Louisville Vegan Toppins Review

Since going Vegan almost five years ago, there’s very, very few things that I miss. In fact, the thought of consuming animal products makes me sick. It mostly has to do with texture vs. the taste for me. There are a few things that I miss the flavorings of such as pepperoni and bacon.

I have no desire to eat either of these things, but the smokiness of bacon and the spicy profile of pepperoni compliment a number of dishes and it’s nice to have options for those additions.

There are many products out there in the vegan space that offer alternatives, but I’ve found that many of them contain major allergens. Wheat is most often the culprit as vital wheat gluten makes an excellent substitute for a meaty texture, though nuts are another problem child.

Still, every time I see a product imitating these items I flip it over and check the ingredients. Most of the time, I’m not surprised to find it doesn’t work with our allergens. That’s cool, I figured as much and move on. So imagine my surprise when I picked up these Louisville Vegan Toppins and saw they looked safe for us!

Of course I grabbed both options to try! The pieces were small, which makes sense since they are advertised as ‘bits’. The base ingredient for both options is textured soy protein. Their texture is identical, but they have two distinct flavors.

The bacon flavor definitely nailed it on the smoky tones, but it was also sweet. Like a maple breakfast variety, maybe? Was it good? I’d give it a 6/10. It was lacking that saltiness that I was expecting, but has still been good for a little snack to grab when I want a protein boost (a whopping 8g in 1/3 of the small package!)

I ended up liking the pepperoni variety a little bit more. The seasoning was great. Nice and salty with a little bit of heat. It had all the right flavors of pepperoni, though I wouldn’t compare the texture. The pieces crisped up a bit when I put it on a flatbread, but I still preferred eating them on it’s own as a snack. I’d give this one an 8/10.

Overall, I would probably get the pepperoni again, but not the bacon. Kiddo liked the bacon a little better because she thought the pepperoni was spicy. While you could add these into things, I thought they got kind of soggy when I tried to added them to my bagel and cream cheese and after it sat for a few minutes when I used it on pizza. As a little snack though, they are high in protein for the calories and the package is small enough that I could pack it as a snack to split with Kiddo when we travel (shelf stable until opened).

Have you tried these yet? I’d love to know what you think in the comments!