{"id":3707,"date":"2021-04-28T17:26:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T17:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=restaurants&p=3707"},"modified":"2021-04-29T14:36:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T14:36:54","slug":"mcdonalds","status":"publish","type":"restaurants","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/restaurants\/chains\/mcdonalds\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Food at McDonald\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"McDonald'sThere are plenty of vegans out there who wouldn\u2019t dream of eating at McDonald\u2019s on principle given their whole business has largely been about meat. But maybe, just maybe, times are a\u2019 changing, even under the hallowed Golden Arches. And though they are famed for their hamburgers (made of beef \u2013 and people say vegans are weird!), the fast-food joint founded way back in 1940 has finally started to introduce some vegan options to their menu.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll run through the vegan-friendly food offered at McDonald\u2019s, and though it probably won\u2019t be most vegans\u2019 first port of call when their bellies rumble, sometimes the options are so limited that it\u2019s worth at least knowing what you\u2019ll find if you do venture into Maccy Ds.<\/p>\n

Vegan Food Options at McDonald\u2019s<\/h2>\n

According to McDonald\u2019s own UK site<\/a>, at the time of writing, they serve up six food items that are classified as vegan. They also list some drinks amongst their vegan offering, including water (cheers, guys), Coca-Cola<\/a> and Fanta. But, here we\u2019ll focus on the food options.<\/p>\n

Veggie Dippers<\/h3>\n

\"VeggieThese were the first vegan meal option (i.e. an alternative to a burger) that McDonald\u2019s offered when they introduced them in January 2020 (we don\u2019t count a bag of apple or carrot as a meal option really, even if they are the healthiest thing in the restaurant).<\/p>\n

Made predominantly with rice and split peas, with some red pepper and sundried tomato pesto thrown in (among other things like maize starch and xanthan gum<\/a>), these breadcrumb-covered goujons are sold in twos or fours.<\/p>\n

The Spicy Veggie One<\/h3>\n

\"TheThe Spicy Veggie One is one of a number of McDonald\u2019s food offerings that simply use the abovementioned Veggie Dippers in one way or another. If you don\u2019t like the Veggie Dippers, your options become rather limited, therefore.<\/p>\n

In the case of the Spicy Veggie One, said Dippers are wrapped in a toasted tortilla along with some relish, lettuce and tomato. The relish contains mustard<\/a>, but that is usually vegan, as it is in this case.<\/p>\n

Hash Brown<\/h3>\n

\"McDonald'sAs we discuss in our aptly if unoriginally titled article, Are Hash Browns Vegan?<\/a> they almost always are, as indeed they are in the case of those sold by McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For a product of Maccys Ds they have relatively few ingredients too, with potatoes, vegetable oils, maize flour, salt, pepper, dextrose and stabiliser combining to form a decent enough snack product.<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s Fries<\/h3>\n

\"McDonald'sThe iconic McDonald\u2019s Fries are almost certainly accidentally vegan<\/a> on the basis that frying them in vegetable fat is probably a bit cheaper than using animal fat. But, we\u2019ll take it. Made from potatoes, vegan vegetable oils<\/a> (in this case sunflower and rapeseed) and dextrose, there\u2019s nothing to set vegan alarm bells ringing here.<\/p>\n

They state on their website that they are \u201cfried in 100% vegetable oil in fryers that are only used for potato and other vegetable based products\u201d, so that reassures us further.<\/p>\n

Apple & Grape Fruit Bag<\/h3>\n

\"AppleIt\u2019s a bag. It has some cut up apple (75%) and some grapes (25%) in it. It\u2019s a bit lazy and the plastic is not great for the environment, but it is vegan at least.<\/p>\n

Carrot Bag<\/h3>\n

\"CarrotYes, you\u2019ve guessed it, this is simply a plastic bag containing carrots. We suspect not many people would go into McDonald\u2019s specifically to buy this product, especially those who were drawn to veganism for environmental reasons<\/a>. But, hey, it\u2019s an option.<\/p>\n

