Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties Product Review

Gardenburger has long been a mainstay on the vegan and vegetarian scene. From the original Gardenburger to the array of meatless fare they offer today, over the years Gardenburger has become a household name known for serving up delicious meat alternatives of both the burger and non-burger variety.

So, naturally, as soon as I see a vegan Gardenburger product that I haven't tried, I immediately have to remedy the situation. When I spotted Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties at my local Fred Meyer, I snapped them up and headed home to make veggie burgers and garlic fries for dinner.

Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties have 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of protein and 4% of the recommended daily iron intake per serving. Okay, in case you just read that sentence without paying much attention, I am going to say again...1 gram of fat...9 grams of protein...4 grams of dietary fiber...in a burger. I am most excited about the 1 gram of fat, which makes this a great low fat protein source for vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and meat eaters.

So, right now you are probably thinking something along the lines of - wow, what a great, totally healthy meat alternative - and you're right, but there is one small thing to consider before you run out and get some: the taste is decidedly...eh.

I love Gardenburger products - seriously, serve me up some Gardenburger BBQ Riblets or an Herb Crusted Cutlet and I'll be your best friend forever - but these Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties are just disappointingly lackluster in the flavor department. They aren't bad, they're just bland.

Now, if you have picky kids who don't like spicy foods or if you dress your burgers up quite a bit anyways, then these meatless burgers are worth a try for their heart healthy nutrition and their significantly lower fat content when compared to meat burgers and most other veggie burgers.

I will likely buy them again for the reasons I just mentioned and will just add some guacamole, salsa, barbecue sauce or other burger accoutrement to kick up the flavor several notches.

One thing to note - first I went on the website to see the product information for Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties and got all excited when I didn't see any soy in the list of ingredients. It looked as though I had found another soy-free option, but then I looked on the box that I had purchased and that ingredient list contains soy. So, I'm not sure what's up with that, but if you are trying to limit your soy, you might want to look into this before adding Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties to your diet.