Any vegan will know how difficult it can be to find a suitable meal at any fast food restaurant.
Fortunately, if you are planning a trip to McDonald’s in the nearby future, we’ve got you covered with this list of vegan options for the world’s largest fast food chain.
Here is a list of all the vegan options available at McDonald’s.
Vegan Breakfast Options
Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day; it sets us up for the rest of the day, filling us with energy, so we can take on whatever lies ahead of us.
Below, we have listed the current vegan options available for breakfast.
Fruit And Maple Oatmeal
There is only one vegan breakfast option at McDonald’s, and it is the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal. However, you will need to make some adjustments to your order to ensure that it is vegan. This oatmeal is made from:
- Wholegrain oats
- Red and green apples
- Cranberries
- Raisins
- Cream
- Brown sugar
By checking out that list of ingredients, there is one ingredient that will stick out to any vegan: cream. This is the only ingredient that is not vegan… therefore, you will need to order a Fruit and Maple Oatmeal without cream.
Vegan Burger Options
When we think about McDonald’s, the majority of us will think of one particular menu item: the burger. Unfortunately, as a vegan, you will have to skip out on the Big Macs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy any tasty burgers on the menu.
Below, we have listed the current vegan burger options at McDonald’s.
McPlant
In recent years, McDonald’s has listed a burger on their menu that is not only suitable for vegetarians, but also for vegans. The McPlant is made up of:
- A plant-based patty
- Shredded lettuce
- Pickles
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayonnaise
- A slice of American cheese
You will need to make some adjustments to this burger to make it vegan-friendly, as you can see from the ingredients listed above. For a completely vegan burger, you will need to ask for a McPlant without cheese and mayo.
Hamburger
The hamburger is, perhaps, the most popular burger on the McDonald’s menu. It may even be the most popular food item on the entire menu. It is perfect for anyone seeking a simple burger without all the additions.
However, you may be thinking: how can a hamburger be vegan-friendly?
Unfortunately, in order to make a hamburger suitable for vegan consumption, you will need to remove the main component. Take a look at the list of ingredients:
- A beef patty
- Onions
- Pickles
- Ketchup
- Mustard
While removing the beef patty may seem futile, as you would be removing the very item that makes it a ‘hamburger’, you can settle for a tasty vegan sandwich without it.
It may not be much, but it is a tasty alternative for those who aren’t a fan of the McPlant.
Vegan Sides Options
Next up, let’s take a look at the vegan side options at McDonald’s. Before we take a look at the only vegan side option, prepare yourself for an unsavory statement that will deeply disappoint you: McDonald’s fries are not vegan.
One of the ingredients in McDonald’s fries is Natural Beef Flavoring. This means that those delicious, golden potato sticks are not suitable for vegans or vegetarians to consume.
Now that we have broken the bad news, let’s get to the good stuff. Here is the only vegan side currently served at McDonald’s.
Apple Slices
Yeah… we understand that this is a little disappointing.
Unfortunately, since the grand majority of McDonald’s sides are made from cheese, and the rest are made from natural meat flavoring – specifically, beef – the only true vegan option is their apple slices.
However, this is good news for anyone wanting to keep an eye on their figure, or lead a healthier lifestyle. Ditch the fries, and enjoy some juicy apple slices instead!
Vegan Sauce Options
Finally, we have the food items that may not be deemed the most important, but they are the foundations that hold our McDonald’s meals together. Sauces should never be undermined, as they create a lot of the flavor in the burgers.
So, below, we have listed all the dipping sauces that are deemed vegan at McDonald’s.
Sweet & Sour
This is one of the most popular dipping sauces served at McDonald’s. Although it is not used in any burgers or main food items, it is often used for dipping fries, and other sides.
With a delicious blend of peach and apricot flavors, along with some fiery, savory notes, this is a sauce that you should be glad is vegan-friendly! You’ll just need to make your own vegan fries to dip into these pots…
Ketchup
Praise the Lord, ketchup is vegan-friendly! Since this sauce is used in the McPlant and the hamburger-free hamburger, you can rest assured knowing that this is an ingredient that won’t need to be removed.
With only 10 calories per pot, and the main ingredients being tomato paste and corn syrup, you can enjoy this red sauce to your heart’s content.
BBQ
Additionally, McDonald’s BBQ sauce is also vegan-friendly. With a handful of ingredients, including tomato paste, vinegar, onion powder, and ‘Natural Smoke Flavor’ (whatever that is), this is a purely vegan sauce.
While it is not used in any of the vegan burgers mentioned above, you could always request a handful of pots to spread onto your McPlant if you’re a fan of this yummy sauce.
Mustard
Last, but not least, we have another sauce that you’ll be grateful is also vegan-friendly.
Mustard is added to the McPlant and the hamburger-free hamburger, so you can enjoy this sauce without fearing breaking your meat and dairy sobriety.
Final Thoughts
We’re not going to beat around the bush here: it is quite disappointing that, in 2022, there are limited amounts of vegan options available at the world’s largest fast food chain.
If you’re a fan of veggie burgers and fruit, you should be fine, but we still deserve more options.
Hopefully, in years to come, we will have more options to choose from. Until then, you can always enjoy a McPlant with a side of apple slices, or a Fruit and Maple Oatmeal for breakfast (without cream).
Don’t forget to stack up on the ketchup and sweet & sour sauces!
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Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
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