One peek at a restaurant’s menu or a supermarket’s shelves is enough to see just how mainstream vegan food is today – and we couldn’t be more excited.
Supermarkets and restaurants big and small have stepped up to meet the ever-growing demand for vegan food. People are increasingly moving towards a compassionate diet, and progressive brands are changing with the times.
Now in their eight year, PETA’s Vegan Food Awards highlight some of the most delicious and exciting new vegan offerings. Check out the award winners below, and try them for yourself:
Best Vegan Meat
Meatless Farm Meat Free Mince
The mince from Meatless Farm makes great meatballs, a tantalising taco filling, or the perfect companion to your favourite pasta dish. It’s made with soya, pea, and rice protein, resulting in a perfect meat-free mix of taste and texture. We have to agree, that’s some great m*** f*** mince.Best Vegan Chicken
KFC Original Recipe Vegan Burger
Vegan chicken at KFC … it’s just cluckin’ delicious. The KFC vegan burger boasts a bespoke Quorn fillet coated with the famous Original Recipe herbs and spices and topped with fresh iceberg lettuce and creamy vegan mayo, all in a soft glazed bun. Yum, yum, YUM!Best Vegan Sausage
Richmond Meat-Free Sausages
Richmond Meat-Free Sausages are some bangin’ bangers to go with your mash. Featuring great flavour and texture, these little beauties even have a skin that gets just the right amount of crispy when you fry ’em up. This is the vegan sausage to win over your meat-eating friends – a total game changer.- Best Vegan Cheese
Violife Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour
Violife knows its vegan cheeses, and the Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour is no exception. A superb vegan take on mature Cheddar, with its crumbly texture and strong flavour, it’s a must-have on any cheese lover’s plate. Best Vegan Mayo
Nando’s Vegan PERinaise
Spicy peri-peri meets creamy vegan mayo: it’s a match made in heaven. Ideal for dipping chips and crisps or added to a vegan chicken sandwich or a salad for a little something extra, the sauce is available from supermarkets and on the new vegan chicken burger from Nando’s restaurants.- Best Vegan Milk
Mighty Pea M.lk Original
Smooth, creamy, and cruelty-free, this delicious milk is made from yellow split peas. Mighty Pea M.lk Original tastes better than anything squeezed out of an unwilling cow and is packed with protein, vitamins, and calcium. This plant milk makes us – and cows – unbelievably happea. - Best Vegan Burger
Co-op GRO
The Incredible Burger
Make sure you have plenty of buns on hand, because you’ll want seconds of this succulent, juicy vegan burger. Hearty and vibrant in flavour, the aptly named Incredible Burger proves no one needs to die for a burger patty. It’s delicious, high in protein, and kind to cows – win, win, win. - Best Vegan Fish
Forgan’s Broughty Ferry
Beer Battered Vegan
Loved by locals and visitors alike, this Scottish restaurant serves up delicious vegan fish and chips. Coated in a beer batter and plated with thick-cut chips, tartare sauce, lemon, and crushed peas, this dish gives you all the flavours of the sea without harming our ocean friends. - Best Vegan Ready Meal
Aldi Plant Menu
No Chicken Masala
This ready meal is both convenient and full of flavour. Vegan chicken pieces are paired with a lightly spiced, aromatic masala sauce and brown rice – perfect for stocking your freezer. Best Vegan Pizza
Papa John’s The Vegan Works
Papa John’s The Vegan Works is loaded with vegan sausage, slices of jackfruit “pepperoni”, mushrooms, peppers, onions, olives, and of course, tomato sauce and vegan cheese. Basically, it has just the right amount of everything. Vegan works for us.- Best Vegan Pasty
Greggs Vegan Steak Bake
Greggs’ Vegan Steak Bake features nearly 100 layers of light, crisp puff pastry filled with Quorn vegan meat pieces and onions cooked in aromatic gravy. The delicious grab-and-go vegan comfort food is available at locations all over the UK. - Best Vegan Pie
Pukka Vegan Chicken & Mushroom Pie
There’s no wrong time for pie – especially as we’re settling in for the winter months – and Pukka’s Vegan Chicken & Mushroom Pie won’t let you down. Cased in a light puff pastry, it’s stuffed with tender, savoury chunks of soya protein and sliced mushrooms in a delicious, creamy vegan sauce. - Best Vegan Sandwich
