If you’re vegan or looking to reduce the amount of meat you eat, you might be interested in trying the Costco Beyond Meat Beyond Sausage. It’s a plant-based alternative to pork sausage! I do eat meat, but I was curious to find out how close these plant-based sausage links are to the real thing.
We eat meat in our house, so I’ll say up front that I’m not going to pretend I’m a vegan or vegetarian. Please take this review for what it is – a review of a plant-based meat product by someone who eats meat regularly and is comparing it to actual meat. With that being said, I think plant-based meat alternatives are targeted mostly at people who have gone to plant-based or vegetarian diets later in life after previously enjoying meat, so maybe it’s not an unfair comparison.
I’ve seen the Beyond Meat Beyond Sausage at my Costco for a long time, but the idea and appearance turned me off of buying it. During my most recent trip, I decided it was time to give it a chance.
Other vegan products from Costco include the Costco Riviera Coconut Milk Vegan Delight, Costco Wildbrine Raw Organic Sauerkraut, Costco Don Lee Farms Organic Veggie Bites, Costco Kirkland Signature Oat Beverage, Costco Wholly Veggie Buffalo Cauliflower and the Costco Beyond Meat Beyond Burger.
Location in Store
You can find the sausages in the freezer section, near the frozen burger patties and appetizers. The item number is 2338620.
Taste
Okay, I don’t like these sausages. I find that they have an odd texture and a very strong flavor, which I think is coming from the Italian seasoning. The texture has similarities to real meat, but is noticeably different.
The sausages are pretty dry. The main flavor is the seasoning, which is pretty salty. I suspect they’re trying to mask the flavor of the other ingredients with a ton of seasoning. I don’t notice the beet root or bell pepper that are on the ingredients list.
In summary, these plant-based sausages are strongly seasoned and not in a good way. If you eat the sausages like a hot dog, it’s a bit better because the flavor of the bun and condiments help mitigate the taste of the sausage. The package doesn’t say to use the Beyond Sausage as a hot dog, but that was our first idea for using them and I thought we’d try it.
Cost
The pack comes with 12 sausages in it and the price is $18.99 Canadian. There are three separate packages with four sausages per pack. After tasting them, I have to say that they’re overpriced. In my experience, you definitely pay a bit more for plant-based foods, but it’s hard to justify paying this much for something that just isn’t very tasty!
Convenience
There are cooking instructions for three different methods of cooking: grill, skillet and griddle. Because it’s summer, we decided to use the grill. Whichever method you use, if your sausages are in the freezer, thaw them before cooking. If your sausages are stored in the fridge, use them within three days of opening the package. You can’t refreeze thawed sausages.
Having a vegan option if you’re hosting a summer barbecue for people you don’t know very well is a great idea, so the Beyond Sausages would work well for that. They’re easy to store in the freezer and the best before date is about nine months from the date that we purchased the sausages on. Having the sausages separated into three smaller packs adds to their convenience.
Nutrition
Calories
A 100-gram Beyond Sausage contains 270 calories, 20 grams of fat, five grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fibre, zero grams of sugar, 19 grams of protein and 420 milligrams of sodium. These plant-based sausages aren’t necessarily lower in calories or fat than meat sausages!
Ingredients
There are a lot of ingredients in the Beyond Meat Beyond Sausages. A lot of the ingredients seem moderately healthy, but there are a few unhealthy ones too. One thing is for sure, there is absolutely no pork or other meat listed on the ingredients list! Beyond Sausages are gluten- and soy-free as well as non-GMO and vegan!
Scoring
Taste: 3/10 – I really don’t like them.
Cost: 5/10
Convenience: 7/10
Nutrition: 5/10
Overall
Walk on by!
I tried to keep an open mind, but I just can’t stand the flavor and texture of the Beyond Sausage (the flavor is bad and the texture just isn’t very good). I just don’t like them and can’t see myself ever eating another one. I’d be curious to hear what people who don’t eat meat think of them though.
Has anyone else tried these plant-based sausages? What do you think? How do they compare to other plant-based meat products?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
I love then I make then in with pasta and pasta sauce it taste really good I love it most like that in the winter
I tried another brand of breakfast sausages and they were acceptable but these sausages are gross. They have a weird texture and the flavor is equally weird. If I want a veggie burger I’ll take one that tastes like what’s in it. This left me wondering just what was in it–and not in a good way.
I really like the Beyond Meat Beyond Sausages. I make my own version of the dish pictured on the packaging. I start by defrosting them & cooking at medium heat in a frying pan. I add a little oil to start, more if necessary. I also add some water. I love the flavour & the texture!
Contrary to most reviewers I don’t mind the taste of these at all. However, I do wish Costco (or Canada for that matter) would receive the Original Brat version of this sausage which I greatly prefer as it has more of the “breakfast sausage” flavor. That being said, I don’t eat these regularly – too high in fat and for me the flavor is just OK.
For those complaining about the ingredients, agreed there are a lot, but if you know what they are, not too bad at all for a product designed to mimic a real meat. The ending ingredients are mostly the chemical names of vitamins. As for the first few the only truly offensive ingredient would be refined coconut oil. It’s refined so the sausage won’t taste like coconut. The rest of the ingredients are simply proteins and starches. If you’re looking for a whole food, this isn’t it and should be eaten in moderation, but I still believe it’s less damaging to your health, the environment and the pig than it’s animal counter-part.
Thanks for the ingredient information George! I really like the sausages!
We quite like these, especially the hot italian ones.
I happened to enjoy the sausages.not the burgers.if one adds mustard and a bunch taste better.it is not like a hotdogs but veggie item.i found it not baddie not see 12 package.paid more in comparison buying in supermarket package of 4.my was kosher which I am a d it was adequate for me
I would not buy these. The ingredient list is too long and not very nutritional.
I don’t eat any of these “fake meats” because they often contain foods I’m allergic to like nightshade plants, gluten, dairy.
Agree
Hmm. Well, I don’t have any concern(s) with ingredients and nutritional information. On the surface, these seem to be a good vegan or meat substitute, but that’s where it really ends.
As a long time vegetarian (yes vegetarian—not vegan) I didn’t even have to try these to know that Beyond Meat just sucks. Natalie is spot-on with her assessment of the taste. I bought the Beyond Meat burgers, and they were really awful. They tasted just like how Natalie described. The aftertaste is something I’ll never forget. Yuck!
One tip though, it doesn’t matter what type of vegetarian food (meat substitute) you buy, grilling burgers and sausages just don’t go well together.
I’ll stick with Yves or mushroom/lentil/bean meat substitutes. But as far as the rest of the “world” who enjoy Beyond Meat products, I remain baffled if they indeed have normal functioning taste buds.
I have been vegetarian most of my life (lacto-ovo) but this, yuck. I am totally with you on your assessment and have had zero interest in trying these. The ingredient list is too long and I classify this as a ‘franken-food’. Stick to what nature offers and keep it simple! Off my soap box now LOL 🙂
Reading the nutritional info, I don’t “get” why anyone would buy or eat these! So far, my experience with pretend meat has not been good 🤢 lol.
Thanks for your review!
Thank you for preventing a disaster! I’ve been scared to try beyond meat. I prefer actual meat. I think I’ll stick with lentils, beans, tofu that sort of thing for vegetarian options. Thanks for the reviews! I still read most!