Gro Vegan Burgers are a Vegan burger that is sold specifically from Co-op at time of writing. They are seasoned Vegan burgers that are made with rehydrated textured soya protein which is incredibly low in saturated fats.
The Gro Vegan burgers come in a 210g burger pack format but are a versatile choice, Co-op do have recipes to make it into ‘The Ultimate Vegan Burger’. The only downside with the ultimate is it is high in calories, fat, saturates and salt because of the latter ingredients but if that is something you don’t really care about – it is absolutely the one for you.
Let’s look at the recipe for the Ultimate, as that’s what myself and Tish cooked to get a real taste for what this burger can do in all it’s glory.
First off let’s note that the ingredients are for feeding a family of 4 (apparently) but Tish and I finished it as a 2.
Ingredients –
2 x 227g packs of the Gro Vegan Burgers
4 slices of dairy free cheese alternative
2 Vegan Buns
2 tbsp GRO Vegan Mayo
2 tbsp Ketchup
2 small gherkins
1 Gem lettuce shredded on top
Now we took the ingredients and we got cooking. We cooked those burgers in the oven but opened the oven 5 mins prior to finishing to slap on the cheese so it’s nice and melted when it comes out, then stacked the Gherkins on top with Ketchup and mayo in between the patties. Oh. My. God. It was to die for, genuinely I cannot remember the last time I had a Vegan burger that was so close to the real thing, even comparing to some of the others out there.
In comparison, I have tried the Vegan burgers in Tesco (plant chef), Iceland (Lentil based Meat Free) and Beyond Meat’s burgers too via purchase and via trying out the Mcplant. My comparison may come as a shock but GRO Vegan Burgers was the best out of the lot, and that’s saying something considering Beyond have gone to such lengths to replicate the real thing.
The Tesco Plant Chef burger was amazing in flavour, but what it was really missing was the right texture, the fibrous feel in your mouth that Iceland, GRO and Beyond have. The Iceland Vegan burger had the flavour and texture but it lacked the real quality to stay together on an oven tray and would regularly rip apart when coming off (which may be mitigated by regular flipping in the oven but as a busy parent you may not have time to monitor this), and the Beyond burger was the only real comparison of the GRO in my eyes, a direct competitor if you will that came in at the same price range.
Speaking of price range, to make a comparison:
GRO Vegan Burgers – £1.85 for 210g
Beyond Burgers – £4 for 226g
Tesco Plant Chef Burgers – £1.30 for 227g
Iceland No Meat Burger – £1.50 for 226g
So all in all, the price point for the GRO Vegan Burgers is slightly higher than Tesco & Iceland, but less than half of Beyond, and the sheer quality of the Burger puts it as a direct competitor to Beyond at a much lower price point.
In conclusion, the GRO Vegan Burgers are really up there with the best, the texture, flavour and build of the burger really make them one of the strongest competitors in the market as things stand.
If you want to see some awesome recipes, check this one out here: https://mikearthur.co.uk/vegan-tunnocks-teacakes/