Chick-fil-A to test cauliflower sandwich

Chick-fil-A is testing its first plant-based meal: a cauliflower sandwich.

The new sandwich is very similar to the famous chicken sandwich, but uses breaded and pressure-cooked cauliflower instead of meat.

Starting Monday, the private chain, which is the third largest in the US by sales, will be testing a menu item in Denver; Charleston, South Carolina; and the Greensboro Triad region of North Carolina.

Chick-fil-A said it has been working on the plant-based sandwich for nearly four years, just as chains like Dunkin’ and Restaurant Brands International Burger King set Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods substitutes on their menu.

But meat alternatives that look a lot like real meat have fallen out of favor with consumers after a surge in popularity during the pandemic. Both Beyond and Impossible recently laid off about a fifth of their employees.

“We explored every corner of the plant-based space in search of the perfect centerpiece for our plant-based dish,” Chick-fil-A Culinary Supervisor Stuart Tracy said in a statement. “Over and over again we went back to cauliflower as the base for our sandwich.”

Over the past decade, cauliflower has become a popular substitute for many different foods. Buffalo Wild Wings and countless bars offer roasted cauliflower in buffalo sauce as an alternative to chicken wings. Cauliflower also appeared in pretzel form and—if finely chopped—as a substitute for rice.