If you haven’t heard yet, you will soon, because this month (March 2023) Denny’s is discontinuing their Beyond Burger and is switching to a Veggie Patty.
I have to say, we have the best people across the US using VeggL. You all let us know the second a change is happening in a restaurant or if one of our vegan guides needs an update. Being a two-person team (wife & husband) who have created this, it is incredibly helpful in keeping our guides updated.
Denny’s is replacing its Beyond Burger?
With that said, this is how we found out that Denny’s will no longer be carrying the Beyond Burger. I have to give a special thank you to our VeggL user, Stephanie, for giving me the heads up. Unfortunately, it was not a happy email though.
She said she visits Denny’s every weekend visiting with her non-vegan family members and orders the Beyond Burger. Stephanie said the manager let her know they are going to stop selling them in March (2023) and once the location is out of its current stock of Beyond Patties, they will be switching to a new Veggie Patty.
We have confirmed this information with Denny’s.
I want to preface this with what a lot of opinions have been on animal-free burgers in the last 6 months or so… at least from what I have read. I obviously understand the push for vegan/animal-free burgers/options in chain restaurants in general, having been vegan for almost 13 years myself.
But I have noticed some people expressing opinions on wanting the veggie-style patties to come back.
It sounds funny to say because vegan burgers that resemble their animal-based counterpart (Beyond, Impossible) have really only been around for a few short years, but people seem to want the “old-school” ones back.
You know, the ones where you can see the veggies and beans.
Personally, I’m on the fence on this one. If we go out to eat, which we seldom do, I prefer a “burger.” And when I’m home, I choose the healthier option.
The problem is, and we really know this at VeggL because we’ve done the research, the veggie-style ones that restaurants would offer were NOT vegan. They contained either eggs, dairy or both. They were vegetarian.
The only chain restaurant that I can recall that began offering a veggie patty that is vegan, and still does offer this veggie patty, is White Castle. We have their vegan guide here if you want to take a look. But they offer this veggie patty AND an Impossible patty.
Do you know what Denny’s and White Castle have in common?
Once Denny’s stock of Beyond patties has run out, Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burger will be its replacement. Dr. Praeger’s is what White Castle uses for their Veggie Sliders.
Dr. Praeger’s offers a variety of veggie patties… is it the same patty?
Yes!
Technically, the same ingredients but White Castle’s burgers are sliders (aka tiny burgers). Denny’s will be joining White Castle by offering Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burger.
What is the difference between a Beyond Burger and Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burger, nutritionally?
According to Denny’s Nutrition Guide, their Beyond Patty has the following nutrition facts:
- 270 calories
- 19g fat
- 6g saturated fat
- 0g cholesterol –> there is no cholesterol in animal-free food 🙂
- 860g sodium
- 7g carbs
- 2g fiber
- 0g sugar
- 20g protein
And the ingredients, I pulled from Beyond Meat’s website
, are:
Water, pea protein, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, dried yeast, cocoa butter, methylcellulose, and less than 1% of potato starch, salt, potassium chloride, beet juice color, apple extract, pomegranate concentrate, sunflower lecithin, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, vitamins and minerals (zinc sulfate, niacinamide [vitamin B3], pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], cyanocobalamin [vitamin B12], calcium pantothenate).
Dr. Praeger’s California Burger has the following nutrition facts:
- 130 calories
- 6g fat
- .5g saturated fat
- 0g cholesterol
- 250mg sodium
- 13g carbs
- 5g fiber
- 1g sugar
- 5g protein
And the ingredients are:
Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Oat Bran, Soybeans, Zucchini, Peas, Broccoli, Corn, Soy Flour, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Red Peppers, Arrowroot, Corn Starch, Garlic, Corn Meal, Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper
I want to point out that Denny’s has not updated their nutrition facts information with the Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Patty… I’m assuming it will be the same but it could be off a bit. I say this because the current nutritional information for their Beyond patty does not match up exactly with what Beyond has on their website.
How about the taste?
The taste is going to be completely different. Please know this going into trying one. A patty no matter how you create it with veggies and beans IS going to taste different than a meatless patty that was created with the goal of tasting like an animal-based burger.
On one hand, just look at the ingredient list of each. Those two burgers are vegan but one is considered very whole-food-centric. Not to be confused with whole food plant based. It’s close but whole food plant based burgers do not contain oil; whereas Dr. Praeger’s uses oil.
And with the Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Patty, you will visibly see a lot of those ingredients in it! Most are blended to create the patty but you still see bits of carrot, bean, zucchini, etc.
When is the transition happening?
Essentially the transition is happening now. Once each location has run out of their allotted Beyond patties, they will begin serving the Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Patty. Denny’s has told me mid-March, but I know some locations are already serving it.
Our suggestion prior to ordering is to ask what your location is currently offering. Because at this time, the Beyond Burger is still on the menu. But if they do not have anymore, they automatically give you the Veggie Patty, which as we have mentioned, tastes completely different.
If this is a concern for you, ask!
Denny’s Vegan Guide
We have a Denny’s vegan guide with all of the potential vegan options you can find at Denny’s. We even include cross-contamination information to allow you to choose what you are the most comfortable with when ordering.
In Conclusion…
We understand that there is going to be a split between people being ok with this change and others who are not going to be happy. It honestly comes down to taste preference and what you’re used to. But if you have not tried a more whole food approach to a vegan burger, try it, you never know.
What I like to take away from this as a positive is that Denny’s is NOT choosing to completely eliminate a meatless option. For whatever reason they have, they have chosen to no longer carry the Beyond Burger BUT have chosen a burger that is still animal free.
That, we can at least give them some credit for.
A lot of people have not been happy with this change. You are not alone! -Jen
I can’t eat beef due to my gallbladder. Having a burger option that tasted like a burger was so nice since my choices are so limited. A veggie burger made out of vegetables tastes like vegetables not a burger. I’m extremely bummed. 😭