If the vegan pork sausages from THIS have caught your eye, which they really should have, then make sure to read my THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages review to find out what I loved and the improvements that I think could be made.
Review summary of THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages
The search for the best vegan sausage is over thanks to these incredible vegan pork sausages from THIS. They crisp up well in the pan and have all the mouthfeel of a non-vegan sausage. These work perfectly on their own, in a sandwich, or cooked into your favourite sausage dish. They’ve become a weekly staple for me!
Product brand: THIS
Editor’s rating: 4.8/5
Cons
Sausages have been my favourite food for as long as I can remember. I would devour sausage sandwiches doused in ketchup at the weekends, I would cook them up in a magnificent toad in the hole during the week, and whenever I would eat out I was sure to order something with them in.
For me, sausages were all about the texture. I loved how they would crisp up in the pan, giving them a great bite and chew. They were the perfect sandwich filler as well as a really versatile cooking ingredient. I loved the flavour purely because of the flavourings that had been added to them.
When I went vegan back in 2015, I saw no reason why great sausages weren’t achievable without the use of animals. Yet so many vegan sausages I would buy in the supermarkets were healthier veg-based versions that turned into mush and quite simply, wouldn’t suffice. I wanted something with a good bite and chew, with no overriding vegetable flavour.
As a long-time fan of THIS, particularly their ‘THIS Isn’t Bacon‘ product which has a great bacon-y taste and texture, I had high hopes for these vegan pork sausages.
So, I did what any good sausage lover would do, I put them to the test inside a sausage sandwich. Continue reading my full THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages review to see what I thought!
Are THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages vegan?
All THIS products are suitable for vegans. They are a fake meat company, meaning they make all of their products using alternative proteins like pea protein and soy.
How do you cook THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages?
You can cook THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages in a few different ways. My preferred method is frying. Simply prick the skin with a fork (to stop them from spitting) and fry them in a pan with oil for about 6 to 8 minutes, until they are brown all over.
You can also grill them by placing them on a wire rack with foil underneath. Brush them with a little bit of oil and then put them under a heated grill and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, making sure to turn them occasionally.
Very realistic taste & texture
Not only do these vegan sausages look pretty realistic when you take them out of the packaging, but they also cook up and taste pretty much like the sausages I remember.
That being said, they won’t creep you out so much that you won’t want to eat them. They aren’t so realistic that you’d think they’ve misled you. Probably because they haven’t emulated the less appetising parts of animal-based sausages, like the gristle.
I would say though that they could easily fool an unsuspecting animal eater. Why not give it a go, let me know how it works out!
I find that the skin of these vegan sausages crisps up and browns nicely and the sausage itself has a great bite to it. The taste itself is really neutral but with a definite meaty umami-ness to it.
They hold up well in a vegan sausage sandwich, cooked into a stew, or chopped up and fried off into pasta dishes. You could even try subbing them in this vegan chorizo pasta dish. They don’t fall apart and turn into mush as so many other vegan sausages do.
I’m yet to try a vegan sausage that can compete with the taste and texture of THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages. Kudos, THIS.
High in protein
I have no intentions of feeding into the neverending debate of where vegans get their protein from, but this is a good example of where we do. These vegan pork sausages by THIS are made using pea protein, which not only helps to create the sausage mix but also delivers a good amount of protein per serving.
To be exact, there is 9.6g of protein per 100g. I have worked this out to be 8.64g per 2 sausages, which is considered to be one serving.
The best bit, you can consume this protein with 80% less saturated fat than what you would in animal versions. Oh, and it is pretty high in fibre too.
So you can treat yourself to a vegan sausage sandwich at the weekend knowing you are getting a good amount of protein with none of the animal cruelty.
Widely available & affordable
I love how easy it is to find these in supermarkets. That is probably a testament to their hard work in spreading the word about their brand. It is probably also down to the fact that their vegan food tastes great, simple as that.
Many vegan sausage alternatives exist but are often only available in your local health foods shop or if you are lucky your local vegan supermarket. These can be found in Tescos, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Waitrose. And probably a few other places too!
Buying them also won’t break the bank, unlike some other vegan sausages. I’m looking at you Beyond Meat.
My thoughts on the product
There are many reasons to love these vegan pork sausages. I buy them on the regular and eat them pretty much every week. I love that they don’t taste too healthy and wholesome, like other alternatives you can buy. This means they work well as a direct replacement for animal-based sausages.
On top of this, they hold up well when cooking with them. They don’t turn to mush in the pan and you can get the vegan skin casing to crisp up nicely, just like the non-vegan counterparts.
My favourite way of eating these is sandwiched in between two slices of fresh sourdough bread. But I also enjoy cooking them into hearty meals, like Italian pasta dishes and British classics like a toad in the hole.
Areas of improvement
As with most products in this category, it comes packaged in a lot of plastic. The tray is plastic and the film that seals it is also. Whilst these can be recycled, it would be great to see packaging that moves away from plastic altogether. But I understand that this is a difficult thing to achieve for ambient foods sold in supermarkets.
I do know that they use more eco-friendly options for some of their other products though. So, hopefully, we can see more eco-friendly packaging from THIS in the future.
Review conclusion
As I’ve probably gone on about loads in my THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages review, these are without a doubt my favourite vegan sausages you can buy. They are simply delicious.
They bring back memories of my favourite sausages pre-vegan, without being too realistic that I can’t eat them.
I’d recommend these to anyone who also loves meaty sausages, particularly for people with non-vegans in the family who they want to impress or slowly move over to the greener side.
Where can you buy THIS Isn’t Pork Sausages?
These vegan sausages from THIS are really easy to find in your local supermarket. Here are the latest prices when buying online from these major supermarkets:
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