Business

Chick-fil-A is making its cauliflower sandwich the same way as its original chicken sandwich.
Source: Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A will test its first plant-based entree: a cauliflower sandwich.

The new sandwich closely resembles its famous chicken sandwich, but uses breaded and pressure-cooked cauliflower in place of meat.

Starting Monday, the privately owned chain, which is the third-largest in the U.S. by sales, will test the menu item in Denver; Charleston, South Carolina; and the Greensboro-Triad region of North Carolina.

Chick-fil-A said it’s been working on a plant-based sandwich for nearly four years, right around when chains like Dunkin’ and Restaurant Brands International’s Burger King were putting Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods substitutes on their menus.

But meat alternatives that closely resemble the real thing have fallen out of favor with consumers after a surge in popularity during pandemic lockdowns. Both Beyond and Impossible have recently laid off about a fifth of their workforces.

“We explored every corner of the plant-based space in search of the perfect centerpiece for our plant-forward entrée,” Chick-fil-A Culinary Lead Stuart Tracy said in a statement. “Time and time again, we kept returning to cauliflower as the base of our sandwich.”

Over the last decade, cauliflower has become a popular substitute for a plethora of different foods. Buffalo Wild Wings and countless bars serve fried cauliflower smothered in buffalo sauce as an alternative to chicken wings. Cauliflower has also popped up in pretzel form and – when finely chopped – as a rice substitute.

Articles You May Like

IRS free tax filing pilot processed more than 140,000 returns, saved consumers $5.6 million in prep fees
‘This is a unique time’: ARK Invest’s chief futurist tackles tech innovation from AI to robotics
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Amazon, Starbucks, Pinterest, Advanced Micro Devices and more
Why hundreds of U.S. banks may be at risk of failure
We’re raising our price target on Apple after its big earnings beat and raise