Vegan alternatives to everything from burgers to brie abound these days. But vegan versions of fish and seafood are still pretty hard to come by. That’s why I was so excited last year when I discovered a new startup company called Good Catch at the Natural Products Expo. Its goal is to create delicious plant-based alternatives to fish and seafood.

At the time, Good Catch was sampling their vegan tuna and crab cakes. Both were excellent! I was told they would be launching their line in late 2018. I’d been keeping an eye out and finally heard Good Catch would be launching this year in Whole Foods and Thrive Market (online). I went downtown to Whole Foods and they were literally putting it on the shelves when I got there.

The Good Catch tuna comes in a pouch (much like actual tuna) and is available in three varieties: Mediterranean, oil & herbs, and “naked” in water. I picked up all three and tasted them on my podcast this weekend. Here’s what I thought:

Mediterranean

This was by far my favorite! Packed with flavor and a great texture, this version reminded the most of tuna. The texture is flaky and light and there is a distinct flavor that reminded me of tomato paste. There is also the slightest bit of heat. So good! And not too fishy at all. After sampling on the show, my husband saved the rest and made a tuna melt with it on sour dough bread and Follow Your Heart’s smoked provolone. I wish I had taken a pic of his sandwich cause it looked AMAZING!

Oil & Herbs

This version was pretty good. I didn’t dress it with any mayo or anything, just had it straight from the pouch. This also had a nice flaky texture. The flavor was similar to the Mediterranean but not tomato or spice here, just hints of fresh herbs. There’s a slight hint of fishiness but nothing compared to actual tuna. I could see using this in a sandwich or a salad. A nice option for sure.

“Naked” in Water

OK, so this was my least favorite. I’m not sure why, but this variety had a very different texture than the other two. It was significantly denser. Additionally, it had a big of an aftertaste that I didn’t detect with the other two. I zhuzhed it up with some Follow Your Heart mayo, sea salt, and lemon… but no dice gurl. Honestly, I would skip this one.

Now, I want to mention that the protein profile on this product is pretty remarkable. Each pouch has 14 grams of protein which comes from six different plant sources including soy, chickpeas, lentils, navy beans, faba protein, and pea protein! What’s more, each serving has 350MG of DHA – seriously impressive!

I’d highly recommend the Mediterranean and oil & herb varieties. Again you can pick it up at Whole Foods or Thrive Market.

And remember, you can always make a MEAN vegan tuna salad using mashed chickpeas. Recipes online are everywhere. Real quick: I just mash some chickpeas with a potato masher until they’re flaky, add some vegan mayo, lemon, sea salt and voilá! So good, so easy – and it even fooled my mother once.