The Canadian Vegan Guide to Fast Food
It goes without saying that when A&W added their Beyond Meat burgers, the Canadian Vegan fast food scene was forever changed. Within weeks, all restaurants across the nation were sold out. The demand was clear: Canadians from coast to coast are looking for more vegan options. Since the arrival of the incredibly popular vegan patty, fast food restaurants all across Canada have been stepping up their vegan options. Here is a list of some of the top fast food spots across the country: from Canadian staples like Tim Horton’s to surprising options at Dairy Queen. Whether you’re visiting the Great White North or you’re a true Canuck, our Canadian Vegan fast food guide is the ultimate list for every plant-based eater looking for a quick bite.
A&W
Canadians across the country rejoiced as A&W began to offer their vegan burger with the incredible Beyond Meat patties. The only catch? Not many other items on their menu are vegan-friendly, and the Beyond Burger isn’t available to our neighbors south of the border. Never the less it will be remembered as the beginning of a Canadian Vegan fast food trend that is gaining traction by the day.
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- Beyond Burger (ask for no uncle sauce)
- Fries/Sweet potato fries/hash browns
- Maple and brown sugar oatmeal (ask for no milk, no cream)
- Beyond breakfast sausage (ask for no eggs, no cheese)
- Applesauce
McDonald’s
This popular American fast-food chain has been popping up on street corners all over the world since it first began in 1940. Clearly, it has been a staple road-trip spot for decades. But up until now, there weren’t too many vegan options in Canada. In Europe, the fast-food giant has been offering the McVegan burger, a spicy veggie wrap, as well as vegan nuggets. With the success of the new vegan options overseas, Canadians have been demanding to see these options as well. While the rumor is spreading in the neighboring U.S.A that McDonald’s is currently testing a McPlant burger. Which would be based on the notorious Beyond Meat patty, it seems like Canadians will need to continue to wait patiently for a plant-based burger for some time yet.
Earlier this year, select Canadian locations have had a brand new burger: the Plant Lettuce Tomato, or PLT for short. Hopefully, this burger will bring in more vegan options to McDonald’s, because the options currently are primarily breakfast foods that have to be veganized (meaning you will need to request some ingredients to be removed).
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- PLT Burger (at select locations)
- French Fries
- Fruit and Maple oatmeal (ask for no cream)
- Apple slices
- Hash browns/fries
- Baked apple pie
- Southwest salad (ask for no chicken and no cheese)
- Side salad (ask for balsamic vinaigrette)
- Bagels: everything and cinnamon raisin (ask for no butter)
- English muffin (ask for no butter)
Burger King
Very similar to McDonald’s, Burger King has been a quick spot for most people just grab food and go. That being said, their menu has primarily stayed the same over the years. Just a few months ago, Burger King announced that their latest burger, the Impossible Whopper (using the Impossible patty, an all new plant based patty that bleeds), would be available at locations across the United States. Unfortunately, there has been no word yet on when (or if) the burger will come to Canada, despite being a huge success. Until then, Canadian vegan fast food lovers will have to wait in anticipation for the migration of the impossible burger to the country.
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- Garden salad (ask for no cheese and balsamic vinaigrette dressing)
- Fries/hash browns
- French toast sticks
Harvey’s
Harvey’s is one of the most recent chains to add a vegan burger. Unlike the previous burger spots on this list, Harvey’s is all Canadian. Not only is it important to support restaurants offering more inclusive options, it is also important to support Canadian businesses. The veggie burger has been a staple menu item for decades, but now the Lightlife burger is another vegan patty on their menu.
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- Veggie burger (ask for no cheese, no mayo)
- Lightlife burger (available at select locations, ask for no cheese, no mayo)
- Garden salad (with balsamic vinaigrette dressing)
- Fries and gravy.
- Onion rings
Subway
It naturally goes without saying that a fully-customizable sandwich shop with tons of veggies would be a go-to for vegans and vegetarians. Over the last few years, Subway has even managed to increase their options by adding a veggie faux-meat patty, falafels, and most recently, the Beyond Meat marinara. These options are sure to keep Canadian vegan fast food lovers coming back for more, especially with the wide variety of sauces and vegan breads to choose from.
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- Breads: Italian, Sourdough, roasted garlic, wrap.
- Veggie Delite (ask for no cheese)
- Veggie patty
- Falafel (at select locations)
- Beyond Meat marinara (available at select locations for a limited time, ask for no cheese)
- Guacamole
- All vegetable toppings
- Sauces: sweet onion, yellow mustard, fat-free Italian dressing, hot sauce, buffalo)
Quiznos
Very similar to it’s competitor Subway, Quiznos allows customers to build their own custom sandwiches. They have one signature sub that comes with guacamole, which can easily be veganized by omitting cheese and changing the sauce. No word yet on whether or not the chain plans to add any faux meats.
