Tasted and rated: of the six veggie burgers tested from Albert Heijn, this is the tastiest

We love fatty, juicy burgers, but we also know how important a plant-based choice is. That’s why today we tested not hamburgers, but ‘plant burgers’. The most important criterion: which one is genuinely delicious?

Not so long ago, people in the Netherlands still ate an average of around 25 ‘real’ (read: meat) hamburgers per person per year; now, veggie burgers are being chosen more and more often. In the Netherlands, approximately 1 percent of the population is now vegan, between 2 and 4.5 percent are vegetarian, and more than two-thirds fall under the category of flexitarian. So they all occasionally find themselves in the supermarket’s vegetarian section, looking for a tasty veggie burger. But which one is genuinely delicious, and which ones are best left on the shelf? We put them to the test.

The panel and the approach

We bought six burgers at Albert Heijn. They are all intended to imitate a normal hamburger bun burger. Chicken burgers, as well as lentil burgers, for example, were therefore not included in the test. The panel consists of five different tasters: two omnivores, one carnivore, one flexitarian and one vegetarian. And, importantly, we all love good food and were all hungry, because it was lunchtime.

All the burgers were cooked on the grill and tasted both on their own and on a bun with (fried) onion, tomato, lettuce and sauce. In the test, we are not comparing nutritional values; the only criterion is: is it tasty, and would we want to eat it again?

What does it cost?

The six burgers are currently available at Albert Heijn and are comparable to one another. They are all packaged in pairs. In ascending order of price, the following burgers ended up on the grill:

1. Albert Heijn, Basic Vegetarian Burger: €1.59 (vegetarian burger based on soy and wheat protein)
2. Vivera, Plant-Based Burger: €2.39 (pre-cooked vegan burger based on soy and wheat protein)
3. Vegetarian Butcher, Mc2 Burger: €2.55 (vegetarian burger based on soy)
4. Garden Gourmet, Vegan Burger: €2.79 (vegan burger based on soy and wheat protein)
5. Rootzz of Nature, Smokey Jackfruit Burger: €2.99 (vegetarian burger made from organic jackfruit)
6. Beyond Meat, The Beyond Burger: €5.49 (vegan burger made from pea protein)

The Beyond Burger, no doubt the most hyped piece of ‘meat’ of the past few years, is by far the priciest option, while Albert Heijn’s basic burger is the cheapest. We chose the entry-level models here; Albert Heijn also has a Deluxe Vegetarian Burger in its range (€2.29), the Vegetarian Butcher has an Ereburger (€4.49), and Garden Gourmet has the Sensational Burger (€3.99),

Tartare-like texture versus toughness

On the grill, the Beyond Burger looks suspiciously like a hamburger, both in colour and tartare-like texture, as well as in the sizzling sound it makes when you grill it. When we take the Garden Gourmet burgers out of the packaging, the grill marks stand out; the burgers have already been pre-cooked. As with everything we eat, we look not only at the taste, but also at the mouthfeel. With a real meat hamburger, it is that deliciously juicy bite that we love so much, alongside the flavour. We find that resilient bite in the Vegetarian Butcher’s Mc2 Burger, Rootzz’s Smokey Jackfruit Burger and the Beyond Burger. The Garden Gourmet Burger lacks juiciness, while the Vivera Burger and the Albert Heijn Burger are genuinely dry.

The tastiest: on a bun

Just like a real hamburger, a veggie burger only becomes truly delicious with a good bun (toasting your bun is an absolute must; it adds a lovely roasted aroma) and sauce. Of course, you can really go all out with that, but we prepared the bun in such a way that we could still properly taste the burger. In other words, we went easy on the sauce. Naturally, fantastic toppings are highly recommended, such as a fresh, spicy chimichurri or the surprising all-purpose sauce, Korean ch’o kanjang, which is also ridiculously simple to make. A tip, then!

Meat association or not

The important question, of course, is this: are you looking for a meat substitute with a genuine meat association, deliciously juicy with the appearance and bite of meat, or are you looking for a tasty burger that doesn’t necessarily have to taste meaty? For many vegetarians, it is not important at all whether a burger resembles meat; they are just as happy, if not happier, eating a lentil or pumpkin burger. In our test, we deliberately chose imitation meat. The burgers we bought are therefore mainly made from soy and wheat proteins and attempt to match the real thing in appearance and flavour.

Too smoky

The best performers in this respect are the Beyond Burger, the Mc2 Burger and the Smokey Jackfruit Burger. The Smokey Jackfruit Burger, made from jackfruit, is—according to the entire panel—a little too smoky. ‘I understand the smoky flavour very well, and I think it was cleverly conceived, but they really went too far; what a shame.’ Even on a fully dressed bun, the smoky flavour remains overwhelmingly dominant.

The Mc2 Burger is not only a good meat substitute; it also performs remarkably well on the grill, is ready the fastest and is juicier than expected. And it has a pleasant texture.

The Beyond Burger may be made from pea protein, but it is a genuinely good meat substitute if you no longer want to eat meat but do still want the meat experience. On a bun, it is almost indistinguishable from real meat. As tasty as the real deal? Still not quite, according to the true meat lover. But it comes remarkably close!

Vegetable burger

The Garden Gourmet Burger is tasty, but does not give you a meaty sensation. This is the tastiest burger in the test for people who are not looking for a meaty meat substitute. We associate it more with a vegetable burger. The Vivera Burger is well seasoned and also evokes a vegetable burger, with two drawbacks: it is too dry and sticks terribly to the grill. The Albert Heijn Burger mainly tastes like… bread. In terms of diameter, it is strikingly the largest; the Beyond Burger is the thickest.

The winner

Thick and fatty, the Beyond Burger is a celebration of a fake beast, with a tartare-like texture and delicious flavour.

All the scores at a glance

1. Albert Heijn, Basic Vegetarian Burger: 5
2. Vivera, Plant-Based Burger: 5.5
3. Vegetarian Butcher, Mc2 Burger: 7.5
4. Garden Gourmet, Vegan Burger: 6.5
5. Rootzz of Nature, Smokey Jackfruit Burger: 5.8
6. Beyond Meat, The Beyond Burger: 8

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