Beyond Meat contains 18+ ingredients creating a highly engineered product. Understanding each component—protein sources, binders, flavors, colors, and fats—reveals why plant-based meat is so processed and differs nutritionally from both meat and whole plants.
Primary Protein Sources
Pea protein isolate: The main protein (~25% of product). Extracted from yellow peas through mechanical/chemical separation, resulting in ~80% protein. Soy protein isolate: Secondary protein (~5-10%). Similar extraction process as pea protein. Mung bean protein: Small amount (~3%). Adds protein and texture.
The combination of multiple protein sources is necessary—single sources don’t replicate meat texture/nutrition adequately. The protein content (~19g per patty) is comparable to beef (~22g per patty).
Binders & Texture Agents
Methylcellulose: Plant-derived cellulose modified chemically to improve binding/texture. Creates moisture absorption, helping meat-like juiciness. Potato starch: Provides structure, aids binding. Tapioca starch: Secondary starch for texture. Canola oil & coconut oil: Fats providing richness and satiety.
Methylcellulose is particularly important—it’s the ingredient enabling Beyond to achieve burger-like texture and moisture content. Without it, the product would be dry/crumbly.
Fat Components
Coconut oil: Creates fat content (~14% total, similar to lean beef). Solid at room temperature (mimics butter/animal fat properties). Rapeseed oil: Liquid fat for additional oil content. Sunflower oil: Minor fat component. The fat content provides texture and mouthfeel critical to meat-likeness.
Fat composition differs from beef (which contains mostly saturated fat)—plant oils are more unsaturated. This contributes to health advantages (lower saturated fat) and taste differences (less rich).
Color & Appearance
Titanium dioxide: White pigment enhancing appearance. Beet juice concentrate: Provides red color, mimicking meat’s red appearance from myoglobin. No added heme: Unlike Impossible Burger, Beyond doesn’t use soy leghemoglobin. Instead relies on beet juice for color.
The color is achieved through natural ingredients but is still engineered—beet juice alone wouldn’t create the specific meat-like color without other components.
Flavoring Compounds
Natural flavors: Proprietary mix creating meat-like taste. Likely includes yeast extract (for umami nucleotides), plant-derived compounds. Salt: Enhances flavor, critical for meat-like taste. Garlic powder, onion powder: Savory flavor components. Spice extracts: Small amounts for complexity.
The “natural flavors” ingredient is vague but essential—it’s where most of the engineering effort goes to approximate meat flavor.
Processing Aids & Preservatives
Sodium phosphates: Preservatives, texture improvement, pH control. Potassium chloride: Salt replacement in some formulations. Ascorbic acid: Preservative, prevents oxidation. Vitamin & mineral additions: B12, iron, zinc added to improve nutritional profile. No artificial preservatives (marketing point emphasizing “natural”).
The additive package is necessary for shelf stability and nutritional fortification. This is where Beyond’s “highly processed” characterization is most accurate.
Nutritional Profile Comparison
Beyond Meat per 113g patty: 270 calories, 20g protein, 17g fat (5g saturated), 540mg sodium. Beef 85/15 per 113g patty: 200 calories, 22g protein, 11g fat (4g saturated), 75mg sodium. Comparison: Beyond has more calories (from higher fat/processing), comparable protein, more sodium (from additives), more unsaturated fat (from plant oils).
Nutritionally, Beyond is intermediate between meat and processed food—more processed than beef but more protein-dense than vegetables. It’s not nutritionally equivalent to beef due to processing additions.