Subway Meatless Meatball Marinara
Eat fresh, hold the flesh! Subway’s Meatless Meatball Marinara sandwich features four vegan meatballs covered with the chain’s popular marinara sauce and topped with a generous helping of tasty vegan cheese – yes, please. Best Vegan Mac & Cheese
Eat of Eden Macaroni Pie
We love everything on the menu at this all-vegan, Caribbean-inspired chain, but its rich, creamy macaroni pie is the shining star. It’s available to eat in and for delivery from its four locations in London – and there are more on the way.- Best Vegan Chocolate
Moo Free Cinder Toffee
This honeycomb toffee chocolate bar is a perfect combination of sweet, light, and crunchy and will melt in your mouth like vegan butter. This moreish treat will leave any chocolate lover delighted. Best Vegan Cookie
Pret A Manger Dark Chocolate & Almond Butter Cookie
With its gooey chocolate chunks, almond pieces, almond butter, and sea salt, Pret’s Dark Chocolate & Almond Butter Cookie really takes the biscuit. Try it warm for sweet surprises with every bite.Best Vegan Cake
OGGS Victoria
Sponge Cakes
OGGS Victoria Sponge Cakes are pillowy delights filled with raspberry jam and covered with vanilla-flavoured frosting. Yes, you can eat these small cakes anytime, anywhere. Yes, they’re 100% animal-friendly. Yes, you want them, and so do we.Best Vegan Doughnuts
Considerit
Considerit has something for every sweet tooth, such as the simple but delicious salted caramel doughnut and the tasty chocolate Oreo and blueberry cheesecake varieties. Its treats are available in store in Edinburgh from Wednesday to Sunday or via delivery – they roll them out to you!- Best Vegan Dessert
Caffè Nero Salted Caramel and Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake
Each layer of the Caffè Nero Salted Caramel and Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake is a delight. And, fortunately, the decadent treat is available across the country at the high-street favourite, so you can keep going back for more … and more and more. - Best Vegan Ice Cream
Oatly Chocolate
Fudge
Anything that has the words “chocolate” and “fudge” in it is probably a good idea, and Oatly’s Chocolate Fudge ice cream is no exception. It’s a smooth, creamy treat with lashings of luscious fudge throughout. Perfection. - Best Vegan Pastry
Pret A Manger Very
Berry Croissant
This flaky pastry is filled with layers of berry jam, folded over, and covered with a sprinkle of sugar crystals. The perfect partner to your morning coffee, Pret’s Very Berry Croissant brightens even the darkest of days. - Best Vegan
RangeTesco
Plant Chef
Joining previous PETA award winner Wicked Kitchen is Tesco’s Plant Chef range. These vegan foods have all the punch, crunch, and zing needed to satisfy rumbling stomachs and discerning taste buds. Offerings include southern-fried fillets, a meat-free roast, butternut-cauliflower macaroni, and pizzas, and you’ll want to try them all. - Best Vegan
CookbookSpeedy BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby
Speedy BOSH! shows once again that these guys are the ones to watch in the world of vegan cooking. The book has over 100 recipes, all of which take 30 minutes or less to put together. Try your hand at the Big Red Peanut Noodles or the Breakfast Hash Tacos – you’ll impress yourself and your guests with what you whip up. - Best Vegan Luxury Product
I AM NUT OK Foiegeddaboutit Truffle & Mushroom Faux Gras Pâté
This luxurious pâté is made with porcini mushrooms and earthy black truffle and will take your meal or amuse-bouche to new heights. Foiegeddaboutit faux gras shows that any food can be made without animal suffering – in fact, it can be made 10 times better.
The popularity of vegan living is growing at an astonishing rate as more and more people recognise that other animals have just as much of an inherent desire to live as we do – and that eating vegan is better not only for animals but also for our planet and our own health. As a result, you’ll find delectable animal-friendly options almost anywhere you go to shop or eat.
After you’ve tasted these award-winning foods, get cooking with the recipes in our free vegan starter kit:
