McDonald’s isn’t the first place a vegan lifestyle follower would head to with its long list of meat burgers. But if you didn’t know, McDonald’s has a vegan menu that can get you plant-based, vegetarian, and dairy-free options.
Since the beginning, McDonald’s offered a wide variety of fast food options but due to more and more people preferring vegan culture, on 2nd of January 2020, McDonald’s has launched a vegan menu.
A straightforward vegan burger option at McDonald’s is the McPlant burger without cheese and mayonnaise. Other options include fruit and maple oatmeal with no milk and cream, apple slices, sodas, juices, slushies, iced teas, black coffee, iced coffee, and sauces.
If you are keen on knowing everything that McDonald’s offers around the year, our special article on the history of McDonald’s will help you with that.
Whether you are a vegan or are planning to visit McDonald’s with a vegan friend, check out all the vegan options available at McDonald’s in the sections below.
McDonald’s Vegan Menu Options
With the demand for plant-based diets worldwide, restaurants are updating and adjusting their menu to fulfill customer demands. Joining the trend, McDonald’s is also working on its vegan menu.
You can enjoy vegan food options on the McDonald’s menu around the world. If you are interested in having a vegan burger at McDonald’s in the US, you can order the McPlant burger, co-developed with Beyond meat. This burger is available in select locations in Texas and California. You can find these locations here.
Other vegan options available throughout the US include fruit and oat milk without cream or milk, apple slices, apple pie, sodas, juices, slushies, iced teas, black coffee, iced coffee, side salads, and sauces.
If you are in Chicago, you can choose from of international vegan menu items. One such item is McAloo Tikki, which is one of the best-selling products from its restaurant menu in India.
The McAloo Tikki burger features a veggie patty made from potatoes and peas. It is topped with red onions, tomato slices, and eggless tomato mayo and placed between a bun.
Let’s look at the price list of the vegan menu options available at McDonald’s. Along with it, you can also take a look at the McDonald’s nutrition menu to make healthier choices
Vegan Options
| McPlant Burger | $5.49 |
| Apple Slices | $1.59 |
| Apple Pie | $2.09 |
| Fruit and Oatmeal | $5.49 |
Vegan Sauces
| Tangy BBQ Dipping Sauce | $0.00 |
| Ketchup Packet | $0.00 |
| Sweet N Sour Dipping Sauce | $0.00 |
| Hot Mustard Dipping Sauce | $0.00 |
Vegan Coffees
| McCafé | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Roast Coffee | $1.99 | $2.29 | $2.69 |
| Decaf Coffee | $1.99 | $2.29 | $2.69 |
Vegan Beverages
| Beverage | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-C Orange | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Coke | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Diet Coke | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Sprite | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Fanta | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Fanta Strawberry | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Dr Pepper | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Hawaiian Punch | $2.19 | $2.59 | $2.79 |
| Sweet Iced tea | $1.39 | $1.79 | $1.89 |
| Unsweetened Iced Tea | $1.39 | $1.79 | $1.89 |
| Frozen Fanta Blue Raspberry | $2.89 | $3.49 | $4.09 |
| Frozen Fanta Wild Cherry | $2.89 | $3.49 | $4.09 |
What Is Vegan McDonald’s McPlant Burger?
With vegan food options becoming popular among customers, McDonald’s introduced the McPlant, a juicy burger made with a plant-based patty. The vegan patty was co-developed with Beyond Meat.
While the official US McDonald’s website describes this offering as a burger “sizzled on a flat iron grill, then topped with slivered onions, tangy pickles, crisp shredded lettuce, Roma tomato slices, ketchup, mustard, mayo and a slice of melty American cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun,” it’s not truly a vegan or vegetarian product.
If you scroll down the page to look at the nutritional information, you will find McPlant featuring pasteurized processed American cheese that contains milk, and mayonnaise, which contains eggs.
So, to truly make McPlant a vegan option, you will have to ask your server to omit these two ingredients while arranging the burger for you. But there is one more crucial point that will not suit vegan diehards.
Though the burgers are vegan, they’re cooked on the same grill as McDonald’s regular beef patties. The fact that the juices of those burgers remain on the same grill on which the vegan burgers are cooked is not an attractive offer for hardcore vegans.
