11 Best Grocery Store Meatless Burgers Ranked

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Not long ago, the only meatless burgers you could find were black bean burgers and soy patties. For a long time, those offerings weren't much to get fired up about. They were passable as food and may have provided some nutrition, but they were far from satisfying. Anyone with a taste for meat flavor while eating a plant-based diet was out of luck. Eventually, there were better-tasting options in restaurants that realized they had an audience for meatless eating. But the versions in grocery stores were still sorely lacking.

That was then. This is wow! During the last ten years, the number of meatless burger options that taste appetizing and hold their own against an open flame or a frying pan has grown by delicious leaps and bounds. From mouth-watering flavor mash-ups to meatless burgers that are nearly indistinguishable from real beef, here's a round-up of the best and tastiest to light up your cookout.

Beyond Meat was launched in 2009 to offer a plant-based meat substitute that tastes similar to meat but with a significantly reduced environmental impact compared to beef production. The result is one of the most convincing analogs of meat on the market. Beyond Burger uses non-GMO ingredients in a patty that feels and tastes like actual beef. The protein content of 20 grams and fat content of 14 grams is similar to 85% lean beef, though the pea protein and coconut oil in Beyond are plant sources, of course. The taste and texture help make Beyond a replacement comparable enough to a real burger to convince meat-eaters that plant-based isn't so bad. It's appetizing enough for none other than fast-food powerhouse McDonald's to include it in their McPlant burgers.

As the price goes, Beyond Burgers aren't terribly expensive in most grocery retailers, with two patties priced at around five dollars. All things considered, this patty is a great option for a backyard cookout or a weeknight dinner when nothing but a burger will get the job done.

This mainstay brand of meatless grocery products offers a spicy black bean patty that meat-free eaters love. This jazzy little patty is 100% plant-based, a go-to burger for diners who love a spicy patty that sizzles up nicely, even if the texture isn't terribly close to meat. It's more like a thick hash brown with bits of bean, brown rice, and shredded vegetables throughout. This is actually preferred by burger lovers who know what they're getting into and is the expected form of a black bean burger from the freezer section. And because the name explains the product, there's no wondering if you're getting a weird meat-veggie hybrid. You're getting a black bean burger, and one of the best of its kind.

Though the company hasn't quite lived up to its promise to veganize all of its products, MorningStar Farms has partnered with Kellogg's to put their brand stamp on Incogmeato, a meat replacement that actually tries to emulate beef. The ingredients and nutrition stack up nicely, with 20 grams of protein, 14 grams of fat, and 220 calories per patty.

Instead of trying to emulate meat, Dr. Prager's gives burger lovers a variety of gourmet vegetable patties to choose from, including black bean quinoa and mushroom risotto. According to its website, the company's founding principle was to provide "food that tasted so good, it would make it easy to help people adopt better eating habits." With health as a guiding factor, these burgers include pea protein and a blend of sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, beets, and other veggies in their plant-based patties. They're also gluten-free, making them accessible to an even larger burger-loving audience.

While you won't be getting a classic hamburger encounter from Dr. Praeger's patties, they still provide a premium patty or crumble experience. Reviewers give these burgers high marks, with an average of 4.4 out of 5-stars on Influenster. One reviewer notes that "[They] like that they're not pretending to be meat," a plus for plant eaters who don't want a meaty texture from their veggie burgers.

The name World's Best Veggie Burger is a lot to live up to, especially for a burger that blends millet, leafy greens, and sweet potatoes into a burger-style food. A trim 160 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 4 grams of protein position Hilary's as a solid option for healthful eaters. These certified organic patties are also allergy-, gluten-, and soy-free, making them friendly for just about every plant-based diet on the list.

According to the story on the company's website, Hilary herself suffered from food allergies and created her burger for a restaurant she ran at the time. If the incredible 4.4 out of 5-star average among more than 2,200 ratings on Amazon is any indication, the burger replacement she came up with really works for diners looking for a plant-centered patty. One reviewer notes that these burgers are more like croquettes and are "easy to cook on the stovetop and come out crispy on the outside." Anyone looking to fill a burger bun with something special but not meaty might find the name to be entirely appropriate.

The name may suggest lighter fare, but a single Lightlife plant-based burger contains 17 grams of fat and 390 milligrams of sodium, making it one of the less healthful entries on the list. A calorie count of 250 isn't exactly the worst, and if you're banking on flavor and texture rather than health, this patty includes beet powder and cherry juice to impart the color of real meat, as well as cane sugar to lend a certain meat-based sweetness. It also contains pea protein, which can cause problems for anyone with a pea or legume allergy.

On the upside, Lightlife's burgers are soy- and gluten-free. The company also keeps its ingredients to a precious few and readily calls out their use of modified cellulose, a plant-based thickener that makes up less than 2% of their burgers. There are definitely more desirable options in the meatless deli, but if Lightlife is one of the few options available where you are, then at least you have an option for the cookout.