Article
With so many delicious plant-based alternatives at the shops today, it’s easier than ever to keep pigs off your plate.
If your algorithm is anything like mine and clearly knows you love cute animal content, you probably already know that pigs are a) super smart, b) the absolute sweetest, and c) ridiculously adorable. They can even learn tricks like dogs!
Unlike dogs, however, pigs and piglets are deliberately excluded from animal protection laws in Australia, because they’re considered ‘food’ animals rather than ‘friends’. Sadly, this leaves them vulnerable to extreme cruelty and suffering at the hands of the meat industry — all to meet the demand for bacon, ham, and pork.
But the good news is, thanks in part to the cute-pig-video-renaissance (the pignaissance, if you will), more and more people are realising that pigs deserve nothing but sunshine, belly rubs, and love — and are choosing to keep them off their plates in favour of kinder, healthier vegan alternatives.
Plus, we are truly living in the future these days when it comes to the sheer number of actually ‘meaty’ meat alternatives available in stores. So it’s totally possible to pig out on traditionally pork-based dishes while eating plant-based, with just an easy swap or two!
Grab your shopping list and read on to discover some delicious pig-friendly products that will make veganising your favourite meals a cinch.
** Indicates our top pick for each category — but don’t let that stop you from trying them all!
Plant-based bacon, ham & deli slices
From bacon rashers to pastrami, smoked ham, salami and pepperoni to bacon bits — these products are everything you need to turn your vegan big breakfasts, loaded sandwiches, toasties, cheese boards, and creamy pastas into a little slice of savoury heaven.
- Meliora Plant-based Ham-style Slices** Available at Woolworths
- Made with Plants Bacon** Available at Woolworths
- Next! Extra Crispy Bacon-style Strips Available at Coles
- Next! Smoked Bacon-style Bits Available at Coles
- Plantitude Pastrami-style Slices Available at Woolworths
- Made With Plants Meat-free Pepperoni Available at Woolworths
- Plantitude Salami-style Slices Available at Woolworths
- Plantitude Smoked Ham-style Slices Available at Woolworths
- Vegie Delights Plant-based Bacon-style Rashers Available at Coles
Plant-based pork & roasts
Keep an eye out for these vegan roasts and pre-prepared pork products in the plant-based meat section! Mouthwatering Sunday roasts, BBQ pulled pork, fried rice, ramen, stir-fries, and sweet and sour pork are still on the menu — and kinder than ever.
- Vegie Delights Vegie Roast Available at Woolworths
- Nature’s Kitchen Meat-free Pork-style Belly Bites Available at Coles
- Sayur Vegetarian Roast Pork Available at Asian Grocers
Plant-based pork & bacon sausages
Vegan sausages are in abundance these days, and there are heaps of specifically pork-style ones to choose from. They’re perfect for lazy morning fry-ups, BBQs, or adding to stews for added protein and heartiness — snag some next time you’re at the shops!
- Fry’s Family Foods Smoked Hotdogs Available at Woolworths
- Herb & Sons Pork-free Bratwurst** Available at Coles
- Meaty Gourmet Maple Bacon Sausages Available at Woolworths
- V2 Plant-based Classic British Sausages Available at Woolworths
- vEEF Plant-based Chorizo Sausages Available at Woolworths
Plant-based pork ready-meals
This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning just a few of the tasty pork-style ready meals you can heat up. Convenient and kind to pigs — we love to see it!
- Pie Society Plant-based Sausage Rolls** Available at Woolworths
- Plant Asia Vegan Pork Ribs with Plum Sauce** Available at Woolworths
- Mr Chen’s BBQ Pork-style Gyoza Available at Woolworths
Hopefully this list helps as a starting oink point, but remember it’s far from exhaustive! There are so many plant-based pig meat alternatives on the market right now (with more appearing every day) that it’s impossible to list them all.
Be sure to check not only your local supermarket, but also any Asian grocery stores or niche health food stores you may have nearby, too. You never know what treasures you might snuffle out!
You can also order a wide range of plant-based meat products online from suppliers like the Vegan Grocery Store and Vegan Perfection (and La Vida Vegan if you’re in Perth!) to have them delivered straight to your door. We’d love to know what new favourites you discover 🙂
And lastly — as a thank you for wanting to keep pigs off your plate and in your heart where, frankly, they’d prefer to be — please enjoy this satisfying video of rescued pig, Red Adair, munching happily away on a zucchini, not a care in the world. He’s living his best life at Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary thanks to caring people like you ❤️
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Psst!
The plant-based pig meat products recommended above are super easy to swap into any recipe that calls for bacon, ham, pork, or sausages. But if you’re keen to whip up some similar plant-based meals without using any store-bought meat alternatives, check out our round-up of easy recipes that are 100% pig-friendly, veggie-based, and home-kitchen approved. 
Meet Liv!
Having grown up in a “meat and 3 veg” kind of household, Liv’s embarrassed to admit that she was a bit of a one-note chef until she began exploring the world of plant-based food. Vegan cooking has given her a whole new appreciation for the symphonies of flavours that simple, nourishing wholefood ingredients can create. (Even eggplant, once her greatest nemesis, is now — in a delicious, miso-glazed redemption arc — her all-time favourite veg.)