Photo courtesy of Taco Bell
Vegan fast food may not be Forks Over Knives-approved (sorry Dr. Esselstyn!), but herbivores need convenient eats, too. And sometimes, that means ordering via drive-thru speaker box.
Other than Amy’s, however, the landscape for vegan food at QSRs (quick service restaurants) has been less than impressive, with most of the major chains giving plant-based eaters the brush off.
Taco Bell, on the other hand, has just made history as the first-ever QSR to offer menu items certified by the American Vegetarian Association (AVA). The certified items include 13 ready-made menu items, plus 35 a la carte ingredients (26 of which are also vegan).
While most of the ready made menu items aren’t vegan, most can be made that way via customization. They include: 7-Layer Burrito, AM Grilled Taco – Egg & Cheese, Bean Burrito, Black Bean Burrito, Black Beans & Rice, Cantina Power Veggie Bowl, Cantina Power Veggie Burrito, Cheese Quesadilla, Cheese Roll-Up, Cheesy Bean & Rice, Double Tostada, Pintos ‘n Cheese, Biscuit Taco – Egg & Cheese.
As far as ingredients, the 26 vegan items are:
Given that this list includes beans, tortillas, salsa, and guacamole, vegans have plenty of delicious options to make a meal with.
“We’re continuing our tradition of rolling out food-firsts as the first QSR to be certified by the American Vegetarian Association – something we’re extremely proud of,” a Taco Bell spokesperson told Latest Vegan News. “We know that our customers are more engaged and more curious about their food than ever before, and with an AVA certification – the recognized standard of vegetarian assurance – those looking for meat-free options can be confident in their choices.”
The company also notes that they sell more than 350 million vegetarian menu items each year.
So will they be rolling out more completely vegan menu items in the future? Here’s what they told LVN: “As a leader in the vegetarian space, we will continue to explore other options, just as we are for other relevant lifestyles, as we continue to innovate across our entire menu.”
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that plant-based meats (and CHEESE) are up next.
Follow harm.less on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for conscious, cruelty-free food, travel, fashion, and above all: FUN. 🦄 (Use the hashtag #harmlesswithhannah for the chance to be featured!)
It's early in the a.m. Too early. You might be hungover or sleep deprived; at…
Courtesy of PLANTA When it comes to plant-based purveyors, PLANTA is one of the hottest…
There's no debating that meal kits are an awesome way to make life easier in…
Courtesy of Juicy Marbles The wait is over: tender, marbled, savory steaks are now on…
Veganism is all over the place these days, with everyone from athletes to musicians to…
Photo courtesy of Hayley Kim Design. Dramatic, sweeping lashes are totally on trend, but who…
View Comments
Do they use lard in Taco Bell beans?
Hi Yvonne! Nope, they don't! Their beans are vegan. :)
No they are dehydrated and they add water
That ended years and years ago, I remember a vegetarian friend (a million years ago and BV - before vegan, ha, for me) in college working with them to stop using lard. She liked how open they were & that they were very open to suggestions and of course was so excited when they did change.
This is a great list, thank you so much for it!
Why aren't the potatoes listed as a vegan option?
Not sure KC, but Taco Bell sent me this list directly. I checked the website but potatoes aren't listed -- only as ingredients in a few of the non-vegan menu items. I'd say reach out to them and ask!
Taco Bell fries their potatoes in vegetable oil, but in the same oil as their meat products.
The potatoes are vegan. PETA's website suggests you order them as an add-on at taco bell.
PETA has been wrong on these types of things so many times. I think it's because they rarely revisit the vegan menu options they post
I'd like to know this, too! Because I add them to everything I get there! :/
Because their potatoes are cooked with bacon... I made that mistake once.
They have certified their potatoes Vegan now.
https://www.tacobell.com/ingredients
Hi all. Here's the response I just got from the company's spokesperson: "Taco Bell’s potatoes cannot be considered vegetarian certified because they are fried in oil that is not vegetarian certified. Taco Bell is focused on increasing the number of certified products over time."
Is the oil not vegetarian certified because they cook other non vegetarian products in it, or because the oil actually is some sort of animal lard?
Meat is cooked in the same oil at many locations.
I'm surprised the flour tortillas are vegan because most commercial brands don't seem to be. But I'll take your word for it! Good news.
Really? Almost all flour tortillas I see do not use lard. and I live in So Cal where there are like 50 different tortillas at the store.
It's more about the l-cysteine found in most commercial soft tortillas that is the non-vegan ingredient. It's most often an animal product though synthetic options exist.
Lol, I see you everywhere!
the list includes "tortilla", is that the flour tortilla used for burritos and soft tacos?
Yes. (Told to you by a ten year vegan and lifetime Taco Bell fan.)
Big big yayyyyy!
I am trying to figure out how the spicy potato tacos are NOT vegetarian? And I get them without cheese, lettuce and sauce which would make them vegan, right? If not, this changes everything! Please advise!
They are fried in oil used for meat products
When I worked at Taco Bell they didn't fry any meats in the deep fryer! The only things that were deep fried were the cinnamon twists, the taco salad shells, and the nacho chips. All of the meat is cooked in bags in a hot water bath.
Co mingling items in oil loses them vegetarian certification. They must fry something meaty in the same oil.
They come pre made. We only recoil items to bring them up to heat. They are cooked in bacon grease and lard at the factory.
Are you saying...The potatoes in the spicy potato tacos are cooked in bacon grease and lard at the factory? Please say it ain't so.
