The best plant-based mince.
Ever wondered ‘what is the best mince replacement is for Lasagna?’ Or ‘What is the best non-meat substitute for Spaghetti Bolognese?’ Well, look no further. We have ranked all the plant-base mince brands, as always, on taste, texture, value for money and our PBFG Feel-Good Factor below!
1. Meatless Farm, Mince
From presentation in packaging to the way it browns when it fries - this is the most-meat like mince we have come across. We are huge fans of the Meatless Farm mince. It’s good value for money, it's about a third of the fat content of beef mince, and Meatless Farm is a dedicated plant based food brand. The only thing letting this product down in the plastic packaging. While most of their competitors supply these strange little morsels (no shade to textured vegetable protein!), Meatless Farm has managed to produce a flavorful mince that would likely fool a carnivore.
-
Taste: 10
Texture: 10
Value for money: 10
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 8
2. THIS, Isn’t beef mince
We love THIS Isn’t Beef Mince! THIS has really been stepping up their game in the plant-based world, and we’re here for it. The mince is tasty and browns very nicely, but you get a lot less for the price compared to our frontrunner mince from Meatless Farm.
-
Taste: 9
Texture: 7
Value for money: 5
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 8
3. Beyond Meat, Beyond mince
You wouldn't know this wasn't meat. If you're familiar with Beyond products, however, it does have that classic 'Beyond' flavour. I find that flavour delicious, but it is very distinct. Having a chilli with beyond mince as a base just made me feel like I was eating a big old bowl of Beyond Burger! Which is great, but also might be a deterrent if you just want the meat to disappear into the dish.
-
Taste: 9
Texture: 9
Value for money: 3
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 6
4. Richmond, Meat-Free No Beef Mince
This mince looks just like the real thing in the packaging and behaves like it in the pan as well. It's easy to compare it to Meatless Farm, our favourite mince, as it looks similar. However, the texture of Richmond is a little more stringy and chewy, and you also get less in the packet for the same price per gram. The flavour is a little more bland too. That said, this is a brilliant mince substitute and it is great to see major brands creating affordable plant-based food.
-
Taste: 8
Texture: 9
Value for money: 8
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 2
5. Linda McCartney’s, Vegemince
The small bits that make up Linda McCartney’s vegemince have quite an earthy, meaty taste and texture. As a result, we feel it is well suited to Shepherd’s or cottage Pie.
-
Taste: 6
Texture: 6
Value for money: 5
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 5
6. Quorn, Mince
An unusual flavour. It’s not particularly meat-like, but it is quite nice in its own way. It scores zero for packaging as whenever my mother used to buy it , it would come in a non-recyclable plastic bag. There are simply better alternatives, but as always with Quorn, it’s healthy and cheap so certainly not a bad option.
-
Taste: 6
Texture: 4
Value for money: 9
Packaging: 0
Feel Good Factor: 4
7. Vivera, Plant mince
In a word - dry. It's similar to Quorn in that it's made up of little pieces, but the flavour isn't as good and it’s not as soft. I recommend sticking to the chicken replacements, Viviera!
-
Taste: 4
Texture: 3
Value for money: 6
Packaging: 2
Feel Good Factor: 5
8. Plant Pioneers, No meat mince
It's not bad, but it is in this class of meat replacements that are made up of small hard bits that aren't as nice as Quorn’s bits, which aren't as nice as the truly mince like Meatless Farm or Beyond. It's a freezer product, it seems healthy enough, but it is Sainsbury's own brand and comes in a plastic bag so it scores lowly on our Feel Good Factor.
-
Taste: 4
Texture: 3
Value for money: 10
Packaging: 0
Feel Good Factor: 2