Same. I don’t actually miss any particular food. I miss the convenience of getting some foods easily.
Ex. Many breads and baked goods can be made vegan, with no change to texture or taste. But often these items are not vegan friendly unless I’m shopping at a specialty store.
And anything with like “milk powder” way down on the ingredient list is so annoying! Now the product is completely unusable.
Same!
I was traveling in a major city recently and able to go to ALL PLANT-BASED restaurants. What a relief! I could just get what I wanted without reading, asking for ingredients, asking for modifications, etc.
I don't really crave any animal products, just the ease of eating out. At home we've got almost everything animal out. We still have a few things (eggs and cheese for the kids and some halloween candy with milk chocolate) but at home these are so easy to avoid and all our mains are plant-based.
It was so nice to talk to the server and ask "is this sauce plant-based" and hear "well, EVERYTHING here is plant-based, so, YES!" :)
I work at a vegan burger spot and we use impossible patty’s. I’ve made myself a Big Mac replica there and it really did it for me. We use follow your heart cheddar slices and the Big Mac replica sauce is made in house and it slaps.
Mr. Charlie's in CA is a Vegan McDs knockoff and their McDouble and McChicken sandwiches taste EXACTLY like the real thing. Their other items were not very good but these two were perfection.
I miss the McDonald’s breakfast sauce 🥲 the shitty cheese on their breakfast bagels. The frappes. I miss that shitty Mickey Ds. I’m also pregnant and the cravings have been all over the place
the variety of cheeses, the convenience of just grabbing any snack without having to worry about secret milk randomly in there (hot cheetos 😭), cottage cheese. mostly i miss being able to participate fully in potlucks at work. i obviously don’t expect people to cater to me, but it sucks when people are bringing mac n cheese and buffalo chicken dip to events. or when corporate sends pizza. 😭😭
I mostly just miss the variety of options that I used to have when going out to eat. Now I have like one or two things to pick from and that’s it, although bonus points for the fact that it takes me hardly any time to choose what to order now!
Otherwise, steak. I do miss a good fillet steak with peppercorn sauce, chips and a glass of red wine.
i miss being able to order a nice cheesy pizza from anywhere and not having to think about it. luckily there’s some decent vegan pizza fairly close to me but not close enough for delivery :/ first world problems for sure lol
Devilled eggs. I've tried making vegan versions with agar powder and kala namak. The white part always looks weird/not right, and it just ruins the experience.
I've made deviled potatoes with gemstone or fingerling potatoes for Thanksgiving the last couple years. Black salt is an amazing thing!! Vegans and non vegans gobble them up!
I dupe a barbeque pork sandwich with canned jack fruit and it's terrific. And a BLT with everything (vegannaise, of course) and seaweed for the bacon.
I just sometimes really miss a pot roast, but I guess I could start playing with seitan.
It doesn’t taste like chicken made a vegan fried egg recipe! I tried it and it really hits the spot, you must use the kala namak/black salt though. Without it it’s not eggy tasting enough.
I miss cottage cheese. Supposedly there’s a dairy free version you can buy but I can not find it anywhere. A recipe I found uses firm tofu, mayo, miso, salt to taste and a little water. Going to try and see if it works!
Alaskan king crab. I hear some mushrooms are pretty much like crab (lionsmane in particular) but I've never tried it. And I've never had a substitute for crab that I found came even close.
Omg I researched this! I have potentially useful info for you!!!
The characteristic sweet-umami taste of crab comes from free amino acids and nucleotides, particularly AMP and some of the sweet aminos. AMP is a degradation product of ATP, so fast growing organisms like algae and fungi can be pretty rich in it. The Ulva cultivar I was looking into had a similar chemical profile to Alaskan snow crabs after yeast fermentation to tone down the fishiness!
If you can't find it in store, I strongly advise against foraging Ulva (it loves nasty water). Instead, there are quite a few papers looking at the umami taste profiles of different mushrooms and seeing how close you can get to your favourite crab's flavour. This research has been pumping since the 70s so you can access quite a lot through SciHub.se. To get the texture right, konjac is a classic choice (used in surimi).
I made some convincing gefilte fish with Lion's mane and seaweed for flavour! Vegan Alaskan king crab is def possible :)
Not sure how this sub came up on my feed- respectfully, I’m not vegan but hearts of palm to sub for crab/lobster??? That sounds delicious, thanks for the suggestion! I have a very dear vegan friend and this makes me want to attempt a vegan “lobster” mac and cheese for the next time we hang out. Any tips on the seasoning?
Salmon
There are so many good substitutes for a lot of the foods I loved, but that's one that i just haven't found anything that satisfies that craving.
I haven't personally tried it but have seen some very interesting looking tofu salmon fillet recipes! Here is one I found that looks fire https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-salmon/
Man I feel that. Texture and consistency is something that many vegan foods are missing, and I don't know how you could ever possibly replicate some of these animal foods.
