Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a food scientist? I mean, somewhere in this country, right now, in any number of laboratories, there are chemists standing around in white lab coats, creating the next flavor sensation over a Bunsen burner and an Erlenmeyer flask. Do they have a list of objectives for each new invention? “Step 1: Create new convenience food. Step 2: Test flavor. Make improvements if necessary. Step 3: Collect paycheck. Buy Maserati.” Seriously, some of these folks earn up to six figures. When you throw in the added challenge of using meat substitutes for dishes traditionally reserved for the real thing, it makes that hefty paycheck seem all the more reasonable, especially if it turns out pretty well.
Morningstar Farms has a nice fake meat thing going on, and it appears their food technicians have mad skills in the stuffed sandwich science department. It’s like they took a look at the other smaller, less flavorful stuffed breakfast sandwich failures on the grocery shelves and said to themselves, “We can rebuild these. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first frozen, vegetarian stuffed sandwich with fake sausage.” They vowed that the Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit would be that sandwich… A Six-Million Dollar Biscuit, sold for $6. Hot, buttery, and fluffy on the inside, crispy and flaky on the outside, and stuffed with delicious, low-fat ingredients that won’t slide out. And it would be huge for a frozen biscuit. Not teensy like some other brands. Better. Stronger. Tastier. And there’d be a fake bacon one, too.
I’m pleased to say that, on the whole, those crazy scientists have succeeded. The other frozen vegetarian sandwiches I’ve tried just don’t compare to the Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit. For one, the other sandwiches lack fake meat, opting for just eggs and cheese. I’ve always preferred breakfast sandwiches that combine the holy trinity of eggs, cheese and some type of meat, and having low-fat, vegetarian sausage crumbles in place of full-fat pork or turkey sausage makes the whole thing even more attractive. Sometimes you just crave that third flavor in a sandwich to kind of balance everything out. Three is the magic number, after all. It’s science.
However, I discovered that the number three isn’t so wonderful. Startlingly, it took me three separate attempts to cook the Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit to an appropriate temperature and texture. It’s pretty strange, considering the warning on the box that the biscuit filling may be “EXTREMELY HOT” after cooking (presumably once), and that the biscuits themselves may be “too hot to handle.” It took a lot more time to get either of these advisories to come true. And even then, it was never too hot to handle.
The first time, I followed the package’s microwave instructions, and the result was just okay. The innards had been sufficiently cooked, but the biscuit itself was left a little bit spongy. On my second try, I used the conventional oven instructions and discovered to my horror, that the innards were still a bit cool, even after sitting in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. For my final attempt, I combined the two methods: I microwaved the biscuit for 15 seconds then placed it in the oven for the full amount of time. It came out perfectly: soft, warm, crispy-on-the-edges biscuit on the outside with a hot, sausage-egg-and-cheese mixture on the inside. The texture of the veggie sausage crumbles was exactly what I expected, but the cheese was a bit runny and may have gotten soaked up by the scrambled egg. It tasted much better than before, though. Good thing they sell these things in boxes of three.
The Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit makes an excellent breakfast, but not if you’re in any particular hurry. The Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit is indeed state-of-the-art, but the Morningstar Farms scientists should have been a little more precise with their cooking instructions. Getting the temperature of my breakfast just right was a trial that brought me a little closer to the plight of a true food scientist… only the reward for my scientific experimentation had slightly less vrooom.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 biscuit (105g) – 270 calories, 80 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 3.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 600 milligrams of sodium, 190 milligrams of potassium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein. 4% vitamin A, 10% calcium, and 15% iron.)
Item: Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuits
Price: $3.99 (on sale; normally $5.99)
Size: 3 biscuits/11.1 ounces
Purchased at: Pavilions
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Buttery biscuit. Low-fat breakfast. Savory vegetarian sausage crumbles. “3” is the magic number. Bigger and denser than other stuffed breakfast sandwiches. Erlenmeyer flasks. Lee Majors.
Cons: Took three different attempts to get the right temperature and texture. Liquid cheese. Not for those in a rush. Less horsepower than a Maserati. $6 regular price tag.
The first sentence made me smile, since I am a food scientist 🙂
Thanks for reviewing these, I’ve seen them in the store and was wondering how they were (being a vegetarian myself!)
Ooooh, I’ve flirted with wanting to be a food scientist pretty much all my life. You’re like a rock star to me! Please, share all your dark magic secrets with me!
