I compared McDonald's McPlant with Burger King's plant-based Whopper. They were similar

November 28, 2021

I compared McDonald's McPlant with Burger King's plant-based Whopper. They were similar — but one was much smaller than the other.

McDonald's McPlant Burger King plant-based vegan Whopper — I compared the two plant-based burgers to see which came out top.
Grace Dean/Insider

McDonald's has rolled out a new vegan burger with a Beyond Meat patty.
I compared it with Burger King's plant-based Whopper.
The Whopper was much bigger – but it didn't come with vegan cheese.

McDonald's rolled out sales of its new plant-based burger, the McPlant, in the UK a few weeks ago. It's now trialling it at eight restaurants in the US.

McDOnald's McPlant — McDonald's is testing the McPlant in the US.
McDonald's

Source: Insider, Insider

But Burger King UK started selling the Rebel Whopper, a meat-free version of its flagship burger, in early 2020. It's since rebranded it as the Plant-Based Whopper, and Burger King seems to have doubled down on advertising since the McPlant was launched.

Burger King Newcastle — Burger King has been heavily promoting its Plant-Based Whopper.
Grace Dean/Insider

I ordered a McPlant and a plant-based Whopper to see how they compare.

The first thing that struck me was the difference in size. The Whopper (on the right) seemed huge compared with the McPlant. Burger King says the plant-based Whopper weighs in at 10 ounces, the same weight as a meat-based Whopper.

Both burgers had generic burger toppings – lettuce, onion, ketchup, tomato, and pickles – but there were some differences.

The McPlant came with a vegan cheese alternative, and also had mustard and a vegan sandwich sauce.

The plant-based Whopper, on the other hand, came with vegan mayo and no cheese.

I tried Burger King's Plant-Based Whopper.
Grace Dean/Insider

Like when you order a meat-based Whopper, you could pay an extra £0.50 ($0.67) to add cheese to the burger. However, this would render the burger non-plant-based because the chain doesn't have dairy-free cheese.

Interestingly, Burger King classes its meat-free Whopper as plant-based but not vegan. This is because, while the patty is plant-based, it's cooked on the same broiler as its meat namesake.

Vegan plant-based Whopper — Burger King doesn't class its meat-free Whopper as vegan.
Grace Dean/Insider

Source: Insider

The McPlant, on the other hand, is approved as vegan by the UK Vegetarian Society.

McPlant vs McDonald's Quarter Pounder — Grace Dean/Insider

Both patties looked very similar ...

... although the Whopper patty was much bigger. Burger King also offered the option to double up by adding an extra plant-based patty, while I didn't notice this being available at McDonald's.

The McPlant tasted delicious. I really like it with the vegan cheese, though it didn't melt at all, unlike the dairy-based cheese slices in McDonald's other burgers. The pea-protein patty, developed with fake-meat giant Beyond Meat, was much sweeter than the patty in the Whopper.

Source: Insider

The plant-based Whopper was also delicious. Its patty tasted a little more meaty and barbecue-y.

The McPlant cost £3.79 ($5.07) on its own, rising to £5.29 ($7.08) as a medium meal and £5.69 ($7.62) as a large meal. This is the same as a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

Source: Insider

The plant-based Whopper cost the same as its meat-based namesake — £4.99 ($6.68) on its own, £6.99 ($9.36) as a regular meal, and £7.49 ($10.03) as a large meal.

Both burgers were delicious, and as someone who's trying to reduce their meat consumption, I'd rather have them instead of the chains' burgers that contain real meat ...