Stacking Up the Beyond Burger: How Does It Compare?

By Kate Gardner

There's a lot of buzz around the Beyond Burger. Earlier this year Beyond Burger's maker, Beyond Meat, released the new no-meat burger patty. In May, several major chain restaurants even offered Beyond Burger specials as part of Beyond Day. But what is Beyond Burger and is it good enough to replace beef? 

What's In It? 

Beyond Burger is one of several new products on the market that advertises not as a veggie burger, but as a non-meat burger patty. Beyond Burger claims to grill up and taste just like its beef counterpart. Beyond Burger's primary ingredients are pea protein, water, canola oil, and coconut oil. They claim these ingredients work together to create a patty that has the same consistency and juiciness as an all-beef patty.  

How Does It Compare? 

Veggies burgers generally seem healthy, but this isn't really a veggie burger. Four ounces of Beyond Burger has 270 calories, 20 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein.  How does it stack up, nutritionally speaking, to some of the alternatives? 

• 4 ounces ground beef - 240 calories, 17 grams of fat, 21 grams of protein  
• 4 ounces ground turkey - 230 calories, 17 grams of fat, 19 grams of protein
• Morningstar Grillers Original Veggie Burger - 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein

These values, taken from the USDA's Food Composition Database, show that ground beef and ground turkey are pretty similar to the Beyond Burger. Veggie burgers have significantly fewer calories and less fat.   

How Does It Taste? 

Of course, nutrition is not the only factor to consider. A quick internet search turns up a lot of reviews of the Beyond Burger. And the majority seem to be pretty good! When you read them, you see a lot of comments like "If you were vegetarian and wanted a burger, this would be an acceptable alternative," so it's hard to tell if Beyond Burger could beat ground beef in a cook-off. However, most of the reviewers say the Beyond Burger is pretty good, especially when loaded with typical burger fixings. For the record, my mom had one the other day and said it didn't have the same texture as a regular burger, but was still good. 

Whether you're a vegetarian looking for a new burger option or you're a meat-eater looking for a healthy alternative to beef, the Beyond Burger might be just what you're looking for. 

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