Gardein Plant-Based Turk’y Roast Review

EV’s Take: Our Favorite Vegan Thanksgiving Roast

I’ve reviewed a bunch of vegan roasts recently in hopes of finding the best option in time for the holiday season. I can tell you that I did not expect it to be Gardein. Compared to the packaging of Field Roast’s gorgeous roasts and Tofurky’s long-standing history as the go-to vegan turkey dinner, I expected Gardein to end up close to the bottom. Imagine my surprise when I tried it and was hit with a perfect balance of Thanksgiving flavors. Nothing was too salty or too artificial tasting, no bitter undertones, no funky gravy. This roast delivers pure and classic holiday flavors.

While it may look like a giant mozzarella stick straight from the freezer, it looks beautiful once it’s plated up on the platter. Both Tofurky Roasts and Field Roast’s Celebration Roast had that kind of rubbery, sad look on their platters. Meanwhile, Gardein brought a nice balance of contrasting textures and colors––with the moist stuffing, white turk’y meat, and that wonderful crumb topping–that made me WANT to eat it. I always eat with my eyes first, so I was excited to dig into this roast when I plated it up. I was thrilled that the flavor paid off the visual experience. And the gravy! It was GOOD. It tasted like my Dad’s homemade gravy with no bitter undertones or bad aftertaste. 

Gardein, I don’t know how you did it, but from the bottom of our hearts here at Exploring Vegan, we think you nailed the vegan Thanksgiving experience.

Gardein Plant-Based Turk’y Roast Ingredients

Like Tofurky, the roast has three main components: the turk’y, stuffing, and gravy. 

Here’s what’s in Gardein’s Turk’y Roast:

Unlike Tofurky, they don’t break out the ingredients based on the component, so all of Gardein’s vegan roast ingredients are listed below:

Water, Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid) Soy Protein Isolate, Vital Wheat Gluten, Onions, Canola Oil, Cooked Brown Rice (Water, Brown Rice,) Celery, 2% Or Less Of: Salt, Sugar, Cornstarch, Dried Cranberries, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Wheat Gluten, Cooked Wild Rice(Wild Rice, Water), Potato Starch, Ancient Grain Flour (Khorasan Wheat), Garlic Powder, Kale Spices, Natural Flavours, Titanium Dioxide (Color), Barley Malt Extract, Yeast, Soy Lecithin, Dried Red Bell Paper, Rosemary, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream Of Tartar), Coconut Oil, Onion Powder, Soyabean Oil, Extraction Of Paprika (Color).

Like Tofurky, Gardein uses vital wheat gluten and soy protein as its protein source. If you’re allergic to soy or wheat, you’ll need to skip Gardein. Everything else is pretty straightforward. Spices, flavorings, binders. The stuffing uses cooked wild and brown rice with bits of real cranberries, which I love!

Gardein Plant-Based Turk’y Roast Nutrition

Serving Size	⅕ roast with gravy (199g)
Calories	260
Total Fat	10g
Saturated Fat	1g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	780mg
Total Carbohydrates	23g
Dietary Fiber	1g
Total Sugars	3g
Protein	19g

Nutritionally speaking, Gardein is very similar to Tofurky. You’d be splitting hairs trying to decide if one is better. The most noticeable difference is in protein. Tofurky delivers 34 grams of protein per serving, while Gardein gives you 19 grams. The other macros are fairly similar. Gardein has fewer calories and less sodium. Depending on your personal goals, you may choose Tofurky for the boost of protein, or you may want to choose Gardein for its lower calories and less sodium. 

Ultimately, I’d choose Gardein based purely on the fact that it just tastes better to me!

How to cook Gardein Plant-Based Roast Turk’y

You can bake or microwave the roast. Microwaving shortens the time but combines microwaving and baking in the oven, so that wasn’t my preferred method. As a note, you do NOT need to thaw this roast before cooking.

How to cook Gardein’s turk’y roast:

• Oven: Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Remove the roast from the wrapper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with foil. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
• 1100-Watt Microwave: Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Remove the roast from the wrapper. Place it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 6 minutes, flipping it midway through. Transfer to a baking sheet and cover with foil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Can you air fry Gardein turk’y roast?

I haven’t tried it, but I read online that, yes! You can successfully air fry Gardein’s turk’y roast! I read a review on the Veggie Patty Taste Test, where they provided instructions.

• Air Fryer: This method is used on the Veggie Patty Taste Test website, so I can’t confirm how well it works, but their photos looked delicious! Following the instructions above, they microwaved the frozen roast for 6 minutes. Then, they air-fried it for 16 minutes. They didn’t indicate what temperature to air fry it, but Google suggests 400ºF.

How to cook Gardein’s gravy:

Since the gravy is frozen, you’ll need to soften it up by throwing the entire pouch of gravy in warm water for 3 minutes first. From there, follow the instructions below:

• Microwave: Pour the thawed gravy into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 4 minutes, stirring the gravy halfway through.
• Stovetop: Pour the thawed gravy into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until hot, whisking as it cooks.

My only tiny issue is that the gravy is a bit thick, so I added ¼ cup water to thin it out. That’s my preference; it may be perfect for you if you like extra thick gravy!

How did EV eat the Gardein’s Turk’y Roast?

To stay in line with my other vegan holiday roast reviews, I kept it simple with Gardein’s Plant-Based Turk’y Roast. I followed the instructions for cooking it in the oven and opted to cook the gravy on the stovetop instead of in the microwave. It was easy to make and worked out perfectly. The “meat” of the roast was firm but tender and moist, the stuffing was perfectly cooked, and the breadcrumb topping was crisp and added a nice textural contrast to the roast. The gravy tasted delicious, adding a well-balanced, savory flavor to the roast. 

Next time, I will serve Gardein’s Turk’y Roast with mashed potatoes for the ultimate comfort meal experience.

Where can I buy Gardein’s Plant-Based Turk’y Roast?

You can buy Gardein on Amazon, but the roast is $60 for some reason, so let’s not do that. Gardein is available in many brick-and-mortar retailers like Target, Walmart, Weis, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. You can use their store locator to find a grocer near you.

What do you think?

Have you tried Gardein? After reading our review of Gardein’s Plant-Based Turk’y Roast, will you serve it at your holiday feast this year? Let us know in the comments!