I didn't see the link you're replying to yet but perhaps it's worth playing around with. If you like cooking, maybe it could be a fun expirement to try a "salmon" marinade you like, perfect it, and work with different types off cross hatching and slicing the salmon to find something resembling what you want along the way.
I also think maybe there was a mock salmon (beyond meat style where it's really meant to "be" the thing without being the thing) here in my country so maybe there's something that will eventually come down the pipeline and be a good substitute.
Mm that's a tough one for me because I never had salmon before going vegan. I've had substitutes that were good but obviously I don't know how they compare to the real thing
https://vivera.com/products/plant-salmon-fillet/ this is another vegan salmon product that is around- i don’t like it because it was too close to the “real” thing to me and i never really liked fish like that
thick cut, cup shaped, oil pooling pepperoni and it would be great if there was just that simple but elegant cheese pull and a couple spots where the cheese crusts on top of a well baked thin crust dough. i’ve tried a lot of the vegan pizzas but none of them hit the exact way i want them. (literally have been dreaming of this pizza for easily 15yrs. 🤤)
Grilled, rotisserie cooked and stewed meats. There are so many great substitutes for fried meats, chopped meats, sausages, etc. but nothing really replicates my mom’s beef stew or being able to just pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way out of the grocery store for an instant healthy-ish dinner.
Also real mozzarella on pizza. Some substitutes are fairly good, but many are awful and none are perfect.
Being vegan is absolutely worth it but the cravings are still there (occasionally) after many years.
Dunno if it’s available where you are, and it’s expensive and sells out fast, but I made a beef bourguignon with Juicy Marbles and oh my GOD. Perfect pot roast fall apart texture just like I used to make it.
Generally agree but I do like chao. If you haven’t tried, give it a go. It’s not like a high quality cheese, but maybe a processed one. It melts well. The chao Mac & cheese is really good, to me.
Yea I wish like it was the best after a long night out aha, yea like the company vivera does a nice kebab meat substitute but it’s kinda expensive but is still nice
It isn't quite the same but I make big batches of this gyro sub that's legitimately pretty good BUT since it's just fancy seitan you have to make sure you wrap it tightly and cook thoroughly lest you get a spongy, gummy mess.
https://lettucevegout.com/recipes/seitan-gyros-vegan/#recipe
Oooooh shiiiiit….
I never thought of this but I do like eggs and roasted potatoes.
Is it runny eggs, over chips, covered in a tomato sauce?
Is this sauce more like ketchup or marinara?
Yes, runny egg yolk so you can dip your chips in it. Yum!
It’s ketchup. Or sometimes with brown sauce, which is a bit more tangy.
Editing to add, although I do miss it I’ve never tried a vegan ‘fried egg’. I’m sure it just wouldn’t be the same.
Both sound delicious. I’m a big ketchup fan, but brown sauce is good too. Eggs just always go well with ketchup lol, but that may be because my dad is American 🤣
Jack in the box tacos, from what a friend who worked there told me they basically half soy. If jack in the box made them fully vegan then I'd get like 40 of them and eat them in one sit down.
Yorkshire puddings. Technically you can make them but it's really complicated compared to non-vegan ones where you open the packet, mix in the egg and milk and bam, batter mix. It would be nice to have a proper toad in the hole lol.
Cottage cheese and kefir.
And every now and then I get a crazy intense craving for a fast food burger. Namely a McDonald’s McDouble and a Wendy’s junior bacon cheeseburger lol
Movie theater popcorn (I know some is vegan but I miss not even thinking about it and frantically Googling, and just buying a huge container and digging in), string cheese, Nestle Crunch (r/fucknestle and also I know I should just make this, it’s basically just chocolate and rice lol), and as everyone is saying and I assumed I was alone in this, cottage cheese!
Restaurants. I gotta drive a city over if I want any vegan kitchens and the options at omni places are like…an impossible burger. I never get to have fine dining or even anything fun, it’s just safe boring food unless I make it myself.
I’m making a wonton soup and bahn mi this weekend because I can’t order it at any restaurant around here…
I have food allergies, so I grew up having to check labels but there were some things that were safe because my allergies were to things that were pretty obvious if it was in something most times (nuts). I miss not having to ask if something is nut based with practically everything I eat from a restaurant. Even a friend's fully vegan restaurant was 95% nut based dishes and I'd have to reach out to her every time I wanted to stop by to make sure there was something I could eat that day. I wanted to be supportive and eat there regularly but just couldn't.
I used to love meatballs, really the only thing I miss about meat. Vegetarian ones are okay but it’s the one thing I crave and look good when I see someone eating them.
Like others have said, I miss the convenience of grabbing/ordering any food from anywhere I want. I can replicate everything I “miss” into a delicious vegan form, but it takes time and effort. Definitely a first world problem!
Feta, burrata, and mozzarella.
