Impossible Burger vs Beyond Meat Burger

Which plant-based meat alternative is better?

Faux meat has taken the nation by storm and stands a chance to become a huge industry of its own. Beyond Meat recently went public, receiving a better than expected response from Wall Street.

Whether for personal health reasons or the environmental impact of animal agriculture, more people choosing to consume less meat.

The Impossible Burger from Impossible Foods and the Beyond Burger from Beyond Meat are two of the most popular alternative meat options out right now.

A guide to the two hottest plant-based meat products:

What ingredients make up these vegan burgers?

The Impossible Burger contains: 

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.

Besides water, the main ingredient is soy protein concentrate. Soybeans are perfectly healthy, but soy protein concentrate is heavily processed, which means many of the raw food benefits are nowhere to be found.

Raw soybeans provide a great amount of calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, iron, and magnesium.

Impossible Foods then fortifies its burgers with vitamins and minerals, likely to make up for the lost nutrients during processing. 

The Beyond Burger contains:

Water, Pea Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Contains 2% or less of the following: Cellulose from Bamboo, Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Natural Flavor, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Salt, Sunflower Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Dried Yeast, Gum Arabic, Citrus Extract (to protect quality), Ascorbic Acid (to maintain color), Beet Juice Extract (for color), Acetic Acid, Succinic Acid, Modified Food Starch, Annatto (for color).

From an ingredient perspective, the two burgers are fairly similar. The main protein source is where things start to vary. Beyond Meat uses pea protein instead of soy protein, and there’s no soy leghemoglobin, which is Impossible’s secret ingredient to giving its burgers the “bleed” look. To achieve the bloody look, Beyond Burger uses a beet extract.

Both the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat Burger are vegan

Impossible Foods confirmed that its burger is vegan, but noted it has used animal testing to evaluate the safety of its heme protein.

Beyond Meat goes further to state that all of its products and by-products are certified vegan by the Vegan Action Foundation.

Additionally, the Impossible Burger is also certified halal and kosher. Beyond Meat doesn’t specify if its products are kosher or halal.

The taste test

The Impossible Burger passes the “it has to be real beef” test, with many food scientists at Impossible Foods claiming the artificial meat can substitute for ground beef.

Many say the Beyond Burger has a coconut aftertaste, but the majority of reviews come from more than satisfied customers.

Which plant-based burger is healthier?

These lab-made burgers are made from only plant products and designed to emulate the taste and texture of the beef we have become accustomed to.

For the most part, Impossibles’ Burger contains organic ingredients, while the Beyond Burger doesn’t, they make up for it by being strictly non-GMO.

Impossible Foods recently faced criticism about using genetically modified ingredients.

Both options are around 300 calories, contain 20 grams of protein and have a whopping 400 milligrams of sodium.

The Beyond Meat burger has 20 grams of fat compared to Impossible Burger’s 14.

How can you get your hands on these plant-based burgers?

Impossible Burger has partnered with many big-city restaurants, there are now over 5,000 restaurants that have Impossible Burgers on their menu.

The company has also been rolling out its burgers to national fast-food chains like Burger King, Red Robin, White Castle, Umami Burger and Qdoba. The recently partnered with Little Caesar’s pizza to create an Impossible sausage for pizza.

You grab Beyond Burgers at a number of grocery stores nationwide along with some restaurants, including Carls Jr, TGI Fridays and Del Taco.

FAUX MEAT IS ON THE RISE!