Dollar Tree Chef Ernesto Veggie Burgers

Not too long ago, I hit up Dollar Tree for the first time ever having found out that they carry an interesting variety of accidentally vegan goodies. Check out my full blog post about my experience here! Today I am finally doing my first review of one of the items I purchased there: the veggie burgers! I went into this having no idea what to expect, so here goes nothing!

Buying. Chef Ernesto is a Dollar Tree private brand. It's $1 for a box of 2 patties and you'll find them in the freezer section. Please note that not all Dollar Tree locations have a freezer section! These "burgers" were quite unlike anything I've had before, so I can't even recommend something similar from another brand in case you don't have a Dollar Tree close by.

What's inside the box!

Packaging. The outer cardboard box was pretty well sealed and it lacked any kind of perforation for easy opening. A knife could come in handy getting it open. Inside, the two patties are together in a plastic wrap.

Heating. The packaging offers three options to heat up these puppies, oven, skillet or microwave. I only tried the oven method, the box recommends it and it only takes about 10 minutes, so why not? I actually used my convection toaster oven, and they came out perfectly cooked through. The burger did stick to the foil a bit when I went to flip it, but it came off fine at the end.

Nutrition. I've got a nagging feeling that the nutritional info on the package isn't entirely accurate, but it's all I have to go by. Assuming the nutrition panel is indeed accurate - the calorie, fat and sodium content is pretty average as far as veggie burgers go.

It bothers me that the very second ingredient on the label is vegetable oil, which is why I believe the fat content is higher than indicated. Sugar also makes an appearance in the ingredients, but other than that and the oil, the ingredients look pretty good with all the veggies. There's a decent amount of fiber and a bit of protein too.

I wouldn't call these burgers healthy, but they're not entirely junk food either.

Golden brown perfection! Not nearly as many veggies as
the package picture though. 

Nomming. I tasted a small bite to get an idea of what I was in for before sticking it in a bun with condiments. The outside of it does seem a bit greasy, kinda like other frozen potato products such as tater tots (this burger is mostly potato afterall). It definitely has a very Indian curry flavor, which shouldn't be surprising seeing as how it's imported from India! So yes, it is a bit spicy, and I really like it that way, but it could be too much for those of you who can't handle much heat.

The interior texture is pretty soft and creamy, like a mashed potato consistency. The veggies are in whole chunks, adding a nice texture. It does taste a bit greasy too, but not not enough to be off-putting (not for me, anyhow).

Because this burger is already pretty flavorful on it's own, I opted for a bit of Just Mayo as the only condiment and I used a Portland French pub bun for the bread. The burger got a bit lost inside the large bun, but the flavor still came through nicely. In fact, it almost made for a filled bun like a bao! It was pretty tasty overall and I did enjoy it.

Is it fun on the bun? IS IT?!

Last Words. I would likely buy this again, it is cheap and pretty tasty even if it isn't too terribly healthy. At the same time, I didn't like it so much that I would go out of my way to go to Dollar Tree to buy more. Then again, I'd love to run with the idea of using them as a bao-style filling, I know I can find some vegan steamed buns at a local Japanese grocery that would really round-out making these burgers into bao. If you're not put off by greasy or spicy foods, I'd recommend giving them a try!

While trying to find more information about this product, I came across a blog for the Chef Ernesto brand. It's a bit quirky and it has some info about the products under this brand.

Also, I want to mention that I'm only referring to this product as a burger because that's what it's called on the package. To me, this product is not a burger, it's just way too soft to really be a burger. It's really more something like aloo tikki, except with other random veggies instead of peas. I like it for what it is, but a burger it is not.