{"id":3783,"date":"2021-05-07T16:47:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T16:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=restaurants&p=3783"},"modified":"2021-05-07T16:47:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T16:47:58","slug":"burger-king","status":"publish","type":"restaurants","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/restaurants\/chains\/burger-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Food at Burger King"},"content":{"rendered":"
A burger joint might not usually be the first point of call for your average hungry vegan. But even those fast-food chains that have traditionally relied on the sale of cooked animal products have begun to wake up to the fact that a growing number of consumers want plant-based food options.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019ll examine what Burger King has to offer vegans and those seeking to follow a plant-based diet. Let\u2019s assess whether they\u2019ve taken any positive steps since the controversy over their 2020 launch of their plant-based (but not vegan) Rebel Whopper<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Burger King\u2019s site<\/a>, there are only actually three officially vegan food products they sell. These three products, detailed below, have been given accreditation from the Vegan Society (of which more later). Note that the Burger King site states that both the Vegan Royale and the Vegan Bean Burger \u201cmay contain\u201d milk and\/or eggs.<\/p>\n This is really just to cover their backs in case very minor cross-contamination results in some kind of severe allergic reaction and many vegans (who don\u2019t have allergies at least) will be happy to consume them even with this slight risk of contamination. The choice is yours, of course.<\/p>\n This vegan alternative to the ever-popular Chicken Royale was launched in April 2021 and it promises to be a real hit with vegans and those who just want to reduce their intake of meat. The product was created by The Vegetarian Butcher<\/a> (who also produce the Plant Based Whopper) and comes in a toasted sesame seed bun with vegan mayonnaise<\/a> and iceberg lettuce. Importantly, it actually tastes good too!<\/p>\n The alternative to the Vegan Royale is this Vegan Bean Burger that was launched in January 2021 to coincide with Veganuary. Based on their Veggie Bean Burger, it has two vegan-friendly bean burger patties, in the same kind of sesame seed bun as the Royale, and includes lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and vegan mayo. Not as nice as the Royale in our view, but not a bad option if it takes your fancy.<\/p>\n Well, fries are fries. What is there to say? Well, one thing to note is that the Burger King fries are certified as vegan by the Vegan Society, so they must be fried in vegan-friendly oil<\/a> and separate fryers (from ones used for any meat items). In addition, there is no mention that they may contain milk or eggs.<\/p>\n Based on the above, it is fair to say the options are not particularly extensive for vegans at Burger King. Certainly, they fall far short of some other food chains, such as Papa John\u2019s<\/a>. On the other hand, they are at least starting to make an effort in relation to vegan-friendly food and they are certainly better than KFC or Nando’s<\/a> in that regard, in our view.<\/p>\n In theory, the plant-based Rebel Whopper could be vegan as it is made without any animal-derived ingredients. The reason it is not classified as vegan and why most vegans wouldn\u2019t go near it is that it is cooked on the same equipment as the standard meat burgers. According to Burger King, it should be possible to request your Plant Based Whopper patties are cooked on a separate grill, which could mean they are vegan friendly, but it is up to you whether you trust that will actually happen (assuming you can\u2019t watch it being cooked). The onion rings could be vegan if cooked separately, but they are cooked using the same equipment that is exposed to milk, eggs and fish, so vegans should give them a miss.<\/p>\n Here we\u2019ll give you the nutritional stats for the three vegan-friendly products at Burger King. To give a comparison, we\u2019ll add the data for the Chicken Royale which, as the name strongly hints at, is not vegan.<\/p>\nVegan Food Offered at Burger King<\/h2>\n
Vegan Royale<\/h3>\n
Vegan Bean Burger<\/h3>\n
Fries<\/h3>\n
Burger King Vegan Food \u2013 Nutritional Values<\/h3>\n