In February, Beyond Meat launched two new versions of Beyond Steak: Beyond Steak Chimichurri and Beyond Steak Korean BBQ-Style. I’d never tried the original (which launched Oct 2022) in part because I was happy enough with the products I already eat, and in part because it’s a bit pricey. So when I saw some Beyond Steak Chimichurri at the Grocery Outlet ($6.99 instead of the normal price of around $8-$9) I decided to give it a go – all in the name of science!
Beyond Steak is not a single piece of steak but chunks of faux meat (“plant-based seared tips”), usually sold in a 10 oz. frozen bag containing three servings. I’m used to taking the serving size with a pinch of salt (metaphorically) but I’m just realizing that I ate the Beyond Steak over three nights, so I really did stick to the serving size for a change! Getting three servings per bag (each delivering 20 grams of protein) helps justify the fairly high price for Beyond Steak.
I’m a fan of Beyond Meat sausages and burgers so I was kind of optimistic that the Beyond Steak would be good too, but at the same time wondering if I’d enjoy a steak-like texture or taste. At first I was hesitant about it but it actually grew on me, the more I ate. Even though it I ate it three nights in a row, I actually enjoyed it the most on night three – something I can’t say about too many dishes.
Review of Beyond Steak (w/fennel and mushrooms)
Normally when I’m trying out a new product like this I’ll stick to the prescribed cooking directions (5 minutes in a lightly oiled non-stick skillet over medium heat) but this time I went my own way. First I cooked some sliced fennel and shallots until starting to brown. Then I added the steak tips and sliced red peppers and then, after a couple of minutes, some mushrooms. After adding the steak tips I probably sautéed them for ten minutes – with the lid on at times – as it was quite a lot of food. The steak and veggies created a bit of a fond (Oh là là) on the bottom of the pan, which I deglazed with a little veggie stock at the end, tying the ingredients together.
I’m glad I cooked it this way as the combination of browned fennel with steak and mushrooms (plus that deglazed fond!) added a lot of umami-rich flavor to the dish. I just served it with rice, but it would be really good as a taco filling, topped with avocado slices. For something that I put together quickly as a last-minute, low-blood-sugar, midweek meal, I was impressed with the results (The photo could be better though!). Beyond Steak serves as a good replacement for regular steak tips, adding a beefy flavor that goes very well with red wine 🙂
Beyond Steak – ingredients and nutrition
Beyond Steak, Chimichurri, Ingredients: Water, Wheat Gluten. Faba Bean Protein, Expeller-pressed Canola Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% Or Less Of Garlic Powder, Salt, Onion Powder, Potassium Salt, Spices (with Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Red Pepper, Celery), Sugar, Citric Acid, Vinegar, Pomegranate Concentrate, Yeast Extract. Vegetable Juice Color, Olive Oil.
Beyond Steak, Chimichurri, Nutrition Facts per ¾ cup serving size: Calories: 170, Total Fat: 6 g (8% of recommended daily intake), Saturated Fat: 1 g (5%), Trans Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 360 mg (16%), Total Carb 8 g (3%), Dietary Fiber 1 g (4%), Total Sugar 1 g, Protein: 20 g, Vitamin D: 0 mg (0%), Calcium: 30 mg (2%), Iron: 1.5 mg (8 %), Potassium: 550 mg (10%)
Beyond Steak have recently focused on developing products that are made from simple ingredients. This is partly in response to campaigns by the meat industry to detract from plant-based alternatives by calling them ultra-processed. I’ve no problem with the ingredients of the original products and feel that some of the changes (e.g., using avocado oil instead of coconut oil for some of them) were not that necessary. But they gained the approval from the American Heart Association, so perhaps it was worth it.
The oil used in Beyond Steak products is expeller-pressed canola oil. I’m happy with this as canola contains one of the best fat profiles among the vegetable oils (such as a pretty good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids). With 20 grams of protein per serving, combined with dietary fiber and low fat levels, I would be comfortable eating Beyond Steak on a regular basis.
The massive environmental footprints of beef
Even though I’ve reviewed a few Beyond Meat products at this stage (most recently, Beyond Chicken tenders, which are among my favorite vegan chicken nuggets) I decided to also review this Beyond Steak product. That’s because it’s really critical that we find some good plant-based replacements for animal products that come from ruminants.
Over on the Green Stars Project, I’ve been looking in detail at the environmental footprints of meat and other foods and came to the conclusion that quitting beef is the most effective action we can take as consumers to protect the future of Planet Earth. Therefore, plant-based alternatives to products such as beef and steak are a key step in addressing planetary threats such as deforestation.
Ethical rating for Beyond Steak
Here’s a summary of how I feel about the social and environmental impact of Beyond Steak, which I’m rating 4.5 out of 5 Green Stars:
- All Beyond Meat products are vegan. Adopting a plant-based diet is the top thing you can do to mitigate climate change, deforestation, animal cruelty, and food scarcity.
- A life-cycle assessment showed that a Beyond Meat burger is far more sustainable than beef, cutting water use, land use, and greenhouse-gas emissions by over 90% each.
- According to a highly-regarded study by Oxford scientists, the environmental footprints of legumes and wheat (the main ingredients for Beyond Steak) are generally at least 50 times lower than those of beef.
- Legumes such as fava beans require far less fertilizer because the plants fix their own nitrogen.
- The ingredients are non-GMO. This matters to me mostly because non-GMO crops are less likely to be grown from seeds coated with neonics (and other pesticides) than genetically-modified crops.
- Beyond Meat products do not contain palm oil.
- Since my last review of Beyond Chicken tenders, Beyond Meat has started issuing environmental and social governance reports.
Summary scores (out of 5) for Beyond Steak:
- 4 gold stars for quality and value
- 4.5 green stars for social and environmental impact
If you have a different opinion, please share your rating!
Join the Green Stars Project!
Join the Green Stars Project (GSP) movement by including a Green Stars rating whenever you write a review. This is one of the most effective ways to hold corporations accountable while sharing our knowledge on ethical issues.
For more information, see these articles on the GSP:
Why we need crowdsourced ethical ratings
How to decide on an ethical rating, taking the example of a café
Grocery Outlet Ethical Bargains 
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