Guides

Plant Based Chicken

Plant based chicken is the widest category we distribute, and it is also the one people ask the most questions about. Not because the product is complicated, but because "plant based chicken" covers a dozen different shapes that behave differently on a line and in a home freezer. A breaded nugget, a flat cutlet, a loose strip and a diced piece are not interchangeable, even when the base formulation is similar. This guide walks through the formats we carry frozen, how a case is put together, and how the same box gets used by a restaurant kitchen and by a family that just filled a freezer.

What "plant based chicken" actually means on a frozen case

There is no single legal shape for this category, so the label does the talking. What you will consistently see on a frozen plant based chicken case is a base of soy or wheat protein, sometimes both, seasoned to sit in the place a chicken cut would sit on a plate. Some items are breaded, some are plain, some are pre-seasoned into a finished dish. The panel of ingredients printed on the case is the only source of truth about what is inside a specific item, and formulations do get revised between production runs, so read the box you actually received rather than a spec you saved last year.

The other thing that matters is whether the item arrives fully cooked or raw-frozen. Fully cooked pieces are being reheated, which is why they behave so well in a service window: they are already at their final texture and you are just bringing them up to temperature. Raw-frozen items need real cooking. Both are common in this category, and both are printed on the case. Never assume from the shape.

The plant based chicken formats we distribute

Our chicken-style range splits into two groups: the Mon Cuisine line, which is the vegan kosher parve brand, and the bulk items that ship in larger foodservice packs. Between them, these are the shapes you can build a menu or a freezer around:

• Breaded nuggets — the highest-turn item in the category. Kid-facing, bar-facing, catering-facing. Available both in the Mon Cuisine retail-style pack and as a bulk foodservice pack.
• Sesame breaded nuggets — same shape, a coating with more character. Works when you want the nugget to stand on its own without a dip.
• Breaded patties — flat and round, sized for a bun. This is the sandwich unit of the category and the easiest upsell on an existing chicken sandwich slot.
• Breaded cutlets — larger and flatter than a patty, meant for a plate rather than a bun. Sauce it, top it, slice it over a salad.
• Chicken strips — unbreaded, loose pieces. The most flexible item we carry, because it goes into wraps, stir fries, grain bowls and pasta without committing to a coating.
• Diced chicken — small cubes for soups, rice dishes, pot pies and anything where the protein should disappear into the dish instead of leading it.
• Chicken-style pot pies — a finished single-serve item. No prep decisions, no plating decisions.
• Moroccan chicken — a Mon Cuisine seasoned entrée, chicken-style pieces in a spiced sauce, for when you want a complete plate rather than a component.

How the case format works

This is the part that separates buying here from picking up a retail box at a grocery store. Everything ships frozen, and the packaging follows the use case. Mon Cuisine items come in individual consumer-sized packages inside a master case, which means a family can pull one package at a time and a caterer can portion by package instead of by piece. The bulk items ship as larger polybags inside the case, often individually quick frozen so pieces stay loose and you can scoop out exactly what you need without thawing the whole bag.

Case weight and piece count vary by item, and we would rather confirm the current spec with you than have you plan a menu around a number that changed. Ask us for the case weight and unit count on the specific SKU before you order, especially if you are costing a per-portion price. What is safe to plan around is this: a single case of nuggets, patties or strips is a volume built for repeat use over weeks, not for one dinner. That is why the $300 order minimum lands where it does — it is a volume purchase by design, whether the freezer is a walk-in or the one in your kitchen.

How a professional kitchen uses it

In a restaurant, the win with frozen plant based chicken is that it removes the guesswork from the vegan slot. You are not holding a separate prep, you are not staging a special order, and you are not sending a plate that looks apologetic next to the rest of the menu. A case of breaded patties turns your existing chicken sandwich into a second menu item with the same build, the same bun and the same ticket time. A case of unbreaded strips covers wraps, bowls and pastas from one box.

• Keep one breaded item and one unbreaded item. Breaded covers the sandwich and the kids' plate; unbreaded covers everything with a sauce.
• IQF loose pieces let you portion to the ticket instead of thawing a slab, which is what keeps waste low on a slow vegan slot.
• Diced pieces are the cheapest way to make soups, rice dishes and fillings plant based without redesigning the recipe.
• For catering and institutional trays, the finished entrées — Moroccan chicken, pot pies — cut labor to almost nothing because there is no plating decision to make.
• Cross-contact matters in a shared kitchen. If a guest is ordering for a dietary reason, handle it as its own prep and let the printed ingredient panel answer the guest's question, not a server's memory.

How a family uses a case at home

A case is a month of dinners, and treating it that way is what makes the math work. The people who get the most out of a case are the ones who split it across a few uses instead of eating the same thing five nights running. Nuggets and patties are the fast weeknight option. Strips and diced pieces are the meal-prep option: cook a batch, portion it, and let it carry three or four different meals across the week.

• Split the case when it arrives. Keep this week's portion at the front of the freezer and push the rest to the back so nothing gets forgotten.
• Label the outer bag with the date you opened the case. Frozen product is forgiving, but it is not infinite.
• Reseal bulk bags tightly. Loose IQF pieces pick up freezer burn faster than sealed retail packs.
• Buy two formats rather than a double case of one. Breaded plus unbreaded gives you far more meals than twice the nuggets.
• Cook straight from frozen unless the package says otherwise, and follow the instructions on that package. We do not publish times or temperatures here because they differ by item and by run — the case label is the authority.

Kosher parve: only the Mon Cuisine line

This one gets stated plainly because getting it wrong matters. Mon Cuisine is the vegan kosher parve line — the breaded chicken nuggets, breaded chicken patties, breaded chicken-style cutlet and Moroccan chicken all sit under that brand. The bulk foodservice items we carry, including the bulk nuggets, patties, cutlets, strips and diced chicken, do not carry that declaration. If you are buying for a kosher kitchen, a kosher market or a customer base that buys specifically for certification, order the Mon Cuisine SKUs and verify the marking on the case you receive. Do not substitute a bulk item into a kosher order because the shape matches.

Ordering plant based chicken by the case

We distribute out of Brooklyn to restaurants, caterers, groceries, institutions and kosher markets, and we sell the same cases direct to households. The order minimum is $300 either way, which for this category usually means two or three cases — enough to cover a menu slot properly or to actually stock a freezer. If you are not sure which formats to start with, tell us what the food has to do: a sandwich, a bowl, a kids' plate, a tray for fifty people. The shape follows from that.

Call 347-516-9806 or write to tarcus@vegangrandnews.com with the SKUs you are considering and we will confirm current case weights, unit counts and what is in stock frozen this week.

Before you order

Heating instructions, allergen information and certifications are printed on the case label. Always follow the label for the lot you receive: formulations and pack specifications can change between production runs.