I tried a plant based "ground beef" because I'm easily influenced when it comes to food. Once a waiter said to me, Go ahead, try the barnacles and I said Yes. That's how easily influenced I am when it comes to food suggestions.
The brand of fake meat I bought was Beyond Beef. It's a plant based product for vegetarians and vegans to make burgers, chili or anything else that calls for ground beef.
For carnivores it's a way to feel like you're doing something good for the planet once you've washed your Ziploc baggies out for the 3rd time and can't think of anything else to do.
For this I was excited, because even though I don't eat meat every day, I do like to eat it a few times a week.
I, like a lot of you, love hamburgers. I, like a lot of you, have been told multiple times over the years that cattle are bad for the planet because of their sky poisoning burps.
There's more to it than that I think, but this isn't a post debating the effects of cows on environment.
This is a post debating the effects of imitation beef on your appetite.
Table of Contents
The Test
O.K. I will set the scene for you.
I sought out and bought Beyond Beef after watching a documentary on Netflix that was supposed to be about the eating habits of identical twins but ended up turning into a vegan slasher film.
They wanted me to slash buying beef.
I was perturbed for feeling like I was duped, but duped I was, so off to the grocery store for fake meat I went.
It's sold in the freezer section of the grocery store, so that's where I stored it as soon as I got it home. When I decided to make burgers a few days later I forgot to take it out of the freezer in time and ended up trying to defrost it a bit in the microwave.
The result was meat that started to melt into a revolting silly putty coloured plate of goo.
DO NOT TRY TO DEFROST BEYOND BEEF WITH A MICROWAVE.
I cannot advise you to do that. Don't.
The product was pretty soft after my microwaving mistake and to make the burgers hold I felt like bread crumbs were definitely necessary.
It shaped into a hamburger patty perfectly and easily.
I cooked the burger in a cast iron pan.
Cooking it
The really wonderful thing is the size you make your burger is the size it will be when you're done cooking it. No more having to cut your hamburger buns down to size to fit your shrunken beef burger.
It browns really well but faster than regular ground beef so lower your temps a bit and keep an eye on it.
I managed to eat half of my delicious looking hamburger before I had to stop because I just couldn't get the smell out of my head or nose.
The SCENT from the raw "meat" stayed on my hands after multiple washings and even using hand sanitizer. That smell just ran up into my nose and held on for dear life. You will find out exactly what that scent was soon.
I don't know if this is a well known thing, or if anyone else has experienced the smell issue but it really was unpleasant for me.
What's It Made Of?
Water, peas and a fair amount of hydrogenated oil.
Beyond Beef isn't a healthier choice than beef, it's just another choice. For a healthier choice, bean burgers would be your option.
Full Ingredient list
Water, pea protein, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, dried yeast, cocoa butter, methylcellulose, contains 1% or less: potato starch, salt, potassium chloride, beet powder color, apple extract, pomegranate concentrate, sunflower lecithin, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, vitamins and minerals (zinc sulfate, niacinamide [vitamin B3], pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], cyanocobalamin [vitamin B12], calcium pantothenate).
Beyond Beef
- Contains more grams of fat than lean ground beef.
- Contains sightly less saturated fat than ground beef.
- Has a lot more sodium than ground beef.
- Has about the same amount of protein.
- Has about the same amount of calories.
Calories | Fat (g) | Sat fat (g) | Chol (mg) | Sodium (mg) | Carb (g) | Fiber (g) | Protein (g) | |
Impossible Burger (4 oz) | 240 | 14 | 8 | 370 | 9 | 3 | 19 | |
Beyond Burger (4 oz) | 230 | 18 | 5 | 390 | 7 | 2 | 20 | |
85% lean ground beef (4 oz) | 240 | 17 | 6 | 80 | 80 | 21 | ||
Ground turkey (4 oz) | 170 | 9 | 2 | 80 | 70 | 22 | ||
Black bean burger (Sunshine Non-GMO Original brand) (2.5 oz) | 230 | 13 | 1 | 300 | 20 | 3 | 10 |
So don't pick it for your health because there doesn't seem to be an advantage.
Taste, Smell & Texture
RAW
Taste I couldn't bring myself to taste it raw. Mainly because of ...
Smell Beyond Beef smelled like a toasted bagel dipped in Jello to me. Yet it looked like meat. It was disturbing.
