This is the tastiest veggie burger from Albert Heijn

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: This is the tastiest veggie burger from Albert Heijn.

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’. With the main criteria being: which one is really tasty?

A while ago, the average Dutch person ate about 25 ‘real’ (read: meat) hamburgers per year, but now veggie burgers are being chosen more often. In the Netherlands, about 1 percent of the population is vegan, between 2 and 4.5 percent are vegetarians, and over two-thirds fall under the label flexitarian. They all stand in front of the veggie shelf at the supermarket at some point, looking for a tasty veggie burger. But which one is really delicious and which one should you skip? We put it to the test.

The panel, the approach
At Albert Heijn, we bought six burgers. The burgers are all intended to mimic a normal hamburger bun. Chicken burgers, but also lentil burgers, were not included in the test. The panel consists of five diverse tasters. Two omnivores, 1 carnivore, 1 flexitarian, and 1 vegetarian. And not unimportantly: we all love good food and are all hungry, as it is lunchtime.

All burgers were grilled and tasted both on their own and on a bun with (fried) onion, tomato, lettuce, and sauce. In the test, we do not compare nutritional values; the only criterion is: is it tasty, do we want to eat this more often?

What does it cost?
The six burgers are those currently available at Albert Heijn and are comparable to each other. They are all packaged in pairs. The following burgers ended up on the grill, in ascending price order:

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

The Beyond Burger, undoubtedly the most hyped piece of ‘meat’ in recent years, is by far the most expensive variant, while the basic burger from Albert Heijn is the cheapest. By the way, we chose the entry-level models here; Albert Heijn also has a Vegetarian Burger Deluxe in the assortment (€2.29), the Vegetarian Butcher has an Ereburger (€4.49), and Garden Gourmet has the Sensational Burger (€3.99),

Tartare-like texture versus tough
The Beyond Burger looks suspiciously like a hamburger on the grill, both in color and tartare-like texture, as well as the sizzling sound it makes when you grill it. When we take the Garden Gourmet burgers out of the packaging, the grill stripes stand out; the burgers are already pre-cooked. As with everything we eat, we not only look at the taste but also at the mouthfeel. With a real meat hamburger, it's that delicious juicy bite that we love, in addition to the flavor. We find that resilient bite in the Mc2 Burger from the Vegetarian Butcher, the Smokey Jackfruit Burger from Rootzz, and the Beyond Burger. The Garden Gourmet Burger lacks juiciness, while the Vivera Burger and the Albert Heijn Burger are really 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 a must, it gives a nice roasted aroma) and sauce. You can really go all out with toppings, but we prepared the bun in such a way that the burger was still really tasteable. In other words: we took it easy with the sauces. Recommendations are of course amazing toppings, like a fresh, spicy chimichurri or the surprising all-rounder sauce, the Korean ch’o kanjang, which is also ridiculously easy to make. A tip, then!

Meat association or not
What's important is: are you looking for a meat substitute with a real meat association, deliciously juicy with the looks and bite of meat, or are you looking for a tasty burger that (just) doesn't need to taste meaty? For many vegetarians, it is not important at all whether a burger resembles meat; they would just as happily eat a lentil or pumpkin burger. In our test, we consciously chose faux meat; the purchased burgers are mainly made from soy and wheat proteins and try to mimic the real thing in appearance and taste.

Too smoky
The best scorers here 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 – really too smoky. ‘I understand that smoky flavor very well, and I think it's cleverly thought out, but they have really gone overboard, which is a shame.’ Even on a dressed bun, the smoky flavor remains very dominant.

The Mc2 Burger is not only a good meat substitute, it also performs surprisingly well on the grill, cooks the fastest, and is juicier than expected. And with a nice texture.

The Beyond Burger is made from pea protein, but is really a good meat substitute if you don't want to eat meat anymore but still want the meat experience. On a bun, it is almost indistinguishable from real meat. Just as tasty as the real deal? Still not, thinks the true meat lover. But it comes very close!

Veggie burger
The Garden Gourmet Burger is tasty but does not give a meat feel. 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 veggie burger. The Vivera Burger is well-seasoned, also reminds more of a veggie burger, with two downsides: too dry and sticks a lot to the grill. The Albert Heijn Burger mainly tastes like... bread. In terms of diameter, this is noticeably the largest; the Beyond Burger is the thickest.

The winner
Thick and fatty, the Beyond Burger is a feast of a fake beast, with a tartare-like texture and delicious flavor.

All scores in a row

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