Chick-fil-A will try its first plant-based entrée: a cauliflower sandwich.
The new sandwich looks a lot like their famous chicken sandwich, but uses pressure-cooked, breaded cauliflower instead of meat.
Starting Monday, the privately owned chain, which is the third-largest in the US 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 has been working on a plant-based sandwich for nearly four years, just as chains like Dunkin’ and International restaurant brands Burger King were putting beyond the meat and Impossible Foods substitutes on their menus.
But meat alternatives that closely resemble real meat have out of favor with consumers after a surge in popularity during the pandemic lockdowns. Both Beyond and Impossible recently fired about a fifth of its workforce.
“We explored every corner of the plant-based space in search of the perfect centerpiece for our plant-based entrée,” Chick-fil-A culinary leader Stuart Tracy said in a statement. “Time and time again, we keep coming back to cauliflower as the base of our sandwich.”
Over the past decade, cauliflower has become a popular substitute for a host 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 made an appearance in pretzel form and, when finely chopped, as a substitute for rice.
