The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Chain Restaurants

Posted by Faith on March 10, 2023

If you’re not already hungry, you’re about to be. We’ve compiled our ultimate guide to dining out while vegan. Check out these delicious vegan offerings at chain restaurants across the country and see just how easy it is to eat cruelty-free wherever you go.

A&W (Canada)
Order a delicious Beyond Burger at A&W locations across Canada—just be sure to ask for no burger sauce or mayo.

Bareburger
Bareburger offers delicious vegan options including the Black Bean Poblano Patty and the Sweet Potato, Kale & Wild Rice Patty.

Baskin-Robbins
The availability of vegan flavors varies by location, but look for these options at your nearest location: Non-Dairy Mint Chocochunk, a sweet and smooth mint-flavored frozen dessert with chocolate chunks and swirls of fudge, and Daiquiri Ice, a lime ice frozen dessert with a splash of rum flavoring.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
The pizza crust and marinara sauce at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is vegan! Order a veggie pizza without cheese, and ask for your pizza not to be brushed with butter. Not in the mood for pizza? Order the spaghetti marinara or the Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains Soup.

Blaze Pizza
Blaze Pizza offers dairy-free cheese, spicy meat-free chorizo, and an array of other vegan toppings.

Bruegger’s Bagels
Vegan options include the blueberry, cinnamon-sugar, pumpernickel, and rosemary–olive oil bagels.

Buca di Beppo
For an appetizer, try the bruschetta—just hold the cheese. Order the Pasta Puttanesca (penne pasta with tomatoes, onions, green peppers, black Kalamata olives, green olives, and capers), which must be specially requested, as it’s not on the menu, or choose to create your own pasta. Select either the marinara sauce or the garlic olive oil. Toppings include various veggies, crushed pepper, and poached garlic. Ask your server to make sure your pasta is vegan, as some locations may serve pasta that contains eggs. You can also add a mixed green salad—just be sure to substitute oil and vinegar for the Italian dressing. Other vegan sides include the steamed green beans and broccoli.

BurgerFi
BurgerFi offers the Beyond Burger at its more than 100 locations. Ask for the multigrain bun to make this delicious dish vegan!

Burger King
At Burger King, you can get an animal-free burger, a garden salad, fries, and hash browns as well as some “accidentally vegan” treasures such as the French Toast Sticks and Dutch Apple Pie.

California Fish Grill
Check out unique vegan “seafood” offerings like the Plant-Based Dynamite “Shrimp Bowl” and the Plant-Based Battered “Fish” & Chips.

Carl’s Jr.
Order Carl’s Jr’s mouthwatering Beyond Famous Star without cheese or mayo. You’ll be happy you did!

Cheeburger Cheeburger
Many locations offer a vegan Beyond Burger, so check your local Cheeburger Cheeburger’s menu.

The Cheesecake Factory
The house-made veggie burger patty isn’t vegan, but you can go for the animal-free burger with the SkinnyLicious bun or in a lettuce wrap. Ask for vegan Field Roast Chao cheese and Best Foods vegan mayo for a dairy- and egg-free option. Ingredients may vary by location, so always check with your server first.

Chipotle
Chipotle offers Sofritas—organic tofu braised with peppers and spices—which you can order in a bowl, burrito, taco, or salad. You have the option of black or pinto beans and brown or white rice. Plus, the restaurant has a great selection of vegan toppings, including mixed fajita veggies, salsas, lettuce, and guacamole.

Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is testing meat-free breakfast sausage patties on the restaurant’s all-day breakfast menu at 50 locations. Always check the status of items with your server before ordering, but vegan options to help build your own home-style breakfast include the plain oatmeal, the plain grits, the fresh fruit cup, the baked potato, the home-style fries, the tater rounds, the multigrain toast, pinto beans, the breaded fried okra, the fried apples, and the Country Vegetable Plate.

Dairy Queen
Looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth? Try Dairy Queen’s Non-Dairy Dilly Bar!

Del Taco
Del Taco offers exciting vegan options like the Epic Beyond Fresh Guacamole Burrito and the Beyond Guacamole Taco. Try them today with a side of Crinkle Cut Fries. The breakfast Hashbrown Sticks are also vegan.

Denny’s
Order a delicious vegan Beyond Burger at your local Denny’s.

Din Tai Fung
Din Tai Fung offers many vegan options, including the Vegan Dumplings, Vegan Wontons Soup, Vegan Noodles with Sesame Sauce, and the Sweet Taro Bun.

