The Burger King Item That Simply Flopped In America

Though it's never reached the same level of prominence as McDonald's, Burger King is still one of the most successful fast food chains ever. And of course it is — it has all the staples of American fast food. The Whopper helped propel Burger King to fame back in the 1950s as its signature burger, and various sandwiches, fries, and chicken nuggets have helped maintain the chain's popularity over the decades. But even success stories have their failures, and Burger King is no exception. We're not talking about Burger King's various scandals over its history, but about something that should have been an easy win: the franchise's now-discontinued vegan chicken nuggets.

If you're familiar, you may have noticed that these nuggets haven't been on the menu for some time. In fact, they weren't on it for very long at all. Made by Impossible Foods, the meatless nuggets were introduced to a select few U.S. locations — Des Moines, Iowa, Florida, and Massachusetts — in October 2021 and sold in eight-piece servings on a trial run. Although Burger King hasn't released performance data for the nuggets, it seems things did not go as hoped. Not only did the BK vegan nuggets never end up going nationwide, but they were nowhere to be found less than a year later. The plant-based nuggets were also sold at United Kingdom Burger Kings starting in 2022, but they too were discontinued in mid-2024.

Burger King's vegan nuggets had all the makings of a hit: They were the first vegan chicken nuggets introduced at any American fast food chain, they looked very similar to real chicken nuggets, and they came from the white-hot Impossible Foods brand. Most importantly, there was a target market. Valued at $1.4 billion by 2022, plant-based meats came second only to plant-based milk, and over 17% of American households were buying it. So, why didn't Burger King's meatless nuggets find their niche?

Burger King hasn't publicly released performance data or given any announcement about why they were discontinued, but as far as speculation goes, the doomed vegan nuggets had things going against them early on. First, they cost twice as much as the classic eight-piece chicken nuggets. And they weren't exactly novel — their trial run launched just after Impossible Foods started selling bags of Impossible nuggets in grocery stores. Reviews were pretty mixed, too. Some customers praised the taste and texture, while others noted an off-putting aftertaste. It's also worth noting that Burger King's regular chicken nuggets have had their fair share of criticism over the years, including customers complaining online that they lack flavor. So, perhaps it's no surprise that a meatless version of the fan-favorite Whopper stayed on the menu, whereas the chicken nuggets version did not (more evidence of this is Panda Express offering a vegan version of its own best-selling item rather than focusing on less-popular items). 

Burger King remains one of the fast food chains with the best vegan options, even if plant-based nuggets are no longer on the menu. The Impossible Whopper has become a menu mainstay, and multiple other meatless options (like an Impossible chicken burger) have had their own trial runs despite the vegan nuggets flopping almost as quickly as they arrived. However, it's worth noting that, in the company's fine print, Burger King does not actually claim its Impossible items meet the requirements of vegan or vegetarian diets, nor are Impossible burger patties cooked on separate grills from regular meat patties.

At international Burger King locations, vegans have even more options. The chain has launched a series of meat-free pop-up stores in Europe and Central America, and stores in Germany have already made a plant-based version of the Whopper and a vegan Long Chicken permanent menu items. Still, it appears that Burger King's vegan nuggets have vanished everywhere, and when or if they'll ever return remains to be seen. If you're craving your own vegan nuggets though, you can always make your own plant-based chicken bites with mushrooms or other meatless ingredients.