Trader Joe’s Korean Beefless Bulgogi Reviews
Plant-based vegan bulgogi-style strips marinated in a sweet and savory soy sauce.
Trader Joe's Reviews
Search from over 5,000 products and 15,000+ ratings! Not affiliated with Trader Joe's.
Search from over 5,000 products and 15,000+ ratings! Not affiliated with Trader Joe's.
Plant-based vegan bulgogi-style strips marinated in a sweet and savory soy sauce.
JLau –
The texture, color, strip size and taste are great! I would buy this again and it is a flavorful addition to rice, noodles or stir fried veggies. Love it!
Jlau –
This is a tasty meat alternative that is great pan fried and added to grains, noodles or veggies.
Alanna –
This is amazing. The texture, flavor and everything is so good! I added some sugar snap peas and white rice and the meal was fantastic!
Kim –
This tastes really good in a bahn mi. I used French bread, pickled jalapeños, carrots and cabbage, vegan mayo, cilantro. Probably one of my favorite meat substitutes.
Anonymous –
Best meatless texture I’ve had so far
MA –
I made fried rice with this- it was really good!
Dave F. –
OMG…. I have literally never tasted anything like this before. TJ’s Bulgogi might just be my new favorite food. Period. The flavor is so unique, while the “beef” is so juicy and perfectly chewy. I’m a longtime vegetarian, and I’ve been hoping Trader Joes would come up with a more meatless options. This one is a dream-come-true. All I have to do is fry up some broccoli, add the Bulgogi, and I have food for 3-4 meals. I’m so happy with this one that I bought 6 of ‘em right after tasting it. THANK YOU to whoever created this dish!!!
Ayesha –
The texture is on point, flavor is amazing. This vegan option is the BEST compared to all of the other brands out there!! I hope that trader joes keeps this Vegan beefless bulgogi on the shelves.
Gogo –
Possibly the best fake meat ever!! I’ve been vegetarian for a decade and this trumps everything else I’ve tried. Been eating it for three days straight! Texture is incredibly tender but meaty, and the flavor captures the fatty-smoky-sweet umami of food court Asian fare.
Garuda –
One of the most flavorful products I’ve ever purchased at Trader Joe’s. The culinary mad scientists that figured out that pear and apple puree make delicious fake beef should be rewarded with divine providence.
Slightly sweet, smoky, and perfectly savory. Oh, and I’m singing praises having microwaved it. Can’t wait to try pan frying.
Lisa P –
Insanely delicious! My meat eating friend loved it too! Cooks up so quickly and is full of flavor. I’ve used it in Asian dishes, salads and sandwiches. The uses for it are endless! This is my all time favorite Trader Joe’s product…EVER. Now if they would only bring back the Korean bbq sauce to accompany it…
JJ –
Amazing flavor & texture, and totally satisfying. Best meat substitute available, and very versatile. So glad I found these. Will be visiting every TJ’s in my area and stocking up. Okay, I’ll be nice and leave a couple for others. 🙂
Erica –
Omg TJs – this is sooooo gooood – please do not discontinue, ever! Chef’s kiss!
Bryan v –
Just tried TJ’s vegan bulgogi. This stuff is awesome!
It’s hard to believe this is vegan. They got the texture, and flavor perfect. Probably one of the best vegan beef products I’ve tried. Served it with TJ’s vegetable stir fry, and jasmine rice… Awesomeness
Hana M. –
Damn this is perfection. A mix between chinses restaurant beef sticks and bulgogi. Please never get rid of this TJ’s!
Will M. –
I was a meat eater for many years and have had beef bulgogi many times. I saw this product is made in Korea, so I thought I’d give it a shot. This stuff blew me away….it looks, smells, tastes and cooks (sizzles and browns in a pan) like beef. Of all the meat substitutes I have ever tried, this is hands-down the best. Korean food scientists did their culture proud when they made this stuff.
Nancy Keyes –
We LOVE this! My husband really misses beef and he loves this. This hits all the notes for us!
Anonymous –
I don’t know where you get that flavor and texture from, but if I could, I would buy your company out! ✋
Fan –
I don’t know where you get that flavor and texture from, but if I could, I would buy your company out! ✋
Madeline –
My partner and I tried this last night and we’re really impressed! I loved that the flavor wasn’t super strong as some faux meats can be. It felt healthy and tasted delicious. We just paired it with steamed broccoli and brown rice and the meal felt perfectly balanced. I definitely recommend this product to anyone trying to reduce their meat consumption, but who still enjoys the texture and flavor.