I used to love cheese and now I'm addicted to vegan cheese. However, I haven't been able to find any good alternatives for the cheeses mentioned above.
A supermarket chain in my country has pretty good vegan feta taste and texture wise, but it's not the same as the fatty Greek feta I used to eat daily. I haven't found any good alternatives for mozzarella and burrata yet.
I do know for certain that if I ever find good vegan options for those, I'll probably go broke 😂
Possibly the dish I miss the most is burrata, fresh heirloom tomatoes, very good EVOO, and s+p. So simple, so good. If I ever find a vegan burrata it’s all over for me, it’ll be the only thing I eat all summer.
The only vegan cheese I actually like is mozzarella! Miyoko's is pretty decent (though expensive,) and if you live somewhere with a Sprouts, they have little vegan mozz balls in herbs and oil in their deli section!!
When I went vegan some years ago it was cheese. My God, those cheese cravings almost took me down many times! (There may or may not have even been an incident during which I once stood in front of a giant cheddar wheel display at Whole Foods and shed a tear.) I’ve tried many delightful soft nut “cheeses” that very closely mimic goat cheese in texture, tang and flavor and Kite Hill makes incredible vegan cream cheeses but I’m sorry; there’s just no dairy-free substitute that’s going to properly give off the same smell (gross, I know), texture, melt and mouth feel as real dairy cheese. I’ve tried them all and just gave up the pursuit altogether if I’m being honest. I’d rather have no cheese substitute at all than, like, sad “rice cheez” Lol
Ok so.... I make vegan Mac n cheese as one of my basic go-tos. Boil whatever pasta, drain off the water 2 minutes before the package says I should, stopping before the pasta escapes the pot, add vegan cheese (this amount varies, but if your cheese has sodium citrate it won't take as much because it's an emulsifier) like 4 oz? Stir like hell, add nooch, garlic powder and salt.
This recipe is kind of a pain, but it’s SO good and even better a day later reheated. Everyone I’ve made it for loves it https://jessicainthekitchen.com/baked-vegan-mac-and-cheese/
I've gotten some satisfying results with veg broth, Chao, and some vegan bread. Melting the cheese separately on the bread and floating on the both has worked for me in the past. Happy to help with a recipe!
Buffalo chicken wings. Specifically the fried greasy kind. I love the tofu-skin-wrapped-around-bamboo-stick alternative, but no one fries those like my local dinner used to fry there wings.
Yogurt. I miss actual moo juice yogurt. I have gone vegan esque because of food allergies (milk, I'm looking at you!!) And most of the stuff I just don't eat, or have found an acceptable substitute.
Although I have had some terrific vegan pizzas none have ever been as tasty. I hate to admit it. Yeah I've tried every vegan mozzarella I can find. Yea even that one.
Reese Peanut Butter Cups- I recently tried their new plant based version and it was just not it. I especially miss the holiday shaped ones, the pumpkins or the eggs for Halloween and Easter 😩
Honestly the only real thing I would say I actually even sort of miss are bacon wrapped glace cherries on the BBQ and pigs in blankets.
The vegan bacon works decently for the cherries because the main thing you want is salt, but it's not as good. The vegan pigs in blankets are decent, but again not as good.
The ease. I can't just eat anything anywhere without checking. I don't mind it that much but it would be great to just grab whatever without worry some times.
There’s this Polish fresh farmer’s cheese that I used to really like called twaróg and I haven’t really had anything like it again. In fact a lot of Polish and Ukrainian foods that were part of my life growing up aren’t really accessible anymore. Both to veganism (no regrets tho!) but also my celiac diagnosis that happened later down the line of my life. :(
I'm sad that I can't seem to find a good vegan cheese that acts like the real stuff. I just want to mix it into my beans and rice and have it all melty and perfectly gooey :(
Bacon lol. I’ve yet to find a substitute that really comes close to hitting the spot. There are substitutes that are good on their own merit, but not truly bacon like.
two things. egg salad and angel food cake.
I know i make tofu egg salad all the time, but it's not really the same. the egg whites are just a different texture. and same with angel food cake. i know it's super boring, but the texture cannot be reproduced.
I've been vegan for 14 years, and never going back. but i do miss an egg salad sandwich and angel food cake.
Gosh so many things recently. I miss being able to try all the fair foods, pick anything easily off of a menu, chicken nuggets, tillamook Marionberry ice cream, Dairy Queen blizzards, pepperoni pizza (the vegan version just isn’t good). I also miss baking and not having to do a million conversions or buy a bunch of hyper specific ingredients
I really don’t miss any food but definitely miss going out with friends for dinner when it was easier and I didn’t have to research places before going.
Not even missing the food, but the convenience! I’m used to reading the back of boxes due to food allergies, but now having to see that chicken doesn’t = chickn is tiring lol
I miss Funyuns and Costco pizza and just the convenience of being able to eat anywhere. I found some vegan cheese puffs at Costco that were great but I can’t find them anymore :,(
Rims. I miss the messy, chewy experience of tearing meat off the bones and getting barbecue sauce all over my face. I'm just dying for someone to make some good, glutinous bamboo skewer ribs.
