We have to admit, Taco Bell is a pretty great vegan-friendly fast food option. Tex-Mex food (a mix of Mexican and American cuisines) is pretty easy to work with in terms of a vegan diet. Taco Bell has quietly become one of the healthiest fast-food chains around... we know, it's shocking to hear!
Most dishes are packed with assorted veggies and can be ordered without meat, cheese, or sour cream. You can easily substitute meat for beans in any of their dishes. This is especially great because their beans are vegan! An easy option you can try from Taco Bell is the black bean burrito with no cheese. One of our personal favorites is a bean burrito, no cheese, and add potatoes! It is delicious and less than $3!
Pro tip: You can add potatoes in any of your favorite burritos.
Added bonus: When your sweet tooth is dominating your cravings, you can get their cinnamon twists because they are vegan too.
Wendy’s may have that fresh, never frozen beef, but that isn’t going to work for us vegans. Wendy’s isn’t the easiest fast food chain to work with in terms of a vegan diet, but it can be done.
One option you can get is their baked potato without sour cream. You can also get on of their side salad without cheese. Wendy’s does offer a veggie sandwich, which includes everything but the meat, mayo, and cheese.
Much like Wendy’s, McDonald’s isn’t the most vegan-friendly fast food chain. However, if you are in a pinch they do have some options that us vegans can work with. Their fruit & maple oatmeal is vegan! You can also get one of their side salad without cheese. Don't forget about their apple slices! We suggest maybe to go somewhere else, but if you are on the road and all you can find is a McDonalds, then you should load up on the few vegan options they do have.
Head's up: McDonald's fries are NOT vegan! Their French fries have “natural beef flavoring” which is made from milk.
If you are lucky and live in Sweden or Finland, McDonalds has launched their McVegan! Maybe soon they will implement a more Vegan-friendly menu options worldwide.
Burger King was the most surprising with the variety vegan options they have.
Their buns are vegan! You can order your own veggie sandwich by getting a Whopper Jr. without meat and mayo. To our amazement, their Dutch Apple Pie is vegan! You can pick one up to satisfy your sweet tooth when you are on the go. Burger King’s french fries ARE vegan! so if you just need a quick snack these are an option.
Bonus: Their french toast sticks and hash brown rounds are vegan, so breakfast on the go just got easier!
Yes, you read that right. Even Chick-fil-A, the infamous chicken fast food chain, has vegan options!
You can order a Cool Wrap without chicken or cheese, and you can substitute the ranch dressing for one of their vegan dressings (like light Italian, light balsamic vinaigrette, and chili lime vinaigrette). Another option you can make vegan here is the Grilled Market Salad without chicken and cheese.
Their famous waffle fries and their hash browns are vegan! You can either grab these for something small and quick to eat, or you can add them to your order of the options above.
Subway is a great option for a fast vegan sandwich built the way you want it. You can get their veggie sandwich without cheese! You can also get yourself a personal, tossed or chopped salad.
Their bread options that are vegan are Italian and wheat bread. Subway has tons veggie toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, red onions, cucumbers, spinach, olives, pickles, and jalapeños. These veggies are unlimited and free, so pile up your sandwich with all your favorite veggies! Guacamole and avocado are seasonal options you can add to your sandwich as well to add some more flavor. These toppings will cost you extra.
Subway also has a variety of vegan dressings and sauces you can add to your sandwich like yellow mustard, deli brown mustard, oil, vinegar, their subway vinaigrette, sweet onion sauce, fat-free Italian dressing, and buffalo sauce.
You can get your sub toasted or leave it cold. Pro tip: You can ask for oil and oregano on your bread, have it toasted and then add all your favorite veggies!
As a vegan, the world really is your oyster at Subway… as long as you aren’t eating the oysters (which they don’t serve anyways)
We chose to group these 2 popular pizza chains together because they all have 1 thing in common: they offer vegan cheese. Yes, that's right, vegan cheese!
To have order a vegan pizza is now made easier! These 2 pizza restaurants also offer tons of delicious veggies that you can load up on your pizza. If you are eating at Blaze, make sure you do not select pesto as a sauce option since it contains dairy.
All other pizza restaurant chains: such as Hungry Howie’s, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesar’s, Papa John’s, Jets, etc. do not offer vegan cheese. For Jets, they do not use butter on their bread, so you can order a pizza without cheese or meat and load up on all the veggies you can.
Del Taco is an American fast food restaurant chain which specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine. It is a great place to grab a tasty vegan burrito!
Unfortunately, Del Taco’s rice is NOT vegan so whatever you choose to order, just be sure to ask for no cheese, rice, or sour cream. You can order an 8 Layer Veggie Burrito, the 1/2 lb. Bean & Cheese Burrito, or the Jacked Up Value Bean & Cheese Burrito with red or green sauce.
If you want to spice up your order add in pico de gallo, avocado slices, or even fries into their burritos because yes - their fries are vegan!
Noodles and Company is a great option for us vegans... because who doesn't love noodles!
Their Japanese Pan Noodles are vegan, and you do not have to make any modification anything about this dish. Also, you can easily make their Spaghetti vegan by ordering it without cheese and meatballs. Another great option with a lot of flavor is their Thai Green Curry (without shrimp).
Best of all - organic tofu can be added to any of their dishes! This is perfect for a boost of protein, just know that it will charge extra.
Panera may not the quickest fast food option, but it has a large variety of vegan options and is great comfort food!
Panera’s vegetarian black bean soup and garden vegetable soup (no pesto, of course) are both delicious vegan choices. Many of Panera’s salads can be made vegan by ordering them without cheese or meat.
Note: Be sure to swap any creamy dressing like ranch or caesar with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
This option may seem unconventional in the fast food department, but Starbucks Coffee Shops are located everywhere worldwide. Although Starbucks is famous for their drinks, they have some vegan food options that are perfect to grab on the go.
Starbucks has some great vegan breakfast items that will go perfectly with your morning cup of coffee. To start off, their steel cut oatmeal is vegan and comes in a variety of flavors. They have a delightful sprouted grain bagel that is perfect for a vegan breakfast on the go.
Starbucks also has a sesame noodle dish made with broccoli, carrots, red pepper, snap peas, tofu, pickled cucumbers, sesame peanuts, and is 100% vegan.
Bonus: This dish includes a bar of chocolate!
Sticking with the overall theme that Hispanic food is very easy to work with in terms of a vegan diet. They offer the most options, and are the easiest to find flavorful vegan choices. These 3 restaurants are all a step above Taco Bell in terms of quality and you have a lot more veggie options.
You can get any taco, burrito, bowl, etc. made vegan as long as you don’t get meat/fish, shredded cheese, queso, or sour cream put into whatever you choose to order. All 3 restaurants make their rice, beans, and tortillas vegan!
Fun fact: At Chipotle, you can substitute meat for sofritas. They are full of flavor and protein.
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