Here Are The Best Plant-Based Foods I Tried And Became Obsessed With In 2022
With each passing year that goes by, more and more plant-based options are showing up all around us: in our local coffee shops, in our fast food restaurants, and even in your small-town grocery stores.
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Because there are so many exciting new vegan items to try in a year, I rounded up my favorite foods from grocery stores I tried in 2022:
1.Miyoko's Mozzarella
Miyoko's latest plant-based cheese creation sits atop this list for a reason: it was hands down the best addition to my kitchen in 2022. As someone who's been vegan for over a decade, I've personally experienced the ways in which non-dairy cheese has evolved firsthand. I can say with complete confidence that Miyoko's liquid mozzarella is the best vegan cheese that melts on the market. Gone are the days of sad grated cheese that never fully spreads out and the rock-hard cheeses of yore. With this new invention, I'm able to make a perfectly gooey and browned cheese with ease. My kitchen has never been happier!
2.LikeMeat Chick'n Wings
One of the most fun vegan food products of the year was LikeMeat's Chick'n Wings, a plant-based version of football's favorite appetizer and/or party snack. I used my air fryer to cook them and these wings turned out surprisingly excellent: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and tasty all around. I think one of the smart parts of the cooking process is that you cook the 'wings' first, and add the sauce after — thus keeping the crunch without sauce oversaturation. (The buffalo sauce comes frozen in this pack, but if it's too hot for you, it's easy enough to sauce with something different if you'd like!)
3.Siete Foods Grain Free Tortillas
The most versatile product on this year's list has to be Siete Foods' Almond Tortillas. I've used these to make tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, falafel pita pockets, and even as a base for a pizza crust. But what I make most often for sure is tacos in all shapes and forms: veggie tacos, soy chorizo tacos, bean tacos, and my personal favorite: breakfast tacos (with JUST Egg, peppers, onions, vegan cheese, beans, and guacamole). I've discovered that you can really put anything in these tortillas and it will be delicious. My main suggestion is to follow the cooking instructions on the package (what an idea!) which suggest heating up each tortilla in a pan before using them, making them perfectly malleable into the perfect taco, wrap, or burrito.
4.Plant Boss Southwest Meatless Crumbles
Speaking of tacos, I have always been a fan of TVP — textured vegetable protein for the non-veganized out there — and got really into making TVP tacos for a while. That said, it's not the most seamless or quick process to make with the steps considered (soaking the TVP, seasoning it, then sautéing it, then adding to your dish). Plant Boss takes care of those extra steps by offering pre-seasoned crumbles that you can make with ease. I found that using the Plant Boss taco kits resulted in the most consistently great-tasting taco "meat" out of the many different types I've tried.
5.SorBabes Vanilla Caramel Crunch
We all know that vegan ice cream has really exploded in recent history — just take a look in your local frozen food aisle: there are more options for a non-dairy pint than ever before. Because of that, I was so excited to see what SorBabes was doing with their ice cream *bars.* SorBabes makes gluten-free and vegan ice creams that will take you straight back to the ice cream trucks of your youth. While I've tasted a few of their flavors — and yes, they're all good — the Vanilla Caramel Crunch was the most outstanding of the bunch in my book. The bar has a tasty trifecta of vanilla, caramel, and chocolate — and is coated with popped quinoa for the crunch. Highly recommend!
6.Good Foods Plant Based Queso
Another exciting development in plant-based cheese this year is Good Food's queso dips. As a longtime vegan, it's always thrilling to see a product you can buy that used to take you quite some time and effort to make at your own at home. Good Foods offer both a regular-style queso and a spicy queso and both are really excellent. I've tried them both cold as a dip and warmed up, and I definitely recommend trying them with nachos or any other adjacent recipe. They're also pretty easy to find in your local Target.
7.Haven's Kitchen Golden Turmeric Tahini
I have to admit that I might not have noticed this amazing tahini if I hadn't recently been looking for ways to add more turmeric to my diet already. As a lifelong tahini fan, I didn't really understand the need to add to the perfection, but the turmeric in Haven Kitchen's Golden Turmeric Tahini adds a slight peppery flavor that kicks it up a notch. I like to use this as a condiment and put it on pretty much anything, but I'm sure this would work great as a dip, too.
8.Jack and Annie's Savory Breakfast Jack Sausage
One of the most interesting products on this year's list comes from Jack and Annie's, a company that uses jackfruit as the main ingredient of their faux meat products. I reviewed their chicken nuggets last year in a taste test (and they scored highly!) but this year I was introduced to their jack sausage product as well. So juicy! So tasty! I said it about the nuggets and I'll say it about the sausage as well: I swear you wouldn't know you were eating jackfruit unless someone told you so! Overall the sausages are perfect for breakfasts — and breakfast sandwiches. Find them in the frozen aisle.
9.Wicked Kitchen Pesto Sauce
Among the many incredible innovations coming from Wicked Kitchen is this trio of unusual pesto sauces. You can buy a three-pack that includes a Pink Beetroot Pesto, a Black Olive Pesto, and an Orange Pumpkin Pesto Sauce — all of them uniquely delicious in their own way. My favorite way to these so far is as the pesto base of a pizza or flatbread, but the uses are endless. If you're a pesto person, give these a try!
