At our nation’s most meat-centric holiday, stuffed squash just doesn’t cut it. Those of us who don’t eat meat can enjoy all the wonderful sides, but it’s nice to have something that looks and tastes like turkey to accompany the delicious casseroles, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and cranberry sauce.
Ten days ago, I planned to make, compare, and blog about every meatless turkey product I could find.
Instead, my trip to Philadelphia this past week to attend Greenbuild intervened. As I sat down to write yesterday, I realized that I was beaten to the punch by Lori Zimmer at Inhabit. Please check out Lori’s blog at for a good list of meat analogues for turkey.
The post has gorgeous pictures, but what it is missing are cooking tips and Lori’s opinion about which product tastes most like turkey.
So, I’m going to share my tips and thoughts about the best meatless turkey.
My go-to meatless turkey is still Quorn’s Turk’y Roast. I usually completely thaw it for 24 hours in the fridge, marinate the thawed roast for an hour or two in mixture of fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme – just like the Simon & Garfunkel tune), low-sodium soy sauce, several whole garlic cloves, bay leaf, vegetable stock, and extra virgin olive oil, and then bake it in a small roasting bag.
Sometimes simpler is better.
Here’s my hot tip for an even easier preparation method. For my latest taste test, I made the frozen Quorn Roast without removing the thin film-like casing. I just pierced the casing 4 or 5 times and baked it for 50 minutes in a 425-degree oven as suggested on the package.
Wow, this preparation was super easy, and the finished product was every bit as good in taste and texture as the more labor-intensive method I’ve been using for years. In fact, my carnivore husband thinks it is actually moister and more turkey-like than my previous preparation method. (Plus, I love not having to remember to thaw it which means you’ll be ready to eat in about an hour.)
Vegan Alert! Although Quorn’s Turk’y Roast is not vegan (it contains egg whites and milk protein), it is soy-free, which is important to many of you. 59% of the product is mycoprotein, which comes from mushrooms, and all of the ingredients on the product label are non-GMO. A 90 gram serving (about 5 slices) contains 100 calories, 13 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of saturated fat.
If you’ve got a vegetarian relative or friend coming to dinner, surprise them with their very own meatless turkey this Thanksgiving!
You must be logged in to post a comment.