15+ Mouth-Watering Beyond Meat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is Beyond Meat considered processed food? ›

Plant-based meats are considered a processed food because they are largely changed from the original form of the ingredients. Additional ingredients, such as seed oils, are added to make the product seem more like animal meat.

Just like animal-derived meat, you should keep Beyond Beef® at refrigerated temperature until you cook it on the stovetop, griddle, or grill. Use within 3 days of opening if purchased frozen, thaw in fridge, and use within 10 days. If kept frozen, use by date printed on pack.

Beyond Meat recommends thawing Beyond Burgers before cooking them for the best taste and texture, and to make sure they're heated all the way through. However, you can cook them from frozen if you're in a pinch. If you cook Beyond Burgers from frozen, extend the cooking time by about two minutes on each side.

Compared to a ¼ lb. U.S. beef burger, producing a ¼ lb. Beyond Burger requires: 99% less water.

The problem, critics say, is that neither Beyond Meat nor Impossible Foods discloses the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions across all of its operations, supply chains or consumer waste. They also do not disclose the effects across all of their operations on forests or how much water they use.

Unfortunately, even though an alternative to beef is better for the environment, it may not necessarily be better for your health. The Beyond Meat burger has 18 ingredients, the Impossible Burger has 21. Both are highly processed and contain several additives and inflammatory oils.

Can you freeze Beyond Burgers? If products are purchased thawed, we do not recommend refreezing and suggest following the stickered best by date. If the product was purchased frozen, it can be stored in the freezer following the printed best by date.

“Compared to a meat-based burger, Beyond and Impossible contain roughly the same amount of saturated fat and more sodium,” she says, both of which, when over-consumed, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

"The newest version is packed with vitamins and minerals, most notably providing 20% of the daily value for iron and 100% of the daily value for vitamin B12, which are two nutrients of concern for vegans and vegetarians," says the Good Housekeeping Institute's Nutrition Lab Director, Stefani Sassos, RDN.

What are the white specks on the patties? The white specks are similar to marbling that you see on traditional beef burgers, but ours are made from coconut oil and cocoa butter. These plant-based fats provide melty, mouthwatering marbling to the Beyond Burger, creating a juicy texture similar to beef.

Can I air fry a Beyond Burger? ›

Place the burgers in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If you're cooking multiple burgers, make sure they aren't overlapping. Place the air fryer basket in the preheated air fryer and cook the Beyond Meat burgers for 14-16 minutes, flipping halfway through. If the burgers are thawed, cook for 9-12 minutes.

Do not consume raw. Heat non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add Beyond Mince. Cook for 5-8 minutes, breaking up to desired crumble size and stirring frequently. If adding sauce, simmer for up to 30 minutes.

On the negative side, the cons of the business model include price competition, supply chain challenges and consumer preferences. Beyond Meat's products are typically more expensive than animal-based meat. This limits market penetration into cost-conscious consumer groups.

"We were disappointed by our overall results," CEO Ethan Brown said in an early-November press release. Beyond Meat's slumping profit performance was another sore point for investors in 2023. The company is losing money even on a gross profit basis thanks to the combination of falling sales and declining prices.

The bottom line on fake meat…

Like most things in life, plant-based meat alternatives are best enjoyed in moderation. While they do provide both environmental and health benefits, they are still a highly-processed food.

However, we do know that consuming a high quantity of processed food – specifically what's known as 'ultra-processed' – is bad for health. Almost all meat substitute products are processed: this is needed to mimic the texture, flavour and appearance of conventional meat, or to achieve a similar protein contribution.

"This product is highly processed," she says. "Ultra or highly processed foods are foods that have additional artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives to promote shelf stability, preserve texture, and increase palatability. They usually undergo several processing steps using multiple ultra-processed ingredients."

Most, but not all, plant-based burgers are considered ultra-processed, according to the Nova definition of ultra-processed food (UPF).