Dunkin’
Vegan food options at Dunkin’ include the Avocado Toast, hash browns, and bagels (plain, sesame, cinnamon raisin, and “everything”), and you can order coffee with oat or almond milk.

El Pollo Loco
At El Pollo Loco, you can get the Original BRC Burrito without cheese for a vegan option. You can also add avocado. Vegan side dishes include pinto beans and corn on the cob.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Order a Veggie Burger without cheese and sauce for a satisfying vegan option at Freddy’s.

Freebirds World Burrito
Vegan chorizo can be added as a protein to burritos, bowls, tacos, and salad along with additional bean and veggie options.

Hard Times Café
Hard Times Café offers a veggie burger that can be made vegan without the cheese and a vegetarian chili. (Just be sure to tell your server that you don’t want any sour cream or cheese in your chili.)

IHOP
At IHOP, you can get hash browns, fresh fruit, grits, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, a plain baked potato, or a salad with fat-free or regular raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Ike’s Love & Sandwiches
Ike’s Love & Sandwiches in the Bay Area offers customizable sub sandwiches with plenty of kind options, including vegan chicken, turkey slices, meatballs, and cheese. Ike’s even makes an egg-free version of its Dirty Secret Sauce, a creamy garlic sauce that perfectly complements every sandwich. The menus vary by location, but you can find a great vegan sub at any store—just ask the staff, and they’ll help you avoid any animal-derived ingredients.

Jason’s Deli
The vegan options at Jason’s Deli include Hearty Vegetable Chili, the Spinach Veggie Wrap (request no cheese), Steamed Veggies, and a Nutty Mixed-Up Salad (request no chicken or cheese).

Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets offers an animal-free burger with Daiya dairy-free cheese in addition to chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry vegan shakes.

Just Salad
Just Salad offers a variety of exciting vegan options, including Beyond Chicken and Violife Creamy Vegan Feta cheese that can be added to salads along with fresh veggie toppings.

Kona Grill
For appetizers, you’ve got edamame and seaweed salad. For sushi, there’s a cucumber roll, an avocado roll, and a vegetarian roll (with asparagus, avocado, yamagobo, cucumber, and sprouts). The house, roasted asparagus, and oriental salads are all vegan—and you can choose from many vegan dressings, including onion soy, sweet soy, oil and vinegar, and balsamic, red, or white wine vinegar. Finally, both the Pan-Asian Noodles and the Linguine with Marinara Sauce are vegan, as are the sides of steamed baby bok choy, white rice, and seasonal vegetables.

Manhattan Bagel
All of Manhattan Bagel’s bagels are vegan, except for the jalapeño cheddar cheese and egg varieties. Its bialys—a flattened onion and poppy seed bagel—are also vegan.

Mellow Mushroom
Pizza chain Mellow Mushroom offers a vegan menu that includes tofu, tempeh, and Follow Your Heart cheese as well as a variety of sauces for your pizza, including red sauce, olive oil, and BBQ sauce. Select locations even offer vegan chicken wings, so check with your server about those.

Moe’s Southwest Grill
All of this chain’s tacos, fajitas, salads, and burritos can be made vegan by substituting tofu for meat and skipping the cheese.

Olive Garden
Olive Garden’s breadsticks are vegan, as the butter topping is made with soy, not dairy. There are many vegan pasta options: angel hair, cavatappi, fettuccine, gluten-free rotini, rigatoni, small shells, spaghetti, and whole-wheat linguine. All these can be topped with the vegan marinara sauce or kids’ tomato sauce. The minestrone is now dairy-free at all locations, too, so you can order the soup, salad, and breadsticks combo! Simply hold the croutons and choose the oil and vinegar dressing. You can also get a side of steamed broccoli to round out your meal.

Pancheros Mexican Grill
All 26 locations offer Tofusada, tofu marinated and sautéed in Southwestern-inspired sauce.

Panda Express
Try the new Beyond the Original Orange Chicken at Panda Express locations nationwide! The chain also offers several vegan sides, including chow mein, super greens, vegetable spring rolls, and steamed white or brown rice.

