We tried 7 different vegan hot dogs! We are giving you the best vegan hot dogs review & taste test.
Summertime is optimal grilling season and with grilling comes burgers and hot dogs. Even vegans want burgers and hot dogs — just meatless. Today we’re sharing the best vegan hot dogs review & taste test.
We went into the video thinking that we had a favorite, but also wanted to be open minded. A lot of vegan hot dog brands that we have come across thus far into our journey have been on the softer side. Something that we have determined that we personally don’t like.
We have both commented that we believe that if you are a personal who normally enjoyed boiled hot dogs then you likely wouldn’t mind most vegan hot dogs; however, if you are someone who didn’t like boiled hot dogs (us) then you liked wouldn’t enjoy many of them.
For our review and taste test today, we tried 7 different brands. This isn’t every brand that is out there but it should cover more easily accessible brands and give you an idea of what may work well for you.
We’ll go over cost, ingredients, nutritional information and more. Plus, there’s a full video review and taste test where you can see our first initial reaction to tasting them.
Also if you haven’t, check out some of our other vegan taste tests:
- vegan shredded cheese taste test
- EPIC 30+ Brands vegan yogurt taste test
- vegan cream cheese taste test
- vegan sour cream taste test
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Watch our video on The Best Vegan Hot Dogs Review & Taste Test:
PSA:
We know that everyone has different taste buds. What we may think is the best, may completely vary from what you actually like.
You may ultimately think our best is the worst and that’s okay. We created this video as hopefully a starting point for people and we can only go off our opinion.
WHAT VEGAN HOT DOG BRANDS DID WE TRY?
Despite trying out 7 different brands, we know that there are even more out there. We just didn’t find them local to us. The brands that we did find and try are:
- Field Roast Classic Smoked Plant Based Frankfurters
- Upton’s Updog Vegan Hot Dog
- Tofurky Plant-Based Hot Dogs – Jumbo
- Soy Boy Not Dogs
- Lightlife Jumbo Smart Dogs Plant Based Hot Dogs
- Field Roast Signature Satdium Dog Plant Based Hot Dogs
- Nathan’s Meatless Plant Based Hot Dogs
HOW DID WE DO THE VEGAN HOT DOG TASTE TEST?
It was really quite simple.
We made the vegan hot dogs according to the package instructions. For the ones that recommend boiling as the preferred option, we choice a different option because we never previously liked boiled hot dogs. It ended up that the wheat based ones were cooked in a skillet and the soy based ones were cooked on the grill.
We put each hot then on a bun with ketchup so they all had the same based flavor.
We were looking for mostly taste and texture. Our goal was to find the one closest to what we remember meat based hot dogs being like.
Best Vegan Hot Dogs Review
Nathan’s Meatless Plant Based Hot Dogs
Thoughts: These are the newest vegan hot dog on the market and they are currently only available online. We did a full review and video just on these when we first got them, so you can see our Nathan’s meatless hot dog review here.
Overall, we felt like this vegan hot dogs were too firm when biting down but the flavor was great.
Where to Buy: Currently, the only way to purchase Nathan’s meatless hot dogs is to order via their Shopify site here.
Please note that the 6pack kit is NOT vegan. The Nathan’s buns contain dairy. What you want to purchase is the 12 pack Nathan’s vegan hot dogs.
Ingredients: water, pea protein, tapioca starch, canola oil, natural flavors, salt, spices, dextrose, dried garlic, sunflower oil, paprika, hydrolyzed corn protein, smoke powder, red lake #40, lecithin, guar gum, xanthum gum, methyl cellulose, pea protein isolate, pea concentrate, pea fiber, cultured dextrose, Nathan’s famous spice.
Top 8 Allergens: None.
Price : $39.99 for pack of 12, or $3.33 per hot dog
Lightlife Smart Dogs Plant Based Hot Dogs (Jumbo)
Thoughts: Larisha said these were too soft, but Andrew didn’t mind the texture. They both agreed that the flavor was not very hot dog like and that it just wasn’t a win overall.
Where to Buy: Use Lightlife’s Store Locator To See Where to Purchase Near You!
Ingredients: Water, Soy Protein Isolate, Soybean Oil, Evaporated Cane Sugar, Pea Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Yeast Extract, Carrageenan, Dehydrated Garlic, Natural Flavor, Natural Smoke Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Fermented Rice Flour, Guar Gum, Oleoresin Paprika (Color), Vital Wheat Gluten.
Top 8 Allergens: Soy, Wheat.
Price: $3.29 per pack making it the cheapest per package for the ones we reviewed
Soy Boy Not Dogs
Thoughts: Larisha said this one tastes fruity and Andrew compared it to a hibiscus leaf. The taste is definitely off compared to all the other ones. The texture itself was fine and comparable to others.
