Best vegan burgers: the big brands that triumphed, and the best value options

We asked 78 people to blind-taste and rate 12 plant-based burgers to find the best and tastiest offerings you can buy at the supermarket. 

Big brands such as Beyond Meat,  Linda McCartney and Birds Eye were pitted against supermarket plant burgers from Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and more, with the brands winning out overall.

Read on to discover our top picks, the best of the supermarket brands, and the best cheap vegan burgers.

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Best vegan burgers

Beyond Meat tasty frozen burgers should be your go-to choice, especially if you're after a plant burger that is a convincing substitute for meaty versions.

Linda McCartney soya-based burgers were also rated well by our tasters, while Meatless Farm patties offered the best combo of taste and value.

Best Buy: Beyond Meat Beyond Burger – 75%

£4 for 2 burgers (£1.77 per 100g)

The Beyond Meat pea protein burger stood head and shoulders above the competition and was the only product to win top marks on both appearance and flavour. 

Our panel of tasters loved this burger's colour, and the vast majority thought the patty was the ideal thickness. Most found the texture and moistness pleasing, too.

An impressive 82% of tasters felt that the Beyond Burger was a convincing meat substitute, making it an excellent choice if you're after an authentic 'meaty' bite.

 Available from Amazon, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco

Linda McCartney Quarter Pounder Burger – 70%

 £2.50 for 2 burgers (£1.10 per 100g)

The soya-based burger from this iconic vegetarian brand was well liked by our tasting panel. 

It was rated highly for looks, aroma and flavour. Overall, 70% of tasters felt it made a convincing meat substitute, so this could be a good option for flexitarians looking to reduce their meat intake.

When it came to texture, though, a quarter felt the burger was too firm and nearly half would have enjoyed more seasoning.

These burgers are often on special offer at £1.50 per pack (a bargain 67p per 100g), so it's worth stocking up when you spot them at a discount.

 Available from Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose

Great Value: Meatless Farm Plant Based Burger – 69%

 £3.50 for 4 burgers (88p per 100g)

These pea-protein based Meatless Farm burgers come in just a smidge behind Linda McCartney. 

Their looks, aroma and flavour were rated well by tasters, and 73% said they made a convincing meat substitute.

On average (excluding special offers), they're one of the cheapest options per 100g, so we think they're a great combo of taste and value.

Most tasters thought the patties were the ideal thickness, although opinions were divided as to whether the texture was quite right, and 58% felt they were too dry.

Available from Amazon and Morrisons

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How Moving Mountains and other vegan burger brands compare

Overall, the remaining three brands fared pretty well versus supermarket own brands, so all are worth a try – especially if you spot a special offer.

• Moving Mountains 1/4lb Plant-Based Burgers (68%) Good-looking, with a pleasant aroma, but pricey. While 69% found them a convincing meat substitute, half of our tasters thought the texture too soft.  £4 for 2 burgers, £1.76 per 100g. Available from Amazon, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Waitrose
• The Vegetarian Butcher Patty on the Back Vegan Burger (68%) Pretty good burgers that 70% found were meat-like. Flavour was on the weak side, though, and half said they would have liked more seasoning. £3.50 for 2 burgers, £1.55 per 100g. Available from Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco
• Birds Eye Meat Free Burgers (65%) Smelt appetising, but otherwise mediocre. Nearly half felt they were too pale-looking. £3 for 2 burgers, £1.50 per 100g. Available from Amazon, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco

Serving meat-eaters too? See our pick of the best beef burgers and best sausages

Which supermarket vegan burgers taste best?

This is one of those rare taste tests where branded is, in fact, the better choice. Among the supermarket brands, Aldi and Co-op were the joint best options. Aldi burgers, in particular, looked the part and are a decent budget choice.

M&S burgers were cheaper than most, but were the least popular with our tasters.

• Aldi Plant Menu Ultimate No Beef Burgers (65%) Overall, not bad. The patty was deemed perfect thickness by most, and 62% thought it meat-like. About half found it too moist. £1.99 for 2 burgers, 88p per 100g. Available from Aldi
• Co-op GRO The Incredible Burger (65%) Reasonable burgers with a pleasing aroma, but only 54% felt they were a convincing meat substitute. £2.75 for 2 burgers, £1.31 per 100g. Available from Co-op
• Sainsbury's Plant Pioneers Ultimate Plant Burgers (63%) These are acceptable all-rounders, though around half of tasters wanted more seasoning. £2.70 for 2 burgers, £1.29 per 100g. Available from Sainsbury's
• Asda Plant Based Meat-Free Burgers (56%) Very cheap but disappointing. Most found them too thin, too soft and weakly flavoured. £2 for 8 burgers, 44p per 100g. Available from Asda
• Morrisons Plant Revolution Meat Free Burgers (55%) These patties smelt tasty, but the majority found they lacked flavour and were too thin. Half said they were too dry. £1.99 for 2 burgers, 58p per 100g. Available from Morrisons
• M&S Vegan Burgers Frozen (49%) Aside from being a decent thickness, these burgers don't have much going for them. Most found them too soft, weak in flavour and unappetising in colour. £3.20 for 4 burgers, 80p per 100g. Available from M&S (in-store only) and Ocado

To find out more about tofu, tempeh and other vegan and veggie meat alternatives, see our guide to plant-based meat alternatives

Are vegan burgers healthy?

Plant-based burgers can match their meaty counterparts on protein levels. The ones we tested averaged 16g per 100g, with Linda McCartney taking top place with 21g.

The protein quality is different to meat, though, as it's typically made of either pea or soya protein.

You get more fibre from a vegan burger than a meat one, but vegan doesn’t automatically mean healthy. Levels of saturated fat can vary a great deal, and while Asda’s burgers had next to none, most other brands got an amber warning light.

The Beyond Burger tips into the red zone, with around 6.3g per burger. Moving Mountains saturated fat levels were in a class of their own, because they use coconut oil as their main fat ingredient. 

Many people believe coconut oil is a healthy fat, but it's actually very high in saturated fat.

Salt levels in veggie burgers may also be higher than your go-to beef equivalent. The two top-rated burgers were also the saltiest in our test.

Lots of vegan foods come with a 'health halo' on the packaging, and you might assume they're all good for you, but this reputation isn't always deserved. Ultimately, vegan burgers are still burgers and should be seen as more of a treat than a regular meal.

From baked beans to battered fish, our regularly updated guide on the best food and drink will help you to make great-value choices at the supermarket

How to cook vegan burgers

All the burgers we tested except Beyond Burger state that you’ll get the best results if you cook from frozen. Most recommend either cooking in the oven or shallow frying. 

Grilling and barbecuing are also options, but be aware that vegan burgers often have a crumblier texture than their meaty counterparts, so treat them gently to avoid bits falling through the grill pan.

You can also use an air fryer.

How we tested vegan burgers

The burgers were assessed in April 2023 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume vegan burgers.

The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. Each brand of vegan burger was assessed by 78 people.

The panellists rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each brand of vegan burger and told us what they liked and disliked about each one. 

The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they sampled the burgers was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each panellist had a private booth, so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 20% appearance
• 20% texture
• 10% aroma.

These weightings are based on how consumers rank the importance of different attributes of vegan burgers.

Prices and availability correct as of 4 May 2023