The Freezer Meal Frenzy staff is pretty fond of fake meat, and we’re especially enamored with faux chicken. We’ve had some impressive vegetarian burgers, but in general, we think chicken might be easier to imitate than other types of meats. The Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers offer both faux chicken and plenty of flavor, and it’s hard not to be interested in that.
It takes about 20 minutes to heat these in the oven, which is slightly longer than we’d expected. You’ll need to flip the faux chicken strips at the 10-minute point, so you won’t be able to throw these in the oven and forget about them either. Also, you’ll want to make sure you cover your baking pan with aluminum foil before you cook; the breading really sticks to the pan.
The breading has a strong flavor that we really like. We actually wound up scraping some of the breading off of the baking pan and eating it plain! Gardein isn’t kidding about the lime flavor — this is pretty zesty — but that strong taste helps this to stand out. It’s not really spicy, but this is anything but bland. If you’d prefer something plainer, we’d suggest grabbing a bag of Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders instead.
The chunks of faux chicken are also pretty substantial. There are six faux fingers in a bag, and three pieces are more than enough to feed one person. Gardein says that a serving size is two pieces, which might work if you pair this with the right side. No matter what you wind up doing, a bag should have enough to feed at least two people.
Unfortunately, the faux chicken itself isn’t that great. It has a fake, rubbery consistency and an almost plastic-y flavor. It certainly won’t fool any carnivores into thinking these are made from real chicken. You could definitely hide some of this with a good sauce. We think a chipotle ranch or a sriracha would be absolutely incredible on this. You could even try a salsa or a barbeque sauce, but we’re not sure those are the right fit for this particular faux meat product.
The Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers don’t manage to mimic the flavor or texture of real chicken, but they’re still pretty appealing. If you have the right sauce on hand, and you don’t mind the strong lime flavor, this could be a part of a delicious meal. Just pair these with your favorite frozen fries, and you’re good to go!
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for these faux chicken fingers, check out our package scans below.
