Opinion Vegan duck, lamb, turkey & deli meats you can buy in Australia

There’s a plant-based version of just about everything, even specialty meats like duck, lamb, turkey, pepperoni, pastrami & salami!

If you’ve been through the vegan sections of the supermarket recently, chances are you already know that there’s a huge variety of plant-based meats on the shelves these days. Check out our top product recommendations from each category below:

🌿 Plant-based chicken

🌿 Plant-based beef

🌿 Plant-based seafood

🌿 Plant-based pork, ham & bacon

🌿 Plant-based pies & sausage rolls

🌿 Plant-based holiday roasts

But the innovative food brands cooking up these popular products haven’t stopped there – they’ve gone as far as to create vegan alternatives to more niche products too, like duck, lamb, turkey, and deli slices.

Keep an eye out for these tasty options in supermarkets, specialty stores, and in the virtual aisles of Australia’s online vegan retailers. 

Plant-based duck

Look, we have no idea how they’ve nailed that hard-to-describe ‘duck’ flavour using only plants – but somehow, they have. Use one of these ready-to-cook vegan duck alternatives (or make your own from scratch) to whip up some divinely flavourful crispy duck pancakes, Peking duck wraps, or even a banh mi. 

• Sayur Vegan Duck (La Vida Vegan)
• Sayur Vegan Peking Duck (La Vida Vegan)
• Made with Plants Meat-free Roast Duck (Woolworths)
• Wu Chung Vegetarian Mock Duck (Asian Pantry)

Plant-based turkey

Vegan turkey slices are more versatile than you’d think. Pop them in a salad-filled sandwich or wrap, or roll them up and place them on an antipasto platter alongside some dips, breads, and marinated veggies. 

As for the turkey-style roasts, use them just like you would any other ‘meaty’ centrepiece – as the hero of your next date-night dinner or festive feast.

• Meliora Plant-based Turkey Style Slices (Woolworths)
• Vegie Delights Vegie Roast (Coles)
• Earth Grown Vegan No Turkey Roast (Aldi – only available in December!)
• V Bites Simply Trky Deli Slices (Vegan Perfection)

Plant-based lamb

There are only a couple of lamb-style plant-based meats available so far, but honestly the Birds Eye vegan lamb strips are so ridiculously spot-on that you’ll never need another option anyway! Our favourite meals to use them in are veggie-laden souvlakis, shawarma wraps, and this hearty Moroccan tagine.

• Birds Eye Plant-based Greek Lamb-style Strips (Coles, Woolworths)
• vEEF Plant-based Roast Seitan (Woolworths)

Plant-based deli meats

A toasted sandwich layered with veggies, melty vegan cheese, and plant-based deli meat is calling your name! These vegan slices are just as at home in a panini as they are on a pizza or cheeseboard.

• Made with Plants Meat-free Pepperoni (Woolworths)
• Made with Plants Deli-style Veggie Slices (Woolworths, Coles)
• Plantitude Pastrami-style Slices (Woolworths)
• Suzy Spoon’s Vegan Pastrami (La Vida Vegan)
• Plantitude Salami-style Slices (Woolworths)
• V Bites Pepperfoni Slices (Vegan Perfection)
• V Bites Sage & Onion Slices (Vegan Perfection)
• Vegusto Deli-style Sandwich Slices (Vegan Perfection)
• Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices (Vegan Perfection)
• Field Roast Lentil & Sage Deli Slices (Vegan Perfection)
• Field Roast Mushroom and Balsamic Deli Slices (Vegan Perfection)

These are just some of our favourite vegan deli slices available in Australia – and now that you know what to look out for, you can go forth and discover what more lies beyond this list!

Here are the main spots you’ll find plant-based meat (and dishes made with plant-based meat): 

• The refrigerated vegetarian / vegan section of supermarkets (usually where the tofu is)
• The frozen vegetarian / vegan section of supermarkets
• The plant-based section of the meat aisle in major supermarkets
• The fridge / freezer sections of health food stores 
• The fridge / freezer sections of Asian grocery stores
• Vegan-friendly online stores
• On restaurant menus
• At fast food chains

 We’d love to hear which options you try and end up loving!

Header image: © Meliora