The Impossible Slider is served with smoked cheddar cheese, pickles, onions and served on White Castle’s signature bun. Single Impossible Sliders retail for $1.99 and can be ordered as part of a combo meal, the company said.

“Innovation has been core to everything we’ve done at White Castle since our founding in 1921,” said CEO Lisa Ingram, the fourth-generation family member to lead White Castle. “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.”

The Impossible Burger, which was developed in 2011 by Impossible Foods, is formulated to look and taste like conventional ground beef but is made from plant ingredients. The discovery of a molecule called “heme” gives the burger its beef-like attributes, according to the company.

“White Castle’s model has been often imitated but never duplicated — an impressive feat in the hypercompetitive fast-food sector,” said Patrick Brown, MD, Impossible Foods’ founder and CEO. “We look forward to working closely with White Castle, and together learning how to popularize plant-based meat with mainstream burger lovers.”

Redwood City, California-based Impossible Foods produces the plant-based burgers and other products at the company’s 68,000-sq.-ft. production plant in Oakland, California. Impossible Burgers are appearing on mainstream restaurant menus across the country as well as at award-winning restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Houston and Las Vegas. The company also is pursuing non-commercial foodservice sales targeting universities, company dining halls and other institutions.

Read more about Impossible Foods in MEAT+POULTRY’s April issue.