What’s in an Impossible™ Burger?

Here’s How Impossible Foods’ Plant-Based Burgers Are Made

The Impossible Burger is made from simple, plant-based ingredients that people have been cooking with and eating safely for thousands of years—protein from soy and potatoes, and fat from sunflowers and coconuts, says Dr. Sue Klapholz, Vice President of Nutrition and Health for Impossible Foods. “Our recipe are created by chefs, scientists and nutrition experts,” she says. “We always aim to match or exceed the nutritional benefits of each product’s animal counterpart, reduce or eliminate any nutritional downsides and add new nutritional value whenever feasible.”

That’s why each serving of Impossible Burger delivers as much protein and iron as 80/20 ground beef, with 0 mg cholesterol (14 g total fat, 8 g saturated fat), no antibiotics and no animal hormones. gives these plant-based burger patties a juicy sizzle when you cook them!)

Protein:

Soy and potato proteins deliver both essential nutrition and help create that “meaty” bite, says Klapholz. “Soy is a high-quality protein,” she says. “It’s also rich in fiber and a good to excellent source of several essential minerals, including magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and iron.” As for the myth that eating soy can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, Klapholz says there’s no scientific evidence to back this up. In fact, “there’s evidence from many large, epidemiological studies that soy consumption reduces the risk of breast cancer,” she adds.

Heme:

The iron-containing molecule heme occurs naturally in every cell of every animal and plant, says Klapholz. “Heme is particularly abundant in animal muscle, and it’s the abundance of heme that makes meat uniquely delicious and also gives meat its characteristic red color.” In fact, the heme in Impossible Burgers is identical to the heme humans have been consuming for hundreds of thousands of years in meat, adds Klapholz. Heme is added to our plant-based burgers to provide bioavailable iron, meaty flavor and color. “The Impossible Burger delivers all the unique taste and bioavailable iron content of beef but uses a fraction of the natural resources.”

Fat:

Think you have to give up that juicy sizzle that makes your mouth water when you throw a plant-based burger on the barbeque instead of a beef burger? Think again. Coconut and sunflower oils not only add flavor, says Klapholz, but they also help plant-based meats look and cook like their traditional beef patty counterparts.

Binders:

You’re likely wondering what holds the healthy ingredients in plant-based burgers together. The answer: methylcellulose (a culinary binder commonly found in ice cream, sauces and jams), and food starch (a carbohydrate commonly found in foods like canned soup).

Vitamins and minerals:

To make sure plant-based burgers deliver the same essential nutrients found in the animal products they’re replacing, several B vitamins and zinc are added ingredients—all of which play a vital role in maintaining good health. B vitamins have a big impact on brain function and energy levels, and zinc is needed to help build a robust immune system.