Vegan Food News of the Week: Heinz Pickle Ketchup, Beyond Pepperoni Pizza, and More

It seems that every week in the world of vegan food news is more exciting than the last, and this week is no exception. If you’re looking to stay away from cooking until the holidays, both Daily Harvest and Blackbird Foods just launched easy-to-make vegan meals. Meati Foods is expanding its vegan meats, made from its patented mushroom root, into new categories. And Heinz is launching a pickle ketchup to put on top of it all. Read on for more. 

1Blackbird’s new pepperoni pizza

This is the season of vegan turkey and all the trimmings but sometimes, we just need a quick pizza to get us through dinner. Luckily, New York City-based Blackbird Foods has a meatier way to satisfy our lazy cravings: a new recipe for its Pepperoni Pizza made with Beyond Meat’s plant-based pepperoni. 

Blackbird Foods

“Pepperoni is one of the most popular pizza toppings, and we’re proud to provide Blackbird with a delicious, plant-based version that delivers the taste and texture of traditional pepperoni, with the nutritional and environmental benefits of plant-based meat,” Shira Zackai, Beyond Meat’s Head of Global Communications, said in a statement. 

The New York-style pizza boasts a crust that’s been perfected through an overnight rise, delivering an authentic pizzeria experience right from the oven—with a mere eight-minute cook time. 

“I’m particularly excited about the addition of Beyond Meat’s innovative plant-based pepperoni to our pizza line,” Blackbird’s CEO, Emanuel Storch, said in a statement. 

“Beyond Pepperoni tastes absolutely delicious, and we think consumers will be blown away when they try it,” Storch said. 

Pizza enthusiasts can find this new offering at retailers such as The Fresh Market and select Whole Foods Market locations. The pizza joins a variety of vegan products under the Blackbird brand—a consumer goods spinoff of Philadelphia’s famed, and now shuttered, vegan pizzeria of the same name—which also includes other pizza flavors, a variety of plant-based wings, and its own seitan. 

2Daily Harvest’s new vegan pasta meals

Are you saving all your cooking energy for the big day? Daily Harvest—a meal delivery company known for its convenient, plant-powered options—just launched a new pasta line that’ll help you keep the oven spotless until Thanksgiving. 

Daily Harvest

The lineup of easy-to-prepare meals is anchored by the Tomato Basil + Portobello Bolognese, a dish that captures the essence of comfort food while aligning with the brand’s health-conscious philosophy. With its rich and hearty sauce, it offers a soul-satisfying taste without the heaviness often associated with traditional pasta dishes.

The line also includes hearty Zucchini + Gigante Bean Primavera (which features spiral lentil noodles and a vegetable trio in a herby cauliflower sauce) and White Bean + Spinach Pesto (which features nut-free pesto with sunflower seed butter, basil, garlic, lemon, and a cheesy hint from nutritional yeast, all clinging to hollow sedani pasta).

Daily Harvest

Each dish is crafted from whole ancient grains and legumes, ensuring that every serving is loaded with at least five veggies, more than 8 grams of protein, and a hearty dose of fiber. 

Daily Harvest’s new collection caters to both the solo diner seeking a fulfilling meal and those looking for a splendid side dish. The pasta line is now available as part of Daily Harvest’s subscription meal delivery service, which offers a variety of smoothies, flatbreads, harvest bakes, and more. 

3More mushroom meat from Meati

Earlier this year, Colorado-based Meati broke into the vegan meat scene in a big way with the launch of its chicken breast and steaks made entirely from mycelium—the fast-growing root systems of mushrooms—at Whole Foods Markets nationwide. 

Simply called “mushroom root,” Meati’s delicious discovery is now turning into an entire product line of vegan meats made much more efficiently than their animal counterparts. 

Meati Foods

These new items include the recently launched Crispy Bites (Meati’s take on vegan chicken nuggets), and three forthcoming products: Spicy Crispy Cutlet, Garlic & Black Pepper Steak, and Italian-Seasoned Cutlet, set to hit its online marketplace in December.

“It’s easy for nutrition to fall by the wayside in favor of convenience and flavor when consumers are constantly on the go,” Scott Tassani, President and CEO of Meati, said in a statement. 

“Like all Meati products, Crispy Bites, Spicy Crispy Cutlet, Garlic & Black Pepper Steak, and Italian Seasoned Cutlet are designed to make it turnkey to enjoy nutrient-rich and convenient meals that fit a range of taste preferences,” Tassani said. 

Last month, Meati launched a line of vegan jerky in three flavors after securing a patent for its innovative mushroom root.

Meati Foods

The company is celebrating the holiday season with two special bundles that feature a mix of its new and flagship products available through its marketplace. 

4Kraft Heinz’s pickle ketchup

If you ask us, condiments are the most important part of any vegan burger. And The Kraft Heinz Company just combined two of our favorites.

The iconic brand is synonymous with ketchup and pickles on American plates, and is stirring up the condiment world with its latest creation: Pickle Ketchup. Blending the zesty, savory flavors of pickles with Heinz’s classic ketchup, this new sauce aims to satisfy cravings for something tangy and familiar.

The Kraft Heinz Company

The fusion taps into America’s love affair with pickles, a sentiment shared by 73 percent of the population. Heinz’s deep roots in pickle history—embodied by the miniature gherkin on its label and Henry J. Heinz’s legacy as the “Pickle King”—have set the stage for this innovative twist that’s sure to delight Heinz loyalists and pickle enthusiasts alike.

“Increased desire for tasty, yet unexpected condiments has served as our innovation North Star,” Katie Peterson, the Director of Heinz Innovation, said in a statement.

“The current pickle craze in America mirrors the irrational love Heinz fans have for the brand, making it natural for our newest ketchup to blend these two beloved tastes together,” Peterson said. 

Pickle Ketchup represents Heinz’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of flavor, continuing a decade-long trend that has seen the brand expand into new, nuanced taste profiles and enhanced condiment experiences. 

Pickle Ketchup is set to make a splash on grocery shelves in the United States by early 2024, following its debut in select UK markets. 

5Dr. Bronner’s oat milk chocolate

For a sweet finish, this week, Dr. Bronner’s announced the launch of its newest vegan chocolates. While the company might be known for its all-purpose soaps, it expanded its environmentally and ethically conscious brand to include chocolate bars in 2021. 

Dr. Bronner’s

New to the Magic All-One Chocolate collection are three oat milk bars in three flavors: Crunchy Hazelnut Butter, Creamy Mocha Latte, and Golden Milk Chai, each promising a creamy alternative to traditional milk chocolate.

“Our new plant-based oat milk chocolate offers the smooth, creamy texture and sweetness milk chocolate lovers desire,” Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s, said in a statement. 

“We seek to model how chocolate can be sourced ethically, by respecting labor and the environment,” he said. “By doing so we demonstrate that delicious chocolate can truly be a source of good in the world and that the companies that make it can be, too.”

The chocolates, which will be sold at $5.99 each, are made using ingredients such as cocoa from Ghana and Ivory Coast, coconut sugar from Indonesia, and cocoa butter from the Congo, sourced through regenerative organic farming. This approach benefits not only the environment but also the farmers and their communities.

Dr. Bronner’s

The new offerings add to an ethical product line that combats the traditional chocolate industry’s issues with labor exploitation and environmental harm. Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One Chocolate, including the seven existing dark chocolate varieties, is vegan, uses 70 percent cocoa, and is sweetened with coconut sugar. 

Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.