Fowl-free: McDonald’s debuts plant-based McNuggets

McDonald’s McNuggets are going fowl-free.

The Chicago-based fast food giant is introducing plant-based McNuggets next week. Germany will be the first market to get them.

McPlant Nuggets — made from peas, corn and wheat with a tempura batter — are the second product McDonald’s has co-developed with Beyond Meat, an El Segundo, California-based maker of plant-based meats. McDonald’s has been selling a McPlant burger since 2021.

McDonald’s said the nationwide nugget rollout to more than 1,400 restaurants in Germany follows a limited-time test at nine restaurants in the Stuttgart area in August. McDonald’s will also start selling the McPlant burger in Germany next week.

Availability of the McPlant nuggets and burger in future markets will depend on customer demand, McDonald’s said.

European customers have generally been more receptive to McDonald’s plant-based meat products than those in the U.S. The McPlant burger is now a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands. Last month, McDonald’s rolled out the Double McPlant burger in the U.K. and Ireland.

But in the U.S., McDonald’s ended a test of the McPlant burger last summer without announcing any future plans for its sale.

Beyond Meat began selling plant-based chicken in U.S. groceries in 2021. It has also co-developed plant-based tenders and nuggets with other chains, including KFC and Panda Express.