10.Momofuku Soy & Scallion Noodles
Whether you're vegan or not, I need you to go into your kitchen and throw away every pack of regular ramen noodles you have. Just kidding, that would be wasteful — but I strongly suggest that you stop buying sub-par at-home ramen noodles and pick up Momofuku's new line of noodles instead. I promise that it's not hyperbole to say that it will increase the deliciousness of your ramen noodles by at least 1,200%. To start, the noodles are already steps ahead of a regular package of ramen noodles. But they trounce a regular packet of ramen flavoring, too: once you cook them, you'll toss your freshly cooked noodles with a sauce packet of soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions. This is a must-try!
11.Tattooed Chef Plant Based Pepperoni Pizza
I had seen Tattooed Chef's products in the store before and noticed the cool branding, but didn't fully realize they had plant-based options until this year! I had to shout out this pepperoni pizza that's vegan, gluten-free, made from a cauliflower crust — and is still delicious. I was also impressed that they were able to make a vegan pepperoni that fit those guidelines and was tasty as well. Overall, I've tried multiple versions of their plant-based pizzas — cheese, vegetable, and pepperoni — and they're all quite impressive.
12.Gotham Greens Green Goddess Dip
Gotham Greens has offered a variety of pestos and dressings in addition to their salads for a few years now — and I have been loving their vegan offerings in this area! So imagine my excitement this year when they launched a whole new line of dips and spreads! My favorite of the bunch so far is their Green Goddess Dip because it's full of herby goodness and is flavorful without being overpowering. Because I also buy Gotham Greens packages salads, I always feel confident that the dips are made with greens just as fresh as their salads.
13.Mother Raw Roasted Japanese Dressing
Another really cool brand I got to know this year is Mother Raw. They make dressings, dips, and spreads that are raw vegan — but not missing any of the flavor. I've tried a lot of their spreads over the past year but my absolute top choice has to be their Japanese Dressing. It blends ginger with sesame seeds and apple cider vinegar for a resulting taste that is garlicky, tangy, and something you'll want to put on top of everything. I recently served a salad with this dressing to friends and got compliments, for what it's worth!
14.Raised Gluten Free Vegan Pot Pie
A good friend of mine was recently working on a menu for a new restaurant and asked me what kind of vegan option would really impress me to see on a menu, something that's not easily made vegan. My response to him was that I'd flip my lid to see a vegan pot pie on a menu somewhere. So it shouldn't be a surprise to you, dear reader, to hear that when I saw the vegan pot pie by by Raised Gluten Free in my grocery store...I bought two. Upon trying it, the pot pie brought me right back to the not-so-plant-based versions that I'd known and loved growing up. The gooey consistency of the sauce and piping-hot vegetables hit exactly right, and the crust was so flaky and perfectly crisped that I was shocked to remember that the recipe is made with gluten-free ingredients. Overall, this was one of the best things I tried this year!
15.VFC Chicken Bites
I'm always on the lookout for what's happening in the plant-based meat space and had heard about VFC as a really incredible faux chicken option coming out of the UK. Well, this year they made it across the pond and launched their delectable chicken stateside. The faux chicken was worth the wait. It crisps up pretty much perfectly and the flavor has a kick that most of the plant-based chickens I've tried. I used my air fryer to make them, but an oven would do the job just as well.
16.Grounded Foods American Style Cheese Free Cheese Squeeze
I think what's so exciting about Grounded Foods' line of cheeses is that they're made from ingredients that aren't the norm with your average grocery store vegan foods. For years rice-based cheeses dominated the market, and lately it seems as though cashew is the base of choice in determining the recipe for a plant-based cheese. But the "cheese-free cheese" uses hemp seeds and cauliflower for their product, and the result is a velvety almost Velveeta-like cheese.
17.Maya Kaimal Coconut Korma Sauce
This year I decided to add some some time-saving ingredients to my kitchen and the star of that role for sure was Maya Kaimal's coconut korma sauce. The taste — featuring coconut, tomato, paprika, cardamom, and turmeric — is out of this world. It's so good I'd put it on pretty much anything. However, I generally use it to sauce up some sautéed veggies at lunch or use it to prepare a full meal at dinnertime.
18.From The Ground Up's Everything Cauliflower Crackers
In last year's list I shouted out From The Ground Up's line of potato chips, but this year they launched a new favorite of mine: snacking crackers. Like the rest of their line, the crackers are made with cauliflower and are also gluten-free. As someone who loves to indulge in an everything bagel — and uses Trader Joe's everything bagel spice whenever possible — these snack crackers became a quick favorite in my home. I like to pair them with hummus or plant-based cheese, but they also pack enough flavor to enjoy them on their own.
19.Abbot's Chopped Chick'n
Another innovative take on vegan chicken this year comes from Abbot's Butcher. I was able to taste test their Chopped Chick'n at this VWS festival this past spring, and let me tell you: I went back for seconds. The consistency is very chicken-y, but the taste — which has notes of onion, garlic, and sage — was amazing all on its own. I've been patiently waiting to pick this up at a local grocery store in my area, but will settle for now with Abbot's chorizo that my local Target sells.
20.Nuts For Cheese Black Garlic Cheese
When it comes to a vegan cheese that's both satisfying and has an impressive presentation, Nuts For Cheese has a line that will blow you away. My favorite of the bunch is the black garlic block of cheese, which comes with a dusting of black garlic along one side of the cheese. Even the fact that there's a vegan cheese that comes shaped like a triangular block should be exciting enough, but it also has the presentation of real cheese and a deliciously sharp taste, too.
Which new vegan products did you try this year? Let me know in the comments below!
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