Side Salad<\/h3>\n

If no condiment is added, the Side Salad is vegan-friendly as it is made up of lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Not the most imaginative salad, but at least no animals were killed to produce it.<\/p>\n

Almost<\/em> Vegan Items<\/h2>\n

While the above items are listed as vegan on the McDonald\u2019s website, the following items are almost<\/em> vegan given that they don\u2019t contain any explicitly non-vegan ingredients. The reasons McDonald\u2019s don\u2019t state these items are vegan are mainly linked to cross-contamination and they don\u2019t want to cause the kind of fuss that surrounded Burger King\u2019s Plant-Based Burger<\/a> (though that is<\/em> absolutely non-vegan as it is cooked on the same grills as their animal-based burgers).<\/p>\n

Some other products will require you to ask staff to refrain from adding something to the product (e.g. Sandwich Sauce). Whether you classify these items as vegan or not is up to you. But if you are the kind of vegan who will happily ignore the possible cross-contamination factor when it comes to Oreos<\/a> or Bisto<\/a>, then get stuck in!<\/p>\n

Vegetable Deluxe<\/h3>\n

\"VegetableSimilar to the Spicy Veggie One in that it uses Veggie Dippers, this product puts them in a Sesame Bun along with some lettuce and some Sandwich Sauce. The Sandwich Sauce is the problem for vegans here as it contains egg yolk. But if you ask them to prepare one without the sauce, it\u2019s basically vegan.<\/p>\n

Apple Pie<\/h3>\n

\"AppleStrictly speaking, there are no non-vegan ingredients in the McDonald\u2019s Apple Pie (unless you classify palm oil<\/a> as non-vegan). The reason they don\u2019t list it as a vegan product is that it \u201cmay contain traces of milk\u201d and there is a very small chance the pies have been fried in oil that could have been used to fry chicken (which might be why they don\u2019t even list them under the vegetarian section of their site).<\/p>\n

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade<\/h3>\n

\"FrozenAvailable in selected McDonald\u2019s restaurants only, this is basically crushed ice with citric acid-rich flavourings thrown in. There\u2019s nothing added that is obviously non-vegan and the fact that there is a warning suggesting it \u201cmay contain traces of milk\u201d is the only reason we can see it hasn\u2019t been listed in the vegan section of the site.<\/p>\n

\n

Disclaimer About \u201cAllergens\u201d<\/h3>\n

It is worth noting at this point that the McDonald\u2019s site has a disclaimer about \u201callergens\u201d, but vegans could read that word as \u201canimal products\u201d. They state:<\/p>\n

We produce our food in kitchens where allergens are handled by our people, and where equipment and utensils are used for multiple menu items, including those containing allergens. Although your meal is prepared with care, we cannot guarantee it will be allergen free, even after ingredients have been removed on request.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is left to your judgement whether you are bothered by the possibility of cross-contamination with the many animal-derived products in their kitchens. We, of course, would not want to cast any aspersions on the attention to detail of the team members there. But it is simply worth being aware that food prepared in a kitchen that also handles animal products runs at least a slight risk of coming into contact with either that food or hands or equipment that has come into contact with it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

