Plant-based meat has a problem. It may need more meat.
Michael J. Coren | 20 March 2025
Blind taste tests show several blended meats are outperforming conventional meat, in addition to 100 percent plant-based products.
Dumplings in China. Empanadas in Latin America. Meat loaf in the United States.
If you’ve eaten food anywhere on the planet, you’ve probably indulged in some savory blend of meat and vegetables. These recipes have been with us for as long as we’ve had the ingredients. They tend to be a side dish in many traditional cuisines. But as chefs and companies try to make plant-based foods more palatable, they are becoming the main dish.
Last month, I tried meatballs made by the Spare Food Company, which upcycles vegetables typically wasted on the farm. As I bit in, I braced for somewhat off-putting vegetal flavors to hit my tongue. Yet the meatballs were as mouthwatering as the ones my friend’s nona made during her epic four-hour Italian lunches. Maybe better.
I’m not alone in not being able to taste the difference.
Blind taste tests sponsored by climate philanthropy Food System Innovations show that several blended meats are outperforming conventional meat, in addition to 100 percent plant-based products.
These blended or “balanced” proteins — typically 30 to 70 percent plants — have begun making their way into buffet lines and freezer aisles across the country. Spare supplies food service companies with burgers that mix half a dozen veggies with beef in each juicy, umami-rich bite. Perdue’s Chicken PLUS line is convincing thousands of kids to eat their veggies, smuggled inside chicken nuggets. Soon, Mission Barns plans to release a plant-based bacon using lab-grown pork fat: “the biggest missing piece,” argued Eitan Fischer, the company’s CEO.
Since demand for novel plant-based meats has flatlined, blended meats look more and more like the hybrid cars of the food world — a bridge to a plant-based future. Blended offerings can cut emissions by about a third relative to conventional meat. But that doesn’t appear to be their primary appeal. Their greatest potential seems to be among meat eaters whose motivations center on taste, nutrition and convenience.
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