Beyond Burger Plant-Based Patties: Nutrition & Labelgrade B (75/100)
B 75 / 100 — Hits a real protein number (20g) very close to ground beef using pea + rice protein. Trade-offs: 23-ingredient panel with methylcellulose binder, elevated sodium (390mg per patty), and saturated fat from coconut oil. Best-in-class for plant-based meat-mimics; not winning against tofu or whole-food protein on ingredient simplicity.
🛒 Buy on Amazon →The short answer
The Beyond Burger delivers 20 g of protein per 113 g patty for 231 calories (USDA FDC 2367272) — roughly 17.7 g per 100 g, within about 10% of an 80/20 ground-beef patty. That protein parity is the entire reason the product exists, and it’s real. It earns a B (75/100). What holds it back is the flip side of mimicking beef so convincingly: to sear, firm up, and “bleed,” the recipe leans on refined coconut oil and cocoa butter (5 g saturated fat, on par with beef) and a manufacturing salt dose (390 mg sodium), all assembled from a 23-ingredient panel. This is the clearest “plant-based does not automatically mean healthy” case on the site.
Why the B
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | B | 77 / 100 | 17.7 g per 100 g — exceptional for a plant source. The pea + rice blend covers each other’s amino-acid gaps, so it’s complete, not just abundant |
| Ingredient quality | B | 75 / 100 | 23 items, none artificial, but methylcellulose binder, two refined tropical oils, and protein isolates make it engineered food, not whole food |
| Saturated fat | B- | 73 / 100 | 5 g per patty — about a beef burger’s worth, from the coconut oil and cocoa butter that give it meat-like firmness |
| Sodium | C | 64 / 100 | 390 mg per patty, ~5× plain ground beef. Salted during manufacturing, so you can’t dial it back at home — the grade’s biggest drag |
| Sugar | A+ | 100 / 100 | 0 g. Savory-engineered with no added sweetness, despite the long panel |
| Fiber | D | 43 / 100 | 2 g per patty — a trace from the plant bases. Not a fiber food |
The two A+/B grades and the two low ones tell the story cleanly. Sugar is a non-issue and the protein is genuinely beef-class. But sodium and saturated fat — the two things shoppers often assume a veggie burger automatically improves on versus beef — are exactly where it loses points, and neither is incidental. Both are byproducts of making a plant patty behave like ground chuck.
The texture is the saturated fat
This is the most misunderstood thing about the product. A Beyond patty sizzles, browns, and holds a burger shape because of refined coconut oil and cocoa butter — fats that stay solid at room temperature the way beef tallow does. Swap them for a liquid oil and the patty turns greasy and falls apart on the grill. So the 5 g of saturated fat per patty isn’t a formulation oversight; it’s load-bearing. That’s why “I switched to Beyond to cut saturated fat” doesn’t hold up: per patty it matches an 80/20 beef burger almost gram for gram. The honest reasons to choose it are zero dietary cholesterol (0 mg vs ~80 mg in beef), no animal product, and a far smaller land and water footprint — not a lower saturated-fat number.
vs tofu: the plant-protein fork in the road
The other product in this exact package size on the site is House Foods Organic Tofu, and the two represent opposite philosophies of plant protein.
| Product | Protein per serving | Per 100 g | Sodium | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Burger (this product) | 20 g (113 g patty) | 17.7 g | 390 mg | 23 |
| House Foods Organic Tofu | 14 g (85 g) | 16.5 g | 0 mg | 4 |
The protein density is nearly a tie (17.7 vs 16.5 g per 100 g). Everything else is a chasm: tofu is four ingredients with literally zero added sodium and scores A-; Beyond is twenty-three ingredients with 390 mg of manufacturing salt and scores B (75/100). The split isn’t about which is “better protein” — it’s what you want from a plant. Tofu is a near-whole food you season and shape yourself. Beyond is engineered to drop into a bun and behave like beef with no learning curve. You’re paying for that convenience in the ingredient panel and the sodium line, and Beyond’s higher per-patty protein (20 g vs 14 g) is the upside of that engineering.
