Christmas sandwiches are here. And in terms of plant-based options, we have a variety of festive plant-based sandwiches available. The question is, which is best?
Six of the World Animal Protection team (Debbie, Abbie, Kathy, Phil, Rafel and Charlotte) took up the challenge and taste-tested six plant-based Christmas sandwiches to find the winner.
The Contenders!
Boots – Vegan No Turkey Feast (flavoured soya protein pieces, cranberry chutney, sage & onion stuffing, spinach, red cabbage and fried onions)
Co-op – GRO Turkey Feast (Turk’y-style soya protein with stuffing, cranberry chutney & vegan gravy mayo on fibre enriched sage and onion bread)
M&S – Plant Kitchen No Turkey Feast (Roasted wheat and vegetable protein with cranberry chutney)
Pret – Vegan Christmas Nut Roast (Roasted butternut squash, peppery rocket and Christmas pesto made with pine nuts, chestnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, parsley & rosemary. Served with a spoonful of vegan sage mayo, crispy onions and caramelised pecans)
Sainsbury’s – Rudolph’s Christmas Feast (Festive root veg patty, umami carrot ribbons and spiced candied seeds)
Waitrose – No Lobster Marie Rose Roll (A vegan brioche style roll filled with roasted oyster mushrooms in a vegan Marie Rose sauce with cucumber and rocket)
The Results!
In 6th place ….. Pret’s Vegan Christmas Nut Roast.
Not everyone was a fan of the mix of ingredients in this one and, for most of the panel, it just didn’t taste festive enough for a winning Christmas sandwich.
In 5th place …. Waitrose’s No Lobster Marie Rose Roll
The filling tasted like prawn cocktail, which while nice enough, wasn’t the flavour most people wanted from their Christmas sandwich. The filling was also a bit thin and the bread roll itself, sadly, wasn’t that nice.
In 4th place … Co-op’s GRO Turkey Feast
This one split the panel! Some thought it was nice while others weren’t so keen. Perfectly edible but nothing to write to Santa about.
In 3rd place … M&S Plant Kitchen No Turkey Feast
There were hearty chunks of ‘turkey’ in this which gave it a good texture, but the cranberry sauce wasn’t as nice as some of the others.
Coming in (a very close) 2nd place … Sainsbury’s Rudolph’s Christmas Feast
Our panel liked this one a lot. It was very tasty with heaps of flavour. The root veg patty worked really well with the carrot and spices, plus it has an amazing star shaped bun!
And (drum roll) the winner of the 2021 Christmas plant-based sandwich Battle Royale is….
Boots with their Vegan No Turkey Feast!
Full of traditional festive flavour with a great texture and a winning combo of ingredients – tasty ‘turkey’ pieces, crisp salad and a delicious tangy cranberry relish. A worthy winner!
Have you tried any plant-based Christmas sandwiches yet? Which was your favourite? Let us know on our Say YES to LESS facebook group.