Impossible Foods Will Test Out Plant-Based Hot Dogs At NYC Pop-Up

Soon, meatless eaters will have a new hot dog to consider. Impossible Foods announced the release of a line of vegan franks in stores and restaurants in 2024. To celebrate, the company is taking over a hot dog stand in one of the most hot dog-centric metropolises in the world: New York City (though technically, Los Angeles is the city that eats the most hot dogs).

On December 16, starting at 11 a.m. and going until 6 p.m., folks in Midtown Manhattan can stop by the Impossible Foods pop-up hot dog stand for a free hot dog as part of the brand's "12 Days of Hol-i-dogs celebration." The location will be announced via the company's Instagram page prior to the event.

Impossible has made other sausages, like plant-based bratwurst, Italian, and spicy sausage, for a few years. However, in the announcement, CEO Peter McGuinness said that hot dogs have been a priority for a long time and noted that the product "replicates that quintessential hot dog taste, while offering consumers a nutrient-dense product that's better for the planet." The company claims that the hot dogs, which are made from Impossible beef, have 12 grams of protein but half the saturated fat (3 grams), and that making them is better for the environment, requiring nearly 80% less water and land and producing 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than standard beef hot dogs. Despite this, Impossible promised on Instagram that its hot dogs will "still taste[s] awesomely bad for you."

Impossible Foods announced the hot dogs on its social media, and within a few hours, the Instagram post already had hundreds of comments and more than 2,000 likes. Followers of the brand seem excited, to say the least. They're asking Impossible to make sure the dogs are in stores by summer, and rooting for them to be in ballparks across America. Restaurants are already lighting up the comment section, with a Denver, Colorado vegan hot dog spot opening in 2024 looking to stock them, and Malibu Burgers, a vegan fast food spot, celebrating that it won't have to make them by hand anymore.

One commenter asked if the dogs will be wheat-free. Impossible admits that no, they won't. The brand pointed to its beef, meatballs, and sausage as wheat-free options. Another user of the platform wondered if they snap when you bite into them, to which Impossible wrote, "Wait until you can get a bite and see." Even musician, producer, and filmmaker Questlove's interest was piqued, with the multi-hyphenate succinctly commenting, "Oh?!!" If Impossible meat can "bleed," there are high hopes for the classic glizzy snap.

Several commenters pivoted to asking for Impossible bacon. However, the company told people to slow their roll, responding, "Right now it's our hot dog moment to relish!" and assuring fans that their enthusiasm was noted. After all, you can't make a Sonoran hot dog without bacon.