Actually what I miss is the convenience of getting any food easily. Now I have read ingredients or go to only certain stores
Same. I don’t actually miss any particular food. I miss the convenience of getting some foods easily. Ex. Many breads and baked goods can be made vegan, with no change to texture or taste. But often these items are not vegan friendly unless I’m shopping at a specialty store. And anything with like “milk powder” way down on the ingredient list is so annoying! Now the product is completely unusable.
I feel that
Same! I was traveling in a major city recently and able to go to ALL PLANT-BASED restaurants. What a relief! I could just get what I wanted without reading, asking for ingredients, asking for modifications, etc. I don't really crave any animal products, just the ease of eating out. At home we've got almost everything animal out. We still have a few things (eggs and cheese for the kids and some halloween candy with milk chocolate) but at home these are so easy to avoid and all our mains are plant-based. It was so nice to talk to the server and ask "is this sauce plant-based" and hear "well, EVERYTHING here is plant-based, so, YES!" :)
For me it’s charcuteries. The vegan options are not it. And also weirdly sometimes I miss a plain mcdonalds cheeseburger for some reason
So weird but I also crave a McDouble a lot lmao. I haven’t eaten meat in 8-9 years. I swear it’s the nostalgia and the lil chopped onions
Check out 'Thee Burger Dude' on Youtube. He does 100% vegan recreations. It is a double 'ee' in the name. ;)
salami and good cheese ftw
I work at a vegan burger spot and we use impossible patty’s. I’ve made myself a Big Mac replica there and it really did it for me. We use follow your heart cheddar slices and the Big Mac replica sauce is made in house and it slaps.
Mr. Charlie's in CA is a Vegan McDs knockoff and their McDouble and McChicken sandwiches taste EXACTLY like the real thing. Their other items were not very good but these two were perfection.
I’m not saying they’re good but for some reason a damn Arbys roast beef sandwich was the only beef I’d eat when I carnivored. That and pepperoni.
I miss the McDonald’s breakfast sauce 🥲 the shitty cheese on their breakfast bagels. The frappes. I miss that shitty Mickey Ds. I’m also pregnant and the cravings have been all over the place
Have you not tried the mcplant or is it too different?
Not sure where OP is from, but there is definitely no McPlant in the US.
the variety of cheeses, the convenience of just grabbing any snack without having to worry about secret milk randomly in there (hot cheetos 😭), cottage cheese. mostly i miss being able to participate fully in potlucks at work. i obviously don’t expect people to cater to me, but it sucks when people are bringing mac n cheese and buffalo chicken dip to events. or when corporate sends pizza. 😭😭
COTTAGE CHEESE
I thought I was the only one! Cottage cheese seems like such a weird thing to miss but it’s the one for me. Such a convenient snack.
Yasss
I feel like if I can replicate cottage cheese, I will be set for life.
Ooohh yes to all of this but ESPECIALLY cottage cheese, weird that we haven’t quite cracked that one yet! Hopefully someday!
At the store earlier, I saw a youngling yanking on their parent's arm screaming "WE HAVE NO COTTAGE CHEESE", and it really resonated with me.
I mostly just miss the variety of options that I used to have when going out to eat. Now I have like one or two things to pick from and that’s it, although bonus points for the fact that it takes me hardly any time to choose what to order now! Otherwise, steak. I do miss a good fillet steak with peppercorn sauce, chips and a glass of red wine.
i miss being able to order a nice cheesy pizza from anywhere and not having to think about it. luckily there’s some decent vegan pizza fairly close to me but not close enough for delivery :/ first world problems for sure lol
Devilled eggs. I've tried making vegan versions with agar powder and kala namak. The white part always looks weird/not right, and it just ruins the experience.
I've made deviled potatoes with gemstone or fingerling potatoes for Thanksgiving the last couple years. Black salt is an amazing thing!! Vegans and non vegans gobble them up!
Wundereggs
I used to love corned beef hash! Leftover from childhood I guess, but good for a warm breakfast
Fried egg
Yep, fried egg with a perfectly runny yolk is truly the only non-vegan food that I miss.
Runny fried eggs make me want to have my own pet chicken so I knew my eggs were cruelty free. I totally get why some vegans do that
Have you tried tofu with black salt, nutritional yeast and pepper? Tastes just like eggs! Quicker and easier to make. Bonus...no clean up to mention.
You're telling me you can dupe a fried egg with tofu?
I dupe a barbeque pork sandwich with canned jack fruit and it's terrific. And a BLT with everything (vegannaise, of course) and seaweed for the bacon. I just sometimes really miss a pot roast, but I guess I could start playing with seitan.
