Ultimate Guide to Vegan Fast Food in the USA 2023 (2024)

I've put together the ultimate guide to vegan options for 2023 at 20 of the best fast food chains in the US.

by Jasmine Lowe

Communicatiespecialist Vkind

Vegan options are being added all the time at fast food restaurants around the world. As plant-based diets become mainstream, major fast food chains are rushing to add vegan options to their menus. KFC even temporarily joined in 2022 before stopping serving its Beyond Fried Chicken in the US.

Although Britain has the most vegans and the most vegan fast food options compared to any country in the world, American restaurant chains are still adding plant-based options to their menus. Whether you can't stop at an all-vegan restaurant on a road trip and have to make a last minute stop, or you're craving a big-name fast food restaurant, we've got you covered. Here's the ultimate vegan fast food guide for future reference.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle is an American chain of fast-casual restaurants specializing in mission-style bowls, tacos, and burritos, made to order in front of the customer. You can find Chipotle restaurants in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and France. Everything except the meat, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, queso, sour cream and chipotle honey vinaigrette is vegan. This leaves their spicy, meaty tofu baseSofritas, tortillas, both rice options, both types of beans, their guacamole and their salsas and hot sauces.

My order at Chipotle is a burrito bowl with black beans, brown rice, Sofritas, fajita veggies (grilled peppers), mild and medium salsas, corn and guacamole. I always take the bowl with me and eat half of it at a later time for lunch or dinner.

Taco Bell

The majority of the ingredients at Taco Bell are actually vegan. This was one of my favorite fast food restaurants when it first made me vegan years ago. Just avoid the Doritos Locos shells as they are not vegan. You can also replace any meat element with black or baked beans and tell them you want it fresco style and they will leave out the cheese and sour cream and replace it with their thick vegan salsa.

Their breakfast salsa, red sauce, all their sauce packets, premium guacamole, both beans, their veggies, taco, chalupa and tostada shells, tortillas, Gordita flatbread, nacho chips, potato bites, red strips, seasoned rice, cinnamon rolls and hash brown, are all certified vegan.

Door Taco

Del Taco now offersBeyond meatand has always had a ton of other vegan ingredients, like Taco Bell. Their Epic Beyond Fresh Guacamole Burrito, Beyond Guacamole Taco, Crinkle Cut Fries and Hash Brown Sticks are all vegan.

You can also order Beyond 8 Layer Burrito without cheese or sour cream, Beyond Taco without cheese, Bean & Cheese Burrito without cheese, Crunchtada® Tostada without cheese and 8 Layer Veggie Burrito without cheese or sour cream.

Qdoba

Qdoba addedImpossible meatfor vegans and plant-based foodies to add or replace their favorite menu items. All beans, tortillas, rice, guacamole and salsas are also vegan.

Vegans can order Impossible Fajita Bowl or Fajita Vegan Bowl as is and Impossible Taco Salad without cheese. My favorite is the Fajita Vegan Bowl, which comes with sauteed fajita vegetables, guacamole, pico de gallo, chili corn salsa, salsa verde, black beans and brown rice.

burger King

Burger King now offers TheImpossible burgerpatty, which is vegan. If you don't want it grilled on the same surface where meat is prepared, they can microwave it upon request. Burger King has also started testing Impossible chicken nuggets at some locations in the US and will soon add them to the menu nationwide.

Vegans can order French Toast Sticks, Hash Browns, Single Impossible King without cheese, Impossible Whopper without mayo, Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper without bacon, cheese or sauce, fries, Garden Side Salad with Ken's Golden Italian Dressing and no cheese or croutons and applesauce. Keep in mind that almost everything here shares the same grill or fryer as the meat products.

Carls jr.

You can order any chicken or burger menu item with itBeyond the hamburgerat Carls Jr. Just ask for no cheese or mayonnaise. Everything here is prepared in a communal kitchen and nothing here is certified vegan, so order at your own risk. However, their Hash Rounds, Carls Jr Fries, French Fries, CrissCut Fries, Vegan Dressing/Sauce, Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, Sweet & Bold BBQ Dipping Sauce, Spicy Buffalo Dipping Sauce, Ketchup and Mustard are vegan.

white castle

White Castle is known for mini burgers or "Sliders". The restaurant has been around since 1921. All restaurants in White Castle have Veggie Sliders. Just order it without the ranch or honey mustard dressing. They used to have a Black Bean Slider which was taken off the menu in 2018, but they replaced it with aImpossible shooterwhich you can order without cheese.

