IT IS that time of the year again - when new years' resolutions, gym memberships and 'veganuary' take hold.

Greggs is making it easier to stick to those resolutions than before, as their new Vegan Steak Bake hit 1,300 shelves across the UK yesterday as part of their Vegan friendly range.

Created to mirror some of the original Steak Bake’s classic features, the Vegan Steak Bake includes the 96 layers of puff pastry but instead has a filling of with Quorn pieces, diced onions and a vegan gravy.

The Greggs’ Vegan Sausage Roll has become one of the fastest selling products in recent years, and the Steak Bake seems quick to match.

Glasgow Times: James ThomsonJames Thomson

Roger Whiteside, chief executive at Greggs, said: “Our Vegan Sausage Roll launch was a huge success and we’ve been working tirelessly to expand our vegan friendly offering and provide more delicious savoury food on-the-go options for people looking to reduce their meat intake.

“The launch of our Vegan Steak Bake is another key milestone on our journey to become our customers’ favourite for food-on-the-go.”

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Alongside the whole panel of vegan and non-vegan taste testers Greggs commissioned to ensure the Bake's flavours hit the spot, The Glasgow Times took to the streets at lunch to see how well the Vegan Steak Bake has gone down in Glasgow's city centre.

Glasgow Times: Kelsie MurphyKelsie Murphy

James Thomson, 24, was a big fan of the new Vegan Steak Bake.

"The taste of it is pretty genuine. It's salty in comparison to a normal steak bake, and the texture is okay - it's not clearly a weird rubbery meat substitute. It's good.

"Steak Bake is my usual go to, but this is actually pretty good. I think it would tempt me to do Veganuary, it's not like the other things I've tried before."

Jasmin Rainero, 25, and Kelsie Murphy, 22, were in Greggs specifically to try the Vegan Steak Bake, as Jasmin is what Kelsie described as a 'pernickety Vegan'. They too were also impressed with the Vegan Steak Bake, but there is still some debate over whether it is better than the Vegan Sausage Roll.

Glasgow Times: Jasmin RaineroJasmin Rainero

"It's super nice. I've never had a Steak Bake before, so I can't tell the comparison. I've been vegan for 3 years now. I love it, i think it will make my life much easier. I would still prefer the Sausage roll" said Jasmin.

"It tastes so similar to a normal Steak Bake. I think it's great. I would go for this over the Sausage Roll" said Kelsie.

WHAT WE THINK

MY first impression of Greggs’ new vegan steak bake is that the pastry encasing its inner glory is more defined and boxy than you would find with the classic steak bake. 

The plants are very individual and when you cut into it (as not many do) it collapses in a way suggesting more structure than its meaty counterpart. This is quite nice – not as flaky and greasy. 

The first bite brings salt, and a strong onion flavour. The original steak bake doesn’t have any onion, but the diced onion is a welcome addition that the other would benefit from. 

It tastes like a little pouch of gravy, and it looks and smells like meat. 

There are two types of non-meat eaters: those who don’t like food that tastes like or looks like meat because they don’t like it (and that’s why they gave it up), and those who miss meat, so they do like that food. The vegan steak bake caters to the latter (but it tastes so good). 

Rating: 4/5