Texture In it's raw form Beyond Beef looked quite similar to a very uniformly produced ground beef. There were white bits of solid fats throughout giving it the look of beef.
COOKED
Taste It doesn't taste like beef. I hoped covering the burger in all the condiments available would distract from this fact. It really didn't.
Smell The Jello bagel smell was less pronounced but it was still there on my face.
Texture The texture was excellent. They've done a really good job of simulating ground beef in that department. It fries in a pan very similar to ground beef with browning and caramelization happening more quickly.
Cost
Beyond Beef costs $2.94 per 100 grams with a 340 gram package selling for $9.99. (as of March 2024)
Lean Ground Beef costs $1.65 per 100 grams
340 grams of Beyond Beef = $9.99
340 grams of lean ground beef = $5.61
If I liked it, I was willing to pay nearly twice the price for Beyond Beef because I'm single, I have no kids and own all the designer bags I need (1, it's a large leather Prada). I can afford to be a Beyond Beefer.
Pros and Cons
- More environmentally friendly than beef.
- Once it's covered in pickles, mustard, ketchup and onions you can hardly taste it.
- If you don't get turned off by the smell you'll likely think it tastes just fine.
- Anyone I know who has had a Beyond Beef burger at a restaurant or burger chain says they're noticeably not beef, but taste good.
- Harder to find in a grocery store and more expensive.
- Highly processed.
- Looks like melted Silly Putty when it gets warm in the microwave.
- No real health benefits.
In Summary
For me, the homemade Beyond Beef burger was a fail. The only other time I've only eaten half a hamburger was when it was my second hamburger of the night.
I wanted so very badly to like it. I didn't have to love fake meat, I just needed to not to have to wash my hands 97 times after touching it. It only needed to be 'fine'. A very slightly obstructed view at a concert fine. Tap water fine. Local news anchor fine.
I'm not giving up on my quest to find a decent ground beef alternative so I hope the food magicians and scientists aren't either.
I'm going to try this again (because I optimistically bought 2 packages of it) but I'll either make chili or meatloaf the next time.
I will not add in any barnacles.
Mary W
Thanks - I won't bother. I did like the ground turkey we had and noticed it has a lot of good things going in your pro-con list. I HATE the taste of turkey bone broth but keep making it thinking I will like it BUT really like the taste of the turkey sausage. This is high praise coming from one that used to eat ground beef raw with salt and loved that, also. Now I worry too much about the illnesses associated with raw beef even from my own steer. Oh well, I know I don't need the fake beef you wrote about. Thanks again.
Donna
Gross!! I am not a big meat eater but give me a real burger any day. No wonder it is so costly with all those “ingredients “. Thanks for your brave review. (I give you credit for even eating half)!
celine szoges
'Beyond Meat' usually comes with patties already made. There is usually no need to shape them by hand. The 'Beyond Meat' taste becomes almost addictive with its own flavor. One eventually seeks it as an acquired, unique flavor. I like this distinctive meat flavor more than the bland veggie burgers at Harveys.
'Impossible Burger' is closer to real meat taste than 'Beyond Meat'. It is very good. The other veggie flavor options do not resemble meat. They taste more like fried-dough-covered vegetables, nothing special. Tempura vegetable are just as good, but one can't fit them in a hamburger bun.
In a few years costs will eventually be lower than meat costs for all alternatives meats... so invest in them.
Karen
Investing in the industry is what I wanted to do. But I didn't like it. I'll continue to test. I already have a veggie burger I love, I wanted to test not a patty, but actual ground "beef". If I can find Impossible around me I'll try it. ~ karen!
Barbara
Both Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers are loaded with some not so good stuff if you do a deep dive, nope. The first time we tried Beyond Meat, I was like this smells like dog food. Even after it’s cooked-yuk. Impossible not so much and when we travel and get tired of eating Subway’s yummy veggie subs (God bless them for that), we have done the Impossible at MacDonald’s out of desperation, time and starvation. Not bad tasting, but not that healthy either.
We prefer Dr. Preger’s Perfect Burgers, way better ingredients and less of them. The longer the list, the more evil processing is involved and yikes regarding sodium content. So sorry you tried them first. If you’re ever feeling brave enough, maybe give Dr. P’s a go…. PS: DO NOT OVERCOOK or for the love of tastiness - microwave and then cook. Some even have reminders on the packaging that ‘this is not meat’ people.😂
Karen
I have a veggie burger brand I love, I was hoping to find a ground meat product that could be used for chili, meatloaf, bolognese sauce etc. The experiment will continue. :) ~ karen!