However, in the UK, McDonald’s provides its customers with a vegan McPlant burger. While making vegan burgers, UK McDonald’s uses vegan sandwich sauce and vegan cheese alternatives with plant-based patty. You can check the UK McDonald’s McPlant authenticity by checking its nutrition and ingredients information here.
While we leave you to decide whether you are flexible about this fact, let’s find out if there are some other vegan options available at McDonald’s in the US.
Special Vegan Options That You Can Customize On McDonald’s Menu
If you haven’t found the McDonald’s vegan list mentioned above so appealing, there are ways to customize the Mcdonald’s menu to make them vegan-friendly.
At McDonald’s, you can find vegan flour tortillas and English muffins. So, get a little creative and make the most of them.
To make a DIY vegan sandwich or wrap at McDonald’s in the US, you can customize your order by filling them up with your choice of veggies and dairy-free dips and dressings.
You can order a veggie artisan roll sandwich by ordering burgers or sandwiches without the meat, cheese, and mayo. Add some extra lettuce, tomato, and pickles with dipping sauce options like spicy buffalo BBQ, sweet and sour, ketchup, and mustard sauce in the bun.
You can order a vegan beverage like juice, soft drink, iced tea, or black coffee to complete your meal. You can also make a customized meal like this using tortilla wraps.
Likewise, if you wish to have salads, you can choose salads without chicken and add dairy-free dressings. Some vegan-friendly salad options include Southwest Salad (with no cheese or Southwest dressing), Premium Bacon Salad (with no cheese, bacon, or Ranch dressing), and Side Salad (without cheese or dressing).
While all the above-mentioned vegan options make McDonald’s a vegan-friendly place, are McDonald’s famous potato-based items like French fries and hash browns vegan-friendly? Keep on reading to find out this answer.
Vegan Options Available In The US
If you are in the US looking for vegan options at McDonald’s, you can opt for McPlant burger that is vegan-friendly. You can also get yourself fruit and oat milk without cream or milk, apple slices, apple pie, sodas, juices, slushies, iced teas, black coffee, iced coffee, side salads, and some sauces.
When we look at the McDonald’s vegan options throughout the world, McDonald’s international vegan game is stronger than the US. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy food at McDonald’s if you are a vegan in the US.
The company aims to cater the needs of everyone, and the US vegan menu is still developing. Moreover, you can customize the existing menu to make it vegan-friendly. Until then, why not make the most of the McDonald’s gluten-free menu?
Vegan Options McDonald’s Have All Over The World
Vegan-friendly food options are becoming more popular worldwide, and the food industry is working hard to meet customer demands. Following the trends, McDonald’s is also keeping pace with its outlets present the world over, and the options are quite interesting.
McDonald’s vegan menu has been successful in countries like the UK, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Norway, and India.
McDonald’s UK
If you happen to be in the UK, McDonald’s UK has a selection of vegan-friendly menu options that can take care of your hunger.
These include McPlant burger, The Spicy Veggie One (McDonald’s veggie wrap), Veggie Dippers, McDonald’s French Fries, McDonald’s Hash Browns, cucumber sticks, melon fruit bag, pineapple sticks, and carrot bag.
You can choose from a list of vegan drinks, which include soft drinks, juices, and bottled water.
McDonald’s UK also rolled out a vegan Happy Meal, featuring a flour tortilla wrap filled with veggies. This wrap consists of breaded vegetable tenders made with blended split peas, breadcrumbs, Arborio rice, sun-dried tomato pesto, and red peppers.
While the kids’ wrap includes tomato ketchup and shredded lettuce, the adult option features a spicy tomato relish, tomato, and red onion.
McDonald’s Norway
In response to vegan-friendly customers in Norway, McDonald’s is exclusively frying up vegan “chicken” nuggets at select Norway restaurants.
The chicken-free vegan McNuggets are made with a mashed potato base that features chickpeas, onions, carrots, and corn. They’re coated in breadcrumbs and fried until crispy.