Peet’s Coffee
In addition to offering three types of vegan milk (oat, almond, and soy), Peet’s Coffee also launched its Everything Plant-Based Sandwich after talks with PETA. The sandwich features a plant-based egg, a Beyond Meat Breakfast Sausage patty, and a slice of melted Violife cheddar cheese on a thin “everything” bagel.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro is one of the most vegan-friendly restaurant chains around. Its vegetarian menu is terrific, and everything can be made vegan, from appetizers such as tofu lettuce wraps to entrées such as Buddha’s Feast.

Pieology
Pieology offers Daiya cheese at select locations, and its red sauce, olive oil, and BBQ sauce as well as its gluten-free crust are all vegan—so are the delicious veggie toppings.

PizzaRev
PizzaRev offers a vegan pizza complete with Daiya vegan cheese and Beyond Meat Sausage.

Pokeworks
This nationwide chain specializes in customizable bowls, burritos, and salads. Build your own vegan bowl by starting with a base of sushi rice, organic brown rice, or quinoa. Then add organic tofu and veggies and choose the Classic Salt flavor. Top it off with avocado, green onion, or Thai chili, and add some lotus chips for crunchiness. Since menu offerings vary by location, be sure to check with the restaurant to confirm its vegan offerings.

Pollo Tropical
Located throughout Florida, Pollo Tropical offers Caribbean-inspired fast food. Vegan options include the Create Your Own TropiChop Bowl, for which you can choose the Vegan Picadillo as your protein option. The chain’s black beans, French fries, white or brown rice, boiled or fried yuca, sweet plantains, balsamic tomatoes, and guacamole are vegan, too.

Qdoba Mexican Eats
Qdoba offers an animal-free fajita bowl, and you can make a burrito, taco, or salad bowl with the following vegan ingredients: corn or flour tortillas, black or pinto beans, brown or cilantro-lime rice, fajita vegetables, grilled vegetables, potatoes, guacamole, and most salsas.

Quesada (Canada)
This Mexican-inspired chain offers a saucy chipotle tofu as a protein option for its burritos along with beans and veggies.

Quiznos
Quiznos offers a veggie sub that’s filled with guacamole, black olives, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and mushrooms—just be sure to order it without the cheese and ask for the balsamic vinaigrette instead of the red wine vinaigrette. The vegan bread options include white and wheat, and there’s also an herb wrap.

Red Lobster
The chain offers a few vegan side dish options. Try a plain baked potato, the rice pilaf, some seasoned fresh broccoli, or an order of sea-salted French fries.

Red Robin
Red Robin offers a vegan burger patty made with ancient grains and quinoa. Try your burger with fresh tomato bruschetta salsa, avocado slices, and shredded romaine on a ciabatta bun, rustic Italian bread, or a lettuce wrap. Diners can also get a side of “bottomless” fries or broccoli.

Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday offers the Sweet Earth Awesome Burger. You can also make your own vegan salad at the Endless Garden Bar or add one as a side with your burger. Other vegan sides include baked potatoes, grilled zucchini, steamed broccoli, and green beans.

Smoothie King
Smoothie King offers a variety of vegan smoothies, including Vegan Espresso Mocha, Vegan Dark Chocolate Banana, Vegan Mango Kale, Vegan Mixed Berry, Vegan Nutty Super Grain, and Vegan Spinach Pineapple.

Subway
At Subway, you can order the Veggie Delite without cheese or mayo, which is delish. The following bread options are vegan, so be sure to ask for one of these when building your sandwich: 9-Grain Wheat, Hearty Italian, Italian (White), Roasted Garlic, or Sourdough. Or opt for a spinach or tomato basil wrap. Dress up your sub with yellow mustard, deli brown mustard, sweet onion sauce, Subway Vinaigrette, or oil and vinegar.

Taco Bell
Taco Bell has many great options for vegans, including a variety of sides, such as the cinnamon twists, chips and guacamole (or pico de gallo), cilantro rice, black or refried beans, and Mexican rice. In addition, all its salsas are vegan. You can also order the Bean Burrito “fresco style,” the regular Black Bean Burrito without cheese, or the Veggie Cantina Power Bowl (ask for no sauce). Several of Taco Bell’s other dishes can be veganized simply by omitting a few ingredients or asking for it “fresco style.” The tacos, nachos, Crunchwrap Supreme, and Mexican Pizza are vegan when you hold the meat (substitute beans if you’d like), cheese, and sour cream.

Taco Cabana
A Texas-based chain with locations in New Mexico, Taco Cabana offers vegan tacos, burritos, and bowls. The rice and black beans are vegan, so start with them and then pile on the shredded lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and any of the animal-free options from the salsa bar. Just be sure to ask for no cheese, sour cream, or salsa ranch dressing. The fresh flour tortillas used for the tacos aren’t vegan, so ask for corn tortillas instead.

