I tried McDonald's new McPlant vegan burger. Here's how it stacks up against the Quarter Pounder.

I tried McDonald's new plant-based burger.Grace Dean/Insider

• McDonald's has rolled out a new vegan burger with a Beyond Meat patty.
• I compared it with the chain's Quarter Pounder with cheese, which is the same price.

McDonald's has been working on its meat-free range from years. In November 2020, the fast-food chain finally revealed the McPlant.

Rui Vieira/PA Images/Getty Images

Source: Insider

McDonald's started trialing the burger at eight restaurants in the US earlier this month, but it's rolled out sales more widely in other countries, including the UK and Australia.

McDonald's is testing the McPlant in the US.      McDonald's

Source: Insider, Insider

I decided to try it at one of the 250 UK restaurants selling the McPlant and see how it stacks up compared with the chain's Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Insider's Bethany Dawson praised the McPlant in a review, but I wanted to put it head-to-head with one of McDonald's meat-based burgers.

Grace Dean/Insider

Source: Insider

The McPlant consists of a plant-based patty, which McDonald's co-developed with Beyond Meat, as well as vegan sandwich sauce and a vegan cheese alternative. The burger also comes with ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, lettuce, and tomato.

Grace Dean/Insider

Of everything on McDonald's menu, I thought that the Quarter Pounder with Cheese was the most similar. Both were the same price at the McDonald's I went to in Newcastle, at £3.79 ($5.08) on their own or £5.29 ($7.08) as part of a medium meal with a drink and fries. The McPlant comes in at 429 calories, while the Quarter Pounder with Cheese has 518 calories.

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese.      McDonald's

The burgers looked quite similar at first glance.

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Both burgers came with slightly different toppings. Neither looked very attractive when I opened them up.

Grace Dean/Insider

The patties themselves looked quite different. The beef one in the Quarter Pounder was slightly bigger and had fairly rough edges. The McPlant patty had much smoother edges, which made it look more artificial.

Grace Dean/Insider

The vegan cheese slice on the McPlant hadn't melted at all ...

I tried McDonald's new plant-based burger.      Grace Dean/Insider

... while the cheese slices in the Quarter Pounder, which were both underneath and on top of the patty, had completely melted.

Grace Dean/Insider

As for the taste, I much preferred the McPlant. It had a rich, meaty flavor and could have fooled me that it was real meat.

Grace Dean/Insider

I don't go to McDonald's much, but I'd order the McPlant again if I did.

Grace Dean/Insider