--- title: Burger King Is Testing Out an 'Impossible' Meatless Whopper description: The chain joins a growing number of fast-food joints offering plant-based, faux-meat options canonical: https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/ author: Amy Gunia article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-02T08:41:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:11:49.305Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Burger King Is Testing Out an 'Impossible' Meatless Whopper og:description: The chain joins a growing number of fast-food joints offering faux-meat options og:url: https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27b864d0112d59cc/698947a509208f87d0413957/impossible-whopper-burger-king.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: burger-king-meatless-burger-st-louis og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Burger King Is Testing Out an 'Impossible' Meatless Whopper twitter:description: The chain joins a growing number of fast-food joints offering faux-meat options twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27b864d0112d59cc/698947a509208f87d0413957/impossible-whopper-burger-king.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Burger King Joins the Faux-Meat Trend With a New 'Impossible' Whopper ## Video: Less Beef and More Beans. Report Recommends a New Diet for Planetary Health [Watch (HLS stream): Less Beef and More Beans. Report Recommends a New Diet for Planetary Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lF1jhqGs.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2019-01-17. A hamburger a week, but no more — that’s about as much red meat people should eat to do what’s best for their health and the planet, according to a report seeking to overhaul the world’s diet._ by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Apr 2, 2019 8:41 AM CUT  In this photo illustration, an 'Impossible Whopper' sits on a table at a Burger King restaurant in Richmond Heights, Missouri on Apr. 1, 2019. In this photo illustration, an 'Impossible Whopper' sits on a table at a Burger King restaurant in Richmond Heights, Missouri on Apr. 1, 2019.Michael Thomas—Getty Images by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Apr 2, 2019 8:41 AM CUT Burger King rolled out a [meatless version](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-impossible-foods-ceo-burger/impossible-meatless-patty-gets-burger-king-whopper-test-idUSKCN1RD1WO "undefined") of its signature Whopper in 59 stores around St. Louis, Missouri Monday, becoming the latest fast-food joint to serve up plant-based patties. The burger giant’s latest menu item will use “meat” made by Silicon Valley startup [Impossible Foods](http://time.com/5247858/impossible-foods-meat-plant-based-agriculture/ "undefined") and will cost $1 more than the original Whopper, reports Reuters. The plant-based patty, which bleeds and sizzles, is made using an iron-containing compound called heme. Burger King’s new Whopper comes amid a wave of meatless burger options at popular fast-food chains. [Carl’s Jr.](https://www.carlsjr.com/beyondburger "undefined") and [White Castle](https://www.whitecastle.com/menu/the-impossible-slider-with-smoked-cheddar-cheese "undefined") are both already selling beef-less patties. But the meat-substitute’s appearance at Burger King, the [second-largest](http://www.rbi.com/Cache/1500117587.PDF?O=PDF&T=&Y=&D=&FID=1500117587&iid=4591210 "undefined") hamburger chain in the U.S., may signal that plant-based meat replacements are ready to go mainstream. Globally, demand for plant-based protein is [increasing](https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/plant-based-proteins-are-gaining-dollar-share-among-north-americans.html "undefined"), as people look for healthier and more environmentally-friendly meat substitutes, according to consumer surveys. Companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have used technology to create plant-based meat replacements that look, taste and smell more like real meat than their faux-meat predecessors. These newer replicants have [captured the interest](http://time.com/5181524/impossible-burger-plant-based/ "undefined") of consumers and investors alike in recent years, and prompted the U.S. cattle industry to fight back. **Read More:** [_The Meat Industry Has Some Serious Beef With Those ‘Bleeding’ Plant-Based Burgers_](http://time.com/5181524/impossible-burger-plant-based/ "undefined") Burger King plans to add the meatless Whopper to its other stores if the trial goes well. “If the Burger King launch is as successful as I expect it to be, and we go nationwide, that will add more than 7,000 restaurants that serve the Impossible Burger,” Impossible’s Chief Executive Brown said, according to Reuters. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/"},"headline":"Burger King Joins the Faux-Meat Trend With a New 'Impossible' Whopper","datePublished":"2019-04-02T08:41:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:11:49.305Z","description":"The chain joins a growing number of fast-food joints offering plant-based, faux-meat options","url":"https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/","keywords":["Environment","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27b864d0112d59cc/698947a509208f87d0413957/impossible-whopper-burger-king.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27b864d0112d59cc/698947a509208f87d0413957/impossible-whopper-burger-king.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"burger-king-meatless-burger-st-louis","caption":"Burger King Meatless Whopper St. Louis","creditText":"Michael Thomas—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5562488/burger-king-meatless-burger/","name":"Burger King Joins the Faux-Meat Trend With a New 'Impossible' Whopper"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Less Beef and More Beans. 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