McDonald’s plant-based burger, co-developed with Beyond Meat, is officially on the chain’s menus in Denmark and Sweden, according to a company press release (h/t LIVEKINDLY).
As with other Beyond products, the primary protein ingredient in the McPlant is pea protein, with rice protein a secondary ingredient. The product is for sale as a burger topped with lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickle, onion, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup.
Staunch vegans beware, though: according to Bloomberg, the patty is cooked on the same grill as McDonald’s regular beef burgers. For those trying to avoid any kind of animal-based protein, this will likely be a major turnoff, though customers buying plant based patties for more environmental reasons may not find the situation as problematic. Burger King faced a similar issue with the Impossible Whopper, and customers can now request their plant-based order be cooked on a different grill. It is unclear if McDonald’s will offer a similar choice.
McDonald’s is one of the last of the major QSRs to offer a plant-based option on its menu, outside of a test the chain did with Beyond in Canada in 2019. When McDonald’s made the initial announcement around this new burger back in November, it was unclear that Beyond was even involved as the supplier. While that issue has been clarified for now, it’s equally unclear whether Beyond will continue supplying the plant-based patties for a wider McPlant rollout, or if/when said patties will be coming to the U.S.
The McPlant trial is currently taking place until March 15 in Sweden (in Linköping and Helsingborg) and April 12 in Denmark. Few details have been offered as to whether Beyond will continue to be the supplier as McDonald’s releases plant-based menu items to a wider audience.
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