To ensure you don’t think of me as a devout carnivore, who shuns meatless products, I’m going to preface this review by saying I regularly buy Morningstar Farms products.
Whenever they go on sale, I buy their Meal Starter Grillers Recipe Crumbles to replace ground beef; I usually have a box of their BBQ Riblets in my freezer for those times when I’m too lazy to cook; and I regularly purchase the Costco-sized box of their Original Sausage Patties.
I’ve tried many Morningstar Farms products and they’re all decent or better. Oh, except for their veggie bacon, which is quite disgusting and haunts my taste buds every day.
So would Morningstar Farms’ new Veggie Dogs be a new favorite or something that will torment my taste buds for years?
Oh, should point out it seems weird the Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs box proclaims, in large sans serif letters, these veggie dogs are new, because they’re not. Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs were around for years and then disappeared from shelves for a long time, much to the dismay of many people.
But now they’re back, baby!
I know I tasted the original Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs, but I don’t remember what they taste like. Maybe because they were so horrible that my brain has hidden the traumatic experience deep within my mind. Or maybe I forgot because my knowledge of 1990s hip-hop lyrics wrote over the memory. But after tasting these dogs, I think it’s definitely the latter because these veggie dogs don’t make me want to spit them out.
I guess the nicest word I could use to describe these veggie dogs is tolerable. I mean, what should I expect for something that has just 0.5 grams of fat. They look like hot dogs and have a meat-like flavor, but it’s a fraction of the flavor with regular hot dogs. However, with enough ketchup, mustard, and onions on it, with my eyes closed, and me repeatedly saying “yummy” with my mouth full, I think I could trick my mind into thinking it’s a decent hot dog.
However, they’re skinny and don’t have the same feel as a hot dog. A hot dog’s exterior coating doesn’t give as easily as these Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs. Putting my fork through one of these dogs feels like putting a fork through unprepared SPAM. It’s a little off-putting, along with them looking like they have some kind of skin disorder.
Also, I would’ve been nice if they came in a pack of eight, like hot dog buns, but instead they came in an inconvenient pack of six.
I’ve had the misfortune of tasting two or three other brands of veggie dogs over the years. I don’t remember the brands, but just thinking of those veggie dogs make me a little nauseous because they were quite horrible. These Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs are definitely better. But as someone who occasionally enjoys a Costco hot dog after buying a Costco-sized box of Morningstar Farms sausage patties, I can’t say they’re nearly as enjoyable as a regular hot dogs.
However, if you’re a vegetarian, you’ll probably enjoy them a lot more.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 link – 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 430 milligrams of sodium, 15 milligrams of potassium, 4 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.)
Item: Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs
Purchased Price: $4.99 (on sale)
Size: 6 veggie dogs
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Best veggie dog I’ve had. Tolerable, especially if you pile on the ketchup, mustard, and onions. Didn’t want to spit them out. Only 0.5 grams of fat. 7 grams of protein. My ability to lip-sync with 90s hip-hop.
Cons: Skinny dogs. Box contains six veggie dogs, so if you buy a pack of hot dogs buns, you’ll have two extra. Don’t have the same feel as a hot dog. They look like they have a skin disorder. Morningstar Farms Veggie Bacon.
I’m so glad that they’re back. I haven’t had a real hot dog in over ten years, so while my memory of how they taste isn’t great, I think these are fantastic. I just wish that they were a bit thicker.
Let me just say… I’ve been a vegetarian for several years, and most of the faux meat products out there aren’t even remotely palatable. The MorningStar Farms “hot dogs” are still wayyyy better than the “Smart Dogs” by Lightlife. The only “mock meats” I truly enjoy are the frozen veggie burgers from Amy’s and, above all, Joe’s Oat Patties!! I especially love the Garden Fresh & Curry Lentil varieties! They’re a little on the pricey side, but SO worth it! 🙂
http://www.joesoatpatties.com/
“Best veggie dog I’ve had.” That’s like saying “this was the best car accident I’ve ever been in.”
See, the texture would be a real dealbreaker for me. Then again, I’m such a carnivore that, after trying natural casing hot dogs, I’ll never go back to anything else. I guess that’s about as anti-vegetarian as a hot dog can get.
i’m not sure i’d want to try these again. i didn’t like them all that much when they were out years ago. unless they changed a ton. and now that there are so many better brands, eh. i will stick with fieldroast, tofurkey or smart dogs.
You need to try the Morningstar veggie corn dogs next. What could make a mediocre hot dog better than corn bread? And a stick! Seriously though, they’re addictive.
RAUNCH-FACTOR!!!!!!!!! Fake meat, aw man, might as well eat dog sh**! Wait no, dog sh** sounds better!
The key to these is not to boil them, but to fry them. Then, at least, they get a little snap and texture. Having said that, one year at the company picnic a vegetarian friend and I dumped a bunch of these into the kettle where someone was cooking a bunch of regular hot dogs when the cook wasn’t looking. No one seemed to notice any difference when they ate the veggie dogs.
I was wondering what the hell happened to these! I don’t really do meat replacements very often, but every now and then there’s cause, and Morningstar Farms veggie dogs were the only ones I could ever tolerate. I’ll have to try them again to see if they changed them at all. Except really, 6 veggie dogs? In a box? What the hell was wrong with the old pack that just looked like hot dogs?
I’ve tried Morning Star Corn Dogs and loved them with all of my heart. However, my memory of the dogs by themselves were that they were vile. Vile, I say! I’d like to try the NEW! version (as they call it), but I’m honestly afraid.
I have not had these but LOVE the Field Roast brand. Field Roast is far and away better than any I have ever had. I like them better than real hot dogs.
Field roast is amazing. I agree. These were decent, but they are not vegan! Please change the review because it is inaccurate. I cannot believe you assumed that all fake meat is good for vegan. No. Most contain eggs and dairy. Please change this information & check before posting inaccurate information.
Corrected. Thank you for pointing it out. And thank you for educating us a little bit more about vegan foods. Although you could’ve been a bit nicer when doing so.
You could’ve simply said, “These were decent, unfortunately they are not vegan. Most fake meat contain eggs and dairy, and these do, so they’re not considered vegan. With this new information, I hope you make the appropriate changes to your review. Unicorn love is forever!”
How did you cook these? I’m not sure I came across it in this article…?
I boiled some and microwaved some.
Two of them grilled, and placed on an 80 cal hamburger roll with sauerkraut and mustard is the way to go. Definitely don’t taste like real hot dogs, but they’re not bad and the kraut and mustard projects most of the taste anyway.
Thanks for reviewing this product. I was wondering how they tasted, and what the texture was like, and I didn’t want to buy a whole box in case I didn’t like them.
I agree, most Morningstar products are great. I’ve liked everything except the chicken products (only because their texture and taste is too much like chicken!). The bacon, meh, it’s good for adding a faint bacon flavor to a dish, but I wouldn’t eat it by itself. Also, it’s overpowering if you put too much in.
I LOVE their sausages and burgers!
My grown kids love pigs in a blanket as appetizers for holiday meals, especially my oldest daughter. She made it home for Christmas this year and since she’s a vegetarian, I used these to make a plate just for her. I didn’t tell the rest of the family which was which and they could not tell the difference.
Funniest review ever!!!….I loved it!…Just had 2 veggie dogs and your description was spot on!…Still laughing from your description!!! 🙂
I love these veggie dogs, but I don’t eat them the standard way. Instead of putting them in a hot dog bun with condiments, I cut them up and put them in baked beans. They’re quite delicious that way.
These are the best tasting of all the veggie dogs I’ve tried (vegetarian for over 35 years). I microwave them for about 20 seconds and then grill them on the BBQ, Foreman grill – whatever is handy – to brown them up. Takes a bit longer, but it is worth it. Just don’t overdo it or the outside is tough.
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I used to eat Morningstar dogs, but then they weren’t available. I was told the factory went out of business. Then they came back but didn’t taste good. Very recently I decided to try them again and they are GREAT. I don’t know if Morningstar changed the ingredients or if my taste buds changed, but I think hey taste great again. I haven’t eaten for 40 years.
Correction: I haven’t eaten meat for 40 years.