Ranking the 8 Gardein Meatless Proteins from Worst to Best

Whether you’re a dedicated vegan or you’re just interested in cutting out meat from your meals every once in a while, there are plenty of plant-based sources of protein to choose from. Beans, tempeh, tofu, lentils … the healthy possibilities are endless. But sometimes, you just want some junk food that sorta kinda tastes like the meat-based restaurant classics you love, and that’s where Gardein’s meatless vegan proteins come in. The brand is known for its vegan dupes of animal-based favorites, delivering similar textures and flavor profiles to the dishes you might get when you’re out at a fast food restaurant or your favorite Chinese-American joint.

I got the opportunity to taste eight of these different meatless products, and I’ve ranked them from worst to best, evaluating texture, flavor, and how similar they are to the “real thing.” I’ll admit that I was pleasantly surprised by all of the products on this list, so don’t be afraid to try any of them the next time you’re wandering the frozen aisle at the grocery store. You might just find a meatless swap that’ll change the way you think about vegan food.

Let me start by revealing my bias here: I am not, and have never been, a big dan of teriyaki chicken. To me, it tends to be too sweet and sticky and relies more on sauce than it does on the actual texture of the chicken itself. That being said, Gardein’s plant-based teriyaki Chick’n strips aren’t bad. The main selling point is the texture of the “meat” itself — it’s quite firm and chewy, like an actual piece of chicken would be. However, that Chick’n doesn’t pack a lot of flavor on its own. Like traditional teriyaki chicken, it relies heavily on the sauce.

The sauce in this recipe is a bit thin for my liking, and predictably, I found it too sweet and somewhat lacking complexity — sugar seems to be the dominant ingredient here, and there’s not enough umami to really balance it out. If you’re the kind of person who usually loves the sweetness of teriyaki chicken, though, you might just enjoy it. I think the best way to amp this dish up would be to add some hot sauce to the teriyaki sauce to infuse it with some heat and acidity, which could help to balance out the excess sugar.

When I think of chicken wings, I think of bone-in wings. (I prefer flats, but I’ll take the drums too.) Gardein’s ultimate plant-based Chick’n wings, though, are more similar to boneless wings, aka chicken nuggets, than actual bone-in wings. I didn’t want to judge this product too harshly, though, as I can’t imagine that engineering vegan bones would be that simple, especially when it comes to a frozen product meant to be prepared at home. The texture of the “meat” of these wings is solid, and the crispy breading around that “meat” is excellent. However, it doesn’t really resemble or taste like a chicken wing at all. That doesn’t mean it’s bad — it just means it doesn’t necessarily do a good job of imitating the non-vegan product it’s meant to replace.

The best part of this product, though, is the sauce, which is rich, tangy, and just the tiniest bit spicy. And, luckily, once you cover the breaded Chick’n with the sauce, they don’t turn soggy right away. If you really love buffalo chicken wings and you’re avoiding actual chicken for whatever reason, this is definitely a product worth checking out. But if you’re more curious about the best that Gardein has to offer, then you should probably try some of the brand’s other products first.

Ground meat is one of the most versatile foods you could ever have on hand. It just works in everything, from tacos to rice bowls to salads and beyond. That’s why it’s so useful to have vegan ground protein on hand if you’re abstaining from meat. Luckily, that’s just what Gardein offers with its plant-based ground B’ef. Now, if you’re hoping this stuff actually tastes like meat, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed — in fact, this is probably the product on this list that tastes least like the non-vegan version it’s meant to mimic. But even despite that fact, this stuff is worth having in your freezer.

The texture of this Be’f is subtly chewy, which makes for an experience more interesting than what ground beef alone can offer. It also crisps up quite nicely in a pan, creating that subtle crisp that makes ground meat that much more delicious. The trick with this stuff is to combine it with plenty of other ingredients. Turn it into a stir fry, make a shepherd’s pie with it, or douse it in taco seasoning, and you’ll always want to keep it on hand for easy weeknight meals.

I’m actually shocked at how similar Gardein’s plant-based F’sh filets taste to actual fish sticks. Somehow, the brand created a product that even flakes like real fish. So, texture-wise, these F’sh filets are some of the best on this list. However, the result you’ll have with these things really depends on how you prepare them. On the back of the box, you might see that you can microwave these filets if you’re short on time. Technically, yes, that will cook the product, but it’ll also leave you with an incredibly soggy crust that’s far from appetizing. Rather, you’re better off putting this F’sh in an air fryer, where it crisps up beautifully and produces a lovely crust to house that plant-based fish.

On the flavor front, these filets aren’t super flavorful, which is why they’re not ranked higher on this list. If you want to enhance their flavor, you can serve them with plenty of sauces (tartar is my personal favorite) or serve them on top of a particularly flavorful salad. Either way, they’re worth trying out if you love fried fish.

