![]() To my surprise, MorningStar’s vegetarian hot dogs have really held up over the years. So if you want add vegetarian hot dogs to your cookout repertoire, here’s some guidance on where to start.Īll those years ago, MorningStar Farms Veggie Dogs (as well as MorningStar Farms Veggie Chik’n Nuggets) were the go-to for vegetarians looking for a standard veggie meat product that tasted adjacent enough to the real deal that it was actually worth eating. Hot dog raters were then asked to provide tasting notes and a yes or no answer to whether they felt the vegetarian hot dog was similar enough to a real hot dog, in case that was something that mattered to them. ![]() The hot dog taste test (incidentally, also the name of an amazing illustrated book by BoJack Horseman’s Lisa Hanawalt) was judged on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. In mid-April of 2022, I gathered an esteemed group of friends - vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters, even one professional chef - to assess 10 brands and varieties of vegetarian hot dogs for these exact qualities. There are a few ways to figure out where you stand on the vegetarian hot dog spectrum: Do you prefer a simulacrum of a hot dog and its smoky, meaty flavor? Or are you looking for something totally original in its taste? Is the semblance of health important to you or do you prefer to feel like everyone feels after eating a hot dog (like you need to lie down)? How do you top your dog and does that factor into how you assess the flavor? And, likely most important of all, how does it perform on the grill - does it blister, does it burn, does it fall apart? What’s a person to do? How to decide what to serve? How to even understand what your preferences may be? ![]() Whether you are a vegetarian or vegan, hosting someone who is, or just generally interested in eating more plant-based foods, the new products on the market are almost too numerous to consider. For a number of years now, barbecues haven’t been the same. Developments in mushroom-based meats, vegetarian burgers that “bleed,” and brands getting into plant-based products of all kinds means that the hot dog section of the freezer or fridge aisle is no longer a sad, lonely place where bossy teenagers get their kicks. The breadth and availability of products means that it feels easier than ever to forgo meat, even if the taste of meat is still your thing. And out of necessity, I loved them both.įast forward number of years and the landscape for vegetarians has completely changed. My hot dog choices back then were Smart Dogs and MorningStar Farms Veggie Dogs. I didn’t know where to find these things - nor did I know there were any other places - besides my local Acme, a grocery chain in Philly that is basically fine. Namely, fake chicken nuggets and hot dogs, with the occasional chickpea dish thrown in for health. Being vegetarian and caring about the world thank you very much was a very outsized part of my personality.īack then, especially because I was 15 years old with little income and worldliness, I defaulted to what I thought were the best options for a vegetarian to eat. Predictably, because I was a teenager, I was sanctimonious about it, chastising everyone around me for not caring about animals or the earth or whatever else I could think of that they should care about in my extremely informed opinion. I’m not willing to admit how many years ago this was now, but when I turned 15, I became a vegetarian.
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