While I personally would prefer nothing more than a good beef (or turkey) burger, I have an open mind, so when my wife brought home both a pack of Impossible Burgers and Beyond Burgers from Shaws I immediately thought “taste test”! Once we had some nice weather I fired up the grill and threw both packs of burgers and a pack of hot dogs on.
Both types of burger were on sale at Shaw’s, making them well within the price range of traditional burgers. The packaging itself was honestly superior, compact, easy to open and recycle. No mess, no fuss.
As you can see above we bought:
- Beyond Meat Beyond Burger Plant Based Patties 2 Count — 8 Oz
- Impossible Foods Burger Patties Made From Plants 2 Count — 8 Oz
When looking at the raw burgers, the Impossible Burgers looked very similar to what I expect from a frozen turkey burger. They were very smooth and dense. The Beyond Burgers looked more like what I expect from a ground beef burger, chunky and loose. That being said, I was very glad both were frozen as otherwise I expect they would have fallen apart.
Expecting that they would stick to the grill, as neither of them had high fat content, I gave the grill a quick cooking oil spray and threw them on. I closed the lid and impatiently waited 6 minutes for the first side to cook. I was pleasantly surprised that they flipped smoothly. I then waited another 6 minutes before checking their temperature. As they were just a little bit too cool, probably because I didn’t see where the instructions said “DEFROST FIRST”, I flipped them again and waited an extra 2 minutes for a total cook time of 14 minutes. When done they looked like normal burgers, the Impossible ones even “bled”!
I was also pleasantly surprised that the grill was mostly clean, though the Beyond side was messier than the other.
If you are reading this, I expect what you REALLY care about is the taste. They certainly weren’t beef. That being said, while they had, as my wife described it, a distinct Veggie Burger flavor, they weren’t bad. Personally I can’t really put the flavor to words, my initial reaction is to say they were bland, but that’s not quite right. “Unobtrusive” is probably a more fitting term. The taste of the burger’s themselves is going to be completely overwhelmed by whatever toppings you add. I want to say it reminds me of the time, many years ago, when my parents accidentally got 99% lean ground turkey. It was just missing something.
As for how they compared with each other, the biggest takeaway was the smoothness and relative dryness of the Impossible Burgers compared with the chunky and relatively juicy texture of the Beyond Burgers. The Impossible Burgers felt more processed and the Beyond Burgers felt more real.
If I had to choose, I would go with the Beyond Burgers. The texture and the juiciness made them more satisfying to eat. Of course my wife says the opposite, she preferred the smoothness of the Impossible Burgers. As for our kids, they devoured a pack of hot dogs.
Would I get either of them again? Sure.
I’d definitely throw on some pepper jack and plenty of toppings, but I’d happily welcome an excuse to fire up the grill.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
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