I Never Buy Deli Meat at the Grocery Store Anymore — Here’s What I Get Instead

I’m a food-motivated, unapologetic eater of basically everything. I’m an omnivore who will happily consume both meat and plants with an open mind. For a very long time though, I had no use for any kind of plant-based meat alternative. 

The fact is, they were often terrible — spongy and flavorless. Then came the age of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat and it seemed like plant-based alternatives had arrived … for ground meat. I could now make a plant-based burger that was a reasonable and tasty facsimile of a beef burger. Huzzah. 

However, that still left out, well, almost every other kind of meat, though I should note that that list has grown since. Here in 2025, I never need an animal to be involved in a chicken nugget or any fast food meal I eat ever again.

Lately, I’ve noticed an uptick in recalls on deli meats and articles about why eating deli meat can be risky, but until recently, there wasn’t a delicious alternative. The plant-based ones have continued to be lackluster. Then I tried Prime Roots, a company that makes plant-based deli meats from koji. It may sound unconventional, but it’s had the same impact on deli meat for me that Impossible and Beyond had for ground beef. 

Koji is a type of mycelium that is a key ingredient in making many traditional fermented products in Japanese cuisine, like soy sauce and miso. It has a deeply savory, umami-forward flavor. Koji meat is a plant-based meat alternative grown through fermentation in a process similar to making beer or wine. The plant-based casings are filled with koji meat, then roasted, chilled, and sliced like traditional deli meat.

Quite frankly, it’s wild what a good stand-in Prime Roots is for traditional deli meats. I’ll admit I was skeptical at first, but after trying them out for myself, I’m a convert. For me, where many plant-based meats fall down is the texture. You can spice something up as much as you want, but if the texture is off, there’s just no redeeming it for me. 

While the texture of Prime Roots cold cuts is not a 100% match to the sliced ham or turkey you might order at the deli counter, once it’s in a sandwich, I don’t notice the difference at all. I tried the cracked pepper koji-turkey, classic smoked koji-ham, and classic koji-salami, the last of which was probably my favorite. I made lunch sandwiches with them straight out of the fridge and breakfast sandwiches with the ham and turkey after lightly searing them in a skillet. Both my husband and I agreed they were great.

The flavors of the ham and turkey are just right — savory and meaty with light smokiness that isn’t overwhelming. The salami packs a bigger punch of flavor (as any good salami should), and has the bits of cracked black pepper embedded in every slice that I’ve grown accustomed to in a typical deli slice. I also tasted the koji-pepperoni, which I used to top a homemade pizza; it was just as delicious as the cold cuts. It even crisped up nicely in the oven. 

In addition to being a tasty alternative to meaty cold cuts, Prime Roots is more environmentally-friendly and sustainable than animal protein, and is free from preservatives and nitrates. Based in Berkeley, California, the products are currently most readily available on the west coast, though you can find them in select grocery retailers and restaurants nationwide. If they’re not in your area just yet, there’s a handy tool for requesting that your local market stock them.

Swap Prime Roots turkey, ham, salami, and pepperoni for classic cold cuts in a 1:1 ratio in these recipes.

Have you tried Prime Roots deli meats? Tell us about it in the comments below.