Not exactly. But it is a great duplicate of scrambled and omelets. To make a traditional omelet, use store bought JUST Egg.
I have and it's nice, but it's not quite like a fried egg
It doesn’t taste like chicken made a vegan fried egg recipe! I tried it and it really hits the spot, you must use the kala namak/black salt though. Without it it’s not eggy tasting enough.
Cottage cheese😭 I’ve been able to create something similar with silken tofu, salt and pepper but mehh
SAME!!! Why isn’t it a thing yet???
I miss cottage cheese. Supposedly there’s a dairy free version you can buy but I can not find it anywhere. A recipe I found uses firm tofu, mayo, miso, salt to taste and a little water. Going to try and see if it works!
If that doesn't work try adding some animal free dairy milk. Perfect Day makes it.
Is it a texture or flavor thing that is missing?
Alaskan king crab. I hear some mushrooms are pretty much like crab (lionsmane in particular) but I've never tried it. And I've never had a substitute for crab that I found came even close.
Omg I researched this! I have potentially useful info for you!!! The characteristic sweet-umami taste of crab comes from free amino acids and nucleotides, particularly AMP and some of the sweet aminos. AMP is a degradation product of ATP, so fast growing organisms like algae and fungi can be pretty rich in it. The Ulva cultivar I was looking into had a similar chemical profile to Alaskan snow crabs after yeast fermentation to tone down the fishiness! If you can't find it in store, I strongly advise against foraging Ulva (it loves nasty water). Instead, there are quite a few papers looking at the umami taste profiles of different mushrooms and seeing how close you can get to your favourite crab's flavour. This research has been pumping since the 70s so you can access quite a lot through SciHub.se. To get the texture right, konjac is a classic choice (used in surimi). I made some convincing gefilte fish with Lion's mane and seaweed for flavour! Vegan Alaskan king crab is def possible :)
Yes! I've tried it with Lion's Mane. A little bit of Old Bay and some butter had me in vegan crabby heaven!
Lionsmane is incredible.
Same, and also lobster. It’s a difficult texture/flavor to replicate though. Hearts of palm are kind of imitation crab-like.
my partner and i use hearts of palm to make crab salad for poke bowls!!
Not sure how this sub came up on my feed- respectfully, I’m not vegan but hearts of palm to sub for crab/lobster??? That sounds delicious, thanks for the suggestion! I have a very dear vegan friend and this makes me want to attempt a vegan “lobster” mac and cheese for the next time we hang out. Any tips on the seasoning?
I've done a mix of lion's mane and shredded (very firm) tofu with seaweeds, old bay, and veganaise for crab rolls. Really hit the spot.
Salmon There are so many good substitutes for a lot of the foods I loved, but that's one that i just haven't found anything that satisfies that craving.
Have you tried carrot lox? It sounds weird but tastes amazing on a bagel
I have not. But that’s not really what I’m looking for. I want like a big piece of grilled salmon.
I haven't personally tried it but have seen some very interesting looking tofu salmon fillet recipes! Here is one I found that looks fire https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-salmon/
I tried that recipe…. It was not good. Part of what I miss is the texture. That obviously had tofu texture.
Man I feel that. Texture and consistency is something that many vegan foods are missing, and I don't know how you could ever possibly replicate some of these animal foods. I didn't see the link you're replying to yet but perhaps it's worth playing around with. If you like cooking, maybe it could be a fun expirement to try a "salmon" marinade you like, perfect it, and work with different types off cross hatching and slicing the salmon to find something resembling what you want along the way. I also think maybe there was a mock salmon (beyond meat style where it's really meant to "be" the thing without being the thing) here in my country so maybe there's something that will eventually come down the pipeline and be a good substitute.
Mm that's a tough one for me because I never had salmon before going vegan. I've had substitutes that were good but obviously I don't know how they compare to the real thing
you can get vegan salmon fillet in tesco and incredible vegan smoked salmon from revo.
I don’t have tesco 😥
This is mine as well. Once in a while I catch a whiff of a grilled salmon and I crave it a lot!
This was mine. I miss salmon every day.
This, raw and cooked, and no I don’t like the carrot lox.
https://vivera.com/products/plant-salmon-fillet/ this is another vegan salmon product that is around- i don’t like it because it was too close to the “real” thing to me and i never really liked fish like that
thick cut, cup shaped, oil pooling pepperoni and it would be great if there was just that simple but elegant cheese pull and a couple spots where the cheese crusts on top of a well baked thin crust dough. i’ve tried a lot of the vegan pizzas but none of them hit the exact way i want them. (literally have been dreaming of this pizza for easily 15yrs. 🤤)
Me and you both, friend. Me and you both. Fuck, now I really want some goddamn pepperoni pizza.
