Vegan Burgers Comparison - Which One To Choose?

The motto of today’s article is: “Put a shrimp on the barbie, mate!” Well, maybe not a shrimp but a burger, and a vegan burger even. Take a breath and stay with me here. If you’re open to a new food experience, then trying vegan burgers is a great start. But which is the healthiest? Check out our comparison to find which vegan burgers have the best ingredients.

A few years ago it was pretty hard to find foods for vegans or vegetarians, especially in Australia’s major supermarkets. People who refused to eat meat had a tough time, having to choose between the minimal options available or prepare their own meals from scratch. But today, more and more people are switching to eating just veggies. It’s no longer a diet but has also become a way of living. Even people who declared themselves passionate meat-lovers are giving vegan snacks a try out of curiosity (yeah, sure!) or because they’re delicious and full of flavour (most of the time).

Vegan burgers can differ from one another in the ingredients used, structure, etc. Most of the time they’re made from leguminous plants like beans, lentils, soy, and pea or from what’s called ‘beyond meat’ (plant-based meat substitutes). Both types of vegan burgers have been included in our comparison below. Most burgers we checked use good quality ingredients, but some other ingredients used need a comment from us… so let’s begin!

MaltodextrinMaltodextrin - mostly used in ‘light’ or ‘diet’ food... – This is a substance that’s mostly used in ‘light’ or ‘diet’ foods, instead of fat. It also helps to gelate and bring form to food, much like fat does. Maltodextrin doesn’t cause any side effects, however it does have a very high glycemic index. It can also sometimes be made from wheat, which can be problematic for people who have coeliac disease or cannot tolerate gluten (Unreal Co. 100% Plant Based Italian Beefy Burger 2 pack).

Stock powder – This isn’t an obvious food additive. The health factor of stock powder would depend on what it’s made from, so if it has been used as an ingredient in one of the vegan burgers from our comparison (The Alternative Meat Co. Plant Based Burger) then we’d like to believe it’s a high quality stock powder. But we’d also like to add that stock powders and stock cubes – besides dried vegetables – can often also contain lots of salt, monosodium glutamate, and disodium inosinate. These ingredients can cause health issues like high blood pressure, sclerosis, and other heart problems.

Sugar – Another ingredient in vegan burgers that you should be aware of is sugar. Of course sugar helps to make food taste better, but since you can find it in almost everything, it helps to try and avoid it sometimes. As you can see, some of the vegan burgers don’t use it at all – good job!

Summary:
The vegan burgers we checked in our comparison made a very positive impression on me. Some of them contain really ideal ingredients, which is great to see. So if you want to grab a vegan burger for your barbie next time, don’t hesitate, and don’t worry about having to make them yourself! Another good thing about the vegan burgers we checked is that they’re all available in major supermarkets like Coles and Woolies. So enjoy! And if you’re looking for some meat alternatives you’re also very welcome to check out our comparison.

The Vegan Burgers that we have looked at: