Fast Food Review: The BK Veggie Burger from Burger King
Now as I stated previously, I have never really liked veggie burgers. I think I have only ever had them 2 or 3 times in my entire life. So, with a little apprehension, I order one and hope I don’t go away disappointed. As I head back to work, my biggest concern is that I’m hoping this meal doesn’t leave me still hungry.
BK describes their Veggie Burger like this:
BK VEGGIE® Burger
A Morningstar Farms® Garden Veggie Patty, garden crisp vegetables,whole grains, and spices–all topped with lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, ketchup, creamy mayo, and served on a sesame seed bun. If there’s one thing we know, it’s burgers. Even Veggie burgers. No, especially… the BK VEGGIE® Burger.
Sounds pretty good, right? Well, I still don’t really know what to expect, so I unwrap it and dive in. The first thing I notice is that the patty totally covers the bun. Upon first bite I taste the decent mildly spiced flavor and moistness of the patty. The veggie patty was surprisingly not dried out. The bun is your standard sesame seed BK bun, but it’s fresh, sturdy and holds everything together well. I also notice that they put a little too much mayo on the sandwich and I don’t really notice the ketchup. Honestly, there is enough flavor coming from the Veggie patty itself that some of the condiments probably don’t even need to be included. It all comes down to textures, not taste, with most of the extra ingredients. The BK lettuce, wilted as usual, has a lot left to be desired. Unfortunately, it’s causing me to take points off of this sandwich. The tomatoes are OK, not the freshest in the bunch, but edible. Also, a points deduction.
The BK Veggie Burger is approximately the same size as a BK Whopper, so whether it’s fair or not, we are going to compare the nutritional values of the two. It’s not really much of a surprise to show how this Veggie Burger is obviously the better-for-you choice but let’s check it out anyways. The traditional BK Whopper (w/o cheese) has 670 calories and 40 grams of fat while the BK Veggie Burger only has 420 calories and 16 grams of fat. Both sandwich figures are with mayo included so asking to hold the mayo will bring your totals down to 520 calories and 23 grams of fat for the Whopper…340 calories and 8 grams of fat for the Veggie Burger. What a difference a little mayo makes right?
Altogether, I was taken aback that a Veggie Burger could impress me as much as this one did. I think the theme of this review would be ”pleasantly surprised”, so much so that I won’t hesitate to get another one at some point. The Veggie Burger just might be my new item of choice at BK, who knows??? If you take nothing else away from this post, just remember, if you don’t see it on the menu, just ask for it. They just might have what you are looking for.
- Pros: Surprisingly good flavor, Morningstar Farms makes good stuff. Decent price. Filling sandwich. Healthier alternative to the Whopper.
- Cons: BK lettuce-limp, not fresh. Too much mayo and the tomatoes weren’t the best. Still a little shocked on how well I enjoyed this that I might be in for a let down the next time.
Taste: 8.00/10
Value: 8.00/10
Grubbing on the Go: 7.75/10
——————————————
GrubGrade: 8.00/10 (Very Good)
(overall GrubGrade is not an average)
Price: $2.79
Nutrition Facts – BK Veggie Burger w/mayo
Calories – 420
Total Fat – 16 grams
Carbs – grams
Saturated Fat – 2.5 grams
Trans Fat – 0 grams
Cholesterol – 10 milligrams
Sodium – 1090 milligrams
Protein – 23 grams
I’ve actually grown to like Veggie Burgers, and I think that the Gardenburger makes a nice choice. However, I really think veggie burgers benefit from a slice of partially melted cheese rather than Mayo. Maybe it’s just because I hate Mayo and/or the BK people are trying to cater to the vegan crowd, but I’d really be interested in seeing if you could get a slice of American on one of these things.
1mayo is made with eggs, so its not vegan. not that it
2matters to me…i agree, gotta have cheese on my veggie
burgers!
not that cheese is vegan either given it has milk in it lol but i’m surprised that this is morning farms i love morning star veggie patties though. . and still when i make those they aren’t as delicious as what i had at BK lol and I don’t normally care for there food, even when i wasn’t vegetarian:P
3Vegetarian is not vegan these are two different levels of diet. Most vegetarians utilize dairy products. BK will never target the vegan crowd as it would not be cost effective or practical.
