One of the downfalls to a vegan lifestyle is convenience. It can be difficult to find vegan food when hunger strikes on the road or in the middle of the night. When most would head straight to a fast food chain, vegans couldn’t do that… until now. Vegan fast food is growing faster and faster and we are absolutely loving it. Seeing so many people (who aren’t vegan) trying a vegan option at a restaurant has been so amazing! The convenience of having options everywhere, means more and more people will be eating vegan meals. So what can vegans get around Canada?
We put together a list of popular Canadian fast food chains that offer delicious vegan options. Remember this is for Canada (specifically Ontario) only – ingredients may vary in different locations. This list was last updated on July 27th, 2018 – there may have been changes since then. ALWAYS ask when ordering to ensure what you are ordering is in fact vegan friendly.
Keep in mind that some of the items may come in contact with non-vegan food. We (personally) don’t care about cross-contamination as it does not produce any more animal suffering then before, as well as we believe refusing to eat something that may come in contact is unreasonable to the restaurant that is trying to make a change. One step at a time. We like to applaud the effort. However these are just our thoughts, you are welcome to decide for yourself whether or not you’d eat something with a risk of cross contamination.
Want to skip the fast food? Try out vegan homemade Chinese take-out recipes: Fried Rice, Sesame Tofu, and Veggie Chow Mein.
We want a good vegan fast food burger, now we can have it!
A&W Canada
It’s big news here in Canada, but A&W now has the Beyond Meat Burger! The first fast food restaurant to launch a fully plant-based burger. However ordering off the menu as is the burger isn’t fully vegan. A&W puts non-vegan mayo on the burger and something they call “uncle sauce” (which we absolutely hate saying) which also includes mayo. Be sure to ask for it without both of these. FYI the whole wheat bun is NOT vegan, and you can also get the burger lettuce wrapped. If cross contamination bothers you, the burger is cooked on the same grill as all their burgers. As for sides their fries and sweet potato fries are vegan, but again probably has a cross contamination risk.
Harvey’s
One of our go-to restaurants for a long time, even before we went vegan. Simply named, Veggie Burger, it and the multigrain bun is vegan. As for sides the fries and onion rings are vegan. The side salad with the Italian, Raspberry Vinaigrette, or Balsamic dressing is considered vegan. Their gravy is also vegan apparently. As with A&W there is a chance of cross contamination.
Hero Burger
Their Soul Burger is vegan, as well as the bun it comes on. As for the sides the fries, sweet potato fries, and onion rings are all vegan. The sweet potato fries and onion rings are vegan. It’s a great burger too, we get it all the time!
Burger Priest
It seems like restaurants are starting to catch on, as Burger Priest is one of three (A&W and Aroma are the others) major Canadian brands to add a vegan burger to their menu. The Daniel Burger, is made with the restaurant-made own patty from beetroot, kidney beans, diced onions, yellow corn flour, hemp seeds, and assorted herbs and spices. The sauce is made with coconut milk, beetroot, roasted garlic, and a blend of herbs and spices. It’s only available at their Queen and Spadina, Queensway, Port Credit, and Hurontario locations.
Aroma Espresso Bar
One of the many to launch new vegan options this year including the Power Burger, featuring the Beyond Meat Burger. It’s served on a vegan brioche bun with avocado spread, sautéed Portobello mushroom, baby kale, red onion, sundried-tomato pesto and mustard, alongside a salad. It’s on the pricier side though, so be warned.
Pizza can’t be vegan… or can it?
Panago Pizza
Going very hard into the vegan world and advertising it, which we love! They offer Daiya cheeze as their vegan options for a small fee and all of their pizza crusts are vegan. Not all sauces are vegan, but the Italian and Passata tomato sauces are.
Pizza Nova
Both of their dough options are vegan, as well as the two kinds of tomato sauce. They have Daiya cheese available at no extra charge for a dairy-free option.
Blaze Pizza
Build your own pizza and they cook in only 90 seconds. The crust is vegan, they have vegan cheese and there are many veggie toppings available. You can also ask them to change gloves if cross contamination is a concern for you.
Pizza Pizza
One of the first to introduce vegan cheese to their menu. Their dough and sauce is also vegan, so you can order a fully vegan pizza here.
What about vegan sandwiches and stir frys?
Subway
Order their Veggie Delight for a vegan option. It’s basically just bread with a bunch of vegetables, but it’s honestly still delicious. For their breads look to order Hearty Italian, Italian, Roasted Garlic, or 9-Grain. You can also avoid the bread all together by getting a salad.
Teriyaki Experience
Completely customizable, and one of our favourites because of the vast vegan options. You can have veggies or tofu as an option instead of meat and vegetable stock is used for their soups. The Famous Teriyaki, Yakisoba Noodles, Pan-Asian Udon Noodles, Pan-Asian Udon Noodles, Yakisoba Noodle Soup, Spicy Udon Noodle Soup Bowl, Rice Noodle Typhoon Bowl are all vegan. Bonus menu item: The spring rolls are also vegan!!
Are there vegan options at McDonalds?
Their famous fries are vegan (only in Canada) as they phased out the ingredient that made them not suitable for vegans or vegetarians stilled used in the USA. Not much else here is vegan, however we hear the hash browns are and the salads should be with some customization.