The new Impossible Breakfast Sandwich at Starbucks features Impossible’s plant-based sausage. It debuted in the U.S. Tuesday. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)

I love Starbucks’ double-smoked bacon, cheddar, and egg sandwich. The thick meat, melted cheese, and soft egg all in between a croissant bun — definitely my favorite on-the-go breakfast option.

The Impossible Breakfast Sandwich has 22 grams or protein, 430 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 36% of the daily recommended sodium intake. (Click to enlarge)

That’s why I was intrigued by Starbucks’ latest menu addition, just unveiled at most of the company’s 15,000 U.S. locations: The Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

The sandwich features plant-based sausage from Impossible, the Bill Gates-backed company that has grown rapidly over the past several years as more people show interest in meat alternatives.

The verdict: It’s pretty dang close to the real thing.

Now, I’m still taking my beloved bacon goodness over Impossible. But I couldn’t really tell that I was eating soy protein concentrate, sunflower oil, and coconut oil instead of actual pork.

I tried Impossible’s pork back in January at CES and came away impressed with the flavor. The faux-sausage in Starbucks’ sandwich, which features ciabatta bread, a cage-free fried egg, and cheddar cheese, was also savory and juicy.

I’m even more inclined to opt for the plant-based meat if I have the option, especially given the reduced fat and cholesterol content, not to mention the environmental impact. They are both priced at $4.95 and both have 22 grams of protein.

Impossible launched back in 2011 and its burger began popping up in restaurants four years ago. It rolled out the Impossible Whopper at Burger King across the U.S. last year and the “Impossible Croissan’wich” nationwide earlier this month. The Silicon Valley company has raised $1.2 billion.

Impossible is battling Beyond Meat, which has its own deal with Starbucks in Canada and in China. Beyond Meat went public last year and has another breakfast sandwich deal with Dunkin’ Donuts.

It’s not clear why Starbucks went with Impossible over Beyond Meat for its breakfast sandwich in the U.S.

Impossible and Beyond both sell product in grocery stores.

The meat industry has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as large poultry, pig and cattle processing plants are hit with virus outbreaks. There are fears of a meat shortage in grocery stores.

Fast food restaurants are reporting lower breakfast sales due to the global health crisis.

Starbucks is hoping to reach demand for plant-based options. The Seattle coffee giant has struggled amid the pandemic and expects revenue to decline between $3 billion to $3.2 billion in the current quarter. It began reopening stores in the U.S. and Canada in early May and expects to have 90% of company-operated U.S. stores back in business this month “with enhanced safety protocols and modified schedules.”

Starbucks is also speeding up plans to roll out its new Pickup store concept designed for customers who order ahead with the Starbucks app. It will reduce its new store opening plan and close up to 400 company-operated stores over the next 18 months “in conjunction with the opening, over time, of a greater number of new, repositioned stores in different locations and with innovative store formats,” CEO Kevin Johnson said this month.

BONUS REVIEW: My 4-month old chocolate lab, Ichi, gives Starbucks’ Puppuccino 12/10.

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