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McDonald’s debuts meat-free McNuggets — but there’s a catch

The nuggets are made from peas, corn, wheat and tempura breading.
McDonalds
/ Source: CNBC

McDonald’s is expanding its McPlant line with another Beyond Meat item.

The fast-food giant announced Wednesday that customers in Germany will be able to order plant-based McPlant Nuggets starting Feb. 22. McDonald’s, which has more than 1,400 locations in Germany, is also adding the McPlant burger to the country’s menu.

The launch comes just days before the two-year anniversary of the companies announcing their three-year deal for Beyond to become the preferred patty supplier for McDonald’s McPlant burger. Since then, the burger has been permanently added to menus in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands and now Germany.

McDonald’s and Beyond worked together to create the new plant-based nuggets and tested them in nine restaurants in Stuttgart in August. The nuggets are made from peas, corn, wheat and tempura breading. Beyond has had a chicken substitute available in restaurants since mid-2021, when the company rolled out its revamped recipe.

But it looks unlikely at this point that U.S. customers will get the chance to try the new McPlant Nuggets for themselves at the company’s roughly 14,000 domestic locations. McDonald’s and Beyond ended their U.S. test of the McPlant burger in 2022 and haven’t announced any plans for additional testing or a nationwide launch. BTIG analyst Peter Saleh wrote in a research note last June that the sales were disappointing.

Rival Chick-fil-A announced last week it’s testing a cauliflower version of its chicken sandwich as it seeks to appeal to health-conscious customers.

A version of this story first appeared on CNBC.com.