There are two flavors I love, while there are two flavors I can continue without.
Whether you’re vegan, plant-based, or just love trying vegan meals, you know it can be hard to find tasty alternatives.
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There’s tofu, seitan, and tempeh — just to name a few. Brands have created numerous tasty alternative meat options, especially during the last few years, and Daring Foods is one of them.
When Daring Foods reached out to me, I knew I had to try them as I have heard about the brand but never tested out their plant chicken. I was sent the flavors in Original, Cajun, Breaded, and Lemon & Herb, and it’s important to note these are all soy-based.
To not waste too much time, I decided to make a burrito, salad, quinoa, and jasmine rice dish, to really get a feel of each flavor. Let’s begin!
First up, was Daring Foods plant chicken, in the flavor Breaded. Here’s how it looks before being heated up.
Celina De Jesus/
As you can see, some pieces are smaller than others, and it was slightly seasoned. The heating instructions state to heat 1/4 of oil on a pan, on medium heat, and then cook for 2 minutes until golden brown.
And here’s how it looks after a few minutes or so:
Celina De Jesus/
While it doesn’t look exactly like the package, it sure does look yummy.
Here’s a quick snap of my food, before adding any dressing.
Celina De Jesus/
As you can see, the inside of the plant-based chicken wasn’t really empty.
Biting into each piece tasted savory and great, but I will admit, I may have added too much oil as the breaded part was a bit mushy. Oiliness aside, the flavor made up for it.
Celina De Jesus/
For this flavor, I give an automatic 4/5, and I can’t wait to make this again.
This time, the instruction states to preheat your pan for about a minute on medium-high heat, and then add 1.5-2 tablespoons of oil. Then, add to your pan and let sizzle for about 4-5 minutes if thawed.
Celina De Jesus/
You can see the oil start to marinate with the bottom portion of the piece, all while it sizzles.
And here it is up-close, with a golden brown finish. The texture was pretty tough, again, and while the flavor is listed as original, it did taste pretty bland when compared to the flavor Breaded.
Celina De Jesus/
I would give it a 2/5, since it lacked in seasoning.
Third on the list was Lemon & Herb. At this point, the instructions were pretty similar as the Original flavor, but cook 3-4 minutes instead.
Celina De Jesus
Full transparency: This image was shot after, as I accidentally deleted the original thawed pieces.
Here were the results.
Celina De Jesus/
Not only did they look super yummy, but they smelled delicious as well.
I decided to go all out and make what some may consider a burrito, or maybe even a taco. Either way, it looked incredibly tasty, and I could not wait to try.
So far, this one was my favorite out of the first three flavors. Each bite tasted a bit like spring, and chopping them up made it slightly easier to chew through.
Celina De Jesus/
In comparison with the first two I tried, Lemon & Herb has more of citrusy taste to it. For this flavor, I give it an automatic 5/5.
Last to try was the flavor in Cajun. Similarly to Lemon & Herb, add some oil, and let cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
And voila. While I might have slightly overcooked them, I was pretty happy with how flavorful they appeared to be and couldn’t wait to dig in.
The first bite was pretty tough; at this point, I expected it and figured maybe I had overcooked all of the flavors, but nonetheless it was good. I was expecting for there to be a bit more flavor, but it didn’t taste bad.
Celina De Jesus/
In comparison to Original, this has a bit more flavor, but not as much as I was expecting. My rating for this one? 3/5.
To recap, my favorites are the Lemon & Herb and Breaded pieces. I can only imagine all the great recipes I’ll be able to incorporate these plant-based chickens with; my only note would be to make sure to not add too much oil.
Celina De Jesus/
As for the flavors Cajun and Original — while they weren’t terrible, they just didn’t have the flavor I was looking for.
And there ya have it! While there are some flavors I will be purchasing myself, there were one or two I could manage without.
Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Editor’s Note: Daring Foods sent this food to me for free in exchange for coverage, but my review of the plant chicken is honest and in no way impacted by this.
Have you tried Daring before? Let us know in the comments below.
