Product Review: Morningstar Farms Chik Patties

Morningstar Farms Chik Patties are one of my family's favorite vegetarian products. They taste almost identical to ordinary breaded chicken patties, yet are completely meat free and low fat. They're made mostly from textured vegetable protein and wheat gluten. Morningstar Farms Chik Patties are a completely vegetarian product made with meat-free flavorings and colorings.

Morningstar Farms Chik Patties are very similar to Boca's Meatless Chik'n Patties. Morningstar Farms Chik Patties have 150 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 11 grams of protein and 540 mg of sodium per patty. As a vegetarian product, they are naturally cholesterol free.

The Boca Chik'n Patties were a little lower in sodium, higher in protein and had no saturated fat.

I found Morningstar Farms Chik Patties at my local Wal-Mart recently for $2.98 for four patties. This is a little more expensive than the Boca Chik'n Patties usually were. So I definitely prefer Boca, and only get the Morningstar Farms when the Boca equivalent isn't available.

These Chik Patties are very delicious and make a great burger for not many calories. They can be microwaved, but they are much better when cooked in a skillet.

I also like to prepare these in a "chicken fried chicken" style, with mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables. Other ways to prepare them include slicing them up in a garden salad, or use them to make a sweet and sour chik'n stir-fry. Be sure to give them a little extra time to get crisp in the skillet for sweet and sour, since they can get a little soggy when drenched with sauce. The Morningstar Farms website has some excellent, tested recipes including Southwest Skillet Supper, and Chik Marinara with Veggies. These make for a great change of pace when you get tired of plain old burgers.

My primary criticism of these patties is that they are far too high in sodium. I tend to keep them around since they're a favorite of my husband and two children. But I don't like to serve them every single week. Instead, I like to favor the prepared vegetarian products which are lower in sodium, and save this one for special occasions.

Overall, I think this is a quality product. It's a good idea to couple it with foods which are low in sodium, though, and I definitely would not break out the salt shaker during the meal.