We include products we call up are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a pocket-sized commission. Hither'south our process.

The Incommunicable Burger is a plant-based alternative to traditional meat-based burgers. It'south said to mimic the flavor, aroma, and texture of beef.

Some claim that the Impossible Burger is more environmentally friendly than beefiness-based burgers, while others argue that sure ingredients in the Impossible Burger may non be optimal for your wellness.

I sampled the Incommunicable Burger and will discuss my thoughts on the taste and texture of this popular meat substitute in this review.

This article will too explore what the Impossible Burger is, what it's made of, and whether information technology'south nutritionally superior to beef-based burgers.

The Impossible Burger was created by Impossible Foods, a company Patrick O. Brown founded in 2011.

Brown is a scientist and professor emeritus at Stanford Academy in California. He holds a medical caste and a PhD and has worked as a research scientist for many years.

Through conferences, Brown tried raising awareness about how using animals for food harms the environment. However, this had little issue, so he created a business that produced plant-based alternatives to pop animate being products.

Impossible Foods now offers a multifariousness of products, including plant-based burger patties, footing sausage, nuggets, meatballs, and pork.

Its signature product, the Impossible Burger, aims to perfectly mimic the gustation of beef.

Using carefully selected ingredients, Impossible Foods created a institute-based burger that some people say perfectly resembles the taste, aroma, and texture of beef.

The ingredients list for the Impossible Burger is equally follows:

Water, soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, natural flavors, ii% or less of spud protein, methylcellulose, yeast extract, cultured dextrose, food starch modified, soy leghemoglobin, table salt, mixed tocopherols (antioxidant), soy protein isolate, zinc gluconate, thiamine hydrochloride (vitamin B1), niacin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and vitamin B12.

The original Incommunicable Burger was made with wheat poly peptide. Withal, in 2019 the visitor introduced a new recipe featuring the following changes:

  • The burger contains soy poly peptide instead of wheat poly peptide and is certified gluten-free.
  • Information technology contains a plant-based culinary binder called methylcellulose to improve texture.
  • The company replaced a portion of the kokosnoot oil with sunflower oil to reduce saturated fatty content.

Heme, or soy leghemoglobin, is the ingredient said to set the Incommunicable Burger apart from other plant-based burgers. It adds to the flavor and color of the burger and makes it "drain" like a beef burger does when cut.

It'southward also perhaps the most controversial ingredient in the Impossible Burger.

Unlike the heme found in beef, the heme in the Incommunicable Burger is engineered by calculation soy protein to genetically engineered yeast (1).

Though it is Generally Recognized equally Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some people take raised concern about the potential health effects of soy leghemoglobin (ane, two).

Currently, Impossible Foods products are bachelor at a diversity of restaurants, fast-food establishments, and grocery stores throughout the The states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Macau, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

You tin cook and prepare the Impossible Burger just like regular ground beef.

Share on Pinterest
Photography past Rachael Link, MS, RD

The brick form contains 3 servings per pack and tin be separated and shaped into private patties or crumbled and used in identify of ground beefiness in sauces or fillings.

It's also available in frozen or refrigerated preformed patties for additional convenience.

Yous tin can grill, saute, or bake these patties and cook them to varying degrees of doneness depending on your preference, as you would regular meat.

The "meat" is fully cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). Y'all can also evaluate the firmness or color of the patty to determine whether it's cooked to your desired doneness.

Though I've tried the Impossible Burger while dining out in the past, this was my offset time making it at home on my ain.

Forming the patties and preparing the burgers was very simple, and the texture of the uncooked patties reminded me of regular footing beefiness.

Share on Pinterest
Photography by Rachael Link, MS, RD

They besides held together very well during and after cooking, which can exist a mutual issue with other meat substitutes and veggie burgers.

The patties darkened from pink to brownish and formed a charred crust during cooking, similarly to regular burgers.

I was impressed by the taste of the burger, which was smoky, rich, and meat-like. As a vegetarian, I felt that information technology was definitely a skilful substitute for meat and was satisfying enough for a main meal.

My boyfriend, who regularly eats meat and is a cocky-proclaimed burger connoisseur, also felt that it was pretty close to regular burgers in terms of taste and texture.

Though he noted it wasn't an exact match and wasn't as juicy or flavorful every bit a real burger when eaten on its own, the toppings we added masked any major differences.

Share on Pinterest

In February 2021, Impossible Foods reduced the suggested retail toll for products sold in grocery stores by about xx%, to $5.49 for a 12-ounce (340-gram) package.

