Here’s What You Need To Know About Burger King’s Impossible Whopper:
It’s Really Good. No, it doesn’t taste quite as good as the Impossible Burgers you would get at a sit-down restaurant like Quackies (my nickname for Duckworth’s), but it’s still good. Keep in mind Burger King is a fast food place – mass production and quick turnaround. I was actually surprised by the quality and freshness of the tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. The burger, overall, is more than I expected of a fast food burger. (Keep in mind, I haven’t had a fast food burger for 20 years so I may not be the best judge – but this was GOOD.)
Open-Minded Omnis Like It, Too! Several of my open-minded omni friends have tried the Impossible Whopper, loved it, and said they will add this to their Meatless Mondays or “reducetarian” diets on a regular basis.
It’s HUGE. Why they call it a whopper, right? It seems bigger than the Impossible Burgers at the sit-down restaurants. Hearty enough for most. Some smaller women (like me) will most likely have leftovers, and some men (like my little brother Piller) may require two. Still, overall a good bang for your buck.
Cost? I don’t want to say because the cost apparently varies between markets and even individual restaurants in markets. Typically, it seems to be about $1 more than the traditional Whopper sold at the same restaurant.
The Bun Is Vegan.
You Need To Say “Hold The Mayo!”
You do NOT need to say, “Hold The Cheese” because it DOES NOT come with cheese!
The Other Toppings Are: Lettuce, Onion, Tomatoes, Pickles, and Ketchup.
The Impossible Patty is entirely plant-based. No meat, egg, or milk.
Cross Contamination Worries? You can ask they clean a portion of the grill for you, or choose to have the patty microwaved. (Personally, I am not vegan for personal purity. Cross contamination is a fact of life if you eat out any restaurant except for 100% vegan restaurants. Even at vegetarian restaurants like Fern you run a risk of dairy cross-contamination.)
Nutrition Analysis – I compared the Impossible Whopper (without mayo since that’s how most vegans/plant based/veg curious people would order it) to a traditional Whopper.
- Calories – 470 for Impossible Whopper vs. 660 for Traditional Whopper
- Fat – 16 g for Impossible vs. 40 g for Traditional
- Cholesterol – A big fat 0 vs 90 mg! Shall I rephrase and repeat that? ZERO CHOLESTEROL!
- Sodium – High for both; 940 mg for Impossible and 980 for Traditional
- Fiber – Impossible has marginally more, 4 g vs. 2. But really, who eats burgers for fiber?
- Protein – Oh where, oh where do vegans get their PROTEIN? Maybe from the Impossible Whopper – 25 g, only 3 g less than the traditional Whopper.
Would you like a side of fries with that? Keep in mind even a small order of fries will add 320 calories, 14 g of fat, and 480 mg of sodium. The fries are cooked in a separate fryer from the meat, but in a fryer that is also used for products containing milk (assuming it’s the cheese sticks).
Finally, make up your own mind about The Impossible Whopper and accept it for what it is.
Haters gonna hate:
Whole Food Plant Based Health Purists – “A homemade bean burger would be much healthier!” Right, it’s not health food and we know it’s not health food. IT IS A FAST FOOD OPTION FROM BURGER KING! We all know making home cooked bean burgers would be healthier, but the point is – this is a new, welcome, animal-free option for many of us when we are on the road or need food fast.
Level 5 Vegan Police – “This product isn’t really ‘vegan’ as WE choose to define vegan!” Potential cross-contamination! An ingredient was tested on animals to get FDA GRAS approval! (Let’s all just conveniently forget that almost every ingredient, in almost everything, went through animal testing at one time – yes, even the pea protein used in Beyond and Gardein.) You know what? Being vegan isn’t a competition. Stop trying to make it one.
Obnoxious Omnivores – “I won’t eat this and YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! My friend/daughter/brother tried this and it was HORRIBLE! yada yada yada waah waah waah.” As Taylor Swift would say, you just need to take several seats and CALM DOWN. The Impossible Whopper is an ADDITION to the BK menu – NOT a replacement for the traditional Whopper. You don’t have to purchase/eat this if you don’t want to. You will still be able to order your usual cow-flesh Whopper – in addition to 16 other “real meat” hamburger choices! WHY are you begrudging other people for finally having ONE single, plant-based option? Seriously, you need to calm down.
I apologize for the bad pictures in this post; we ate these in the car after 10:00 PM and I didn’t have my “good” camera with me. When I started writing this article and swung by to get another burger (and some better shots) – my local BK was SOLD OUT.
VegCharlotte 
What a great post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The last time I went to Duckworth’s for one, they were out. 😦 I haven’t hit up my local BK for one yet, but I will soon.
Yes, Duckworth’s has been out for awhile. We used to go every Wednesday to the Park Road location and we were told they were out until September; then that location closed! 😦 Burger King isn’t quite the same thing but it’s still very good as a fast food option! Thank you for commenting! Please stop by again!
Thanks for the review.
Having worked at Burger King back in the day (1979), wonder if they still use the conveyor grill set up to cook their burgers. Only wondering since you mentioned asking them to clean off part of the grill. Back in the day, you slapped frozen burgers on the conveyor set up that moved the burgers through the flame / cooking apparatus and at the end they drop off in a bin.
Given that there are no BKs along my paths here in Charlotte, will have to give it a try the next time I’m over in the hometown (Shelby).
Hi, Mavis!
That’s a good question about the conveyor grill. I honestly have no idea. I was going by information in BK’s press releases, which said you could ask them to clean off a portion of the grill or ask for it to be microwaved. I suppose in this much time they may have come up with a different or improved way of cooking. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.