Let’s face it — the choices for a good meal are often limited for vegetarians and vegans. This is especially true at fast food restaurants where, while there are vegetarian menu items, only a few actually offer an actual veggie burger. For example, while Culver’s offers a veggie burger, vegans will need to avoid it since the patty contains eggs and is topped with real Wisconsin cheese. Similarly, Carl’s Jr. has a unique zucchini burger that meets (no pun intended) the vegetarian criteria but isn’t so much a burger as it is a sandwich stuffed with cuts of fried zucchini. Sadly, these limitations are magnified for those wanting a traditional veggie burger, which in no way resembles the meat that they’re trying to avoid, as they’re a bit of a fast food unicorn.
To be fair, many fast food menus offer meat alternative items made from the Impossible and Beyond lines like Burger King’s Impossible Whopper. However, they’re not made from whole vegetables and are strictly a meat substitute. Meaning they still resemble their standard meaty counterparts, down to the sinewy shape and texture. A traditional veggie burger is made from a mixture of seasonings and ingredients like beans, carrots, soy, and grains like quinoa. While they can look similar in appearance and color, veggie burgers also carry the extra benefits of the nutrition-dense vegetables used to make them. Thankfully, there are still fast food chains that offer their patrons a true veggie burger.
Do any fast food chains offer a traditional veggie burger?
Although there may be options at smaller fast food chains like Bareburger, Veggie Grill, and Plant Power Fast Food, it seems that Wendy’s is the only major fast food chain that actually offers a legitimate veggie burger. The “fresh, never frozen” brand offers a Curry Bean Burger, but the catch is that it’s only available overseas in select locations, including the U.K. and Qatar. Otherwise, it seems that anyone wanting a fast, casual dining experience and an accessible veggie burger would have to opt for a — wait for it — fast casual restaurant. Before it’s asked out loud — yes, there is a difference between fast food and fast casual restaurants.
In the fast-casual realm, various chains have more menu items that actually qualify as a veggie burger. Smashburger’s VeggieSmash is a patty made from a black bean and veggie mix with tortilla chips and croutons to help texturize and hold the shape. BurgerFi’s VegeFi is a delicious mix of fresh vegetables coated in crispy-grilled quinoa. It can even be made vegan by opting for no cheese or Fi sauce and switching the bun for the potato or multi-grain alternative. Shake Shack may charge a high price for its food, but the chain’s Veggie Shack burger is an excellently crafted mixture of mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and farro (which is the main ingredient of Ina Garten’s favorite side dish).
