Oh, Trader Joe's, I'm so disappointed that you have put a piece of metaphorical coal in my vegetarian stocking this 2023 holiday season by discontinuing your marvelous vegan Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast -- which is the favorite meatless alternative of its kind for my wife and me.
I bought several extra last year and put them in our freezer. Here's a photo of one of the last survivors of the Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast purge before I took it out of the box and put it in an oven for Thanksgiving dinner. Now we're down to zero. Sob...
The roast still appears on the Trader Joe's web site, which at first gave me hope. But then I noticed this note. I appreciate the humor. However, I was smiling through the sadness of the roast's demise.
Well, I'd done just that a few weeks ago, spoke to several staff at the Trader Joe's store here in Salem, Oregon. I did this after searching for the Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast in the parts of the store where it has always appeared close to Thanksgiving.
The first staff person I talked to knew nothing about the status of the roast. Neither did the second person the first person went up to. Then all three of us spoke with a knowledgeable person in the frozen foods aisle.
She said that the roast wasn't being offered this year because of poor prior sales. I expressed surprise at this, saying that my wife and I have tried every other vegetarian/vegan roast, such as Tofurkey, and the Trader Joe's roast was our favorite.
When I repeated my lament to the checkout person, she said, "I agree; it was a great-tasting roast." Also nutritious. Here's the nutrition facts and ingredients.
The serving size, 1/6 of a roast, is substantial. The roast I made this year has served six people so far and there's still quite a bit left. I don't know how many calories there are in a serving of turkey and gravy, but I bet it's more than 360 calories. And the protein in the Trader Joe's roast is plentiful, 26 grams per generous serving.
But all is not lost. In a November 8, 2023 story, VegNews reported on the much-beloved Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast being discontinued by Trader Joe's. There's hope.
VegNews reached out to Trader Joe’s and the company has confirmed that the product is discontinued and they will not have a meat-free roast offering this year.
The cult-favorite holiday product will not return to shelves this holiday season because “it wasn’t meeting expectations,” according to one Reddit user. Some commenters suggested the reason might be because the recipe changed at some point and it was never as good as the original.
However, store managers have told customers that a replacement could come to stores in 2024.
“The notes in the internal system do say we are sourcing a replacement for 2024, it just didn’t come together this year,” another Reddit user confirmed.
LOVERS OF THE ROAST, TAKE ACTION! Head to the Trader Joe's Product Feedback page. Tell them that you adore the Breaded Turkey-less Stuffed Roast more than life itself. Or if you prefer life to the roast -- my personal view, since if I'm not alive, I can't enjoy the roast -- tell Trader Joe's that you hope so much for a return of the roast, or a new and improved version, in 2024.
Did you look at the long list of chemicals required to make this supposed turkey roast? Kind of scary considering what we know about things being okayed that later are not.
Posted by: Rain Trueax | November 28, 2023 at 04:00 AM
Rain Trueax, there's only one chemical listed in the ingredients, an artificial color. The roast seems pretty darn natural and healthy to me, and I've been a health-minded vegetarian for about 53 years.
Posted by: Brian Hines | November 28, 2023 at 10:49 AM
Because I can't eat nightshades without getting sick, I read a lot of labels. When the list for this phony turkey says natural flavors, do you know from where it comes. I avoid anything that just says spices because sometimes that is paprika (a nightshade). I don't really know why vegans want something like could be burger lol or this supposed turkey flavored. Why not stick to what fits a vegan diet?
Posted by: Rain Trueax | November 29, 2023 at 03:30 AM