STEP aside, the vegan sausage roll – Greggs has a new plant-based offering.
The Vegan Sausage, Bean and CheeZe Melt, costing just £1.60, launched in Gregg’s stores yesterday.
It is designed to mirror the high street store's Sausage, Bean and Cheese Melt, is loaded with pieces of vegan sausage, grated mozzarella-flavoured vegan cheese and baked beans.
The 96-layer puff pastry is the same as used in its other bakes and doesn’t contain butter or eggs.
And like the vegan sausage roll that joined the menu in 2019, it isn’t glazed with milk.
The chain's release of their vegan sausage roll lead to a year-on-year sales increase of 13.5 per cent in 2020.
Will their bake have the same success?
We see if it lives up to the real deal. Below I score its various qualities out of five beans of praise.
Appearance
As I opened the bag, it was hard to ignore how flat the bake was.
Don’t get me wrong, the flaky pastry still looks appetising – but I couldn’t help question how they fit more than five baked beans in there, let alone chunks of vegan sausage.
The pastry looked a little anaemic, but that was to be expected without the signature egg wash.
Once inside, it was hard to tell the difference – the cheesy bean sauce had that recognisable orange tinge.
On first impressions, I'd give it three beans of praise.
Taste
Knowing that the vegan sausage was made from “fungal protein,” I didn't have much hope.
But I was convinced after the first bite. It tasted no different to the meaty version – probably due to the “unique seasoning” used in both their meat and plant-based sausage.
I also had no complaints about the vegan CheeZe. It had the familiar tangy taste of mozzarella.
A solid four out of five beans.
Texture
Vegan cheese has been known to not melt so well, and so I had my concerns.
But as with the original bake, the cheeZe and beans combined to make a delicious, thick sauce.
The vegan sausage impressed too. Unlike their plant-based sausage roll, which I personally think has the texture of tinned tuna, these bite-sized pieces seemed meaty.
Surprisingly, the pastry seemed a little sturdier than that of the original bake. This meant it didn't fall apart after every bite – a quality I'd like to see in the original bake.
Another four of five beans of praise.
Smell
No change here. The comforting smell of pastry hit first, quickly followed by the sweet scent of baked beans.
A solid five out of five beans.
My verdict
Overall, I'd say it was worth the 427 calories. But what do Greggs' fans think?
While Piers Morgan has branded the iconic bakers “PC-ravaged clowns,” fans of the iconic high street chain are praising their latest offering.
On Twitter, one wrote: “My prayers have been answered. I’ve been begging to get my hands on this for years. Can’t wait.”
On Instagram, another said: “I was greedy and ate 2 of them this morning!! They were outstanding.”
Earlier this month, the chain also launched their first plant-based baguette, made with Quorn Ham and dairy-free Cheeze.
Shoppers can grab it in-store, or via their click-and-collect app for £2.95, or £3.20 if heated up.
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