The Norway McDonald’s also offers a vegetarian McFeast, which includes a vegetable and bean-based burger patty, an alternative to the Chicken McFeast.
McDonald’s Finland
In Finland, McDonald’s released its first vegan burger, “The McVegan,” which received such a great response that it became a permanent fixture on the menu. Other vegan options at McDonald’s in Finland include Rye McVegan and classic McWrap vegan.
McDonald’s Germany
Besides these countries, McDonald’s Germany also has great vegan-friendly food options. In 2022, it launched a vegan KitKat McFlurry with a dairy-free soft serve and pieces of vegan KitKat. You can also enjoy a vegan chocolate McFlurry and a dairy-free Sundae.
With plant-based burgers, McDonald’s Germany has been ahead of the curve. It launched the Big Vegan TS in 2019, featuring Nestlé’s plant-based Incredible burger, onions, tomatoes, greens, mustard, and ketchup.
McDonald’s Vegan Menu Customer Reviews
McDonald’s vegan menu has received mixed reviews all over the world. The nordic countries liked the vegan burger so much that it became a part of their regular menu. This also led to the addition of other vegan items like nuggets, wraps, fries, hashbrowns, and desserts.
In the U.S. the vegan menu received a positive response but, according to a CNBC report the demand for the meatless burger wasn’t as much. Therefore, McDonald’s U.S. vegan menu is still developing. We do expect to see more vegan options in the near future.
Are McDonald’s French Fries Vegan?
The lines are blurry about items safe to be tagged as a vegan when its comes to fast food. One might normally assume that all French fries are vegan simply because they’re made out of potatoes. But you must know this is not the case if you order at McDonald’s in the US.
McDonald’s french fries are not vegan in the United States, Canada, Australia, and some other countries. The reason behind it is that fries in US and Canada contain dairy (hydrolyzed milk) and beef flavoring, as reported by World of Vegan.
If you’re curious to know all the hows and whys of the “not vegan” McDonald’s French fries, we did a deep dive into it in our special article on Are McDonald’s Fries Vegetarian Or Vegan?
Are McDonald’s Hash Brown Vegan?
Hash browns are a favorite American staple enjoyed on their own, in between sandwiches, as sides, or at any time of the day.
The golden cakes are made with leftover potatoes. They are crunchy and full of flavor. But have you ever wondered how such a simple ingredient food item tastes so incredible?
McDonald’s hash browns are not vegan. If you read the allergen information on McDonald’s official website, you will find the presence of Natural Beef Flavor [wheat And Milk Derivatives]* in its ingredients list.
To learn the truth behind McDonald’s hash browns, our article on “are McDonald’s Hash Browns vegan?” will give you a better understanding of it.
Are McDonald’s Apple Pies Vegan?
McDonald’s apple pie has been one of its most notable and iconic menu items since the 1960s. It is made up of a crispy pastry case, filled with sweet stewed apples, and served hot.
If you read the fast-food chain’s website, you’ll find the exact list of ingredients and allergens for the McDonald’s apple pie, containing no non-vegan item. However, the oil used for frying the pies can’t be guaranteed vegan-friendly.
The McDonald’s UK website states, “due to the design of the oil filtration system, there is a small chance the oil used to fry the Apple Pies can come into contact with oil used to cook chicken and fish products during the oil filtering process. We, therefore, cannot guarantee that cross-contamination will not occur.”
If this fact bothers you, take a look at all the details in our special article on are McDonald’s Apple Pies vegan?
Are McDonald’s Nuggets Vegan?
One of the most popular McDonald’s items among chicken lovers is the McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
They are crispy, tasty, and perfectly accompanied by a delicious sauce. These nuggets are totally crave-worthy. They are made of white boneless chicken, vegetable oil, flour, salt, and spices. Therefore, McDonald’s chicken nuggets are not vegan.
However, McDonald’s is shaking up its menu with new vegan options at its outlets around the globe. You can get vegan nuggets in Norway.
In response to customers with meat-less preference in Norway, the chain started frying up vegan “chicken” nuggets at select restaurants in the Nordic country. The chicken-free McNuggets are made with a mashed potato base mixed with chickpeas, onions, carrots, and corn. They’re coated in breadcrumbs, then fried until crispy.
