These Are the Best Store-Bought Veggie Burgers – Info Computing

There are two types of veggie burgers: those that try to approximate meat, and those that really lean into the vegetables. Though you can make the latter at home to extremely delicious results, the former takes a bit more engineering, and the meat-abstaining people of this world deserve something they can heat and serve.

Welcome to Burger Week! Grilling season is in full swing, and we’re flipping out over burgers. Whether it’s picking the perfect patty, stuffing those patties with molten cheese, or making a veggie offering that doesn’t suck, we’ve got the tips, recipes, and recommendations you need to build your best burger.

There are a lot of pre-packaged options out there, and every vegetarian and vegan I’ve met has their favorite, so I gathered up the most heavily suggested and gave them a little taste.

The Best Fake Meat: The Beyond Burger

The Beyond Burger, Impossible Burger, and FieldBurger all came highly recommended but, sadly, you can’t buy the Impossible raw for home cooking (reasons why are unclear). Though I liked the mushroom-forward flavor of the FieldBurger, I found it to be very chewy and a bit too thick. The Beyond Burger was, however, just as good as everyone had led me to believe. Would a beef connoisseur be able to distinguish it from a fancy steak burger? Of course, but the texture was uncannily similar to ground meat, and the flavor was pretty close to a fast food patty, particularly when dressed up with condiments and toppings. It looked so much like a real burger, it made me wonder if the meat-adverse would find it off-putting.

MorningStar Grillers Prime also had a strong fast food vibe with a smoky flavor and, while not as convincing as the Beyond Burger, I could see it scratching that itch. (The uncanny meat product I do not recommend even a little? Upton Naturals Classic Burger, which had a great, meat-like texture, but an odd, aggressively sour flavor.)

The Best Veggie-Forward Offering: Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger

I have never been anyone that even remotely resembles a vegetarian, but I have been eating (and craving) these Indian-spiced potato patties for at least five years. They are super savory, wonderfully spiced, and crisp and brown like any good potato-based puck should; they’re basically like the filling of a veggie samosa in patty form, and I love them. They keep their shape from pan to bun, and don’t need to be covered with condiments to be delicious. Dr. Praeger’s also makes a nice line of well-seasoned veggie-focused fare, but the burgers are almost impossible to keep together and, if you take them out of the oven a little too quickly, they mush out. I also tried Hilary’s Root Veggie Burger, which kept its shape and crisped up well, but was quite bland.

What kind of veggie burger do you prefer? Do you like a meat impostor, or do you prefer to let the vegetables shine? Leave your opinions in the comments, as well as any favorite brands. I doubt anything will replace my Vegetable Masala burger, but I’m always willing to taste test.