A plant-based version of Burger King’s Original Chicken Sandwich has arrived in the United States.
Burger King USA is testing a plant-based chicken sandwich
Now available for a limited time at participating Burger King locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Impossible Original Chick’n Sandwich is made with Impossible Foods’ Impossible Chicken Patties, which are made from plants.
The Impossible Original Chick’n Sandwich features a seasoned Impossible chicken patty topped with shredded lettuce and mayonnaise and served on a toasted sesame seed bun. If ordered without mayonnaise, the new chicken sandwich is fully plant-based. But as with Burger King’s other meatless items, the Impossible Original Chick’n Sandwich shares equipment with the fast-food chain’s animal-derived items.
“Burger King has demonstrated once again that they know how to deliver innovative options that taste great,” Dan Greene, Impossible Foods SVP of North America Sales, said in a statement. “Working with them to launch our first-ever chicken patty has been a fun way to continue our partnership. We think fans are going to love this new plant-based twist on the Original Chick’n Sandwich.”
The Impossible Chicken Patties are on their way to retail stores
Following their debut on the Burger King menu last August 22nd, the Impossible Chicken Patties are now set to hit the frozen aisles of different retail stores nationwide, such as Safeway and Sprouts, starting this month, with thousands more locations to follow this fall including Kroger and Albertsons.
The launch of the Impossible Chicken Patties follows the success of the Impossible Chicken Nuggets. Sharing the same taste, texture, and crispy coating, both products also have a similar nutritional profile, with the patties containing 10g of protein per serving and 50% less saturated fat than the leading meat-based chicken patty brand.
The Impossible Chicken Patties are sold in retail stores fully cooked and can be heated up in the oven, air fryer, or microwave. According to Impossible Foods, Impossible Chicken Patties use 49 percent less land, and 44 percent less water, and emit 36 percent fewer greenhouse gasses than animal chicken patties.
Burger King and Impossible Foods
The partnership between Burger King and Impossible Foods started back in 2019 when the two companies teamed up for the Impossible Whooper, a plant-based version of the fast-food chain’s iconic Whooper.
Since then, Burger King and Impossible Foods have worked together to develop new plant-based offerings, including the Impossible King and the Southwest Bacon Impossible Whopper, which both launched just this past June. The two brands also introduced a limited-edition Impossible Croissan’wich in 2020.
Burger King’s plant-based items outside of the U.S.
In many regions, including Europe, the Dutch brand The Vegetarian Butcher supplies Burger King with plant-based chicken and beef alternatives so it can offer plant-based versions of classics such as The Chicken Royal, a.k.a. The Long Chicken. These meatless items have proven so popular in the United Kingdom that Burger King has a goal of serving a menu that is 50 percent plant-based by 2030.
Meanwhile, in Chile, Burger King works with local vegan food-tech company NotCo for its meatless offerings.