Nick and I hit the jackpot on Saturday morning. While in Iowa City for groceries and a breakfast date, Nick decided to stop by Hy-Vee just to see if their Health Market had anything new. I’m SO happy he did! (even though I was complaining that I was ready to go and get breakfast, haha!) They had something we have search high and low for – Gardein Fishless Fillets!
As it turns out (gotta love instagram!) Cadry from Cadry’s Kitchen had actually requested that particular Hy-Vee to carry them. She’d never heard back, so it was fun to “chat” over a few comments and let her know that they were there!
Nick and I couldn’t wait to make them. And, of course, my brilliant husband had the fabulous idea to make them along with some Earth Balance White Cheddar Mac & Cheese. We haven’t been able to find that around here, either, but Nick scored a few boxes while he was out in California on travel.
Now. I’d read lots of comments saying that the Fishless Fillets weren’t as good unless they were fried. But then again, what isn’t better fried?! I mean, really. Well, we didn’t feel like making a mess of the kitchen, so we pulled the toaster oven out and sprayed them with a bit of coconut oil spray to help them crisp up. And they were great! Would they be better fried? Maybe. (see above) But they were really crisp on the outside and the texture was awesome! I was a little nervous, to be honest, but these things blew my mind. They had the mouthfeel and taste of fish fillets and were delicious with a healthy douse of malt vinegar. Mmmmm.
The mac & cheese = DELICIOUS. To be fair, I haven’t had boxed mac & cheese for years, but this one? Awesome. It’s creamy, and perfectly cheesy, but not in a fake cheese kind of way. I preferred the white cheddar flavor, and Nick prefers the traditional. But really, you can’t go wrong with either one! My only tip: use only 3 T of non-dairy milk to keep it creamy. Adding all 4 T makes it a little too thin for my taste. But it’s all what you prefer!
My plate looked like something for an 8 year old, but I didn’t care! I couldn’t WAIT to dig in! (and I really like pepper. can you tell??)
How about you? Have you been able to try these new vegan products? What’s your favorite?
Happy to be a Table of Two 
I’m so glad you mentioned that you picked them up at that Hy-Vee! After I requested them, I didn’t hear anything either way about if they were going to order them or that they got them in. We’d visited last week in the hopes that they were there, but they weren’t. So I figured it wasn’t going to happen. If only I’d known that when I bought 3 bags of the filets in Omaha and brought them back to Iowa in a cool pack! 😀
Now there are two things I’m trying to find – the Earth Balance sour cream & onion potato chips and the Field Roast burgers. I asked the Co-op to carry the burgers since they carry other Field Roast products, but I don’t know if that will happen yet. They said I could buy a case of them, but a hundred dollars on burgers might be a little more than I want to spend!
I haven’t tried that mac and cheese yet. Thanks for the review! It’s good to know that it’s worth buying at some point.
You know, we found the chips on a whim at The Bread Garden in Iowa City. Maybe see if they still have them! The sour cream & onion are awesome!!
Thanks for the tip! I always look in the chip section when I’m there just in case, but so far I haven’t seen them. I’ll definitely take a peek again next time. Maybe I’ll luck out!
We love love love the fishless fillets! We’re huge Earth Balance fans, but we didn’t love the Mac and Cheese. They just weren’t our style. Neither of use grew up on the Kraft stuff so I think we were missing the nostalgia to appreciate them fully. However, Earth Balance is amazing and it’s so cool that they made this product available. I know most EB fans are going bonkers for the mac!
p.s. I always add a crazy amount of pepper to my homemade mac and cheese too!
Oh, good! I’m not alone! Nick always looks at me funny when I go crazy with the pepper grinder. 😉
We had the mac & cheese, and have the white cheddar still, but neither of us loved it. Like Hannah, I wasn’t raised on it. In fact, I didn’t have “mac ‘n yak” until I was in college! Is something I wouldn’t hesitate to give to my super picky nephew though, so there’s that.
So excited. Been wanting to try fishless filets for a while now. I assume the Coralville Hy-Vee? They seem to have a pretty decent selection of veggie/vegan things. Much better than when I was a vegetarian 15+ years ago.
Also, hi Jackie & Nick! Long time, no see!
Hey!! Long time, no see indeed!!
We found the Fishless Fillets at the Waterfront Drive Hy-Vee in Iowa City. They’re amazingly delicious!