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Best plant-based meat (burgers, ground, sausage), according to chefs

Three picks, each tied to a named taster and a public source — from Mark McShane, Alexandra Shytsman, Maya Walton Patel, Gwynedd Stuart and 4 more. Recommendations come from aol.com, sporked.com, seriouseats.com and tastingtable.com and 1 other sources.

Meats · The ranking

  1. 1
    Top pick

    Beyond Meat (Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage Brat)

    Chosen by
    Also chosen by
    The veggie burger the chefs EatingWell asked consistently named. Shytsman: “This product is nothing short of magical because it is extremely ‘beefy’ by all metrics: visually, texturally, and taste-wise.” McShane: “It bakes so evenly in a cast iron pan or on a grill and has a beautiful crust with a juicy interior.” Patel finds it “more like meat in texture” than other patties. Backup: Sporked rated the burger 10/10 and best for flavor, and Serious Eats’ blind panel made it “unquestionably second-place” behind Impossible. Sporked’s Justine Sterling on the brats: “They actually have a snappy casing!”
    Where to buy · Amazon ↗Instacart ↗Source: aol.com ↗
  2. 2

    Impossible (Beef ground, burger patties, Italian sausage)

    Chosen by
    Also chosen by
    Sporked’s best plant-based burger after three tastings; Myrick called the race with Beyond “very close” but preferred Impossible’s “texture and moistness.” In Serious Eats’ blind panel of 10 it “outperformed every other contender in every category and in both rounds; the competition wasn’t even close” (Sho Spaeth). Tasting Table’s Judy Moreno ranked its ground first of 10: “If we did not know any better, we would absolutely believe we were eating meat.” It also won The Kitchn’s plant-based Italian sausage tasting as “the clear winner.”
    Where to buy · Amazon ↗Instacart ↗Source: sporked.com ↗
  3. 3

    Field Roast (Italian Garlic & Fennel sausages, Signature Stadium dogs)

    Chosen by
    Also chosen by
    Runner-up in The Kitchn’s sausage tasting, “just shy of taking the top spot”; Foster loves its “nice brown char, ingredients that you can see, and how well seasoned it is.” Myrick on the Stadium dogs: “They even have a little casing snap which no other vegan hot dog on the market has been able to replicate.” Its refrigerated Chef’s Signature burger scored 8/10 with Sporked.
    Where to buy · Amazon ↗Instacart ↗Source: thekitchn.com ↗

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Questions, answered

What is the best plant-based meat (burgers, ground, sausage), according to chefs?
MyTastr’s top pick is Beyond Meat (Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage Brat), chosen by Maya Walton Patel (private chef); Alexandra Shytsman (plant-based cookbook author); Mark McShane (chef). The veggie burger the chefs EatingWell asked consistently named. Shytsman: “This product is nothing short of magical because it is extremely ‘beefy’ by all metrics: visually, texturally, and taste-wise.” McShane: “It bakes so evenly in a cast iron pan or on a grill and has a beautiful crust with a juicy interior.” Patel finds it “more like meat in texture” than other patties. Backup: Sporked rated the burger 10/10 and best for flavor, and Serious Eats’ blind panel made it “unquestionably second-place” behind Impossible. Sporked’s Justine Sterling on the brats: “They actually have a snappy casing!” Source: aol.com ↗
What are the other top picks for plant-based meat (burgers, ground, sausage)?
No. 2 is Impossible (Beef ground, burger patties, Italian sausage), chosen by Gwynedd Stuart and Jordan Myrick (Sporked). No. 3 is Field Roast (Italian Garlic & Fennel sausages, Signature Stadium dogs), chosen by Alexandra Foster (The Kitchn); Jordan Myrick (Sporked). Each card above links to the original source.
How does MyTastr choose these picks?
Every pick is tied to a named chef, cookbook author or food expert and links to the public interview, panel or article it came from. We survey dozens, often hundreds, of top chefs, food writers and critics, and order reflects how often and how strongly a brand is recommended. Only organic recommendations count — paid endorsements don’t — and brands can’t buy a spot. Read how we pick.

The tasters behind this ranking

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