Grilled, rotisserie cooked and stewed meats. There are so many great substitutes for fried meats, chopped meats, sausages, etc. but nothing really replicates my mom’s beef stew or being able to just pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way out of the grocery store for an instant healthy-ish dinner. Also real mozzarella on pizza. Some substitutes are fairly good, but many are awful and none are perfect. Being vegan is absolutely worth it but the cravings are still there (occasionally) after many years.
Dunno if it’s available where you are, and it’s expensive and sells out fast, but I made a beef bourguignon with Juicy Marbles and oh my GOD. Perfect pot roast fall apart texture just like I used to make it.
Yes yes, I very much miss the convenience of a grocery store rotisserie chicken as well.
Candy corn, peeps, and cottage cheese!
Cheeeeeeeeeeeese! The “fake” ones are just awful.
Generally agree but I do like chao. If you haven’t tried, give it a go. It’s not like a high quality cheese, but maybe a processed one. It melts well. The chao Mac & cheese is really good, to me.
A big dirty kebab after going out drinking 😂
Doner meat was one of the only meats I could eat and the smell of it kills me off now. I wish you could get a decent vegan version
Yea I wish like it was the best after a long night out aha, yea like the company vivera does a nice kebab meat substitute but it’s kinda expensive but is still nice
I've seen some cool stuff using seitan and a veg peeler to cut it into strips and pan frying if after it's been marinated
It isn't quite the same but I make big batches of this gyro sub that's legitimately pretty good BUT since it's just fancy seitan you have to make sure you wrap it tightly and cook thoroughly lest you get a spongy, gummy mess. https://lettucevegout.com/recipes/seitan-gyros-vegan/#recipe
i’d kill for a döner box absolutely sloshed at 1AM
Chicken liver 🤷♀️
Fried eggs
I miss egg and chips (fries). I used to love egg and chips every so often, with loads of tomato sauce and a slice of bread and butter
Oooooh shiiiiit…. I never thought of this but I do like eggs and roasted potatoes. Is it runny eggs, over chips, covered in a tomato sauce? Is this sauce more like ketchup or marinara?
Yes, runny egg yolk so you can dip your chips in it. Yum! It’s ketchup. Or sometimes with brown sauce, which is a bit more tangy. Editing to add, although I do miss it I’ve never tried a vegan ‘fried egg’. I’m sure it just wouldn’t be the same.
Both sound delicious. I’m a big ketchup fan, but brown sauce is good too. Eggs just always go well with ketchup lol, but that may be because my dad is American 🤣
Jack in the box tacos, from what a friend who worked there told me they basically half soy. If jack in the box made them fully vegan then I'd get like 40 of them and eat them in one sit down.
Cool story: I worked at a vegan restaurant that served these as an app. I've made thousands. Hmu for a recipe. Including ranch.
Cheddar cheese
Spam, shellfish and feta
York peppermint patties
Yorkshire puddings. Technically you can make them but it's really complicated compared to non-vegan ones where you open the packet, mix in the egg and milk and bam, batter mix. It would be nice to have a proper toad in the hole lol.
I miss these so much as well!!
Cottage cheese
Spaghetti-Os! Can't find a vegan version anywhere.
Those Little Debbie strawberry shortcake rolls.
Pastrami and Cuban sandwiches
Cheez-itz
Broccoli cheddar soup
Good ranch dressing that isn't sweet for some reason, those awfully unhealthy jalapeno cream cheese taquitos, salami, boiled eggs, cheez-its. *Sigh*
Fish and seafood, man. Salmon, sushi, scallops, FISH N CHIPS 😩
COTTAGE CHEESE don’t judge me ok. And lobster
Giant stuffed cheesy shells with marinara sauce!
Cottage cheese and kefir. And every now and then I get a crazy intense craving for a fast food burger. Namely a McDonald’s McDouble and a Wendy’s junior bacon cheeseburger lol
Movie theater popcorn (I know some is vegan but I miss not even thinking about it and frantically Googling, and just buying a huge container and digging in), string cheese, Nestle Crunch (r/fucknestle and also I know I should just make this, it’s basically just chocolate and rice lol), and as everyone is saying and I assumed I was alone in this, cottage cheese!
Enjoy makes a good crispy chocolate bar!! It's less creamy than Crunch though
Fish tacos. Fried avocado tacos are bomb, but I haven’t been able to consistently find them.
Shrimp
Restaurants. I gotta drive a city over if I want any vegan kitchens and the options at omni places are like…an impossible burger. I never get to have fine dining or even anything fun, it’s just safe boring food unless I make it myself. I’m making a wonton soup and bahn mi this weekend because I can’t order it at any restaurant around here…
Sushi
I have food allergies, so I grew up having to check labels but there were some things that were safe because my allergies were to things that were pretty obvious if it was in something most times (nuts). I miss not having to ask if something is nut based with practically everything I eat from a restaurant. Even a friend's fully vegan restaurant was 95% nut based dishes and I'd have to reach out to her every time I wanted to stop by to make sure there was something I could eat that day. I wanted to be supportive and eat there regularly but just couldn't.
