The best veggie burgers have come a long way, baby. I still have a soft spot in my heart for those health-food restaurant veggie burgers from the 1990s, with their discernible bits of grain and morsels of diced mushroom. But advancements in fake meat technology have produced options that genuinely look and taste like meat—some of them even bleed like meat.
Since we first published our ranking of the best plant based burgers in July of 2022, so many new options have hit the market. It was time for an update! We rounded up all of the best veggie burgers we tasted during our first taste test and a bunch none of us had tried before, and we ended up having a lot to add to the list. Whether you like a legume-packed patty that harkens back to the early days of vegetarian packaged food or one that could please even a ravenous meat-eater, there’s something on this list of the best veggie burgers for you.
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- Sweet Earth Awesome Burger
These big, thick burgers from Sweet Earth left some plant-based blood on the plate, but they don’t really have the same meaty impact as Beyond or Impossible, the two best plant based burgers we tried during both of our taste tests. Still, these are rich, filling, and tasty, especially if your fake meat of choice is seitan. These burgers have a dense, toothsome, grain-rich quality. Put one of these on a nice kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, and mayo and your burger craving will be satiated.
Credit: Liv Averett / Kroger
- Field Roast Chef’s Signature Plant-Based Burgers
These vegan burgers are way better than I thought they would be. See, Field Roast has a tendency to make products that are all essentially the same. Their sausages taste a lot like their plant based roasts, and their vegan “wings” look a hell of a lot like cut-up pieces of their sausages that have been breaded, fried, and sauced. These burgers definitely have some of that distinct Field Roast flavor, but they’re less dense than other Field Roast products. They’re almost crumbly. They cook up nice and crispy around the edges and have a deep, savory umami flavor. They’re not the most burger-like veggie burgers we tried in our taste test, but they’d be excellent on their own (we eat a lot of bunless veggie burgers at my house), or served patty melt-style on sliced rye bread with cheese, sauteéd onions, and thousand island dressing or another burger sauce. Bonus: These are refrigerated rather than frozen, so they cook up quick in the toaster oven.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- No Bull Savory Mushroom
If you’re nostalgic for the legume-based burgers you loved in the ‘90s but want something more exciting than a black bean burger, these are the best veggie burgers for you to try. They aren’t meant to trick you into thinking you’re eating meat. (If that’s what you’re looking for, go with Beyond or Impossible.) These are good ol’ fashioned plant based burgers that are healthy, hearty, and happen to taste really, really good. They’re made with lentils, chia seeds, roasted mushrooms, spinach, and carmelized onions, and they have a huge amount of flavor, especially considering they’re really low cal and low fat (2 grams per patty—that’s nothing!). Plus, No Bull Savory Mushroom burgers are vegan and gluten-free. Pair these with one of the best GF tortillas for a really good wrap.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Dr. Praeger’s All American Veggie Burgers
I think it’s important to point out that not all veggie burgers are vegan. For instance, the fourth ranked burgers on this list, Boca All American, are vegetarian, but contain cheddar cheese for flavor, so vegans and people who otherwise avoid dairy can’t enjoy them. Well, if you’re looking for a vegan version of the classic Boca, Dr. Praeger’s makes a good approximation. The flavor and consistency are pretty similar, but these suckers need to be seasoned. A little salt or a squirt of liquid aminos will bring them to life and make them a great vegan version of one of the best veggie burgers.
- Boca All American
If you’ve ever dabbled in eating vegetarian, then you’re probably super familiar with the yummy, comforting flavor of a Boca burger. These are like Second Gen veggie burgers—more advanced than Gardenburger but no match for the taste and texture of Impossible and Beyond. Still, with their bold, savory flavor and pleasantly chewy consistency, these will always have a spot in our freezers. In case you skipped the previous blurb, I repeat: These are not vegan! If you don’t do dairy, buy Dr. Praeger’s instead.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- TMRW The Burger
I was not impressed by the look of these TMRW burgers. They’re kind of pale out of the package, which made my colleague Jordan Myrick comment that they look more like mock turkey burgers than mock beef burgers. The flavor, though? That totally blew us away. According to the package, they’re seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin seed powder, coriander powder, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sea salt, all of which combine to give them a really elegant flavor that won’t overwhelm your taste buds. And the texture is outstanding—not too dense but not too loose and a little bit fatty (in fact, each patty packs 15 grams of fat), but they still manage to feel light. We cooked these in the toaster oven and they were outrageous—I literally can’t imagine how great they would be cooked over charcoal.
Credit: Liv Averett / TMRW Foods
- Beyond Burger Plant-Based Patties
Okay, Impossible may win top honors based on its combo of texture and flavor, but Beyond pulls out a W for flavor alone. If you like a salty burger, Beyond is the best veggie burger on this list. During our second taste test, we also decided that if you’re a person who’s always been vegetarian and never really developed a taste for meat, Impossible might be too weirdly meaty for you. Beyond is the way to go. These burgers have an excellent chew and big, rich flavor—no additional seasoning needed. They’re flavor bombs through and through and tasty additions to the veggie burger canon.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Impossible Burger Patties
Pitting Impossible against Beyond pains me. Both companies make an incredibly delicious and realistic meat alternative, and choosing one over the other isn’t something we took lightly. But there’s gotta be a best, and in our taste test, Impossible came out on top by a hair. Sporked‘s resident fake meat freak Jordan said the contest was “very close,” but that they liked the “texture and moistness” of the Impossible burger more. The texture is excellent, and Impossible chars up super nicely on the outside, just like a real burger. It has crumble and it has fat. The Impossible meat itself is less seasoned than Beyond, and I think that makes it more like real ground beef. If you want a vegan burger that could fool meat eaters, this is the best veggie burger.
Best If You Like Seitan
Best Surprise
Best Legume Based
Best Vegan “Boca”
Best for a Double
Best Texture
Best Flavor
Best of the Best
Other Products We Tried: Dr. Praeger’s Perfect Burger, Wicked Kitchen Jalapeño Burgers, Gardein Chipotle Black Bean Burger, Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Burger, Morningstar Farms Grillers, Not Burger, Dr. Praeger’s Gluten Free California Veggie Burgers, Everything Legendary Plant Based Burgers, Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger
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