Amber
Could the toasted bagel smell be coming from the bread crumbs? I don't get that from Beyond but i always get the premade burgers. For ground beef for tacos or shepherds pie or other things I use the Gardein ground. I don't think I would ever use the Beyond ground. I prefer the Beyond burgers over Impossible but they are both good.
People who eat meat often say things like "If you want meat, eat meat. If you want veggies eat veggies." Which is a fine idea if you eat meat but people become vegetarians for lots of reasons, health, lifestyle, environment, religion and sometimes for medical reasons people can't eat meat. Being a vegetarian in todays world is a little like being a recovering alcoholic. Once you can't have it, you start to see how pervasive it is. You start to notice how many important cultural and social things revolve around it. I don't want to eat meat, but I also dont want to be the only person at thanksgiving eating a stick of celery for dinner, or the only person at a bbq having a bun full of toppings. I don't want to have to announce to people I'm a vegetarian every time I eat and then explain all of my life choices. Bean or portobello burgers are good too, but that's a veggie sandwich. It's nice to have some alternate choices, even if they are not perfect. Veggie burgers aren't for everyone but for some of us they make a difference.
Karen
Hey Amber! The smell was immediately out of the package. And on my hands. I used to love Lick's veggie burgers and genuinely couldn't tell the difference when I was eating it between it and meat. ~ karen!
Ann
I will stick to pasture raised, grass finished meats. The additive lists to these meat analogs are just scary.
Eileen
Omg. My stomach clenched reading this. Just the THOUGHT of that smell! And after a recent article about the 32 ways ultra-processed foods are bad for us...no, no, and no. This is just another ultra-processed food. And hydrogenated oils are not a good thing.
Eat real food.
Kat
I haven't tried "Beyond Burger", but have tried "Impossible Burger" It also has an odd smell, which while I can't describe it, I would definitely recognize it. Like you, I found that to be a deal breaker.
Karen
I'm so happy someone else noticed the smell! ~ karen
lisamc
Impossible burgers are light years better than Beyond. I have two adult decades long vegetarians in my house (which is another less happy post--insert wink here) and Beyond makes them ill.
Impossible burgers are another story. There is even a new franchise burger joint in NY's Hudson Valley that features Impossible burgers exclusively and they are actually tasty.
Don't read how this frankenmeat is made though, just tell yourself it's better than bugs.
Lisa
Karen
Hey! I'll keep a look out for Impossible to give it a try as well. ~ karen!
Laura Bee
I'll bet it would be great in chili. tried one out of a box last summer. I think it was an Impossible. It was ok, but I don't eat beef burgers often (maybe twice a summer) so I'll stick to the real deal. But I do love black bean burgers, lentil loaf and the like. Or a chicken burger on occasion. Real food, made with *mostly* natural ingredients. No pork. My gallbladder thanks me for the whole grain spaghetti with turkey meatballs we had last night.
Peggy MacMillan
Karen, I don’t think you gave the artificial meat a good test. First of all, if you’re going to have a fake meat burger you should actually buy the burgers instead of the ground meat. Also, the pictures you showed of the microwaved beyond beef we’re meant to look disgusting. You also burnt the heck out of the hamburger patty.
I usually agree with just about everything you say, but this time you went too far just to be funny. The environmental problem is a very serious one. Why not be a good sport and give it another try with an Impossible beef burger?
Balancing on a ball
LOL! I find it quite funny how people go to extremes to support an agenda. Fake burgers to support the environment. What a riot! Rather than buying fake burgers (which clearly is not healthy) from a company who's main purpose is profit generation, limit/eliminate your meat consumption and eat more fresh veggies!
Karen
Peggy. I went nowhere to be funny. This was exactly how the experiment went. I wanted it to go very very well and it didn't. I burnt the hamburger because the plant based meat browns and burns much more quickly than ground beef. And it was only in the microwave for a very short time before I realized it was melting. Nothing, NOTHING, in this post was faked or enhanced for a better outcome one way or the other. ~ karen!
Sharon Dore
Thank you for your research - this was very informative - will stick with my grd beef for burgers and continue with non meat meals in other ways
Karen
It didn't go well for me but I'm going to give it another shot, plus I'll try Impossible Beef if I can find it around here and compare. ~ karen!