Everything is cooked together so there is cross-contamination, but vegans can order fries, Hash Brown Nibblers, Mott's Applesauce, and Sweet Potato Fries or Fried Pickles when you're at certain locations.

McDonald's

McDonald's is so limited in its vegan options that if I have to stop here, I just want to use the restaurant as a bathroom. Other countries outside the US have a variety of plant-based options that are not available here.

McDonald's fries and hash browns are not vegan because they are fried in beef fat and contain a "natural beef flavor" that also contains dairy. However, the apple pie at McDonald's does not contain dairy. You can also order a salad without dressing or cheese or fruit and maple oatmeal (made with water instead of cream) for breakfast.

Denny's

When I first went vegan, Denny's had a very mediocre vegan bean burger. In January 2020, Denny's replaced it with veganBeyond burgersat all American and Canadian restaurants.

Vegans can order hash browns, red-skinned potatoes (but not the red-skinned "mashed potatoes"), the regular English muffin without butter (but not the gluten-free English muffin, which contains dairy), fries in waves, seasoned fries, potato chips, and salsa, seasonal fruit and house salad or salad without cheese or croutons. You can also order broccoli, sweet small corn and whole wheat rice without butter. Denny's coffee, juice and oatmeal are also vegan.

Dunkin Donuts

In 2019, Dunkin; Donuts introduced Beyond Meat Sausage to all US locations, but no longer has it on their menu. Dunkin' has avocado toast and non-dairy milk choices including oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk to add to your coffee.

In addition to the avocado toast, vegans can also order avocado and roasted tomato toast, bacon-avocado tomato sandwich without bacon, plain, cinnamon raisin, everything and sesame bagels without cream cheese, an English muffin and hash browns.

Dunkin' Refreshers, fruit drinks and teas are also vegan. However, all swirl syrups (minus the mocha syrup, peppermint mocha syrup, and brownie batter syrup) and the vanilla bean flavored syrup contain dairy. When ordering, make sure you want the syrup and not the swirl if you order vanilla or caramel flavored syrup.

Starbucks

I'm not a fan of Starbucks at all. Even though they offer an Impossible breakfast sandwich, it still contains both dairy cheese and eggs. They have plant-based milk options, but unfortunately they charge a surcharge if you choose oat, soy, almond, or coconut milk instead of cow's milk. Vegan drinks can be flavored with brown sugar, caramel, dolce cinnamon, hazelnut, peppermint, raspberry, sugar cake, roasted vanilla, toffee nut, vanilla and sugar-free vanilla syrup. The only sauce that is vegan is the mocha sauce.

Vegans can purchase the Chickpea Bites and Avocado Protein Box, Plain, Cinnamon Raisin and Everything Bagel (note: there is also a non-vegan Everything & Cheddar Bagel) with packaged organic avocado spread as the spread instead of butter. Depending on your location, you can also use Justin's hazelnut butter or classic almond butter. Vegans can also order rolled and steel-cut oatmeal with blueberries with all the toppings and strawberry overnight cereal.

Peets coffee

Peet's Coffee has the completely plant-based sandwich, which you can order 'as is' right next to the menu as a plant-based alternative. However, it is not technically vegan because it uses the Just Egg product, which was tested on animals before being approved by the FDA. The sandwich comes with spicyBeyond Breakfast Sausage®and is layered with ONLY eggs and cheddarViolife oston a toasted everything bagel thin.

All their drinks can be ordered with plant-based milk, except Javivas, Havana Cappuccinos and Black Ties, which cannot be made vegan. The Hibiscus and Matcha teas also contain honey and are not vegan.

Metro

You can't blink in the US without coming across a subway. That said, you'd think there would have been more vegan options available in the fast food chain by now. In 2019, the chain made headlines when it launched Beyond Meatball subs in the US and Canada, only to take it down without replacing it with another option.

