White Castle, home to the little bite of joy known as the Slider, is joining with Impossible Foods to do the, well, impossible: Put a vegan burger on the White Castle menu. Starting this week, you can find the Impossible Slider, a White Castle vegan burger, at 140 White Castle locations in New York, New Jersey, and the Chicago area.
Just like the Original Slider, the Impossible Slider comes on the burger chain's signature square bun, served with smoked cheddar cheese, pickles, onions. You can order them individually for $1.99 or with a combo meal.
Impossible Foods
White Castle is proud of being a fast food restaurant leader, so breaking ground with a vegan burger makes sense for their business.
"Innovation has been core to everything we've done at White Castle since our founding in 1921," said White Castle CEO Lisa Ingram. "The fact that we are the first-fast food chain to offer the Impossible Burger to our loyal customers epitomizes our history of being on the 'bleeding edge' of a rapidly evolving industry."
Impossible Foods, the company that produces the Impossible Burger, says that the vegan meat is made with water, wheat protein, potato protein, and coconut oil, plus soy leghemoglobin. This final ingredient contains a protein called "heme" that breaks down when cooked, giving it a meat-like feel and even "bloodlike" juices.
The Impossible Burger has been gaining popularity with diners across America. It's being served in about 1,300 U.S. restaurants now, including fast-casual chains like Hopdoddy and Bareburger and in local places like Grindhouse Killer Burgers, a popular burger joint in the Atlanta metro area. However, White Castle is quick to note that they are the first fast food chain to use plant-based burgers.
"White Castle's model has been often imitated but never duplicated — an impressive feat in the hypercompetitive fast-food sector," said Patrick O. Brown, founder and CEO of Impossible Foods. "We look forward to working closely with White Castle, and together learning how to popularize plant-based meat with mainstream burger lovers."
Right now, the White Castle vegan Impossible Slider is a test to see how customers like it; the chain may expand the burger nationwide in the future.