When Gardein calls its plant-based Mandarin orange crispy Chick’n, it’s absolutely not lying. This product ranks in the top half of this list specifically because of its incredible texture. The Chick’n comes in small, nugget-like pieces covered with a thin layer of breading. That breading is much less pronounced than it is in, say, the Chick’n wings, but somehow, it offers the crispiest possible texture. I cooked these nuggets in the oven, so there’s a good chance that they would become even crispier in the air fryer, too. The “meat” inside is similar to so many of Gardein’s other products. It has a firmness and springiness to it that makes it resemble processed meat, but you shouldn’t expect it to be too close to the real thing.

Where this product lost me, however, was the sauce. It’s sweet, sure, but the orangey flavor is conspicuously absent, which makes for a super mild flavor. That may not be a problem if you’re looking for a dish that’s a bit more subtle on the flavor front, but I think Gardein could’ve done more here to make it stand out. That being said, it’s super easy to add other ingredients to the sauce to make it taste better, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

I’ve tried many vegan sausages in my day, so I wasn’t too excited about trying Gardein’s ultimate plant-based Saus’ge links, if I’m being honest. Oftentimes, vegan sausages don’t have a great texture to them, and they more or less all taste the same, in my experience. But I was pleasantly surprised by just how delicious Gardein’s Italian-style Saus’ge links are. Keep in mind that you have to thaw them before you cook them, and during the thawing process, they absolutely do not look attractive in the slightest. They “bleed” a light brown liquid that I found deeply offputting, and you can barely touch them without creating a dent in the side of the sausage.

But once the sausage is cooked, it suddenly becomes a lot more appetizing. It easily develops a crispy exterior, perhaps thanks to the fact that these vegan sausages actually have a sort of casing on them. That creates the kind of snap you want from a sausage. Additionally, these sausages are deeply flavorful, with an Italian-style flavor profile that will work well with a wide variety of dishes. Even though you can enjoy these sausages all on their own, I think they would really shine sliced thinly and served with pasta with peppers and onions.

There’s nothing better than a fast-food chicken sandwich smothered with mayo and covered with a thin layer of shredded lettuce. If you’re a vegan, you may assume that those days are behind you, but I’m here to give you good news: Gardein’s ultimate plant-based Chick’n filets can help you create that exact style of sandwich at home. I’ve never had a faux-chicken filet that has a texture quite as good as this one. It’s incredibly firm, which makes it feel like you’re biting into a solid piece of chicken as opposed to a processed chicken patty. And it’s not too thin, either: You actually get a decent proportion of “meat” compared to the also-generous layer of breading.

I chose the spicy version of these filets, and although they weren’t outright spicy, they had a nice, slight kick of heat to them that kept things interesting. (There’s also an original version if you’re not the kind of person who normally goes for spicy food.) The actual “meat” itself isn’t that flavorful, but when you take the deeply seasoned breading into account, you know you’re still going to get plenty of flavor with this product. I just ate this filet all on its own, but it would really shine on a bun with your favorite chicken sandwich toppings. I also think it would make for an ideal salad topper when you don’t want to make something from scratch.

Finally, we’ve come to the absolute best Gardein product I tried for this ranking: the brand’s plant-based meatballs. Meatballs come in all shapes and sizes, with so many different ingredients to change their flavor and texture. It makes sense, then, that a meatball would rank at the top of this list: Since it’s not just about the vegan “meat” itself, the creators of this product can really focus on flavor, and that’s exactly what they did. Although the texture is somewhat meat-like, it’s a bit softer and squishier than a meat-based meatball would be. That, plus its flavor, gives it an almost falafel-like feel to it. However, it feels much denser and firmer than typical falafel would be.

These would be delicious served with spaghetti, of course, but they may be even better all on their own. Unlike some of the other products on this list, they don’t have to be covered by or combined with other ingredients for them to taste their best. For a super easy meal, heat some of these meatballs up, serve them with rice and a salad on the side, and you’ll have a vegan, almost Mediterranean-like, super easy meal that you can come back to again and again.

I chose these Gardein products based on availability at my local grocery store. I prepared them all in different ways, according to package directions, and some products I tested with multiple cooking methods. The meatballs, Chick’n filets, Mandarin orange Chick’n, and Chick’n wings were all cooked in the oven, while the teriyaki Chick’n strips and B’ef were cooked in a pan on the stovetop. I microwaved the Saus’ge first to thaw it, then I finished preparing it on the stovetop to give it a better texture. I then tried the F’sh filets both microwaved and in the air fryer. 

The criteria for this ranking were texture, first and foremost, since that can make or break a plant-based protein, along with general flavor and similarity to the meat-based food the product is attempting to mimic. The best-ranked items not only taste good, but also closely mirror their non-vegan counterparts.