ICELAND swears its new burger looks and tastes just like beef - but it's made without ANY meat.

Iceland’s executive chef Neil Nugent, who created the no-meat burger, insists that the frozen supermarket isn’t going vegan.

3 Iceland has been trying to win over middle class shoppers with new luxury ranges

Instead, keen to win over so-called flexitarians, he said: “We are trying to get those people who want to drop meat once or twice a week.”

Called a No Bull burger, it is made of soya protein and coloured with beetroot extract and paprika to make it look meaty and ‘bleed’ like the real thing.

Nugent says: “This is our first foray into our own-brand vegan. It’s been a real challenge to get the succulence right.”

The burger launches at the start of April. But I got my hands on an early one to see how it matched up to the real thing.

3 The burger is made from soya protein and coloured with beetroot extract Credit: Iceland

You cook it from frozen, and the frozen burger looks remarkably like a frozen beef burger, though it has a bit of a purple colour.

In a hot frying pan it sizzles satisfyingly, but it doesn’t really smell of anything.

The only scent is the hot oil from the pan, which is a bit disappointing.

But after a few minutes it took on a nice brown colour and was ready to eat.

3 The burger takes just a few minutes to cook in a pan Credit: Iceland

Cutting into the burger you could see the "flesh" was a very red, almost pink colour – more like a raw beef burger than a cooked one.

The texture was chewy, like a real meat patty. And the flavour was fascinatingly beefy – a very savoury taste.

If you closed your eyes you might almost think it was the real thing.

I gave it to my 12-year-old son, who said: “I can tell it’s not beef, but it’s very tasty.”

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And my 10-year-old daughter, who is usually quite fussy and definitely suspicious about vegetables, said: “That’s delicious.”

Iceland may have a hit on its hands, although it's not cheap.

A pack of two quarter pounders costs £2, the same price as four Aberdeen Angus quarter pounders from its Luxury range.

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It is estimated that there are just 540,000 proper vegans in the UK, who shun all animal products, including dairy and eggs.

But there are as many as 22 million flexitarians, who are trying to cut down on meat a bit.

The Iceland vegan burger is the latest sign that the discount chain is chasing trendy middle class customers.

Last year, it launched a luxury range of chocolate, jams and biscuits last year, and its announcement it was going to ditch plastic packaging from its own-brand products.

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