4You all realize american cheese is not vegan either…..right?
5“….so much so that I won’t hesitate to get another one at some point. ” – At some point….haha, doesn’t sound too certain…but I know what you mean.
My brother used to be a vegetarian and this was the first thing he ate after getting back from our 50 mile Mount Whitney backpacking trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsilber/sets/72157594199259597
Only thing is….they cook it on all the same stuff as the meats so they’re not true veggie in my mind.
What a difference a little mayo makes……what a difference a little mayo makes
A lot of vegetarian items aren’t necessarily healthier for you (obviously in this case it is) they tend to be fat/sugar laden to make up for taste. I’ve know vegetarians that ate mostly pizza and fries as their diet. I don’t know…guess I’m just saying that healthy is healthy and vegetarian is vegetarian and they’re not synonymous. But hats off to BK for having a veggie option….McD’s doesn’t have this. In’N-Out has a nice grilled chee or just all their fixings sans burger of course….still yummy!
6@Adam-You can get cheese on it, they actually have the nutritional info for it on their site-470 cal/20g of fat. I just ordered it as it came, but I think I’ll try it with a slice of cheese and no mayo next time.
@Bear-I don’t go to BK a lot, but, the next time I go, I will most likely try one again. I want to see if it was fluke or if they really are as good as the first one was
.
7Bear, I’m not so sure they cook the veggie patty on the same equipment as the meat. I’ve heard somewhere before that they actually microwave the veggie patty at BK…. I’m not sure, though.
Heather, what was the texture of the patty like, compared to a BK burger?
8Looks pretty decent Heather…these pictures are somewhat appetizing (nice bun), I’ve seen some terrible pics of this item elsewhere. Yeah I think you are right Adam Bomb about the micro. I’ve tried the BK Veggie Burger twice in my life and the first time it sucked and the second time it was actually good. As is the case with fast food, very hit or miss. I’m one of those that prefers Morningstar Farms over Boca. Fatburger has a Veggie Burger too…I had it a few weeks ago…they use Boca…I’ll have to review it at some point.
As for texture, these veggie pattys are usually a little more dry and dense than typical flame-broiled beef patties at BK.
Besides Fatburger and BK…anyone know if Veggie Burgers are available at other fast food joints?
9Oh…and $2.79 for the sandwich alone seems like a decent deal.
10I don’t know if the veggie is the best choice coming from BK. I would think a grilled chicken patty sand would be better for you. I like veggie burgers but I would buy one from BK 400 some cals is a lot for a veggie.
11@Ryan,
12Good point. A package of Veggie Burgers typically range from 3-5 bucks, so for 2.79 this is very reasonable considering it’s cooked for you and everything. I think the problem is from a marketing standpoint though…A normal dude does not go to BK to order a VB, yet I openly wonder if vegetarians actually “trust” their local 15-year old burger flipper behind the counter to prepare this as a genuine vegetarian item. That leaves a very small market of people actually willing to buy this item.
@Adam…Haha..yeah you’re probably right about “a normal dude does not go to BK to order a VB”.
It probably doesn’t take much for BK to keep a stash of these Morningstar Farms patties sitting around in the rare case someone actually orders it.
Yes I’ve had this a couple times in my life…but I try pretty much everything. I think there are only maybe 2 or 3 items on the entire Chick-fil-A menu that I haven’t had yet.
13I want to try this now. But I gotta ask: In hindsite, do you wish you’d taken a Beano pill first?
14I don’t think the patty is made of beans.
Anyways, these are average. They could definitely improve on them. I don’t know why they omit onions and pickles, although you can request them and hope they don’t get too confused. Also, they always make me pull over because “they gotta cook the veggie meat” even if there’s no one else in line!!
