Trader Joe’s Vegan Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast

Trader Joe's Breaded Turkeyless stuffed roast
Trader Joe’s Breaded Turkeyless stuffed roast

Update 11/15/23 – This item has been discontinued until further notice. Maybe coming back in 2024.

Trader Joe’s Vegan Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast with Gravy. Let me say right up front, that I’m not a vegan, but I know there are a ton of you out there that are so I know  there are a lot of questions about fake meat for vegans. Trader Joe’s has done a great job of catering to the vegan ands vegetarians out there so it goes as no surprise that they have some of the best non-meat meats. I have seen this fake Turkey roast for the past few years, but I never paid attention to it because I wasn’t doing this blog. I hear from others on the web that this  year is a new formulation and better than previous years. We shall see since I am coming at it from the point of a meat eater…

This review was originally for the old version, but the only difference is that they added an appetizing looking breading. The “guts” of the roast and gravy are still the same. The price is $12.99 for 40 oz of food. In the package you get a Turkey-less “roast” and a whole mess of gravy. The roast is stuffed with a fairly standard type stuffing that you would have at Thanksgiving. Bread, onions, celery, wild rice, spices, oil and so on.

 

The “roast” itself is a combination of Soy, wheat gluten, potato starch, oil, ancient grain flour (which is several ingredients itself) and then the rest is basically seasonings and binders. The picture on the box looks pretty appetizing. It looks like you can almost see the texture of the fake turkey flesh. Also, the picture looks very similar to what you get in the box. The only negative is that the “roast” looks a little machine made like it came out of a mold, which I’m sure it did.

I followed the directions to the letter for oven baked and while it was roasting there was a really nice aroma coming from the oven. When the timer went off, I quickly heated some of the gravy that came in a separate pouch. They sure did give a lot of gravy.  Of the 40 ounces, I would say that a 1/3 of that is gravy! So anyway, I took the baking dish out of the oven and sliced a some of the roast off. Put it on a plate and spooned some gravy over it. I did taste the gravy on it’s own and it was just OK for me, nothing to write home about. You could probably fiddle with it a bit and jazz it up if you want and I think that is the key to this Turkey-less roast. It’s OK on it’s own out of the box, but I think you could enhance it with a few mods.

So, how did it taste? Not half bad! Some of these meatless dishes sometimes taste of soy or are rubbery or bland. I thought the flavor was very near that of a roasted turkey, of course without and real turkey flavor. The texture was also fairly close to that of Turkey, with a very slight rubberyness that  you wouldn’t find in real meat, but it was hardly a distraction. The downside was the stuffing. I followed the directions exactly and the stuff was not cooked through. The celery was still very crunchy, although hot and a thermometer showed that it was to temperature. I might cook it another 15 minutes or so. All in all not bad for fake turkey meat!

If I made this Turkey-less roast again, I would definitely follow the recipe on the side of the box where they suggest roasting it with vegetables and olive oil and seasonings. I think some carrots, celery, onions and potatoes with more salt and pepper would be the way to go. It would infuse the roast with those roasted vegetable flavors and make for a better all around dish.

Seeing that I’m not a vegan, I am going to rate this as if I weren’t. In the end, it has to taste good no matter what the product is. I have to admit I was quite surprised it was as good as it was. No weird flavors for me in this, just some textural issues and some under cooked stuffing. I can fix the stuffing thing by cooking it longer but I think you’ll always have some texture issues no matter how slight they are. I probably wouldn’t buy this again unless I had some hard core vegans coming over for dinner, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t decent and to that end I am going to give this 8 Bells!

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

INGREDIENTS:

TURKEY-LESS ROAST (WATER, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, WHEAT FLOUR, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], CELERY, SAFFLOWER OIL, BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, PALM FRUIT OIL, WILD RICE, ONIONS, YEAST FLAVORING [YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT], PASTRY FLOUR, DRIED ONIONS, CRANBERRIES, GRANULATED GARLIC, WHEAT FLAKES, SEA SALT, YELLOW PEA FLOUR, ONION POWDER, BLACK PEPPER, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, LENTILS, SPICES, CULTURED SUGAR, YEAST, SALT, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SUGAR, DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR, TITANIUM DIOXIDE [FOR COLOR], RED PEPPER, CANOLA OIL). GRAVY (WATER, SAFFLOWER OIL, CORNSTARCH, ONION POWDER, WHITE MISO PASTE [WATER, SOYBEANS, RICE, SALT, ALCOHOL], SOY SAUCE [WATER, SALT, SOYBEANS, ALCOHOL], YEAST FLAVORING [YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT], GRANULATED GARLIC, SPICES, YEAST).
CONTAINS WHEAT AND SOY.

NUTRITION FACTS:
Servings per container about 6 | Serving size 1/6 roast (123g) | Amount per serving: Calories 300 Total Fat 12g (15% DV), Saturated Fat 2g (10% DV), Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg (0% DV), Sodium 600mg (26% DV), Total Carbohydrate 22g (8% DV), Dietary Fiber 3g (11% DV), Total Sugars 4g—Includes 0g Added Sugars (0% DV), Protein 26g, Vitamin D 0mcg (0% DV), Calcium 40mg (4% DV), Iron 1.4mg (8% DV), Potassium 200mg (4% DV).
The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

11 Comments

  1. I just made the Turkey-less Roast this evening. It was fabulous! I prepared it brushing on a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Terriyaki Sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons of Olive Oil and 1/2 tsp of Poultry Seasoning. I sliced the roast in half and wrapped in tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil and baked the roast for 60 minutes at 400 degrees.

    After 60 minutes, I opened the foil and placed the roast under the Broiler on High for a few minutes too just to brown it a little.

    The extra gravy was perfect to cover my “Turkey and Stuffing” and of course my mashed potatoes and veggies.

    I’ve tried other brands and this one is really good. You can’t beat the taste, value, and price of the Turkey-less Roast that Trader Joe’s sells.

    • The funny thing about this “roast” is the gravy that comes with it. I thought the vegan gravy was waaaay better than the box of real turkey gravy that Trader Joe’s sells this time of year, and it’s vegan to boot!

  2. I’ve tried this product two years in a row now after Traders stopped selling Tofurky (big mistake). Turned out horrible two years running and I will never buy again. The taste and consistency reminded me a bit like bologna, or what I recall of bologna as I am vegan now. I tried to extend the cook time to make it less mushy (didn’t work) and as next day leftovers I tried microwaving to little improvement–certainly not enough to give it another try one day. Next year I’ll be crossing the street to Whole Foods to get a Tofurky at $3 more. I’m a long/longtime Traders fan, but this product is horrible and I didn’t even discuss the mushy “stuffing” that comprises far more than half this product. Buyer beware; vegans stay away….

  3. Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for your wonderful review. I followed the optional instructions on the back of the box and roasted it for 75 minutes on a bed of vegetables and finished it with a glossing of olive oil and smoked paprika. It was delicious. Who needs a dead animal on the table when giving thanks?

  4. Please stop using PALM FRUIT OIL in your products. Save the orangutans! Even if it is grown elsewhere it continues the demand for the product. We can surely find an alternative.

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