch, and I would eat it again, and will buy it the next time I find myself at a Trader Joe’s (or find out who their Canadian source is – anyone have any hot tips?) (EDIT: Hot Tip has been received from Nicole – check out the Gardein Savory Stuffed Turkey in Canada – it looks very much like the same product.)

This is what the two turkey-less pods looked like right out of the package. Not pictured are the two packs of frozen gravy. Because no one wants to see frozen pucks of gravy.

I followed package instructions for a conventional oven to make this. You’ll need to allow for about 30 minutes for the roasts to cook up, so it’s not a fast meal, but it was deliciously lazy. In the last 5-10 minutes that the roasts are cooking, you can start boiling water and toss in the frozen gravy bags so everything finishes at the same time. (Dinner pro-tip: you might want to dice up some potatoes and boil them for mashed potatoes to serve with your meal – it works great if you start the potatoes at the same time as baking your turkey-less roasts.)

Putting the roasts on parchment paper made for easy clean up and easy plating.

The outside texture is denser than typical Gardein chicken pieces, and the nicely crisped/breaded outside makes the whole stuffed roast very toothsome. It’s full of stuffing – I was conscious of pieces of cranberry and celery, but otherwise it was mostly just an amorphous stuffing, and a delicious easy to eat item that has an immediate “holiday” feel.

Directions

Nutritional Information
Ingredients

I’ve transcribed the ingredients from the package I had – you can see the image here. But of course, all of this is subject to change, and typos, even though I try to avoid them, can and will happen.

Turkey-Less Roasts: Water, soy protein isolate, vital wheat gluten, expeller pressed/canola oil, modified cellulose, organic ancient grain flour (KAMUT khorasan wheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa), yeast extract, natural flavours, sea salt, potato starch, organic cane sugar, colour added, onion powder, garlic powder, pea protein, carrot fiber, beet root fiber, extractives of paprika and turmeric, smoke flavour.

Stuffing: Stuffing Crumbs (wheat flour, wheat gluten, sugar, salt, yeast, ascorbic acid), onions, celery, cranberries, water, yeast extract, modified cellulose, natural flavours, garlic powder, onion powder, extractives of turmeric.

Breading: Wheat flour, water, sugar, wheat gluten, rosemary, sage, thyme, red bell pepper flakes, salt, baking powder, yeast, onion powder, modified cellulose, canola oil, citric acid, extractives of paprika.

Gravy: Water, canola oil, corn starch, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt, alcohol, vinegar), natural flavours, vital wheat gluten, miso past, soy protein isolate, rosemary, thyme, white and black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, soy lecithin.

Final Word

For flavour alone, I would eat this again.

Please note that there is soy and wheat in this, so this product may not be for you if you have allergies or intolerances.

Have you ever tried this product? What did you think?