Trader Joe's Now Carries Its Own Plant-Based Burgers

2019 seemed to be a constant stream of plant-based meat news, from Kroger, Hormel, and Kellog announcing new products, to Beyond Meat debuting a revamped version of its Beyond Burger. When Impossible Foods introduced Impossible Pork and Impossible Sausage at CES two weeks ago, we had a feeling 2020 would follow suit—sure enough, Trader Joe's launched a plant-based burger of its own this week, dubbed "Protein Patties."

"Folks are increasingly going for meatless burgers for all kinds of reasons, but we like to think that one reason in particular is primarily responsible: plant-based burgers have gotten really, really good recently," the brand said in a statement e-mailed to Food & Wine. "That's why we decided to bring in our very own Trader Joe's Protein Patties."

The burgers, which are vegan and kosher (pareve), can be found in the deli section—one package includes two quarter-pound patties. Each patty includes 18 grams of protein, and is made from a blend of pea protein, sunflower oil, beets, and seasonings, according to a Trader Joe's representative. Similar to other plant-based burgers on the market, like the Beyond Burger and the Lightlife Burger, the beets are used to give the "meat" a pink color, mimicking what you'd expect from a regular cooked burger. Both of the aforementioned brands also use pea protein; the Impossible Burger uses soy and potato proteins.

If you're interested in trying the patties, they're available nationally for $4.49 per package. And while you're at the store, you can also be on the lookout for White Claws. Late last year, the grocery store began gradually rolling out the popular hard seltzer brand with the goal to have nationwide availability "as soon as possible." The seltzers are available in a 12-pack (with Natural Lime, Raspberry, Ruby Grapefruit, and Black Cherry flavors) for $15.99, and supplement two other hard seltzers Trader Joe's already stocks, Bon & Viv and The Shell House.