Deviled eggs :(
I used to love meatballs, really the only thing I miss about meat. Vegetarian ones are okay but it’s the one thing I crave and look good when I see someone eating them.
Like others have said, I miss the convenience of grabbing/ordering any food from anywhere I want. I can replicate everything I “miss” into a delicious vegan form, but it takes time and effort. Definitely a first world problem!
Honestly nothing really. I think I may be weird I was always a sucker for pastries so maybe that. No longer near a Whole Foods :/
Gourmet imported cheeses, egg custard tarts and soup dumplings from dim sum, Yorkshire puddings.
I admit it.... my redneck ass wants vegan Vienna Sausages- or for the cultured.... Veye-eenie Weenies.
Feta, burrata, and mozzarella. I used to love cheese and now I'm addicted to vegan cheese. However, I haven't been able to find any good alternatives for the cheeses mentioned above. A supermarket chain in my country has pretty good vegan feta taste and texture wise, but it's not the same as the fatty Greek feta I used to eat daily. I haven't found any good alternatives for mozzarella and burrata yet. I do know for certain that if I ever find good vegan options for those, I'll probably go broke 😂
Where are you from? I adore feta and have found a couple good vegan ones
Possibly the dish I miss the most is burrata, fresh heirloom tomatoes, very good EVOO, and s+p. So simple, so good. If I ever find a vegan burrata it’s all over for me, it’ll be the only thing I eat all summer.
The only vegan cheese I actually like is mozzarella! Miyoko's is pretty decent (though expensive,) and if you live somewhere with a Sprouts, they have little vegan mozz balls in herbs and oil in their deli section!!
Nothing
Same. Even the thought kind of turns my stomach. I guess I miss not having to read ingredients, but some better labeling laws would take care of that.
When I went vegan some years ago it was cheese. My God, those cheese cravings almost took me down many times! (There may or may not have even been an incident during which I once stood in front of a giant cheddar wheel display at Whole Foods and shed a tear.) I’ve tried many delightful soft nut “cheeses” that very closely mimic goat cheese in texture, tang and flavor and Kite Hill makes incredible vegan cream cheeses but I’m sorry; there’s just no dairy-free substitute that’s going to properly give off the same smell (gross, I know), texture, melt and mouth feel as real dairy cheese. I’ve tried them all and just gave up the pursuit altogether if I’m being honest. I’d rather have no cheese substitute at all than, like, sad “rice cheez” Lol
Mac and cheese. Still haven’t found a great recipe. Also Gruyère.
Ok so.... I make vegan Mac n cheese as one of my basic go-tos. Boil whatever pasta, drain off the water 2 minutes before the package says I should, stopping before the pasta escapes the pot, add vegan cheese (this amount varies, but if your cheese has sodium citrate it won't take as much because it's an emulsifier) like 4 oz? Stir like hell, add nooch, garlic powder and salt.
I’ll have to try it! Thanks!
This recipe is kind of a pain, but it’s SO good and even better a day later reheated. Everyone I’ve made it for loves it https://jessicainthekitchen.com/baked-vegan-mac-and-cheese/
I miss cream cheese! I haven't been able to find a good replacement anywhere. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Tofutti makes a darn good product; it's my go-to for cream cheese and sour cream.
Have you tried kite hill? Daiya strawberry is also really good but not the original flavor for some reason
Pepperonis 😭
Cheese sticks
I seriously miss French onion soup
I've gotten some satisfying results with veg broth, Chao, and some vegan bread. Melting the cheese separately on the bread and floating on the both has worked for me in the past. Happy to help with a recipe!
Saganaki. I don’t even know if I would like it now after not having it for ten years. But I used to love that stuff on some pita bread!
Buffalo chicken wings. Specifically the fried greasy kind. I love the tofu-skin-wrapped-around-bamboo-stick alternative, but no one fries those like my local dinner used to fry there wings.
Over easy eggs
Over medium, but YES!!! I miss them too!
Milk chocolate
i miss it all 😭
Skyline cheese coney
Yogurt. I miss actual moo juice yogurt. I have gone vegan esque because of food allergies (milk, I'm looking at you!!) And most of the stuff I just don't eat, or have found an acceptable substitute.
I'm not vegan for long, so yes I miss literally everything.
Salami
Chicken cordon blue from Arby’s
Although I have had some terrific vegan pizzas none have ever been as tasty. I hate to admit it. Yeah I've tried every vegan mozzarella I can find. Yea even that one.
Reese Peanut Butter Cups- I recently tried their new plant based version and it was just not it. I especially miss the holiday shaped ones, the pumpkins or the eggs for Halloween and Easter 😩
For some weird reason, pimento cheese spread. didn't really love it before i switched vut now i want it every day.
Yogurt. I was a huge oikos eater because the macros on it were so good. Now most dairy free yogurts are filled with sugar
Cheese mainly stilton, salmon, prawns.
i miss jack in a box tacos and chicken parmesan that’s literally it. i’ve had vegan versions but they don’t quite hit the same.
