Review: Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices

Hands up, I confess, I had worries about this one. I’ve had such wonderful success with Field Roast products I’ve been waiting to come across the product that breaks my streak of luck. While I’ve been trying to reduce the meat I consume, I’m hardly a strict veggie or vegan. As deli meat though is one area where I’ve previously struggled to make the switch – I was certain this product would let me down. Seriously, you’ll have to pry the pastrami from my cold, dead, greasy hands.

Wow, was I way off the mark, this sliced faux meat product jumped right to the top of my ‘favorite things right now list’. After one bite my mind started to spin like reels on a slot machine. Images of possibilities started to flash before me: pizza topping. meat free pastrami, vegan gyros, veggie corned beef and on and on. Part of me wants to quit writing this right now and go experiment. I’ll try to restrain myself.

In terms of taste, these are unsurprisingly similar to the Field Roast Field Burger; that was my most immediate impression. After a few more bites I noticed the extra (albeit subtle) sweetness from the tomato and finally a lovely gentle smokey finish. The deli slices have a seitan-esque base of wheat gluten, but don’t have a trace of that flavor profile.

Texturally I was instantly hooked as well – the Smoked Tomato Deli slices completely fulfilled that craving of chew, bite and tear that a great meat forward deli sandwich delivers. Frankly, as I greedily finished my whole sandwich, I forgot I was even enjoying a meat substitute product, this was just a darn good plate all by itself (see below). Naturally, like any sandwich, your mileage will vary based on your toppings of course.

This product makes it onto our Smart Buys list on every point: taste, texture, flexibility and nutritionally. I’ll be sure to update this post as I test the product in more dishes. I can’t wait.

Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices – what’s in the box

Inside the cardboard box, the deli slices come wrapped together in one sealed plastic wrapper. Eight slices of the smoked tomato deli slices come wrapped together tightly. Once you open them, there’s no way to reseal, you’ll need to move to a suitable container in the refrigerator.

Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices

The rear of the packaging recommends trying to make a veggie hero with this product, so I duly obliged. I gussied up my final creation ever so slightly; the final version below has three slices of deli meat, fresh garden tomatoes, mayo, cucumber, onion, pepperoncini, Iceberg lettuce, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of dried oregano. Again, wow is all I can say:

Here’s one of my first experiments with the sliced deli meat. Here I pan fried some thinly sliced pieces of the deli meat. My goal was to simulate a bacon texture and taste. Certainly the Field Roast adds the powerfully smokey flavor and if you cook carefully, you’ll get the crisp too. I went a little too far on this first attempt, ending up with some seriously crisp faux-bacon. It was still great, just cook it carefully and remember it keeps cooking (and getting crisper) even when it comes off the heat.

For reference that’s a pan fried Morningstar Farms patty with mayo, lettuce, pickled pepper, and improvised faux-bacon:

Here’s a subsequent veggie sandwich I enjoyed on some hearty seeds brown bread

Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices – nutrition and ingredients

I’d be surprised if this doesn’t beat most deli meats hands down in terms of nutrition. Salt is the only item to keep an eye on, but that’s no different to any regular salami or pastrami too.

Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices – what’s a fair price?

I picked this up at a local, more upscale grocery store for $3.49. The 5.5oz packet is roughly a third of a pound. At this price point its about $10.50 per pound. The same store I bought this from sells Boars Head deli meat (my preferred meat from the deli) at $9-$14 per pound, which puts this right on the money comparatively for me.

Other Field Roast products to check out

• Field Roast Buffalo Wings review
• Field Roast Signature Stadium Dogs review
• Field Roast Plant-Based Nuggets review
• Thai green curry fried rice
• Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast
• Field Roast Miniature Corn Dogs review
• Review: Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices
• Review: Field Roast Breakfast Sausage
• Review: Field Roast Frankfurters
• Review: Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausages
• Review: Field Roast FieldBurger
• Review: Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausage

Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.

I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen.  Follow along on Instagram too!