Anonymous –
Omg this is INCREDIBLE!!! I am obsessed! I’ve only been vegetarian for about two years now and have been searching high and low for a good beef alternative. This is by far my favorite. It’s sooo good over rice topped with a little chili onion crunch/ soy sauce mixture. Don’t sleep on this!!
C –
This is the best fake meat I’ve ever had. TJ’s please keep selling this!!!
Stephanie –
It’s really tasty but I realized it contains rice flour which I’m allergic to.
Anonymous –
Came on here to write the review THIS SLAPSS!! highly recommend.
Deborah Thomas –
I have only been vegan for about 5 months but I’d love this stuff even if I wasn’t vegan. It’s so tasty and it blends well Iwith mushrooms, broccoli and corn to make l a little meatless stew. I’m going to try it with rice and grilled veggies next. I’m going back to pick up several more packs and I certainly hope that Trader Joe’s continues to sell this product as it’s absolutely wonderful!!
Austin Caufield –
So kept seeing all these amazing revues so had to try it myself. Being vegan myself it’s hard to find great tasting vegan products but I have to say it’s gotten SO much better. We are making great gains. That being said this is one of them. WOW. Totally amazing product. Texture, taste and portion size is awesome. I have turned everyone on to this product. I had problem getting it at first because they were always sold out. But spoke with a great member at Trader Joe’s in Summerlin location and he told me that they are upping there ordering of this product. PS if Trader Joe’s stops carrying this I will boycott for sure lol Great job Trader Joe’s you rock Thank you.
Heather –
This is so good!! Holy moly, I am impressed. Go try it, you won’t be let down!
Jessica –
TRADER JOES!!!! You’ve outdone yourself with this one! The flavor and texture is love! Please don’t ever remove this! Keep it stocked!
Soybean –
Hands down the best vegan meat alternative we ever tried – whether store bought or from a restaurant!
Corinne –
This might be my favorite TJ’s product of all time! Taste and texture are just like real beef bulgogi from a Korean restaurant. My dog was even fooled and begs every time I eat this. Try it on a low carb tortilla topped with some Kim chi.
Sherry –
I’ve only been a vegetarian for about 5 months now (trying to very slowly transition to vegan) so the taste of beef is still fresh in my mind. I was preparing to be eternally dissatisfied with food because it was such a struggle to feel satisfied without meat, and it was near impossible without meat or cheese. I also can’t stand tofu, and can’t afford to eat at my favorite vegan restaurant on a daily basis (their charcoal beef vermicelli is to die for). I’d been sorely disappointed by other store-bought fake meats so I didn’t get my hopes up when I saw this and just bought one. Holy cow. I immediately ran out to get 7 more. I do have to cook it a bit longer and on lower heat (stove top) than what the directions say to get the texture just right, but it legit tastes like real beef, but better (no gross fat/gristle texture, and no cow had to die). I’ve made it without adding any liquid, adding different marinades, with plain white rice, fried rice, pad Thai noodles, vermicelli noodles, on its own with veggies…it totally astounds me how delicious, versatile, and easy to make it is. I’m totally going to try someone’s suggestion to have it on a banh mi sandwich. Also, if you make it with Trader Joe’s vegetable fried rice (frozen), it tastes bizarrely like Pei Wei’s beef fried rice that I used to get for years. I’ve really just had this in Asian dishes to keep it vegan and simple, but really want to branch out and try changing up the seasoning/marinade for Mexican and Italian dishes, too. I don’t know what I’ll do if they ever stop making this because I’ve been having it about 5 times per week. Just try it, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t love the texture right off the bat. It took me tasting as I cooked it to get it just right but doing that almost made me forget it was not real beef!
Anonymous –
This is incredible!!! Best vegan product by far.
AB –
I can’t say enough good things about this product!!! I don’t eat meat anymore, but I LOVE meat. This is so close to the real thing I actually had to reread the ingredients, I just couldn’t believe it! I like to defrost it and marinate it in my favorite bulgogi sauce then sear in it a cast iron skillet. TO DIE FOR! I keep stocking up every shopping trip because idk what I will do if Trader Joe’s pulls this product!
cg –
Not super healthy with the high sodium, but among the best fake meats we’ve found so far, and like others have said, “beefs” up a stir fry. Hope they can keep it in stock.
juju –
Added broccoli over brown rice. So good. Great seasoning, texture and quick to make.
JG –
We look for this first thing at TJ. As vegans, we are always looking for something different. This meatless taste and feel like real meat. The first time we had this, my wife kept looking at the package, saying this must be real meat. If one store is out, we drive 20 miles to the other. You can find the recipe online incase you can not find it.
