Review: MorningStar Farms Veggie Pulled Pork

MorningStar Farms Veggie Pulled Pork is relatively new to their lineup, launching around 2017 I believe. Ever a fan of MorningStar Farms products, when I spied this in the freezer section, I knew it was coming home with me. Thoughts of Summer time BBQ dinners without the effort, mess, or calories sprang to mind.

First impressions where a little disappointing – and in truth I’ve learned a lot from my first efforts with the product. So much so I’m going to give the product a second try and rate it again later. The initial let down? Out of the bag and cooked per the instructions, its a fairly bland, lackluster product with little to no taste. You need to do something more with this pulled pork, a lot more.

In the picture below you’ll see I topped with some generic BBQ sauce and basic homemade coleslaw. That just about brought the product from a 2.5 to a 3.0/5.0. Decent enough but not mind blowing. Next time around I’ll be heating it through before finishing it off in the pan with just a little BBQ sauce, but coated all over. I think that might really be the trick to elevating this. I also have some Hickory Smoke Powder from The Spice House (affiliate link, we get a purchase referral fee) that I might put to good use as well.

The big plus points for this veggie pulled pork is the texture. It has a very defined chewy, not quite up there with the real thing, but enough to give heft and bite to your dish. Also worthy of note, unlike a lot of MorningStar Farms products, this one is vegan friendly too.

MorningStar Farms Veggie Pulled Pork – what’s in the packet

MorningStar Farms Veggie Pulled Pork – cooking instructions and nutrition

Cooking is as simple as much of this product line tends to be. Three minutes covered in the microwave with just a splash of water. That said, per my comments above, next time around I’m also going to finish with 60 seconds in a pan too.

What dishes can I make with MorningStar Farms Veggie Pulled Pork ?

Update 05/09/18:

So I went ahead and prepared these by cooking in home made BBQ sauce, after a little pan cooking first with some Spice House Hickory Smoke powder. Flavor wise this was slightly better, but still far from ideal. I feel I need to perfect a better BBQ sauce first and use a little more smoke flavor too; this stuff is strong and I didn’t want to go too crazy first time out.

Also, cooking in the pan was slightly detrimental to the pulled pork, causing it to become a little too mushy. For my third attempt I’m going to go with more smoke, better BBQ sauce, less cooking time. Hopefully that’s the trick to mastering this product.

Update 08/23/18:

I’ve had an incredibly hard time finding this product since the last update. In fact I’ve not seen it in stock at multiple grocery stores that carry larger MorningStar Farms range. At any rate, my quest continues for a great vegan pulled pork alternative. Right now I am loving Butler Soy Curls for this dish. Check out our review of this fun and flexible soy product – we think you’ll love this product.

More MorningStar Farms products and dishes

• MorningStar Farms Veggie Corn Dogs
• Incogmeato Chik’N Tenders review
• MorningStar Farms Italian Sausage Style Crumbles review
• Italian-style nachos
• Incogmeato Chik’N Nuggets – some of the best around
• MorningStar Farms Buffalo Chik Patties review – 2020 version
• MorningStar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips
• MorningStar Farms Incogmeato Burger
• Loaded veggie tots
• Thai red curry with rice noodles
• Thai jungle curry with rice noodles
• Sweet potato fry nachos
• Sloppy Joes with MorningStar Farms Crumblers
• Vegan BBQ Plate with MorningStar Popcorn Chikn
• Thai Yellow Curry with Cous Cous
• Loaded OreIda crinkle cut fries with chipotle mayo
• Nachos with MorningStar Farms crumblers
• Loaded cauliflower tots with MorningStar Farms crumblers
• Buffalo salad with MorningStar Farms Nuggets
• MorningStar Farms Original Chix Patties review
• MorningStar Farms Popcorn Chik’N Veggitizers review
• MorningStar Farms Mini Corn Dogs
• Review: MorningStar Farms Veggie Lovers Vegan Burgers
• Review: MorningStar Farms Chorizo Crumbles
• Review: MorningStar Farms Grillers Original 2019

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!