Lightlife Plant-Based Burger: 20g Protein, Labelgrade B- (73/100)
B- 73 / 100 — A genuinely high-protein plant burger: 20g per patty from pea protein, with a short ingredient list, no soy, and no gluten. The trade-offs are the ones every plant burger carries — 17g of total fat (5g saturated, from coconut and canola oil) and 390mg of sodium per patty. Fiber is low because pea protein isolate, not whole legumes, does the work.
🛒 Buy on Amazon →The short answer
Lightlife Plant-Based Burger delivers 20 g of protein per 4 oz (113 g) patty at 250 calories (USDA FDC 2611359), built on pea protein with no soy and no gluten. It earns a B- (73 / 100): the protein density is genuinely strong, the ingredient list is short, and there is essentially no sugar. What holds it back is the trade-off every meat-mimic burger makes — 17 g of total fat (5 g saturated, from coconut and canola oil) and 390 mg of sodium per patty, plus near-zero fiber. The headline you should take away: this is a soy-free burger that eats like beef and undercuts the category leader on ingredient count, but “plant-based” here is not a synonym for “lean.”
Why the B-
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | B | 77 / 100 | 17.7 g per 100 g — strong for a plant patty, on par with same-size beef. Pea protein isolate does the lifting |
| Ingredient quality | B | 75 / 100 | Eleven recognizable items, no artificial color and no methylcellulose — clean for the category, but still an isolate-plus-oils build, not whole food |
| Saturated fat load | B- | 73 / 100 | 5 g per patty (4.4 g per 100 g) — moderate, almost entirely coconut oil. Below beef, but not low |
| Sodium load | C | 64 / 100 | 390 mg per patty — meaningful before a single topping, and it climbs with cheese and a bun |
| Sugar load | A+ | 99 / 100 | Under 1 g total; cane sugar is a last-place seasoning trace, not a sweetener |
| Fiber | F | 36 / 100 | 1 g per patty — the isolate carries almost none of the fiber whole peas would |
The honest read on the score: protein and sugar carry this burger; saturated fat and sodium are the anchors. Neither knock is a formulation mistake — they are the physical cost of making a patty sizzle and bite like beef. The fiber “F” is structural, not a quality flag: pea protein isolate is, by design, the part of the pea with the fiber removed.
The cleaner-label claim, checked against Beyond
Lightlife’s whole pitch is a shorter, more recognizable ingredient deck than the meat-mimic leaders. Set side by side with the Beyond Burger — the product it is most often cross-shopped against — that claim holds up where it counts:
| Lightlife (this product) | Beyond Burger | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein per patty (113 g) | 20 g | 20 g |
| Calories | 250 | 231 |
| Saturated fat | 5 g | 5 g |
| Sodium | 390 mg | 390 mg |
| Ingredients | 11 | 23 |
| Industrial binder | modified plant-fiber cellulose | methylcellulose |
(Beyond figures from the on-site USDA entry, FDC 2367272.)
The macros are a near-dead heat — same protein, same saturated fat, same sodium, within twenty calories. The real, verifiable difference is the back of the package: Lightlife reaches the identical protein number with roughly half the ingredient count and no methylcellulose, no rice protein, no dried yeast, and no added vitamin-mineral premix. If the reason you’re standing in the freezer aisle is “I want a meaty plant burger without a 20-plus-ingredient deck,” Lightlife is the more direct answer than Beyond, at no protein cost.
Treat it as a beef swap, not a health food
The number that surprises people is calories. At 250 per patty with 17 g of fat, this lands squarely on an 80/20 ground-beef burger — it is not lighter, and two patties is a 500-calorie, 40 g-protein base before bun and toppings. Where it genuinely beats beef: zero cholesterol (beef carries roughly 80 mg) and meaningfully less saturated fat. Where beef wins: sodium, by a wide margin — an unsalted beef patty is near 75 mg against this burger’s 390 mg, because the seasoning is built in at the factory and you cannot dial it back at home. So the swap math is clean if you’re switching for cholesterol, saturated fat, or ethics; it does not pencil out as a calorie or sodium cut.
Where the protein actually comes from
Twenty grams of complete-feeling protein from a single 4 oz patty is the real headline, and it comes from pea protein isolate rather than whole legumes. That is the source of both its best trait and its worst: the isolate delivers a dense, meat-like protein hit and a firm texture, but it leaves behind the fiber, which is why a patty has about 1 g versus the several grams a homemade bean-and-grain burger would carry. For the protein alone, one patty is in the neighborhood of 65 g of cooked chicken breast — but at far more calories, because of the oils that give it its bite.
Ingredients
Water, pea protein, canola oil, natural flavors, coconut oil, modified cellulose (from plant fiber, under 2%), vinegar, beet powder (color), sea salt, cherry powder (to retain color), and cane sugar. The protein workhorse is the pea isolate; the coconut and canola oil supply the fat and the beef-like firmness; beet and cherry powder handle color; the cellulose binds. (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2611359.)
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 1 patty (113 g)
0043454424909Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1 patty (113 g)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 250 |
| Protein | 20g |
| Total Fat | 17g |
| Saturated Fat | 5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 6g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.02g |
| Total Sugars | 0.994g |
| Added Sugars | 0g |
| Sodium | 390mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Calcium | 20.3mg |
| Iron | 4.2mg |
| Potassium | 370mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Lightlife Plant-Based Burger (8 oz (227 g) — 2 patties) · UPC 0043454424909. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains no listed animal products
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in a Lightlife Plant-Based Burger?
20 g per 4 oz (113 g) patty — about 17.7 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 2611359). The protein is pea-based, so the burger is soy-free, and 20 g matches or edges a same-size beef patty. Both patties in the pack add up to 40 g of protein before the bun.
Is it really cleaner than a Beyond Burger?
By ingredient count, yes. Lightlife lists 11 ingredients; the Beyond Burger lists 23 and includes methylcellulose, rice protein, dried yeast, cocoa butter, and an added vitamin-mineral premix. Lightlife skips all of that and uses modified plant-fiber cellulose instead of methylcellulose. The headline macros, though, are nearly identical — 20 g protein, 5 g saturated fat, and 390 mg sodium on both.
Is this a low-calorie or 'light' burger?
No. At 250 calories with 17 g of fat per patty, it eats like an 80/20 beef burger, not a diet food. Most of those calories are coconut and canola oil, which is what gives the patty its firm, beef-like bite. 'Plant-based' here means no cholesterol and less saturated fat than beef — not lean.
How much saturated fat and sodium does it carry?
5 g saturated fat (from coconut oil) and 390 mg sodium per patty — roughly 17% of the daily sodium limit. That is the same trade-off Beyond makes, and it climbs fast once you add cheese, a bun, and condiments. It is the main reason this grades B- rather than higher.
Why is the fiber so low if it's made from peas?
Because the protein comes from pea protein isolate, not whole split peas. Isolating the protein strips out most of the fiber, so a patty lands at about 1 g — versus the several grams you'd get from a homemade bean burger. If fiber is your goal, a whole-legume patty beats this.
Does it contain soy, gluten, or any allergens?
No soy and no gluten — that's the formula's main point of difference from soy-based plant burgers. It does contain coconut oil, which is treated as a tree-nut allergen for labeling in some regions, so coconut-sensitive eaters should check the package.
Does it have added sugar?
Effectively none — under 1 g of total sugar, and the USDA entry lists 0 g added sugar. Cane sugar appears dead last on the ingredient list as a seasoning-level trace, not a sweetener load, which is why the sugar dimension scores A+ (99/100).