While the vegan nuggets haven’t made it to the US market, we can expect them on the menu in the future.
According to McDonald’s, their golden nuggets are battered and lightly fried before being frozen and shipped to their restaurants. There, they are fried again before being served to customers. Does this process make McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets healthy?
Does McDonald’s Have Vegan Sauces Too?
Although the vegan options at McDonald’s in the US market may be limited, their sauces have various vegan options to make your food flavorful.
You can use them for dipping purposes or add them to your burgers, sandwiches, and wraps to make vegan food options.
The vegan sauces at McDonald’s include Spicy buffalo BBQ, sweet and sour, ketchup, mustard, and maple syrup. McDonald’s also offers some other best-tasting sauces for a better flavor experience.
Should Vegans Eat At McDonald’s?
The vegan food market is continually growing around the world. It is, in turn, compelling the food industry to include vegan items on their menus.
While the process is on, vegan options at fast food restaurants aren’t big. Take the example of the largest fast food chain McDonald’s.
In the sections above, we’ve looked at all the vegan options available at McDonald’s. While the vegan options in nordic countries are satisfactory, you will find that the options on the McDonald’s US menu are limited, especially regarding the main course.
Therefore, eating a vegan meal exclusively at McDonald’s US would not be a satisfying experience.
However, you can customize your meal at McDonald’s using some DIY ideas. Moreover, you can also make McDonald-like meals at home, and that too, vegan, by checking out some appetizing McDonald’s recipes using vegan alternatives.
Other Diet-Specific McDonald’s Blogs We’ve Covered
Fast food is popular worldwide because it is inexpensive, convenient, and tasty. But while these factors seem attractive, refined grains, fat, and oil add to food allergies and health conditions like increased cholesterol, diabetes, weight gain, and more.
If you suffer from any of these conditions or are a health-conscious eater, I’m sure you would be interested to know all the measures McDonald’s menu is undertaking to combat these issues.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know about all these options available at McDonald’s? Besides the vegan menu, McDonald’s also offers gluten-free, low-sodium, low-calorie, and healthy food options.
We have covered all these special topics in separate articles to make it easier for you. To learn more about McDonald’s nutritional information, you can check out McDonald’s Menu Nutrition.
But some food options at McDonald’s are also tagged as unhealthy by health experts. You can read about those on Why is McDonald’s Food Bad for Your Body?
Click here to find Healthy McDonald’s Options In To Eat. If you fight diabetes, you will also be interested to know Can A Diabetic Eat At McDonald’s?
Lastly, gluten allergies are very common nowadays, and McDonald’s has worked on its menu to deal with it. So, check out McDonald’s Gluten-Free/Allergen Menu.
Conclusion
As we have reached the absolute end of this article on McDonald’s menu prices, I hope it has helped you with all the information you needed about McDonald’s. This chain of restaurants is massive and multinational. Refer to the details and enjoy the goodness of their menu items.
Frequently Answered Questions Realted To McDonald’s Vegan Menu[FAQs]
Does McDonald’s have a vegan menu?
McDonald’s has a vegan menu but with limited options.
Does McDonald’s have a vegan burger?
McDonald’s McPlant burger is a vegan burger made with a plant-based patty.
Is McDonald’s McPlant burger truly vegan in the US?
McPlant Burger in the US is only truly vegan with modifications. It can be made vegan by ordering it with NO cheese or mayo.
Is McDonald’s McPlant burger truly vegan in the UK?
UK McDonald’s McPlant burger is vegan as it uses vegan sandwich sauce and vegan cheese alternatives with a plant-based patty.
Where can I find the McPlant burger in the United States?
McPlant burger in the United States is available in Texas and California.
Are there any vegan drinks at McDonald’s?
McDonald’s vegan drink options include juices, sodas, slushies, iced teas, and black coffee.
Are McDonald’s French fries vegan?
McDonald’s French fries are not vegan.
Are McDonald’s hash browns vegan?
McDonald’s hash browns are not vegan.
Does McDonald’s have vegan sauce?
Yes, McDonald’s has vegan sauces.