Where to Buy: See Where to Purchase Soy Boy Near You!
Ingredients: Organic tofu (filtered water, organically grown soybeans,calcium chloride and/or calcium sulphate coagulant), tapioca flour, isolated soy protein, yeast extract, soybean oil, onion powder, garlic powder, herbs, spices, evaporated cane juice, natural vegetable flavoring (contains HVP), vegetable gum, sea salt. No nitrates.
Top 8 Allergens: Soy.
Price: $3.99 per pack
Tofurky Plant Based Hot Dogs Jumbo
Thoughts: Andrew said he could definitely taste the tofu even though he tasted hot dog at the same time. Larisha liked the taste of this one. The texture was softer but overall the best out of the soy based hot dogs.
Where to Buy: Use Tofurky’s Store Locator To See Where to Purchase Near You!
Ingredients: Water, vital wheat gluten, pea protein, expeller pressed canola oil, tofu (water, soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), contains less than 2% of cane sugar, sea salt, spices, onion powder, annatto (for color), natural flavors, natural smoke flavor, oat fiber, carrageenan, dextrose, konjac, xanthan gum.
Top 8 Allergens: Soy, Wheat.
Price: $3.99 per pack
Note: We accidentally called this Tofutti in our video.
Upton’s Naturals Updog Vegan Hot Dog
Thoughts:
Where to Buy: Use Upton Naturals’ Store Locator To See Where to Purchase Near You!
Ingredients: Water, vital wheat gluten, canola oil, wheat flour, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, paprika, onion, potassium chloride, spices, garlic, calcium alginate, natural hickory smoke concentrate, ground mustard, konjac, ground celery seed.
Top 8 Allergens: Wheat.
Price: $5.49 per pack
Field Roast Classic Smoked Plant Based Frankfurters
Thoughts:
Where to Buy: Use Field Roast’s Store Locator To See Where to Purchase Near You!
Ingredients: Filtered Water, Vital Wheat Gluten, Expeller Pressed Safflower Oil, Yeast Extract (Yeast, Salt, Sugar, Natural Flavor), Organic Expeller Pressed Palm Fruit Oil, Barley Malt Extract, Tomato Paste, Apple Cider Vinegar, Paprika Color, Spices, Sea Salt, Onions, Wheat Flour, Garlic, Natural Smoke Flavor, Celery Seed, Paprika Oleoresin (Color).
Top 8 Allergens: Wheat.
Price: $5.49 per pack
Field Roast Signature Stadium Dog
Thoughts:
Where to Buy: Use Field Roast’s Store Locator To See Where to Purchase Near You!
Ingredients: Water, Canola Oil, Pea Protein, Potato Starch, Methylcellulose, Carrageenan, Vital Wheat Gluten, Brown Rice Protein, Vinegar, Faba Bean Protein, Beet Powder (Color), Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Cane Sugar, Garlic Powder, Harwood Smoked Sugar, Konjac Flour, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Xanthan Gum, Spices (Black Pepper, Nutmeg), Cherry Powder (To Promote Color Retention), Paprika.
Top 8 Allergens: Wheat.
Price: $5.99 per pack
ARE THESE VEGAN HOT DOG BRANDS ALLERGY FRIENDLY?
We listed the allergens under each but just so it’s easier to find we wanted to list it here as well.
All of these are vegan so they are automatically fish and shellfish free, dairy free and egg free. None of them listed tree nuts or peanuts as an ingredients.
The Nathan’s hot dogs are Top 8 Allergen Free.
Tofurky and Lightlife contain both soy and wheat.
Soy Boy only contains soy.
Both Field Roast packages and Upton contain only wheat.
For other allergens outside the Top 8, please reference the ingredient lists above.
WHO WAS THE WINNER?
Okay. I put you through all that just to make you wait until here until I announce the winner. You know, wait with baited breath, type of thing! HA!
Again, we were pleasantly surprised with all the brands we were able to find and what that means for the future of those of us that are vegan or living a meat free lifestyle.
Now, without further ado!
We both agreed that Field Roast Classic Smoked Plant Based Frankfurters were our #1 choice.
Kim
what are the differences between the field roast options?
Larisha Bernard
They are made completely differently. The original frankfurters ones are more dense both in size and texture. The stadium ones are thinner and softer.
Debbie
Only been vegan for three months but so far every hotdog I tasted was pretty crappy. Thank you for your hotdog test. I’m going to go try some of them.
Larisha Bernard
Hope you find one you enjoy!
Stan Porch
I like field roast and tofurkey, but in the hot dog world – Updog wins for me. By far the best in my opinion.
Larisha Bernard
Glad you enjoy them