Lauren M
We love the Beyond ground beef for making veggie tacos! For burgers, the Beyond Burger might be a better alternative? Disclaimer: I've been a vegetarian for almost 30 years, so I don't remember the taste of meat, but I love the Beyond's texture and heartiness.
Karen
I agree that both of those things were fantastic. The texture was really amazing. We'll see how the other package turns out. ~ karen!
WriterGirl
I second what others are saying about Impossible Meat being better. It cooks and tastes like the real thing without the stank. As someone who is genuinely grossed out by beef, I've had Impossible burgers that look and taste so much like beef that I've had to talk myself into eating it. It's not an ethical choice in my case, but rather just the idea of biting into flesh makes me gag...though I don't seem to have that problem with chicken. (Don't @ me. I like what I like.)
If you want to try a spectacular vegan burger, I highly recommend The Ship on Augusta in Hamilton. (That's where I had one of those are-they-f*cking-with-me-this-must-be-beef burger experiences.)
Karen
I'll try the Impossible. Where do you get it in Hamilton? Also - will try the Ship, haven't yet! ~ karen
Kiara
I made Marcella Hazan’s bolognese with it, recipe otherwise unchanged, and it was incredible. Couldn’t tell it wasn’t beef and I’m a big time foodie who has made that recipe for two decades.
Karen
You didn't notice any sort of scent? Like jello? ~ karen!
Ecoteri
Having read Highly Processed People, it only confirmed what I was already really uncomfortable about any of the 'meat-like but not meat' products out there. If you want to eat something that is meat-like, then eat meat. If you don't want to eat meat, there are SOOOOO many ways to eat plant based that don't rely on pretending you are eating meat.
That list of ingredients scares me
I was hoping that you had created you homemade version from scratch of the Beyond non-meat but meat-like product, THAT would have been of interest.
Here at the ovo-lacto-pesco-pollo-vegetarian household (no mammals, as a rule) if we want burger style hand held patty in a bun, I make black bean or lentil or lentil and black bean burgers - or burgers our of any random grains and rices that I happen to have in the fridge. They are popular. I form and bake them then freeze, perfect for lunches. And delish on a bun with condiments of choice and always a pickle
Karen
Hi Teri! I love black beans (so much that I grow and can them myself) but I've never taken to black bean burgers. :/ For now I'll continue on as I have eating minimal meat. ~ karen!
Randy P
I have eaten a couple "Beyond" burgers in the last several years prepared and served by a major fast food chain. They were edible, had acceptable mouth feel and were filling sandwiches. Were I a member of either the vegetarian or vegan cults they would be an acceptable alternative to real food..... but I am not and they are not. I am perfectly content with the 'all natural' process cows use to turn grass and grains into tasty meat.
Peggy MacMillan
I also love beef in small portions, but after watching, You Are What You Eat on Netflix, I was once again made aware of how the farming industry has turned into huge conglomerate farming with what appears to be little care for the welfare of the animals. It is very disturbing. Also, it is a well-known fact that cattle, taking up the amount of land they do to eat grass, and releasing large amounts of methane gas, is detrimental to our earth. we really need to think more about the planet and less about our next meal.
Rose Murray
Impossible Burgers are way better I think and a decent substitute for real meat. We didn’t like the Beyond Beef. Myself, I’m a bean burger person. I do eat meat I just like the taste of a good bean burger.
Bridget
I'm glad someone else thinks so, but Impossible and Beyond are not interchangeable. Impossible meat is way better!
Peggy MacMillan
Yes, I agree
KimS
Maybe a recipe for a good black bean or other bean burger is in order….loved your post!
Linda Row
Yes! I second that idea!
This is a very informative post, as usual. Thanks, Karen.
Karen
Thanks KimS! I'll try again but I'd rather eat a jar of black beans than a burger of them. I've never really loved black bean burgers. Maybe I need to invent my own plant based meat.😆 ~ karen!
Yvonne
I’ve been eating Beyond Beef for a couple of years and maybe my nose isn’t working right, but haven’t noticed an off-putting smell…but now will be sniffing it before and after I cook it, lol.
It’s not vegan but we love topping our “burgers” with bleu cheese, Dijon and sautéed mushrooms. Since the bleu is stinky maybe it’s masking the Beyond smell?
Thanks for writing about meat alternatives!
Karen
I'll try again with the next package, I really wanted to be able to add it to my repertoire but ... the smelllll.😝 ~ karen!