Save Yourself from Disappointing Vegan Fast Food

If you’re vegan, chances are you’ve had at least a few negative fast food experiences. In recent years, chain restaurants seem to be attempting to up their vegan games, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot of crap on offer out there. To save you from disappointment, here’s our list of the 10 most terrible vegan fast food items and 10 of the best. 

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1. KFC’s Beyond Fried Chicken

KFC unveiled their vegan fried chicken for a limited time only back in 2022 to much excitement. Unfortunately, the product failed to live up to the hype, with vegans saying the texture was bouncy and the chicken lacked flavor.

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2. McDonald’s Veggie Dippers

McDonald’s came up with this creative concoction of mystery vegetables pressed into a nugget shape, breaded, and deep-fried and it received underwhelming reviews. Although vegans praised the crispy texture, the flavor was compared to deep-fried baby food. 

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3. Pizza Hut’s Pepperphoni Pizza

It’s hard to imitate meat and cheese and Pizza Hut seems to have failed the task when they came out with their pepperphoni pizza in 2020. Vegans said the cheese tasted weird and the pepperoni was rubbery. 

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4. White Castle’s Impossible Slider

White Castle was one of the first major chains to hop on the vegan bandwagon, offering this plant-based option before it was cool. Unfortunately, vegans have given it poor reviews saying it’s unpleasantly spongey and tasteless.

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5. Subway’s Veggie Delite

Subway’s veggie delite is nothing fancy–just vegetables in between bread. It’s a wonder they were able to mess that up, but vegans have called it incredibly flavorless, with dry bread and poor-quality vegetables. 

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6. McDonald’s Veggie Deluxe

McDonald’s vegan sandwich features their “red pepper and pesto goujon,” a fancy term for deep-fried vegetable mash, stuffed in a sesame bun with lettuce. To make it vegan, you have to get it without the special sauce, so you end up with an incredibly dry and tasteless sandwich. 

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7. Burger King’s Impossible Whopper

Burger King’s Impossible Whopper was unveiled in 2019 and uses a meat alternative made from soy and potato protein. It's garnered criticism from vegans saying it’s far too dry and significantly more expensive than the regular whopper.

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8. Subway’s Veggie Patty Sandwich

We can only guess Subway understood how lacking their veggie delite was and decided to offer something more appealing to vegans. Unfortunately, what they came up with was a floppy, chewy green patty that can only be described as unappetizing.

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9. Dunkin' Donuts Beyond Sausage Sandwich

Dunkin’ Donuts released its vegetarian breakfast sandwich back in 2019 but has since taken it off the menu because of low sales. It’s no wonder it didn’t sell with reviewers saying it’s bouncy and dry when ordered without the egg and cheese. 

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10. Subway's Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub

It seems the consensus among vegans is that Subway should just stop trying. The Beyond Meatball sub is soggy and the meatballs are unpleasantly chewy, all served on top of their famously underwhelming bread.

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1. Taco Bell’s Black Bean Crunch Wrap Supreme

Vegans have long been obsessed with Taco Bell’s Black Bean Crunch Wrap Supreme, and for good reason. It’s a soft tortilla filled with delicious vegan black beans, tomato, lettuce, guacamole and a crispy tortilla to give it that signature crunch. 

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2. Wendy’s Spicy Black Bean Burger

Vegans were skeptical when this classic burger joint announced their vegan burger, but the results were a pleasant surprise. The black bean patty isn’t trying to resemble meat, it’s a tasty blend of beans, sweet corn, and spices for a surprisingly bold veggie-based option.

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3. McDonald’s Hash Browns

You know it’s good when even non-vegans order it. McDonald’s hash browns are always flawlessly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and seasoned to perfection. 

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4. Chipotle's Sofritas Burrito

The Sofritas burrito filling is made from tofu that’s been simmered in aromatic spices. You can dress it up however you like, no matter what, it’s a winner. 

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5. Del Taco’s Beyond Avocado Taco

We’re beginning to detect a theme here: Mexican cuisine lends itself well to vegan options. Del Taco’s Beyond Avocado Taco is no exception. It’s avocado, Beyond meat crumbles, vegan cheese, and vegetables all wrapped up in a crispy taco shell.

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6. Domino's Vegan Pizza

Although it has yet to come to the USA, Domino’s started offering a couple of different vegan pizza flavors in the UK and Australia and they’ve been met with rave reviews. People are saying the cheese is excellent quality and the dough is soft and puffy, much like the original. 

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7. Panda Express’ Beyond the Original Orange Chicken

Panda Express’ limited edition Beyond the Original Orange Chicken came back by popular demand earlier this year and we couldn’t be more pleased. The dish tastes almost exactly the same as the real chicken version generously coated in that succulent sweet and spicy sauce served over a steaming bed of rice. Yum!

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8. Tim Hortons’ Beyond Meat Vegan Sandwich

Unlike some of the other guys, this beloved Canadian fast food chain seems to have actually put some thought into their Beyond Meat Vegan Sandwich. Served on a vegan homestyle biscuit with lettuce and tomato, the patty is nicely spiced and tastes just like a sausage breakfast patty.

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9. Harvey’s Veggie Burger

Harvey’s was somewhat of a trailblazer when it came to veggie offerings, having their vegan burger on offer from the early aughts. It tastes great and they’re also apparently very conscientious about not having it come in contact with the meats.

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10. Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Twists

Taco Bell is really killing the vegan game. Their cinnamon twists are made from puffed corn sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and are undeniably addictive. 

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