(Slightly) different veggie burgers now offered

In summer 2017, I reviewed the Dr. Prager’s Organic Harvest Veggie Burgers (Product Review: Dr. Praeger’s harvest veggie burgers).

I really enjoyed these burgers and was disappointed that they disappeared, along with so many of my other favorite Costco items (It’s Gone? Discontinued Products). When I initially reviewed them, I mentioned that I wanted to try them with hummus. I did that and it was delicious and became one of my top two ways of eating them (the other is with the tuna (Product Review: Golden Taste Tuna Deluxe).  So, after months went by without seeing them in Costco (I even called the three closest Costco locations and was told that they did not know when/if they would be ordered again), I looked for a suitable alternative. It was harder than I thought…There are certainly many varieties of veggie burgers on the market. However, I do not like veggie burgers that “pretend” to be meat. In addition, although the Dr. Praeger’s company produces many (I think there is a version with almost every combination of vegetables and spices!) variations of veggie-based burgers, a lot of them are spiced and contain ingredients that I did not want…and they are very expensive! (I did try a few, including the california veggie burgers and the super greens burgers but did not like them nearly as much as the harvest burgers). It seemed odd to me that Costco no longer carried them given that they are an exclusive Costco item…why would the company even bother making them if the one place they were sold was not carrying them?!

Fast forward to this past winter…I was in the Avon Costco and decided to check “just in case”, especially because Avon had been the last place to carry them. I was thrilled to see them back on the shelves and bought two boxes. However, after making my first veggie burger from the new box, I reaized that I had not paid attention to anything after “Dr. Praeger’s” and “organic.” These were actually slightly different from the original ones. Whereas the organic harvest veggie burgers had chickpeas in addition to vegetables, these ones do not have chickpeas, have a slightly different mix of vegetables, are slightly larger, and have a dfifferent spice blend. Not surprisingly, they are most similar to the regular (ie.., not certified organic) California veggie burgers but are almost two times as large.

These burgers are quite good. Had I not eaten the other ones first, I would be extremely pleased. However, although the harvest burgers were a little dry, I slightly preferred them…but these will have to do and I am finding that I like them more each time I eat them. I microwave them but I think the recommended method is the toaster oven or on the stove. Microwave works fine and is very easy but be careful not to overcook them as they can become very difficult to cut and chew!

Have you tried these burgers?

If you also had the harvest veggie ones, which did you prefer?

Fun fact: years ago I saw a few Dr. Praeger’s products in my grandmother’s freezer and commented that I also liked his products. She told me that he was actually her cardiologist in New York! (He has since passed away but the company kept the name).