I am so upset to learn that Morningstar Farm is discontinuing these awesome biscuits! I am making the rounds to all local stores to stock up on the last of them. It is one of only a few things my 5 year old will eat! ;(
I wonder how the cooking would go if you let it thaw out and then popped it into the toaster oven for about 10 minutes (as opposed to taking it direct from the freezer). This sounded damn tasty though. I’m jealous as we don’t have such things in Japan!
Wrap biscuit lightly in a paper towel microwave on high for 45 seconds, flip over and 45 seconds on the other side. Perfect every time!!! Delicious and a healthy alternative to real sausage!!! I love them!!!
Thank god we have intrepid explorers like you to rush ahead and risk severe injury for we medium-to-late adopters. Though I was mildly disappointed that, despite the warnings, no injury occurred. 😉
for US, not we… damn bloodstream and its delayed reaction to caffeine.
Try the Morningstar “Bacon”… you’ll confuse them with Beggin Strips. I do like their soy sausage patties though, pretty tasty if you don’t nuke them to the point where they suddenly lose all moisture. Morningstar actually quit making the best thing they ever made, these stuffed sandwich “Hot Pockets” like concoctions. The stuff I like always disappears.
I’ve bought these at target numerous times for $3-4, can’t recall exactly. Pretty tasty.
Kudos for the Erlenmeyer reference. Well played.
i just microwaved it for 2 minutes and it was perfect 🙂
I remember when I bought a package of morning star breakfast links on accident I didn’t read the label and had no clue they were veggie until I ate one and thought it was spoiled and spit it out.
I am a vegetarian and love morningstar products. I put them in for the recommended time on the package and they turned out perfect.. I think it depends on what kind of microwave you have, and how new/old it is! I don’t know if anyone else had tried these before they were discontinued, but was I the only one that liked the vegetarian steak strips?! My mom made vegetarian philly cheese steaks, and they were a hit with my family.. even my dad and brother (who aren’t vegetarians) liked them!!
I just discovered these. They are awesome! Other meatless frozen breakfast convenience foods are soggy or not filling enough.
While I am not a fan of Morningstars “playdough like” bacon..I just got these last night and am IN LOVE with them. They are phenom in flavor and filling to say the least. As for the cooking time..1 min in the micro and it was hot on the outside and on the inside. Just a little note about that for those concerned. These are a must have for vegetarians and non-vegitarians alike as the sausage tastes exactly like the real deal. I eat mostly veg even though I really am not and these are my new breakfast alternative. Thank you morningstar for another fab food!!
These are my absolute favorite. Nothing can compare, in my opinion. I usually put one on a paper towel and microwave it for 45 seconds. Perfection.
I tried the new sausage, egg & cheeze biscuits and I thought they were terrible, I purchase a lot of breakfast products and I was sorely disappointed. I can’t imagine anyone liking the taste, I thru the remainder out.
No doubt Rick – I like the Morningstar breakfast sausage patties and eat them almost daily (so do my kids). I’m not a vegetarian, I just like the taste and they’re healthier than the real deal. So I bought these biscuits just recently and like you thought they were horrifically unedible – I threw out the half cooked one and the other two frozen ones. I demanded a refund on the Kellog’s new products website.
Just bought these last night and ate one a few minutes ago. I popped it in the microwave for exactly 1 min (accidentally threw away box without looking at cook time) and 1 minute was perfect! I did have to be careful not to burn myself with the hot gooey filling. This bfast sandwich was delish!
I eat these all the time! I put them in the microwave for 45 sec and bake in the toaster oven for 10min and they come out great. As for price, I’ve definitely never seen them sold for $5.99! They are usually $4.50 or so at our normal grocery store, $3.79 at Target and sometimes on sale for $3.
The best way to quickly cook these. Is wrap them in a paper towel. And microwave them for a minute and them seconds. They’re a good fall back when I run out of Greek yogurt! 🙂 But I do love them. A whole lot. Not sure about the bacon ones though /: anyway nice review! 🙂
I just tried my first one this morning and thought it was very good. Especially when there is not much choice for veggie breakfast microwave meals. There was a little too much biscuit in my opinion, but instantly I thought these would be very good as a veggie biscuits and gravy!
I am at work, so I nuked mine for 50 seconds and could tell the inside was warm but the biscuit felt a little hard in some areas. I nuked again for 10 seconds or so and it was the perfect temp. I will definitely try the bacon ones next time. I prefer sausage for breakfast food, but I find the morningstar bacon isn’t great, unless mixed with something (not appealing on their own, but OK in a BLT sandwich, for instance).
I love the bacon and sausage biscuits. The instructions say to microwave for 45 seconds to. A minute. I have a 1200 watt microwave. I microwave for 1 minute and they come out perfect.