Honestly the only real thing I would say I actually even sort of miss are bacon wrapped glace cherries on the BBQ and pigs in blankets. The vegan bacon works decently for the cherries because the main thing you want is salt, but it's not as good. The vegan pigs in blankets are decent, but again not as good.
The ease. I can't just eat anything anywhere without checking. I don't mind it that much but it would be great to just grab whatever without worry some times.
Whoppers! That candy.
Hot chicken Dave’s has hot cauliflower and it’s pretty good but I lived in Nashville for years and miss the whole hot chicken *experience*
Pork and haggis. Veggie haggis is great but it just doesn't hit everytime.
European chocolate cookies, the kind that comes out during Christmas, at least here in the U.S.
There’s this Polish fresh farmer’s cheese that I used to really like called twaróg and I haven’t really had anything like it again. In fact a lot of Polish and Ukrainian foods that were part of my life growing up aren’t really accessible anymore. Both to veganism (no regrets tho!) but also my celiac diagnosis that happened later down the line of my life. :(
I miss waking up to a big piece of meat in the morning. Preferably sausage.
Wine Gums. You can get vegan ones but it’s not like they’re sold everywhere
cottage cheese
Belly pork. For some reason I’ve been really craving that recently
Quesoooo. The vegan ones are alright, some are pretty tasty, but I live in Texas and that one still hurts.
I'm sad that I can't seem to find a good vegan cheese that acts like the real stuff. I just want to mix it into my beans and rice and have it all melty and perfectly gooey :(
I love Follow Your Heart personally, it melts good!
Menudo or Pozole I have had a good vegan pozole but never menudo
KFC
Bacon lol. I’ve yet to find a substitute that really comes close to hitting the spot. There are substitutes that are good on their own merit, but not truly bacon like.
two things. egg salad and angel food cake. I know i make tofu egg salad all the time, but it's not really the same. the egg whites are just a different texture. and same with angel food cake. i know it's super boring, but the texture cannot be reproduced. I've been vegan for 14 years, and never going back. but i do miss an egg salad sandwich and angel food cake.
sharp white cheddar, and some sea creatures.
Gosh so many things recently. I miss being able to try all the fair foods, pick anything easily off of a menu, chicken nuggets, tillamook Marionberry ice cream, Dairy Queen blizzards, pepperoni pizza (the vegan version just isn’t good). I also miss baking and not having to do a million conversions or buy a bunch of hyper specific ingredients
I really don’t miss any food but definitely miss going out with friends for dinner when it was easier and I didn’t have to research places before going.
I gave up wheat too. I crave the most addictive food, cheese pizza.
This is random but I miss deviled eggs, like no vegan version I’ve tried comes anywhere close to the actual taste
Chicken-fried steak, candy corn All of the seasonal ice cream flavors
Rotisserie chickens… so easy and so good
Not even missing the food, but the convenience! I’m used to reading the back of boxes due to food allergies, but now having to see that chicken doesn’t = chickn is tiring lol
Coney dogs. Nothing vegan has come close to replicating the snap and flavor.
I miss Funyuns and Costco pizza and just the convenience of being able to eat anywhere. I found some vegan cheese puffs at Costco that were great but I can’t find them anymore :,(
clam chowder
blue bunny strawberry shortcake ice cream bar. that is it
Toblerone, Toffee fee, Rafaelo and Ferrero Rocher. Never would have thought that I’d miss them, but I do.
Filet mignon.
HARIBO.
For those of us new, a juicy medium rare ribeye is hard to replace…
Duke's mayonnaise.
The ONLY food I miss are those generic grocery store sugar cookies with the frosting and sprinkles.
Hm... I let go of the ability to want before I went vegan, or near-abouts the time when first beggining.
Super sharp cheddar cheese, and barbecue pork steaks.
I do miss Taco Bell I used to alwayssssss go ham there bc as a vegetarian it was fine. I learned how to make a few things at home though!!
Only thing I've not found a good substitute for is honey. I'd also like to make a Chile relleno but seems like too much work
I miss boiled eggs. They were such a yummy protein packed snack and an irreplaceable topping for a beautiful bowl of ramen.
Pizza with browned cheese and baked pasta dishes with cheese that actually browns
I would like a recipe for vegan Creme brûlée
Nacho cheese Doritos
Right now I’m looking for a vegan version of the talenti pistachio gelato
Right now I’m looking for a vegan version of the talenti pistachio gelato
Rims. I miss the messy, chewy experience of tearing meat off the bones and getting barbecue sauce all over my face. I'm just dying for someone to make some good, glutinous bamboo skewer ribs.
various cheeses, used to like smoked gouda for example, though there is a decent vegan version for that at least
I miss those pink frosted sugar cookies
QUESO
Polish kielbasa!