Vegans can order the Veggie Delite salad or make their own salad with available vegetables. They can also make their own sandwich with Artisan Italian (White), Spinach Wrap and Tomato Basil Wrap, or Plain Wrap, Artisan Flatbread, Hearty Multigrain and Sourdough, depending on your location. BBQ, buffalo, ketchup, mustard, oil mixture, red wine vinegar, spicy brown mustard and sweet onion teriyaki sauce is also vegan. Depending on your location, you can also get Creamy Italian, Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce, Giardiniera, Golden Italian, Hot Pepper Relish, or Sweet Chili Sauce.

Please note that the Subway Veggie Patty is not vegan because it contains eggs, and is also only offered at select locations. My gas station order is a 6-inch vegetable at Artisan Italian with all veggies (except yellow peppers and jalapenos), no cheese, add avocado and salt and pepper.

Blow pizza

When I think of fast food pizza that is vegan, I think of Blaze Pizza. Both Blaze's regular dough and gluten-free dough are vegan, and they have lots of veggies, sauces, and even vegan optionsDaiya Strimlercheese and vegan spicy chorizo. They also just added vegan cheese bread to their menu. I wish all places would put the veggies before the meat to avoid cross-contamination, but vegans on the go can still build their own vegan pizza the way they like it.

Domino's

At Domino's you can even create your own vegan pizza. Start with their crispy thin crust, top it with their pizza sauce (not the chunky marinara sauce) and add veggies of your choice. You can also make your own pasta, starting with their Penne Pasta, and add whatever vegetables you like. They don't have vegan cheese in the US.

pizza Hut

Vegans can make their own pizza at Pizza Hut by choosing Hand Tossed Crust, Original Pan Crust or Thin 'N Crispy Crust with Classic Marinara or Buffalo sauce and topping it with vegetables of their choice. Pizza Hut launched a Beyond Meat Pizza, but no longer offers it. Their sides of breadsticks (don't request seasoning) and fries are also vegan. They also have cinnamon sticks without the icing dip that you can order. They don't have vegan cheese in the US.

Crazy Chicken

El Pollo Loco once had a number of vegan options that you could order directly from the menu. However, the Vegan Chickenless Pollo and Vegan Chickenless Pollo Burrito are no longer available.

Vegans can now order the bean, rice and cheese burrito without the cheese, known in the community as the “BRC Burrito.” You can also order Fajita Burrito with avocado instead of chicken, without cheese and without sour cream, Double Chicken Burrito with avocado instead of chicken and without cheese, Chicken Black Bean Bowl with avocado instead of chicken and Pollo Bowl with avocado instead of chicken.

Fatburger

Vegans can order oneImpossible burgermetDaiya ostand fritters. Just ask for no mayonnaise. They also have vegan milkshakes including strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and Maui bananaCraig's is vegan. Side dishes like Fat Fries, Skinny Fries and Sweet Potato Fries are also vegan.

Wendy's

Wendy's vegan options are quite disappointing. You're left with ordering most menu items without meat, cheese, butter or crème fraîche. Their only casual vegan dressing on the list is pomegranate vinaigrette or salsa.

If you order the salad, receive it without cheese or croutons. However, vegans can order seasoned potatoes for breakfast, apple snacks, Wendy's fries and baked potatoes without butter, cheese or sour cream. Choose your potato, plain cut fries and baked potato (regular) with chives and without butter, cheese or sour cream. Their only other sauces are ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce or hot chili (spicy) sauce to pour on top.

PandaExpress

Panda Express now offersBeyond the original orange chickenrural. People absolutely love them because every time I go to try some they are all sold out. Vegans can also order chow mein, eggplant tofu, super greens, vegetarian spring rolls, steamed brown rice and steamed white rice

Fast food restaurants are constantly testing and changing their menus to include plant-based and vegan options. Walk into any restaurant knowing that an item you may have thought was vegan and available one day may not be available the next. It's always best to check to see if these vegan options are still available as the menu items are constantly changing. However, you can always plan and find completely vegan restaurants on Vkind's trustworthyinternet kantan app.