There's no meat fried in the oil and it's vegetable oil. The only non-vegan things that go in the frier are the cinnabon delights (egg in the dough and milk in filling) and caramel empanadas (milk in the filling) They're definitely vegetarian and vegan as far as ingredients go in the actual potatoes but it's a personal choice on how you feel about the oil. As far as sources I'm vegan and work at Taco Bell currently. Also I'm very lactose intolerant and haven't had a reaction to potatoes so I doubt they really pick up anything from the oil.
I don't know if it's the only non-vegetarian thing that's fried in the oil but the red tortilla strips that are used as toppings for certain menu items contain carmine, so that would probably prevent any item fried in the same oil as them from being certified vegetarian.
I am a vegan that also works at Taco Bell. Our red strips are not fried in oil they come to us prepackaged.
They have their certified Vegan options now.
https://www.tacobell.com/ingredients
Do you have vegan ordering advice for amateurs? Some suggestions would be rad, I wouldn't know where to start but love the concept of suddenly having fast-food options for when I'm traveling.
7 layer burrito without sour cream and cheese (so 5 layers) is real good and pretty filling for $2.50~
Never subtract at a fast food place always add. Otherwise you end up with a wimpy little meal with not much in it. Start with a bean burrito, fresco. then start adding. I like rice, guacamole, romaine lettuce, and sometimes black beans. but you can pick your own items from the list above.
If you can use the odering app, do it! It's so much easier than trying to explain a complex order to the poor cashier (I always felt so bad for them). Your order goes right to the screen in the kitchen as you specify. It's pretty great!
7 of the ingredients are sauces...hmnn that really does not count as a vegan item to me. Kind of disappointing. Now if they add vegan sour cream and cheddar cheese that would be vegan items.
Hi- I would be concerned with any Mexican rice. In restaurants across the board the rice is cooked in chicken stock. I notice that rice is not vegan but shows up on the vegetarian list?
Premium Latin Rice is listed as Vegan. they do not list potatoes, cooked in oil not vegan certified, so I think the rice is safe as listed (if cooked as intended).
I'm upset that peta had listed the potatoes as vegan if they truly weren't. This isn't the first time they have misreported vegan food items. Now I will have to fact check them every time they post an article.
Also peta listed the rice a vegan. It makes me sick to my stomach that an organization like that didn't do their homework. Every vegan I know who orders from them orders the potatoes and rice.
Nevermind I read Melinda's comment before seeing that the rice IS listed on the vegan list. That's a huge relief. Still bummed about the potatoes haha.
The only thing that would make the potatoes non-vegan is that they're fried in the same oil as desserts containing egg and milk in them. No meat products are fried and the oil is just canola oil or another vegetable oil so they're vegetarian at the very least and no ingredients in the actual potatoes are animal based. (I'm vegan and work at Taco Bell currently)
The red tortilla strips are fried oil and contain carmine (I commented above, in a different thread)
Hi Matt! Just for future reference, PETA may list some items that are vegan as far as ingredients, but not OFFICIALLY or certifiably vegan. Unfortunately there are still very few products that can call themselves "officially" vegan. PETA's stance is as such (this quote is taken from their blog), and at LVN we tend to agree: “Being vegan is about helping animals, not maintaining personal purity. Boycotting products that may contain trace amounts of animal products can actually be harmful to animals in the long run. For example, by refusing to eat a veggie burger from a restaurant because the bun may contain traces of milk or eggs, you are discouraging that restaurant from offering vegan options because it is seems too difficult a task.”
if they can get veggie burgers they can get vegan buns...
So, your personal purity is more important than saving animals, is what you're saying, Stephen. Even if you don't realize that's what you're saying.
If a hamburger bun or another product is 99.99% vegan, but can't be certified because it is made on equipment that also produces foods made with milk and/or eggs, that product is still vegan. No cruelty or animal products went into the production of that item. It's still vegan. By saying it's not "vegan enough," you are making things harder on animals, because companies will stop producing the items that are vegan and just start making MORE of the items that aren't.
I absolutely agree w/ PETA!
Not true, such boycotts have led to Vegan restaurants in Dallas, and he never said boycott the restaurant, just the item. They have veggie burgers, they can honestly get veggie buns, in fact order it for them. Huh, you say,? Feel free to cover the price difference, help the place go or be more Vegan. I got last idea, because I want more people to eat organic, and I have thought about covering the cost difference for one set of items, to see if equal price, how much people would choose organic.
While PETA supports a strict adherence to veganism, the org puts the task of vigorously reducing animal suffering ahead of personal purity. Boycotting products that are 99.9 percent vegan sends the message to manufacturers that there is no market for this food, which ends up hurting more animals.
Well said Curtis! That's the same line of thinking we support here at LVN.
Exactly. It may gross done people out too much to offer something otherwise vegan that was fried in shared oil, but that's a personal issue, not a vegan issue. If I order the potatoes that were fried in that oil, I'm not paying for any animal products and not causing any more demand for animal products. So I have no problem continuing to order them. It's up to you where you draw your line, but remember veganism is about reducing harm and suffering, not personal purity.
This is 2020, times have changed, everyone has gone full 100% animal free, 100% of the time, if Vegan. The philosophy you described could be applied to organic though. Fertilizer run off is killing and destroying more sea wildlife, so go organic, 100%, in transition, and for items that comprise a mix of organic and non-organic, buy those that have heaviest organic list. p.s. food co-ops, can bring organic cost down, in Dallas, TX $55.00, every two weeks, wholly organic or in transition (3-years to become organic, so this group allows certain farmers to sell produce if in transition) produce enough to feed a family of four, with just a little addition of rice and beans, to fully compliment a complete plant-base 100% of the time diet.