Review: Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders

For those of a vegan/veggie persuasion who might look longingly at the convenience of White Castle sliders – this product from Gardein promises the same in-home experience. From freezer to belly in mere minutes, a bite sized snack.

I was more than a little impressed with this product taste wise. The patties are essentially mini versions of their big brother – Gardein’s full sized Ultimate Beefless Burgers. They have a thoroughly meaty taste with plenty of lip smacking umami.

Texture wise they’re in the mold of a 365 Burger or MorningStar Farms Griller; which is to say a highly processed approach. Topped with a little ketchup, mustard and pickle, I absently minded mistook these for something like a McDonald’s basic burger at times. So much so, next time, I will go ahead and add a little diced onion too, to try to mimic that product closer.

My main gripe with the product is the finicky nature of preparation. You have to disassemble the frozen bun and patty. Cook the patty, add back to the bun, and cook more. One at a time. It’s the nature of the beast of course, but at the same time, these are snack sized. When I want the quick convenience of a snack, I typically don’t want to get too involved in the prep and cooking. It’s really only a minor point of course, this is the confession of a very lazy man 😉

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders – what’s in the box?

You’ll find four sliders in the box in total; the sliders are then handily also separated into two different plastic wrapped sleeves. Personally speaking, two sliders feels the perfect amount for a lunch snack, they’re little more than 3-4 bites individually for an adult.

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders – nutrition and cooking instructions

I only tried the microwave cooking method for the sliders, but definitely need to investigate stove top cooking next time. These patties are very unforgiving should you veer into overcooking. The packaging does note to be wary of this, but it’s important to underscore just how badly the patties take too much heat. I ended up with a couple of patties that had areas as hard as a brick from only a few extra seconds extra cooking. My advice would be to microwave these in slightly smaller increments than the package suggests – or indeed – pan cook to get a better hands on feel.

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders

I can’t imagine that folks would do anything with these other than cook them straight up and gobble them right down. Your only real choice here is how you’re going to top them. The pictured sliders below were simply topped with ketchup, mustard and pickle relish:

Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders – what’s a fair price?

My local grocery store stocks these for $4.29 a package (bear in mind you can find six White Castle sliders for only a little more). I’d personally like to see them just a little cheaper. Somewhere in the $3.00 – $3.50 range feels slightly more on the money.

Other Gardein products to check out

• Gardein Plant-Based Chili review
• Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Jerky
• Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Chick’N Filet reviewed
• Thai yellow curry with veggie chicken
• Gardein Ultimate Chick’N Tenders – the best yet?
• Gardein Crispy Golden Chick’N Nuggets – average at best
• Marie Callender’s Meatless Gardein Be’f Pot Pie review
• Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Burger review
• Asian salad with soy sauce fried Gardein tenders
• Asian salad with Gardein seven grain tenders
• Gardein Sweet And Tangy Barbecue Wings review
• Fajitas with Gardein chicken strips
• Asian salad with Gardein chicken strips
• Caesar salad with Gardein Seven Grain Tenders
• Gardein Breakfast Saus’age Patties review
• Gardein Savory Stuffed Turk’y
• Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders review
• Review: Gardein Meatless Chick’n Strips
• Review: Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Ground
• Review: Gardein Home Style Meatless Meatloaf
• Review: Gardein Skillet Meals Asian Style Chick’n Fried Rice
• Review: Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Burger
• Review: Gardein The Ultimate Beefless Sliders
• Review: Gardein Lightly Breaded Turk’y Cutlets
• Review: Gardein Classic Meatless Meatballs

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!