Withal, the price can vary depending on where you purchase it, with some retailers even charging upwardly to $15 for a 12-ounce (340-gram) bundle.

The cost for Impossible Foods products in restaurants can besides range quite a scrap and depends on the overall cost point of the eating house, also as the other ingredients that are used.

For example, an Incommunicable Whopper from Burger King typically costs $v–$half-dozen, merely an Impossible Burger from a more pricey eating place could cost closer to $xx–$25.

There are nutritional differences between the Incommunicable Burger and beef-based burgers.

The following chart compares a 4-ounce (113-gram) serving of Impossible Burger to an equal-size serving of ground beefiness (3, iv, v).

Go on in listen that this nutritional information does not business relationship for additional ingredients such equally cooking oil, toppings, seasonings, or buns.

The Incommunicable Burger contains the same amount of protein every bit eighty% lean footing beef and is lower in calories and total fat.

However, 90% lean ground beef is slightly lower in calories and fatty and contains more protein than the Impossible Burger.

Additionally, the Impossible Burger contains fiber and carbs, whereas footing beef does non contain any carbs.

Another noticeable departure is that the Impossible Burger beats beefiness in its content of many vitamins and minerals, such every bit folate, B12, thiamine, and fe.

However, it's of import to note that these nutrients are added to the product, whereas the nutrients plant in beefiness are naturally occurring. Beef also contains vitamin K2, which isn't found in the Impossible Burger (or other unfermented institute foods) (4, 5, 6).

Incommunicable Burgers too contain a high corporeality of added common salt, with xvi% of the DV for sodium in one 4-ounce (113-gram) serving.

Incommunicable Burgers offer several health benefits.

Loftier in important nutrients

The Impossible Burger contains an impressive amount of nutrients considering vitamins and minerals such equally iron, thiamine, zinc, niacin, riboflavin, and vitamin B12 are added during processing.

Some of these nutrients, such equally vitamin B12, iron, and zinc, are especially important for people post-obit plant-based diets, including vegans and vegetarians.

Vegans and vegetarians are at a greater take a chance for developing deficiencies in these nutrients than people who consume beast products are (6, 7, 8).

What really sets the Impossible Burger apart from other vegan and vegetarian foods enriched with iron is that it provides heme iron. Heme iron is better captivated past your body than the non-heme fe yous get from plant foods.

Moreover, soy leghemoglobin has been shown to have an equivalent bioavailability to the fe establish in meat, so it'south a potentially important source of highly absorbable iron for those who don't consume animal products (9).

The iron in the Impossible Burger is FDA-canonical for use in food, although its long-term safety is nevertheless unknown.

Suitable for plant-based diets

The Impossible Burger is a skillful selection if yous enjoy the taste of beef burgers but want to limit your intake of animal products.

In addition to being suitable for both vegetarian and vegan diets, the Impossible Burger contains nutrients that many establish-based diets lack, such as vitamin B12 and heme iron.

Given that Impossible Burgers are offered at certain restaurants and fast-food establishments, it'due south a tasty and easy on-the-go repast selection for those post-obit establish-based diets.

May be a more environmentally friendly choice

The Impossible Foods website claims that producing this plant-based burger uses roughly 87% less water, generates 89% fewer greenhouse gases, and requires 96% less state than producing conventional ground beefiness from cows (10).

Indeed, inquiry shows that cattle farming is the largest correspondent to greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions in the livestock manufacture (xi).

Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming contribute to climate change. This leads many climate experts to recommend that people eat a more plant-based diet in order to reduce pressure on the environs (12, 13).

Although the Impossible Burger offers some benefits, there are some downsides to consider as well.

Concerns over constitute-based heme

Although soy leghemoglobin — the heme used in Incommunicable Burgers — has been deemed GRAS past the FDA, its long-term safety is nonetheless unknown.

Current studies on soy leghemoglobin have been conducted only in animals and over brusque periods.

For example, a 28-day study in rats found that those fed the equivalent of 750 mg/kg per day of soy leghemoglobin, which is more than than 100 times greater than the 90th percentile estimated daily intake in humans, had no negative effects (9).

Nevertheless, it's currently unknown whether this manufactured compound is rubber for humans to eat over longer periods.

Contains potentially allergenic ingredients

The original Incommunicable Burger recipe contained wheat and soy, both of which are common food allergens.

