Yes, you can eat Beyond Meat raw, but you shouldn’t. Even though there’s no meat in it, Beyond Meat specifically says that you should not eat Beyond Meat raw to be as safe as possible.
Raw Beyond Meat will taste gross, won’t digest as easily, and there’s a small chance of it having bacteria or something that could make you sick.
Undercooked is a different story. When properly cooked, Beyond Burgers often look raw inside when the outsides seem cooked.
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Beyond Burgers Should Be a Bit Pink On the Inside When Cooked
If you cook a Beyond Burger properly, whether in a frying pan or in the oven, it will look undercooked, but won’t be.
On their website, it even says:
DO NOT OVERCOOK. INTERIOR OF PATTY WILL STILL BE RED OR PINK WHEN FULLY COOKED.
If you follow the cooking instructions (3 minutes on each side, cooked to an internal temperature of 165), the sides will be a bit crispy, and the inside will still look “raw.”
It’s perfectly safe to eat at this point.
If you want to keep cooking it more, you can, but it will start to affect the texture and taste. You may find you like it like that, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Finally, here are the best lettuces for lettuce wraps if you want to eat your Beyond Burger without a bun.
As long as the outside faces of your Beyond Meat look cooked, your patty is likely fully cooked, even if the inside still appears a bit pink.
Can You Get Sick From Eating Undercooked Beyond Meat?
If your Beyond Meat is truly undercooked, meaning it’s basically cold, it could make you feel sick.
If you’re eating it raw, you’re eating uncooked pea protein powder among other things, so it’s not surprising that you won’t feel well.
Can You Get Sick From Beyond Meat?
It’s unlikely to get sick from eating Beyond Meat passed getting an upset stomach.
Food poisoning is much less of a risk from plant-based food, which is one of the benefits of Beyond Meat.
Even if it’s defrosted on the counter for a bit too long, you don’t have to be as worried about something like salmonella like you would be from meat.
However, some people do report that Beyond Meat gives them an upset stomach, nausea, headaches, gas, or other similar symptoms.
There’s likely 2 main reasons aside from cross contamination with other troublesome foods.
Reason #1 – Methyl Cellulose
In small amounts methyl cellulose is tolerated just fine by the vast majority of people.
It’s used as a thickener in food.
However, it’s also a bulk-forming laxative. Some people could hypothetically be more sensitive to it, or have issues when eating multiple servings of Beyond products.
Reason #2 – Beyond Products Have a Lot of Fat
This isn’t really any different from most types of meat, but about 60% of calories from Beyond Burgers (for example, others are similar) come from fat:
This is mostly from coconut oil, which by itself can cause stomach problems for some people.
Beyond Meat gives certain people stomach issues. If you find that you regularly have digestive problems after eating Beyond Meat, try a different plant-based meat like Impossible Meat to see if it’s the specific ingredients that are the problem.
Does Beyond Meat Go Bad?
Finally, if someone gets sick from eating Beyond Meat, it’s possible that it the Beyond Meat went bad.
This isn’t as likely with a plant-based product, but all foods expire at some point. Unwanted microbes can reproduce quickly, especially if you thaw Beyond Meat at room temperature. That’s why you should thaw it in the fridge if you don’t want to cook it directly from frozen.
While this isn’t a big concern if eating out, you should always smell and inspect Beyond Meat products before cooking them.
Yes, I know they smell kind of weird normally, but you can usually tell a distinct difference if they’re expired.
However, as long as you store them correctly, they last a long time.
Personally, I’ve frozen and eaten some Beyond Burgers long past the expiry date and had no issues.
