Burger King Is Releasing a “Meatless” Whopper and True Fans Can’t Tell the Difference

Chances are, if you’re a Burger King fan, you love a good full-on beef burger. But with vegetarianism on the rise due to its health benefits, more and more people are looking to find meatless options, even if you’re a meat lover.

While meatless products have historically gotten a bad rep because “it can never taste like the real thing,” lately we’ve seen more fake meat products that literally taste just like a steak. Or a hot dog. Or a burger.

Burger King is joining the meat-free trend with a new “meatless” Whopper. Instead of a beefy piece of meat between the bun, you’ll get a vegetarian patty made by a start-up called Impossible Foods, which specializes in plant-based options that taste like real meat.

Before you wave it off, know that the vegetarian patty tastes so similar to the real thing that during testing of the product, customers and even employees themselves had a hard time telling the difference between the two! Plus the meat-free option offers 15 percent less fat and 90 percent less cholesterol than its original counterpart.

“People on my team who know the Whopper inside and out, they try it and they struggle to differentiate which one is which,” said Burger King’s chief marketing officer, Fernando Machado. “I have high expectations that it’s going to be big business, not just a niche product.”

Perhaps this is because Impossible Foods prides themselves on making plant-based products that truly envelop the same thing as a beef burger would. “Our whole focus is on making products that deliver everything that meat lovers care about,” said founder Pat Brown. One of their products, Beyond Meat, even uses beet juice in their burgers to mimic a bleeding look.

Burger King’s new meat-free Whopper will be topped with mayo, which is the only non-vegan part of the burger. So if you’re a vegan, you can order it without the mayo.

To see real people’s shocked reactions to the new meatless burger, check out the video below!

It seems like we’re truly on our way to making meat lovers who want to be healthier happier than ever! Would you try the meatless Whopper at Burger King? What do you think of a fast food chain known for meat offering more meat-free options?