Plant-based meat alternatives are beefing up menus … without the beef.
Famous Dave’s in July announced it had partnered with Beyond Meat to launch a test of plant-based protein menu items. Famous Dave’s said it has been experimenting with different recipes and ingredients for months.
The BBQ Bowl includes barbecue seasoned Beyond Meat combined with lettuce, cilantro lime rice, chili beans, roasted sweet corn, jalapeños, chopped tomatoes and red onions.
The Tropical Burger features a Beyond Burger patty stacked with grilled pineapple, spicy pickles, tomato, onion and lettuce all topped with the chain’s Famous Texas Pit sauce.
The BBQ Street Tacos combine barbecue seasoned Beyond Meat with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and Fritos corn chips wrapped in three warm corn tortillas.
The Fritos BBQ Nachos dish features a bed of Fritos corn chips topped with seasoned Beyond Meat, barbecue beans, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, red onions, jalapeños and Famous Texas Pit sauce.
The test rolled out in four locations throughout Colorado and one in Minneapolis in July, with the intention of being deployed throughout the restaurant’s network this fall.
Subway debuted its new Beyond Meatball Marinara sub in early August. The sandwich is the result of a new culinary innovation partnership with alternative protein maker Beyond Meat to test exclusive plant-based protein options. The Beyond Meatball Marinara sub includes marinara sauce, grated Parmesan cheese and the first-ever Beyond Meatball created just for Subway all served on toasted bread. The 685 participating Subway restaurants in the United States and Canada began offering the sandwich in September as a limited-time offer.
In May, Little Caesars teamed up with Impossible Foods to launch the Impossible Supreme Pizza. Topped with Impossible Sausage made from plants, the pie also includes tomato sauce, mozzarella and Muenster cheeses, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and green peppers.
To develop the Impossible Sausage for Little Caesars’ new pizza, Impossible Foods' scientists developed Impossible Sausage, then the product was custom seasoned for Little Caesars with the savory seasonings, taste and texture characteristics of traditional sausage used as pizza toppings.
In July, Dunkin’ partnered with Beyond Meat to bring a new breakfast option to the table: the Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich. The Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich features a plant-based patty made with peas, mung beans, rice, sunflower oil and coconut oil plus a mix of spices crafted specifically for Dunkin’, the chain said. Served on an English muffin with egg and American cheese, the offering provides 10 grams of plant-based protein.
The sandwich is part of the company’s commitment to offer consumers “a wide range of menu choices to fit their individual lifestyle needs,” Dunkin’ said. The new offering is available at participating Dunkin’ restaurants in Manhattan with plans for a future national roll-out.
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. in July expanded its partnership with Beyond Meat, which began in December 2018, to offer two new burritos featuring the company’s meat-mimicking plant protein crumbles.
The Beyond 8 Layer Burrito contains seasoned Beyond Meat plant-based crumbles layered with slow-cooked beans, guacamole, diced tomatoes, lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, zesty red sauce and sour cream wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.
The Epic Beyond Cali Burrito includes seasoned Beyond Meat plant-based crumbles combined with crinkle-cut fries, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo salsa in a warm oversized flour tortilla.
Aramark Corp. has joined forces with Beyond Meat, Inc. to build out its plant-based menu selections with the company’s meatless burgers, sausages, crumbles and more. Aramark’s present and future dishes featuring Beyond Meat products include bowls, plates, burgers, sausage and brats.
In the bowl category, Aramark is developing a gumbo bowl for hospital patient menus using Beyond Sausage. The gumbo bowl will be part of its patient bowl pilot program.
The Twisted Beet, Aramark’s new plant-forward comfort food dining concept, serves a range of plant-based plates. The concept’s Creole Beyond Sausage Plate, a New Orleans-inspired dish, features “dirty grains” and greens topped with Beyond Sausage.
Aramark continues to develop Beyond Burger concepts for sports stadiums, including a Caribbean-inspired burger topped with black beans, avocado, pineapple and sriracha. The burger will be served at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Also aimed at sports fans, Aramark has created a range of sausages and brats featuring Beyond Meat to be served at baseball stadiums. At Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium, Aramark offers a Beyond Sausage topped with fried shallots, and a Beyond Sausage Brat Original is available at a dedicated vegan stand at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y.
Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada began serving Beyond Meat Breakfast Sandwiches featuring plant-based sausage patties in June. Options include the Beyond Sausage Egg & Cheese; Beyond Sausage Farmer’s Wrap and Beyond Sausage Lettuce Tomato.
In July, Tim Hortons added the Beyond Burger to its menu. The Traditional Beyond Burger is topped with cheese, tomato, mayo and lettuce, and The BBQ Beyond Burger added barbecue sauce to the mix.
Innovative limited-edition menu items make their debut.
Beverage innovation is on the rise.