My First Experience with Vegan Chicken via Gardein Crispy Tenders.

As part of a recent attempt to go meatless for a week, I decided to see if I could find a suitable substitution for my much beloved chicken breast strips.

This search led me to picking up a bag of Gardein Crispy Tenders at the store. The online reviews were good, plus the company is used by Disney at their annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Looking at the nutrition label, I saw a serving size is 2 pieces, so I popped that on a cookie sheet to bake. They were smaller than I expected, but they looked just like breaded chicken tenders.

While they were cooking, I read the ingredient label. Not only could I pronounce everything on the label, but it was all stuff I recognized.

I was also impressed by the fact that the company uses non-GMO soy and wheat. This product is certified vegan.

Each serving had 100 calories, with 4.5 grams of fat. Definitely healthier than the actual chicken.

The only problem I had was that each serving also had 240mg salt, though the label said it was sea salt. But since the pieces were a bit smaller, less salt would’ve been nice.

So what about the taste? It was actually really close. When dipped in a honey mustard or ranch dressing, I couldn’t tell the difference, really.

I’d give Gardein Crispy Tenders an 8 out of 10. If the salt content was lower, I would’ve given it a 9.

Have you tried Gardein vegan “chicken”? If so, what did you think about it?

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I'm Michelle Snow, the writer and creator of Zengrrl. I write about travel, entertainment, women's issues, health, body positivity, and more, both for this blog and freelance. I have also authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida. If you aren't already following me, the links are below, as well as on the top right of this page. Thanks!