For about two months, every weekday I made myself a burger for lunch. The active part of the research was what can I find within a ten minute drive, how the patties cooked on the stove, and how they tasted. The rest of the research is pure data from the back of the boxes as seen in the spreadsheet below.
Note: Data collected summer of 2023 in Colorado
Summary: They’re pretty much all the same! Ta-da~. Seriously though, if you’re not picky, just grab whatever is available and cheapest at the store you go to. Except for Gardein which glues itself to your stainless steel pot no matter how oil and shuffling you give it.
The most interesting finding was that there are two main types and they’re all fairly similar within those types. And even more interesting (to me at least), the type can be inferred purely from the weight of the patty. 113g = meat-like, 71g = veggie mush. Surprisingly consistent across multiple brands. The most obvious outlier is Field Roast, who never follows the rules and makes the weirdest product. Their weight and flavor line up with a hybrid: kinda-meaty but obviously vegetables smashed together.
Other findings:
- Gardein brands are a PITA to cook, they ooze superglue and I have to use the steel wool to clean up char every time
- TJ’s Masala is the tastiest and cheapest, but it’s junkfood (amazing with peri-peri style hot sauce)
- Good Catch’s salmon burgers were the next tastiest, and get extra points for uniqueness
- King Soopers (Kroger) had a summer long sale on the Beyond Cookout Classic, making them the next cheapest per patty. Since they have the highest caloric content, this also made them the best cal/$ by a wide margin
NOTE: This is a crosspost from /r/EatCheapAndVegan
but why would you eat processed imitations instead of vegetables, grains and fruit?
Why not? Tasty
Bad take.
- Grains are in the burger bun
- Vegetables are in all of these
- “Processed” doesn’t mean what you think it means
- Burgers are extremely cheap, easy, and can be healthy. The only one I wouldn’t consider healthy from the project is TJ’s Masala because it’s pure junkfood. But also the calories are low enough it may not matter if you eat it topped with good veggies, or have them on the side. The rest have good protein to calorie ratios, and most have other nutrients as well. Burgers are not junkfood unless you make them that way.
what do i think “processed” means and what should i think instead?
apparently you were right.
i was listening to this podcast from The Guardian: Has the plant-based food revolution lost its sizzle?
veggie burgers are not considered processed but ultra-processed 😉
I like junk food?
i like junk people. I like you
Maybe I’m misunderstanding something but how are salmon patties vegan?
When they say Vegan approved on the box.
Ingredients: Water, Good Catch® 6-Plant protein blend (pea protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, chickpea flour, faba protein, lentil protein, soy protein isolate, navy bean powder), coconut oil, natural flavors, sunflower oil, methylcellulose, yeast extracts, corn starch, onion powder, salt, lemon juice, lemon, shallot, orange, spice, garlic powder, annatto extract, vegetable juice. Contains Soy.
Source: product page
Got it. A better indication that it’s a brand name might have helped there
It’s in the spreadsheet and the photo. “Good Catch” is the brand. I will edit the section of “Other findings” to include it.
Huh. It occurs to me I could make a mean fishy sandwich thing if I made my chickpea burgs with seaweed.
I’m guessing there’s a company called salmon burgers which has some vegan patties too.
