Subway is jumping on the plant-based meat alternative bandwagon, announcing this week that it is introducing a meatless meatball sub to menus.
The chain revealed that it has teamed up with Beyond Meat to add the meatless option to the menu, and will serve up a Beyond Meatball Marinara sub in 685 restaurants in the United States and Canada starting next month.
The sandwich, which is visually nearly identical to the regular meatball sub, will be available on a test run basis for a limited time.
Coming soon! Subway announced that a new meatless meatball sandwich will roll out next month at 685 restaurants
Not vegan: The sandwich, which is visually nearly identical to the regular meatball sub (pictured), is made with Provolone and Parmesan cheeses
‘Our guests want to feel good about what they eat and they also want to indulge in new flavors,’ Len Van Popering, Subway’s chief brand and innovation officer, said in a statement.
‘With our new plant-based Beyond Meatball Marinara sub, we are giving them the best of both worlds.’
While the ‘meatballs’ are vegetarian, though, the full sandwich isn’t vegan, since it’s also made with Provolone and Parmesan cheeses.
Subway is just the latest in an ever-growing list of brands and restaurants offering up plant-based meat options.
According to Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute, retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11 per cent in the US in the past year.
Another one! Dunkin’ debuted its first plant-based breakfast sausage sandwich, the new Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, at select locations in Manhattan
Last month, Dunkin’ announced that it is testing out a Beyond Meat Sausage Breakfast Sandwich at select locations in Manhattan, and has plans to offer them across the country in the future.
The sandwich is made with an English muffin, egg, American cheese, an plant-based Beyond Breakfast Sausage.
The partnership between Dunkin’ and Beyond Meat kicked off in New York City in late July, and the $4.29 sandwich will continue to be available to buy at 163 restaurants in the area before the national rollout.
Several other restaurants are offering meat alternatives, too. White Castle and Red Robin both have added meatless burgers to their offerings which have proven so popular that they had shortages of their plant-based ‘Impossible Burger’ at branches across the country in June.
Competition: There’s a growing list of fast food and restaurant chains to introduce plant-based ‘meat’ options to their menus
Popular: According to Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute, retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11 per cent in the US in the past year
Hooters, Carl’s Jr., A&W, and TGI Fridays have also launched plant-based burgers as well, while Qdoba introduced Impossible tacos and bowls in February.
Little Caesar’s was testing an ‘Impossible Supreme Pizza’ featuring meatless sausage crumbles in May, KFC said it is exploring plant-based alternatives, and IKEA is working on meatless meatballs.
Burger King also announced that its Impossible Whopper — which began testing at select locations in April — will be available nationwide starting this week.
However, fine print for the meatless burger indicates that it’s not strictly vegetarian or vegan-friendly.
The meatless patties are still grilled in the same place as beef burgers and chicken, meaning they could still be contaminated with meat.
Not so meat-free! Burger King’s Impossible Whopper isn’t actually vegetarian or vegan — since it’s grilled in the same place as burgers
The Impossible Whopper — which was never marketed as vegan, and was instead described as being ‘0% beef’ — is served with an Impossible Foods burger patty that’s made with soy protein, coconut oil, potato protein, sunflower oil and heme — a plant-based ingredient that makes the burger ‘taste like meat’.
But Burger Kings don’t have a designated vegan-certified spot to cook them, and according to the website, they are ‘flame-grilled in the same broiler used for beef and chicken.’
That could stop both vegetarians and vegans in their tracks.
Vegetarians can request that the Impossible patties be cooked in a separate broiler, which could be enough to ease their minds.
However, vegans would have to have them cooked in a separate broiler and forgo toppings for the Impossible Burger to be vegan.
That’s because in addition to tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, onions, and pickles, it’s also topped with mayo — which is made with eggs.