15Now, if they would offer their veggie sausage patties at breakfast…those are delicious with a slice of cheese on a bagel or biscuit, and save a lot of calories and fat!
16I just can’t get into the idea of the whole veggie burger thing. your a brave soul trying one from a fast food joint. Goodness knows what they put in those things.
17I remember when I was in high school, the cafeteria started offering a veggie burger. It was absolutely abysmal, to put it politely. It was this greasy, shapeless mess of unidentifiable chunks. The patty would fall apart if you looked at it wrong, and it tasted purely of mushrooms. Bad mushrooms, at that. Ick….
18@Yum Yucky-haha, no, I didn’t need the “Beano” pills. BTW, the pic that Erin drew of you is awesome!
@devilskware- I didn’t have to wait long at all. Just a min or so at the window.
@Raiders757-Since its a “Morningstar” Veggie burger, I felt a little safer trying it.
19Morningstar has done a great job with their branding. Hats off to their PR people.
That said, their food is about as unhealthy as veggie stuff can be. Take a gander at the ingredient list on their basic ‘Grillers’ patty some time. Full of all sorts of chemicals and multiple sources of MSG.
Check out Amy’s veggie burgers, they have none of the unpronouncable ingredients, and actually taste better too.
20So, the Veggie Burger patty was actually more flavorful than the “FRESH” limp lettuce and “FRESH” bland tomatoes? That’s scary.
21I really want to try this veggie burger it looks great! I am in love with gardenburger blackbean chipotle veggie burgers! Anyone wanting to try a great veggie burger should try this and they only have 3 grams of fat per patty!!!
22The veggie burger is actually microwaved, i had a brief stint as a teenage BK employee. It’s odd to me, though, that they put mayo on the burger, considering it has eggs in it, and many vegetarians don’t eat eggs. Who knows, though.
23@Adam- I went to BK again today and got the Veggie Burger again. This time I asked for it with cheese (they put American) and no mayo. I have to admit that the sandwich was better. They had lettuce, tomato and pickles on it as well. And, shockingly, the lettuce wasn’t bad this time.
24Amys offers a 1/4 pounder that’s great!
25I read all these and really missed the veggie burger they used to have at burger king before. Yeah a real veggie burger. but now there is no patty in there anymore, it’s only 3 or 4 onion rings instead. So sorry about this
26I ordered one of these today, after seeing it on the interwebs. Our BK didn’t have it listed on the menu board either, I had to ask. Which is kind of scary, I wonder how long its been hanging out there? LOL…
Anyway, I agree with this review 100%. I wish they had a “wheat” bun option at BK, it would have been better for me. Next time I will get no mayo and no ketchup, for sure.
Great review!
27When the BK Veggie first came out they flame broiled it on the same grill they cooked meat. Strict vegetarians could ask for their patty to be microwaved. Eventually BK microwaved all their veggie patties. Have to admit the flame broiled patty was better; perhaps they could at least have a George Foreman style grill for the Veggie; that would be an improvement. I find the BK Veggie equally good with mayo or mustard so I usually sub mustard. I’m a vegetarian but I probably only eat 1 or 2 BK Veggies a year; usually when I’m with a group that wants to go someplace with a drive-through. I’d rank it as ok but nothing special. Morningstar Farm’s Garden Veggie patty is good but their Griller’s Prime is much better and would make a better burger. There are places with better veggie burgers but none with a drive-through. I like Chili’s burgers with their black bean patty much better. Which Wich’s black bean patty sandwich is the only one I’d rate as excellent.
28Not a vegan at all, but I love these. They taste awesome!
29What they should do instead is add broccoli and ranch to the burger. Veggie burgers are the best like that.
30As a vegetarian (not vegan), I think it would be OK if microwaved, perhaps OK if flame broiled. Frying on the same grill as the fish would defeat the vegetarian purpose.
31I eat these all the time. But the only way to do it is order with with ketchup, mustard, and pickles only. Delicious. Its good if you add cheese as well.
32I would substitute the mayonnaise and ketchup with mustard and pickles.
33