Trader Joe’s Protein Patties Plant Based Burger Review – You knew this day was coming. Trader Joe’s is never one to be left behind on a food trend and the recent spate of faux meat burgers is taking the world by storm right now. My kids have had the Impossible Whoppers a couple of times already and while they are cool, I don’t know if they will eat them too many more times. I guess if you put enough cheese, ketchup, mustard and pickles on something it will taste like a burger. I’ve had my fair share of black bean burger and the like. They are good and filling and flavorful, but they aren’t meat.
I picked up three boxes of these for the family. There are two patties in each box. 4 ounces per patty. The box costs $4.49 per box so that works out to about $9 a pound of fake meat. I don’t know about you, but that’s almost on par with the cost of high quality grass fed ground beef in my town. I don’t eat a lot of burgers anymore, it’s really not healthy. I ate a TON of them growing up and into my 20’s. I worked in a mall while I was in college and right next door was McDonald’s. I ate burgers almost every day for a couple of years. I don’t suggest doing that. My kids are much more aware of the risks of eating a ton of beef. I don’t make them a lot of burgers and they crave them like candy.
When you look at them through the window on the packaging, they look almost exactly like two really nice beef hamburger patties. The color is spot on for a lean grind of beef. Opening the package was an interesting experience to say the least. Cutting open the clear plastic release a very weird aroma. It smelled like canned pet food and more specifically like cat food. I was afraid this wasn’t going to end well. I wanted to check the Sell By date (I knew these couldn’t be old since I got them the first day they were for sale), but couldn’t find one. Let me know if you find one, I couldn’t.
You supposedly can’t freeze these patties, or at least that’s what the packaging says. I know that my store sells Beyond Burger patties in the freezer. I’m not sure what is different between the two. I know that Impossible Burger is made from primarily wheat protein and Beyond Burgers are primarily pea protein. If I was to hazard a guess, I would say that Beyond Burger is making these for Trader Joe’s with minor tweaks. The ingredients look almost the same except for the types of oils they use. The packaging even looks similar.
I cooked these up like regular burgers in a cast iron pan with some canola oil sprayed on it. You can’t heat them up like a real burger, they patties can’t take the high temperatures that real meat can take. I saw a little burning on a couple of patties and turned it down. There is a lot of oil in these things and it will come out of the patties, kind of like real meat too. They did get nice and browned after a few minutes on each side. They had an odd smell to them, I couldn’t place me finger on. It smelled familiar. I didn’t opt for cheese and my kids did. I also salt and peppered them like I would a normal hamburger. They didn’t shrink or change size much as I cooked them, which is also quite different from real meat.
After about 5 minutes on each side on a low heat setting. I put them in buns and topped them with a nice tomato slice and lettuce and condiments. I 
Would I buy these again? Maybe, it depends on the situation. I would eat them again. I like burgers but don’t eat beef that much anymore. My wife would eat them again, but I am not sure I could get my kids to eat them. But, I would recommend them to anyone that is vegan and wants to try a fake burger that is pretty close to beef!
Ingredients: hydrated pea protein blend (water, pea protein, pea fiber), sunflower oil, beets, natural flavors, methyl cellulose, oat fiber, fruit juice (color), onion powder, sea salt, vegetable juice (color).
Per patty:
290 calories
18g protein
11g carbs
5g fiber
20g fat
450g sodium
4mg iron (20% daily value)
4mg iron (20% daily value)
I tried these today. I used only half of one party and made a smaller, thin burger to put on my smaller gluten-free bread. I used Trader Joe’s Carolina Gold BBQ sauce and lots of spring mix lettuce. I thought it was much better than the Impossible Whopper and love that it is soy and gluten-free.
Trader Joe’s does NOT make enough products that are onion- and gluten-free. Those of us who are on a low-FODMAP diet need things to be free of both as well as high-fructose fruits and a # of other ingredients.
You know the deal. Talk to the manager of your store of email Trader Jo’s corporate offices if you want to give them feedback.
Like any other patty….seasoning livens these up. I use Montreal Seasoning. When grilled they are dead ringer for real turkey burgers—-but with no harm to the earth, no cruelty and better for your health.
Tried them a few days ago. Not ready for prime time. Flavorless, crumbly, better find another. Before it slaps its name on such things, it should actually have one.