Trader Joe's Now Has Plant-Based Burgers That Look Like Beef and Offer 18 Grams of Protein

The ingredients are hydrated pea protein blend (water, pea protein, pea fibre), sunflower oil, beets (for that bright red colour!), natural flavours, methyl cellulose, oat fibre, fruit juice (for colour), onion powder, sea salt, and vegetable juice (for colour).

While these patties are processed, this ingredient list is shorter than that for the Beyond Burger.

One patty is 290 calories, 20 grams of fat, three grams of saturated fat, and has zero cholesterol and 450 milligrams of sodium. It provides 11 grams of carbs and five grams of fibre and has zero grams of added sugar and 18 grams of protein. One burger also offers 190 milligrams of potassium and 20 percent of your daily iron.

As a fan of the Beyond Burger, I wanted to see how these Trader Joe's Protein Patties compared. For a 250-calorie patty, it offers 20 grams of protein and two grams of fibre. It has just three grams of carbs, six grams of saturated fat, and 390 grams of sodium. These patties also provide 300 milligrams of potassium and 25 percent of your daily iron. A bonus with this plant-based burger is that it has zero cholesterol.

So the Trader Joe's Protein Patties are higher in calories, fat, and carbs, and offer slightly less protein but have over twice the amount of fibre.

If you're a beef eater, for nutritional comparison, a four-ounce grass-fed beef patty is 224 calories and offers 22 grams of protein and zero fibre. It has zero grams of carbs, six grams of saturated fat, and 77 milligrams of sodium. A grass-fed beef patty provides 327 grams of potassium and 12.8 percent of your daily iron. It also has 70 milligrams of cholesterol.

These uncooked Trader Joe's burgers are very pink, similar to raw beef. When you grill them up or cook them in a pan on the stove, which takes about six to eight minutes, the package says "the interior of patty will still be pink when fully cooked."

For $4.49, you get two patties. The Beyond Burgers cost slightly more at $4.99. They're found in the refrigerated section, and although freezing is not recommended, they're good for a month in the fridge, so you can absolutely stock up!