The best meatless burgers and hot dogs for your grill this summer
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The contenders in the hot dog category. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
In the name of backyard barbecue season, the Axios Indy team got together and tried a variety of meatless burgers and 'dogs, so you know what's worth firing up the grill for this summer.
What we did: We scoured the shelves at Whole Foods, where we knew there'd be a plethora of specialty meat-free options, and Kroger, a more accessible store where the selection wasn't as robust but was surprisingly well-stocked.
- Our top dog and best burger are sold at both stores!
Hot dog results
Best ballpark-style: Field Roast Signature Stadium Dog
- Our take: Looks like a ballpark frank, grills well and has the most authentic taste and texture.
- 💠Lindsey's thought bubble: I'd eat this as a nonvegetarian.
Best flavor: Field Roast Classic Smoked Frankfurters
- Our take: Great smoky, grilled flavor.
- Yes, but: You have to peel off the plastic casing before you can cook it. Not quite the tossing 'dogs on the grill experience.
Best brat-style: Beyond Sausage Plant-Based Links, Hot Italian Style
- Our take: Super spicy flavor and great meaty texture, tasty enough to get past the odd, lumpy appearance on the grill.
- 💠James' thought bubble: It's most likely to fake out your meat-eating friends.
Burger results
Best meatless burger: Beyond Burger Plant-Based Patties
- Our take: The Beyond and Impossible burgers are ubiquitous at this point and it's for good reason — they're delicious. It looked, grilled and tasted like a traditional beef burger.
Most "meaty": Dr. Praeger's Perfect Burger
- Our take: This tasty and very convincing burger was similar to the Beyond but cooked up a bit more medium-rare.
- 💠James' thought bubble: It even leaks some kind of red ooze, fulfilling a deep-seated primal instinct.
Best burger that isn't pretending to be meat: Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger
- Our take: Not every vegetarian wants a burger that looks and tastes like meat. If that's you, consider this violently green, but well-seasoned patty that holds up on the grill.
- 💠Arika's thought bubble: The chunks of carrots and whole peas add a nice texture to something that could have turned mushy.
The other side: We don't recommend either the Lightlife Smart Dogs or Simple Truth Plant-Based Veggie Dogs, which were too mushy and flavorless, or the NoBull Burger, which was disqualified for falling apart on the grill and tasted too lentil-forward.
The bottom line: It's easier than you might think to have a vegetarian-friendly cookout.