However, since the company introduced the new recipe in 2019, the burger now uses soy protein instead of wheat poly peptide and is certified gluten-free, making it a good option for people with gluten-related disorders or not-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Still, the Incommunicable Burger does incorporate other ingredients that some people can't tolerate, such as soy.

Though it is a less mutual allergen than milk or wheat, soy is considered 1 of the 8 most common food allergens for both adults and children (14).

Concerns over GMOs

Impossible Foods doesn't hide the fact that the Impossible Burger contains genetically modified (GMO) ingredients such every bit soy leghemoglobin and soy protein.

Nearly scientists concord that GMO foods are safe. However, some are concerned about the employ of GMO crops that are resistant to ordinarily used herbicides such as glyphosate and 2,iv-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (two,4-D) (fifteen, xvi).

Glyphosate has been linked to potentially harmful effects on humans, plants, and animals, leading many experts to need further research on its possible hazards to both humans and the surround (17, eighteen, 19).

For instance, glyphosate has been shown to impairment hormonal function and gut flora, and some studies have linked information technology to certain cancers, such every bit leukemia (20, 21).

If taste and convenience are your principal concerns, the Incommunicable Burger may be a good option for yous.

It'due south also a not bad pick for vegans and vegetarians, considering all products from Impossible Foods are free of animal products and byproducts.

Though the Impossible Burger was originally made with wheat protein, it now contains soy protein instead, and so information technology's a good fit for those following a gluten-free diet.

Additionally, considering information technology requires fewer natural resources and generates fewer greenhouse gases than beef, the Impossible Burger is a sustainable and eco-friendly option for those who are looking to reduce their ecology footprint.

Nevertheless, if you want to eat a more nutritious institute-based burger, consider a more than whole-food-based veggie burger.

Is the Impossible Burger good for you?

The Impossible Burger contains mostly soy poly peptide, too as added preservatives, salt, flavorings, and fillers to enhance its taste, shelf life, and texture.

Although these ingredients are considered natural, they aren't necessary for a good for you diet, and some people prefer to avert them.

Some other downside to the Incommunicable Burger is that any eating house can put their own spin on information technology, significant that other ingredients — bated from those listed on the official website — may exist present in the last food product.

Many other veggie burgers on the market contain similar ingredients. Nevertheless, some comprise more whole-food-based ingredients such as lentils, quinoa, hemp, and black beans.

If your primary business is consuming generally whole foods, yous might desire to consider making your ain veggie burgers from ingredients such equally beans, grains, nuts, sweet potatoes, or beets. This allows y'all full command over the ingredients and tin often be cheaper.

The heme iron in the Impossible Burger is more bioavailable than non-heme iron in plant foods.

If you eat a plant-based diet, you can instead meet your atomic number 26 needs by eating nutrient-dense whole foods such as legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains or by taking iron supplements.

Additionally, pairing plant-based atomic number 26 sources with foods rich in vitamin C and soaking, sprouting, or fermenting grains and legumes before eating them are simple ways to naturally enhance the assimilation of non-heme iron (22, 23).

Is the Impossible Burger healthier than a regular burger?

The Impossible Burger tin can be a sustainable culling to regular burgers and does contain higher amounts of several important nutrients, including vitamin B12, folate, and thiamine (3, 4, 5).

Yet, the Incommunicable Burger contains more than sodium than regular footing beef and is lower in some vitamins and minerals, such as selenium. Compared with 90% lean footing beefiness, the Incommunicable Burger is also higher in fat and lower in protein (iii, 4, 5).

Is the Impossible Burger vegan?

All products from Incommunicable Foods, including the Impossible Burger, are free of animal products and byproducts.

This makes information technology a great choice for vegans, vegetarians, and anyone looking to reduce their consumption of meat and animal products.

Does the Impossible Burger taste good?

The Impossible Burger has a rich and meaty flavor that is very like to regular burgers made from beefiness.

Though many people bask the flavor of the Impossible Burger on its own, others may prefer calculation extra seasonings, toppings, or condiments to their burger to tailor it to their taste buds.

The Impossible Burger has fabricated headlines for its impressive similarity to beefiness-based burgers.

It boasts high protein, vitamin, and mineral contents, including a genetically engineered, found-based source of heme iron known as soy leghemoglobin.

While in that location are concerns about the inclusion of soy leghemoglobin, the Impossible Burger is still worth considering if you're looking for an eco-friendly — and tasty — culling to a traditional burger to bask on occasion.