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Vegetarian feast from Taco Bell. Photo by Tonia Johnson.
Is there such a thing as vegetarian fast food? There may be more options than you think. Check out these ten vegetarian friendly fast food restaurants.
Burger King
Grab the BK Veggie Burger and take a bite out of your veggies rather than Bessie! The veggie burger does contain egg whites so it’s not appropriate for all vegetarians.
Baskin Robbins
Go for the Lime Daiquiri Ice for a cool treat this summer. It’s vegan so everyone can enjoy!
Chick-Fil-A
For breakfast grab a fruit cup and a bagel. For lunch have a salad with no chicken and raspberry vinaigrette or light Italian dressing. All are vegan.
Chili's
Substitute a black bean burger patty or a Portobello mushroom on any of their burgers but skip the fries since they are cooked in the same oil as some of their meats. Also make sure you ask for an unmarinated Portobello mushroom as the marinade contains anchovies. The black bean patties contain dairy and eggs.
Chipotle
Their tortillas, rice, fajita vegetables and black beans are all vegan according to their website. Pile on the fresh veggies, salsa and guacamole and you have yourself quite a tasty meal.
Jason’s Deli
Choose from the Grilled Portobello Wrapini, Spinach Veggie Wrap, French Onion Soup or belly up to the salad bar and make your own vegetarian or vegan creation!
McAlister’s Deli
Look for the tiny tomato symbol beside menu items. That symbol denotes that those items are vegetarian. Enjoy a veggie sandwich, loaded baked potato, fresh salad or a big bowl of veggie chili. With a little maneuvering most items can be vegan as well.
Panera
Try the Vegetarian Black Bean soup, the Vegetarian Garden Vegetable soup (both vegan) or the Vegetarian Creamy Tomato soup. They also have a Tomato & Mozzarella sandwich and a Mediterranean Veggie sandwich. Skip the Caesar salad dressing as it contains anchovies, some of their wheat breads contain honey and if you avoid eggs skip the French baguette.
Subway
Pile on the veggies with a Veggie Delight sub or a Veggie Delight salad. Some Subway’s offer Morningstar Farms Veggie Max but the product contains eggs. Be careful with the sandwich and salad dressings too as most contain dairy and eggs. The wheat bread contains honey as well.
Taco Bell
My guilty pleasure! There are many options here since they don’t use lard and they will replace the meat on anything with beans. Leave off the cheese and just about everything becomes vegan too. Order bean burritos, bean tostados, seven layer burritos, crunchy bean tacos or my personal favorite the Mexican Pizza with no meat. Make sure you skip the sour cream too, it contains gelatin.
How can you tell if a menu item is vegetarian? If you’re unsure just ask. If the cashier doesn’t know the manager usually will. You can also use restaurant websites as a resource.
Did I miss your favorite vegetarian fast food find? Tell me about!
Comments
mmmm... me and Nate love the bean burritos from Taco Bell... he could totally be vegetarian... he won't eat any meat except chicken nuggets. Ha. Great info T!
This is a great list! When I found out that the French Onion Soup at Jason's Deli was vegetarian, I was thrilled and now I order it every time. :)
Thanks for the comments. I just updated the Taco Bell entry. They use gelatin in their sour cream.
There is chicken in Taco Bell's rice, which comes on the 7-layer burrito.
I checked Taco Bell's website and called them. I was told they do not bu chicken in their rice. Maybe it's your local Taco Bell?
I contacted Chili's before by e-mail. They responded that they have no vegetarian options there.
Thanks for the comment William. Unless they have changed their menu in the last week they do offer the vegetarian items I mentioned in the article. They even have a vegetarian menu you can download on their site.
To do so, click on "menu" from the main page then look for the pdf document titled "Download Vegetarian Menu".
Hope that helps. Thanks!
Loved the article on the fast food Restaurants !!!
Joe
Thanks for a great article. I posted a link to it on my squidoo page about vegetarian options for kids. My daughter also loves Taco Bells options. Me? I go there for the fresco option!
The salad at Moe's are delicious and you can pile them high with veggies.
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