Plant Based Meat Substitute
A plant based meat substitute is only useful if it fits the dish you already cook. The frozen catalog splits into loose formats you cook with and formed pieces you plate, and choosing wrong is how a case ends up untouched at the back of a freezer. This guide maps each substitute to the ingredient it replaces, explains how a foodservice case differs from a retail bag, and lays out what a sensible first order out of Brooklyn looks like for a kitchen and for a household.
What is a plant based meat substitute?
A plant based meat substitute is a food made without meat that is built to do a specific meat's job in a recipe: the texture, the portion size and the way it behaves in a pan. That is a narrower definition than vegan food in general, and it matters when buying by the case, because you are not buying a flavor, you are buying a format. Vegan Grandnews stocks twenty-seven frozen cases across those formats, from loose crumble to breaded cutlets to complete dishes, shipped frozen from 1810 76th Street in Brooklyn. What is in any given product is printed on its ingredient panel, which is the only accurate description of the formulation you receive.
Which substitute replaces which ingredient?
Match the format, not the name. A crumble replaces ground meat in anything that starts with browning, diced pieces replace cubed chicken in a stir-fry or a bowl, and formed pieces replace whatever was already portioned by hand. Written out as a swap list, most menus convert with three or four items rather than a dozen.
- Ground beef becomes vegan ground beef crumble or Mon Cuisine vegan meat crumble
- Diced or cubed chicken becomes vegan diced chicken
- Meatballs in sauce become vegan meatball
- A burger patty on the grill becomes fully cooked IQF veggie burger
- Breaded nuggets or tenders become vegan breaded sesame chicken nuggets
- Breakfast sausage becomes vegan breakfast sausage patties
- A full pot-pie style entree becomes vegan chicken style pot pies
Should a first case be loose or formed?
Start loose. A crumble is the most forgiving thing to own ten pounds of, because it drops into recipes that already exist and nothing else on the line or in the kitchen has to change. Formed pieces are the opposite trade: they portion themselves and plate fast, but they commit you to one shape for as long as the case lasts. Most buyers who start with a crumble find the second case chooses itself, once they know which gap the first one did not cover.
How much freezer space does a case take?
Plan by case count, not by pounds. Each product page lists the current pack size, and a case is a sealed carton meant to sit on a freezer shelf rather than be broken down on arrival. A workable habit for households is to clear a full shelf before the first delivery instead of after it lands, and for kitchens it is to decide where the carton lives before the truck shows up, because a frozen delivery does not wait for someone to make room. Composed dishes take noticeably more space per portion than loose or formed items.
Do plant based substitutes hold up in a professional kitchen?
They hold up when the format matches the station. Frozen foodservice cases are built for repeat service: the pieces are uniform, the portion count is known before service starts, and the product moves from freezer to plate without a prep step that only one cook understands. That predictability is the reason kitchens buy by the case at all, because it keeps the same portion and the same plate cost across every service.
- Fryer and oven stations: breaded nuggets, patties, cutlets and strips
- Saute and sauce work: crumbles and diced pieces
- Grill: burger patties and franks
- Hot line and buffet: complete dishes that portion out of a tray
- Pizza and bake: veggie pizza crumbles
Which substitutes carry a kosher marking?
Only the Mon Cuisine line. Twelve of the twenty-seven cases carry the Mon Cuisine name and the Kosher Parve marking printed on the packaging, and the remaining fifteen are bulk foodservice packs that do not declare kosher status. If an order has a kosher requirement, it has to be built from the Mon Cuisine half and verified on the case that arrives. The brand name on the carton is the fastest way to tell the two halves of the catalog apart.
How do you start an order under the $300 minimum?
Build across jobs rather than repeating one item. The minimum is $300 for everyone, wholesale and household alike, so a mix of two or three cases usually costs less per meal than a single format ordered deep. A common opening order is one crumble, one breaded item and one composed dish, which between them cover everyday cooking, fast plating and a full entree. Orders ship from 1810 76th Street, Brooklyn NY 11214 across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut; call 347-516-9806 or write tarcus@vegangrandnews.com for current availability and case pricing.
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.
How do you swap a substitute into a recipe you already cook?
Start with the loose formats, because they slot into an existing recipe without changing anything else about it. Ground beef crumble and meat crumble go exactly where ground meat went, into sauce, chili, filling or topping, and the rest of your method stays as written. Formed items work the other way around: they arrive already portioned, so they replace a plating decision instead of an ingredient, and the recipe around them has to be built to suit. Composed dishes replace the whole course, which is the least flexible swap and the fastest one.
- Loose crumble replaces ground meat in sauces, chili, tacos and fillings
- Diced and strip formats replace cubed or sliced protein in bowls, wraps and stir fries
- Breaded formed items replace a cutlet or a patty on a plate or in a sandwich
- Meatballs and steak-style items sit in a center-of-plate slot with a sauce and a side
- Composed dishes replace the course entirely and need only a side
What does a first substitute order look like at the $300 minimum?
Two to four cases spread across formats, not one item ordered deep. The minimum is the same for a restaurant and for a household, and it is far easier to reach with a mix, which also tells you more: after one order you know which formats your kitchen or your family actually finishes. A workable first build is one loose format, one formed item and one composed dish, so the freezer covers everyday cooking, fast plating and the night nobody wants to cook. Mon Cuisine cases and bulk foodservice cases arrive in the same delivery from 1810 76th Street, Brooklyn NY 11214.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best plant based meat substitute to start with?
- A ground crumble, because it slots into recipes you already cook and requires no change to the rest of the menu. It is also the format most people already know how to handle, which matters when a full case arrives at once.
- Do plant based meat substitutes need to stay frozen?
- Yes. Every case in this catalog ships frozen and is meant to stay frozen until use. Keep unused portions sealed and follow the storage line printed on the case; the pack is built so part of a carton can be used while the rest stays frozen.
- Can I buy a single bag instead of a case?
- No. Vegan Grandnews distributes frozen cases with a $300 order minimum, identical for a restaurant and for a household. The way to keep a first order manageable is to mix formats rather than order one item deep.
- Are all of these products vegan, or are some vegetarian?
- The catalog is split by name: some cases are labeled vegan and others vegetarian. Read the product name and the ingredient panel printed on the case rather than assuming, because the panel as printed is the only accurate statement of what a given case contains.
- Which substitute should a first-time buyer start with?
- A loose crumble. It is the most forgiving format to own ten pounds of, because it drops into recipes you already cook without changing anything else on the line or in the kitchen.
- Can I mix Mon Cuisine and bulk cases in one order?
- Yes. Both halves of the catalog ship from the same Brooklyn freezer under the same $300 minimum and travel in one delivery, which is how most buyers reach the minimum on a first order.