TGI Fridays
TGI Fridays serves the vegan Beyond Burger. Simply opt for the challah bun (the gluten-free bun isn’t vegan), ask for dairy-free sauces, and skip the cheese. The nachos—which consist of tortilla chips, jalapeños, guacamole, and pico de gallo—are a great vegan option if you get them without cheese or sour cream. The cilantro-lime dressing and balsamic vinaigrette are great vegan choices on a house salad. The restaurant’s Jack Daniel’s and BBQ sauces are also vegan and go well with its crispy fries or Cajun onion rings.

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt
Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt offers vegan soy flavors, such as peanut butter, soy latte, black sesame, banana milk, and plain soy as well as fruity sorbets, including raspberry, strawberry, and pineapple. Top your frozen yogurt off with some fresh fruit, nuts, or other vegan toppings and you’ll have a delicious treat.

Two Boots Pizza
This chain’s vegan pizzas include V for Vegan, Earth Mother, My Brilliant Vegan Friend, The VCBGB, Vegan Cleo, Super Vegan, Vegan Tony Clifton, Vegan Larry Tate, and Vegan Mr. Pink.

White Castle
White Castle offers vegan Veggie Sliders at all of its locations across 14 states. (Just order them without cheese.)

Wienerschnitzel
Try the Barbeque Veggie Dog, which comes on a steamed bun with BBQ sauce, onions, and a pickle.

World Wrapps
Vegan offerings include Tofu Island Teriyaki, Beyond Meat or Tofu Argentina Chimichurri, and the Nori Wrapp for kids.

Yard House
Yard House offers Gardein products at all its locations. Although not all its dishes including these products are vegan, they can easily be modified. You can also order the Summer Salad or Citrus Soy Salad.

zpizza
The Berkeley Vegan Pizza and the California Salad are vegan. And simply by swapping dairy cheese for vegan cheese, you can have more than a dozen of the pizzas, three of the salads, the veggie calzone, or the veggie sandwich. Check the online menu to see all the vegan options.

With all these vegan options and more available near you, you’ll be wondering why anyone is still waiting to go vegan. And if you’re going out with friends or family and can’t find any of these chain stores nearby, don’t fret—use these tips to help you find vegan options.

The DO’s and DON’Ts of Dining Out

DON’T sit at home feeling defeated. No matter where you are, there are always options.

DO check out the HappyCow website or app. If there aren’t any vegan or vegetarian restaurants in your area, this app can at least help you find nearby vegan-friendly restaurants

DON’T go into an unfamiliar restaurant unprepared. Let’s be honest—the most stressful part of a new place is scouring an uncharted menu. The good news? It’s totally avoidable.

DO be prepared! Check the restaurant’s menu online to see what your options are, call ahead to check on questionable ingredients, or try the HappyCow app to see if the restaurant is vegan-friendly.

DON’T harass the waiter about minuscule animal ingredients. You may be asking, “Are there any monoglycerides in the hamburger bun?” but what your waiter and your friends are actually hearing is, “Being vegan is hard. Oh, and vegans are annoying as hell.”

DO take one for the team. Sure, cross-contamination or the possibly animal-derived “xyz” in a hamburger bun may be gross, but you don’t want to send the message to your family or friends that being vegan is hard, which would actually hurt animals instead of helping them.

Remember: Being vegan isn’t about purity—it’s about reducing animal suffering.

DON’T be that vegan who orders plain, boring food while everyone else eats “normal” food.

DO veganize, veganize, veganize! Most restaurants these days have vegan burgers, bowls, or pasta dishes as well as delish salads and veggie plates on the menu, and lots even have an entire menu section dedicated to vegan dishes.

DON’T be rude if a waiter gets your order wrong and accidentally brings out a cheese-coated disaster. Snapping at a waiter sends the universal message that all vegans are, well, jerks (and we’re not!).

DO BE NICE. Sometimes, waiters make mistakes, but there’s a kind, sassy-free way to handle these types of situations. Remember that you may be one of the first vegans other people have had contact with, so if you come across as rude and demanding, folks will assume that we’re all that way—and again, we’re not!

Ready for more tips on vegan living? peta2 has you covered! Check out our lifestyle content for more info on how you can follow a compassionate vegan lifestyle.