Where it actually wins
Set against the other meat-mimics rather than whole foods, the Beyond Burger holds up. It hits an honest 20 g of protein — genuinely close to beef — which most plant patties miss, and it does it without artificial colors or flavors. If the goal is to swap a beef burger for a plant one with minimal compromise on protein or cooking experience, this is a strong pick. The mistake is treating “plant-based” as a health upgrade by default: judged as food rather than as a beef substitute, the sodium and saturated fat keep it a B, and a plain block of tofu or a chicken breast beats it on nearly every nutritional dimension. Buy it for what it’s for.
Ingredients
Water, pea protein, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, dried yeast, cocoa butter, methylcellulose, and 1% or less of: potato starch, salt, potassium chloride, beet juice color, apple extract, pomegranate concentrate, sunflower lecithin, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, and added vitamins and minerals (zinc sulfate, niacinamide [B3], pyridoxine hydrochloride [B6], cyanocobalamin [B12], calcium pantothenate). (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2367272.)
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 1 patty (113 g)
852629004583See how this fits your day — protein calculator · macro calculator
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1 patty (113 g)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 231 |
| Protein | 20g |
| Total Fat | 14g |
| Saturated Fat | 5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 7g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g |
| Total Sugars | 0g |
| Added Sugars | 0g |
| Sodium | 390mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Calcium | 99mg |
| Iron | 4mg |
| Potassium | 330mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Beyond Burger Plant-Based Patties (8 oz (226 g) — 2-patty pack) · UPC 852629004583. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains animal-derived ingredients
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in a Beyond Burger patty?
20 g per 113 g (4 oz) patty, for 231 calories — about 17.7 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 2367272). That lands within roughly 10% of an 80/20 ground-beef patty (~22 g), which is the whole point of the product: most plant proteins come nowhere near beef's density.
What gives a Beyond Burger its protein, and is it complete?
Pea protein is the lead, with rice protein second. Pea is naturally low in the amino acid methionine; rice is comparatively rich in it. Blending the two covers the gap, so the patty delivers a complete amino-acid profile that a single plant source usually can't.
Why is the saturated fat as high as beef?
5 g per patty — about the same as a 4-oz beef burger, and the reason this isn't 'automatically healthier than beef.' It comes from two tropical fats in the recipe: refined coconut oil and cocoa butter. Both are solid at room temperature, which is exactly what lets the patty firm up, sear, and hold together like ground meat. The texture you're buying is the saturated fat.
How does it make a plant patty 'bleed'?
Beet juice color. It's the 13th ingredient, present at under 1%, and it stains the interior red so the patty looks like it's bleeding as it cooks. There's no heme or animal blood involved — it's purely visual, distinct from how Impossible Burger uses soy leghemoglobin for the same effect.
Why is the sodium a C grade?
390 mg per patty (~17% of the FDA daily limit), roughly 345 mg per 100 g. The patty is seasoned during manufacturing, so it cooks like a pre-salted beef patty — versus plain ground beef at ~75 mg per 100 g, that's about five times the sodium, and you can't season it back down at home. It's the single biggest drag on the grade.
Is a Beyond Burger actually healthier than a beef burger?
It's a trade, not an upgrade. Beyond wins on cholesterol (0 mg vs ~80 mg in beef) and runs a bit leaner on calories. But it matches beef on saturated fat (5 g), carries far more sodium (390 mg vs ~75 mg), and does it with a 23-ingredient panel against beef's one. 'Plant-based' describes the source, not the nutrition.
Why is the ingredient list so long for a burger?
Twenty-three items, because the patty is engineered rather than ground. Beyond has to rebuild beef's protein, fat, bind, color, and flavor from plant parts: pea + rice protein for structure, canola + coconut oil + cocoa butter for fat, methylcellulose to bind it, beet juice to color it, and a tail of acids and flavors. None are artificial, but it's assembled food, not a whole one.
Is Beyond Burger keto-friendly?
Borderline. Net carbs are ~5 g per patty (7 g total minus 2 g fiber) — right at the edge of a strict keto threshold. The 20 g protein and 14 g fat fit a keto macro split fine; the carbs are the only thing to watch, and they come from the potato starch and protein bases, not from sugar (0 g).