McDonald\u2019s Vegan Food \u2013 Nutritional Values<\/h2>\n

Here are the nutritional values for three McDonald\u2019s food products they state are fine for vegans to consume. It\u2019s fair to say that those who went vegan for health reasons<\/a> probably won\u2019t be visiting McDonald\u2019s too regularly, but in case you\u2019re interested, here\u2019s what the vegan options pack in from a nutritional point of view. We\u2019ve also thrown a Big Mac in there for comparison \u2013 note that a Big Mac is NOT vegan!<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Typical Values (Per Portion)<\/th>\nVeggie Dippers 4pc<\/th>\nThe Spicy Veggie One<\/th>\nMcDonald\u2019s Fries (Medium)<\/th>\nBig Mac (Non Vegan)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Energy kJ<\/td>\n1339<\/td>\n1529<\/td>\n1410<\/td>\n2125<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy kcal<\/td>\n321<\/td>\n363<\/td>\n337<\/td>\n508<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fat g<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n8.8<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Saturates g<\/td>\n1.3<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n1.5<\/td>\n9.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carbohydrate g<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n59<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n43<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sugars g<\/td>\n2.3<\/td>\n9.2<\/td>\n0.6<\/td>\n9.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fibre g<\/td>\n6.0<\/td>\n6.4<\/td>\n3.6<\/td>\n3.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Protein g<\/td>\n6.6<\/td>\n8.9<\/td>\n3.3<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Salt g<\/td>\n1.1<\/td>\n1.2<\/td>\n0.62<\/td>\n2.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

As you can see, the vegan options beat a Big Mac hands down on the fat content and the Veggie Dippers and the Spicy One are significantly higher in fibre. Clearly the Big Mac packs a bigger protein punch, but there are plenty of great vegan protein sources<\/a> to explore if that is a concern for you, not least vegan protein powders<\/a> if you happen to be trying to bulk up or you are recovering from injury.<\/p>\n

\n

A Brief History of McDonald\u2019s<\/h3>\n

\"OlderContrary to popular belief, McDonald\u2019s was not started by Ronald McDonald (that child-scaring clown didn\u2019t appear until 1965, which given his slightly psychedelic nature kind of makes sense!). Neither was the company created by Old MacDonald who got bored of having a farm and decided to branch out into fast-food restaurants. In fact, the first McDonald\u2019s restaurant was opened in San Bernardino, California on the 15th of May, 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald.<\/p>\n

The so-called \u201cSpeedee Service System\u201d they brought in in 1948 built on fast-food innovations developed by another burger joint called White Castle that actually started life decades earlier. But the McDonald\u2019s brothers perfected the system and once they started franchising their outlets, Ray Kroc got involved and bought the McDonald brothers\u2019 equity in 1961. From this point on, the company began to expand rapidly.<\/p>\n

By the end of 2018, there were more than 37,000 McDonald\u2019s restaurant dotted around in excess of 120 countries and territories around the globe. Many people have plenty of criticism for the brand and their practices over the years (whether to do with workers\u2019 rights, treatment of animals or getting involved in various legal battles<\/a>). But there is no denying that, from a purely business perspective, McDonald\u2019s has been ludicrously successful.<\/p>\n

In addition, they have been surprisingly progressive on a number of issues including the use of ethically sourced coffee beans. They also get their fish from sustainable fisheries and only use free-range eggs. Whilst this hardly makes them vegan friendly it does mean they are less bad than some rivals in certain regards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Conclusions: Vegan Food at McDonald\u2019s<\/h2>\n
\"The
The oldest operating McDonald’s in Downey, California (Bryan Hong<\/a> \/ Wikipedia.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s fair to say that for what essentially started out as a burger joint, McDonald\u2019s has taken at least some steps towards offering vegans a reasonable choice. Granted, most of their vegan options are really just one option: their Veggie Dippers. But these are fairly nutritious and could be a way of introducing vegan food to kids or even slightly reluctant adults, especially those who are looking to reduce the levels of fat in their diet.<\/p>\n

Clearly, there is room for improvement and there are many vegans who wouldn\u2019t even set foot inside a McDonald\u2019s restaurant on ethical grounds given how many animals have died over the decades to produce their food. But for those vegans who do want to visit McDonald\u2019s, perhaps with family members or whatever, at least there are some vegan options from which to choose and you don\u2019t have to settle for a bag of carrots!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3708,"parent":3700,"menu_order":0,"template":"","acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/restaurants\/3707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/restaurants"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/restaurants"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/restaurants\/3700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}