Diane –
The texture is great, flavor is good, but it needs sauce. I wish they had a korean style sauce with it.
Amanda Nelson –
SO GOOD. I bought this for my daughter and quickly tried a bite. I panicked that I had bought real beef by mistake and had to find the box in the recycling. I couldn’t believe it was not real beef–although, I have not had beef in decades.
Really delicious sweet, smokey flavor. All I did was microwave it for a few minutes.
PLEASE DO NOT DISCONTINUE!
Jessica –
TJs is an hour from my house. I am out of Beefless Bulgogi and Im thinking of taking a little trip up there just to get more. It’s my favorite thing. It’s so, so good.
Anonymous –
Disgusting.. taste like pure mushrooms terrible texture
Sarah Taylor –
Tried this hoping it would be a regular. The unpleasant smell got us first while it was cooking following directions exactly. Once done only had one bite and the smell, taste, and texture were all really bad. Ended up throwing it all away outside because we didn’t want the smell in the house.
Ken –
Bought this on a whim. Had low expectations. Meat substitute dishes are hit and miss. Wow. This one hits. Taste and texture are on point. The texture is so meat-like I had to pull the box out of the trash to makes sure I hadn’t misread “beefless.” Yep. It’s vegan. Only had with brown rice, but will add veggies and kimchi next time. This one is a homerun.
Jim –
Only writing because of those last two 1-star reviews. Newly vegan and looking for new things and tried this. Incredibly good in taste and texture. I mix with black beans and salsa and hot sauce and it is as good as I could imagine. So much like beef and I was a big meat lover (still am, just switched for health reasons). Don’t led a couple of bad reviews stop you from buying this and making up your own mind. You might just have found the best vegan “beef” on the planet!
Lisa –
This was so good, I could cry! I’ve been plant-based for almost 6 years and have tried all sorts of meat alternatives. This by far is the best! I sautéed up baby, Bella’s, baby spinach, and served it over cauliflower rice. Absolutely amazing! Well done Trader Joe’s… Well done.
Lin –
Obsessed with this product and really hoping TJs comes out with more flavor profiles of the same product (would love a fajita one especially) or an unflavored version.
Helena –
Another one that might be off-putting/uncanny if you can’t stand faux meats that are too similar to actual flesh. Only complaint is the packaging, and that there should be four servings per package instead of three.
Tiffany –
So delicious and amazing flavor! I went back to TJs after my first time trying it and had it a second night in a row.
Emmie –
Please don’t ever ever discontinue this! I’ve vegetarian for over fifty years and this is absolutely the best “beef” type veggie meat ever. I just found it and bought 10 boxes after trying it!
Sean –
This one of TJ’s all time greatest products. Whether you’re vegan or not! — I’m a vegetarian and generally hate meat substitutes. This is in weekly rotation at my house. It’s so diverse! Great for bulgogi with Korean glass noodles, or Philly ‘cheese’ steak sandwiches, Banh Mi, or even burrito filling. Be careful not to overcook or char it, and I recommend adding a splash of a sauce of your choice if pan-frying just to prevent drying out and to unlock the juiciness.
WrenCorp –
Flavor is amazing. Very smokey and sears well in some fat. I would recommend letting the bag sit in some warm water before putting it in the pan to separate the pieces. I love putting this over rice with kimchi and Siracha BBQ sauce.
I will say, the texture does become a little much if you eat it too many days in a row.
Denise Sand –
I love the taste of this. Bought it twice. Both times I instantly got a really bad stomach ache. None of the ingredients seem odd. But there must be something I’m allergic to in it. I’m so disappointed because I’m plant based, and it’s great for stir fries etc.
Denise G –
Just tried this for the first time. I made the mistake of following the microwave instructions. I put the frozen strips onto a microwave safe plate and placed it into a 1000 watt microwave oven for 3 minutes. Alas, I ended up with charcoal and a smoky house. I then cooked a second batch in the microwave. It only took about 20 seconds for the ‘meat’ to get steaming hot. From now on, I will saute. I did enjoy this product and will buy it again.
Jake R –
All these other people are lying, I felt like I was chewing on an elastic banned infused with Smokey flavor
Anonymous –
This is a staple in our house. We also saute broccolini with sesame oil and put it al together on rice!
Anonymous –
To the person saying everyone is lying, seems like it could be user error. To each their own, but this has excellent reviews for a reason! This is one of our household staples, we make it with rice and broccolini and it hits the spot every time. We cook it for longer than the package states, delicious!