Beyond Meat arrives in Tesco

Beyond Meat has finally arrived in Tesco. The range was originally scheduled for launch in August but supply issues pushed this date back. We discovered they’d arrived last night (10th November) in our local store and decided to review them for the website.

At £5.50 for 2 burgers they are by far the most expensive vegan patties we’ve encountered. Made with pea protein instead of the standard soy, Beyond do have a meat-like appearance.

You can cook the burgers in the oven, BBQ or in the pan. We chose the pan. I did add a little oil as I was concerned whether they would stick. The patties are frozen and the instructions say that they just need 3 minutes on each side for this way of cooking, but I left them in the pan a little longer to make sure they were cooked through. To cook in this way they need to be defrosted first.

Unlike No Bull (you can read our review here of Iceland’s vegan burgers) there’s no red residue in the pan. Although beetroot is in the ingredients of Beyond it seems its been added to give a pinky colour to the patties, rather than the ‘bleed’ other vegan burgers brag about. I have seen this is something their marketing blurb seems to mention too, but we didn’t find this as you can see.

The Beyond Burgers do look like a standard beef burger in a bun and have a meaty smell. They will cook well on a BBQ and have an authentic smoky taste even when they’ve been cooked in the frying pan.

Texturally, they are quite soft in the centre, maybe cooking them in the grill or the oven might yield a firmer consistency. I feel like No Bull has a better ‘bite’ but Beyond has the superior taste. I think the £5.50 price tag (compared to £2 for 2 in Iceland) will likely put a lot of people off trying, which is a shame. New products to the market are often more expensive and then get cheaper due to demand and economies of scale. I know many vegans have said they feel plant based innovation always seems to incur a premium price tag and I have to agree. Thankfully we don’t eat substitutes every day so don’t find veganism cost prohibitive as a family. I hope Beyond Meat reduces in price to make the vegan alternative more accessible and appealing to everyone. As it stands these are way more expensive than meat which will put people off trying this plant based product.

For those wanting to try the burger when out and about rather than cook it themselves can find Beyond Burger at All Bar One and Halo establishments. We don’t have one near us so I’ll have to keep them stocked in our freezer.

Thanks for reading,

Pip x