Review: Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground

Overall

4.5

Is Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground any good?

Absolutely yes! This is a wonderful faux-ground beef meat substitute. The lightly seasoned crumbles cook up fast either in the frying pan or a sauce and can adapt to a range of cuisines. The beef can also crisp up under higher heat, just like real beef, if you’re looking for that texture too.

My experience with Gardein spans the gamut. There are more than a few items I don’t care for, and some I’m obsessed with; essentially those based on soy protein, I typically can’t get enough of, and that’s the case here.

These vegan friendly meat crumbles have quickly become my favorite product in this particularly category. They’re gentle seasoned, so as to fit into most dishes easily and exceptionally easy to cook up. In fact, it’s quite difficult to mess these up (see below for more details).

Perhaps my favorite feature of these meat free crumbles are their outright flexibility. Simmer in a sauce, no problem. Fry over high heat quickly for a crisp edge, well that’s fine too.

What’s in the bag?

Roughly three to five meals worth of crumbles come sealed in the plastic bag. The bag is resealable to prevent freezer burn.

What can I make with Gardein Beefless Ground crumbles?

The most common way I use this product – and not pictured – is as an enchilada or burrito filling. Fried in a little taco seasoning and layered with rice, beans, sauce and cheese – its almost imperceptible from the real thing.

Here are some other interesting ways to use the product, firstly as a burger topping. I cooked this right in the pan with a Field Roast field burger at pretty high heat so both took on a nice sear and crisp. A little pan fried onion and creamy cilantro-buttermilk dressing completes this Tex-<ex burger:

Field Burger with Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground crumbles top down

Field Burger with Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground crumbles

Next up – here are the crumbles simply simmered for five minutes in the lusciously rich Kokumaro curry sauce. Served alongside some steamed white rice and garlic-soy vegetables:

House Foods Kokomaru Curry with Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground close up

And one more, this time stir fried with onions, bell pepper and a little One Culture Foods, Black Bean sauce! As you can see, these crumbles are effortlessly flexible, easily slotting into everything from American to Japanese to Mexican dishes.

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground with One Culture Foods Black Bean Sauce

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground cooking instructions

Gardein advises three ways to use these ground beef crumbles: simmered in a sauce, pan fried or microwaved. I’ve cooked them using the first two methods with 100% success each time, so much so I’ve had little reason to microwave them.

Nutrionally, protein is very good, fiber and fat too. The one item, and its par for the course with any product in this space – keep an eye on the sodium.

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground cooking instructions, nutrition

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground package front

What’s a fair price for Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground?

Gardein prices seem to fluctuate quite a lot at various retailers. The highest price I’ve personally paid is $4.79 per frozen bag. That’s a fair price for the ability to get 3-5 meals I think. If you see this under the four dollar mark on sale, it’s a steal.

More Gardein products and dishes

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!

Come join our Facebook grocery group - and keep the discussion going! Talk about this, or any other food product with like minded home cooks and shoppers. Also share what you've been cooking up, and what you've found on yoru latest grocery shop. Join the conversation here.