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- Breads: original white, wheat, grilled flatbread, focaccia, Italian herb, ciabatta
- Sauces: balsamic dressing, BBQ, four pepper chilli sauce, herb oil, yellow mustard, zesty grille sauce
- All vegetable toppings
- Garden salad
- Veggie guacamole sub (ask for balsamic instead of red wine vinaigrette, and no cheese)
Tim Horton’s
Some people say that you aren’t truly experiencing Canadian life until you’re stuck in a line up at Tim’s. The Canadian coffee giant has been feeding millions with breakfast staples like sausage and eggs for decades. However, there has been an undeniable increase in customers looking for new vegan options. As a result, some locations has began adding soy milk and Beyond Meat products. Hopefully this increase in products will spread across the nation.
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- Bagels: plain, sesame, twelve grain, everything, cinnamon raisin, blueberry, and pretzel (if getting a bagel toasted, ask for no butter)
- Iced capp (ask for soy milk at select locations or no milk)
- Potato wedges, hash browns
- Harvest vegetable soup
- Oatmeal (maple or mixed berry flavours, ask for no milk)
- Garden veggie sandwich (ask for no cheese)
- Homestyle biscuit, english muffin (if getting toasted, ask for no butter)
- Beyond Meat burger/BBQ Beyond Meat burger (ask for no cheese and no mayo)
- Breakfast Beyond Meat sausage egg and cheese (ask for no cheese, vegan JUST egg available in select Toronto locations)
Dairy Queen
As a vegan, you might find it counterproductive to go to a place that literally has “dairy” in the name. But it’s actually still possible to get a dessert there without any milk or ice cream. Smoothies are a great healthy option for keeping cool in the summer. But still, it would be amazing if the company were to add a non-dairy flavour for one of their Blizzards.
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- Fries
- Pretzel sticks (ask for no queso)
- Side salad (with the following dressings: Marzetti balsamic vinaigrette, Marzetti fat free California French style, or Marzetti light Italian
- Smoothies: mango pineapple light, OrangeBerry Xtreme light, pomegranate berry blast, strawberry banana light, strawberry light, sunshine orange light, TripleBerry light, Tropi-Colada light, papaya paradise light
- Mitsy slushes: cherry, grape, lemon lime, blue raspberry, strawberry kiwi
Pizza Pizza
Finally, you don’t have to defend yourself by asking for no cheese when splitting a pizza with your friends, because Pizza Pizza has probably the best vegan cheese on the market right now. When the company announced that the vegan cheese brand Violife would now be coming to restaurants across the country at no extra charge, it no surprise that people were excited to try it. Even more recently, they added two faux meats: a plant based pepperoni and a plant based chorizo. They even have their new options on one pizza, called the Super Plant Based Pizza.
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- Dough: classic white, whole grain, cauliflower crust, gluten free crust
- Cheese (ask for dairy free cheese)
- All vegetable toppings and pineapple
- Faux meat: Plant based pepperoni, plant based chorizo
- Sauces: Italian home style, hot sauce, Frank’s Red Hot, mild sauce, sweet chilli Thai, bruschetta, Italian marinara dipping sauce
- Super Plant Based Pizza (ask for dairy free cheese)
Panago Pizza
This is definitely another great restaurant for any pizza loving vegan. You can substitute any regular cheese with vegan Daiya cheese and even beyond meat and Gardien chicken wings are part of the selection available throughout this great BC originated pizza chain.
This autumn, bring the barbeque season indoors with our Plant-based Beyond Summer BBQ pizza! Looking to add a side? Upgrade your vegan pizza night with our new Gardein Breaded Chick'n Tenders and Vegan Sweet Mustard Dip, available with our Pizza + Side Combo. #PanagoPlantBased pic.twitter.com/VR45Ml9FGM
— panago_pizza (@Panago_Pizza) October 10, 2019
- Dough: Original, Italian, multigrain, gluten smart
- Cheese ask for dairy free cheese (Daiya)
- All vegetable toppings
- Faux meat : Beyond meat + Gardien.
- Sauces: Italian tomato, BBQ, Cayenne, Chilli.
Domino’s
In terms of options compared to it’s Canadian competitor PizzaPizza, Domino’s has much fewer vegan choices. Not only is there only one vegan crust, there are also far fewer sauces, and no faux meats available yet.
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- Dough: Thin crust
- All vegetable toppings and pineapple
- Sauces: robust inspired tomato, garlic, BBQ, hot buffalo, Italian
Thai Express
One of the many great things about Thai Express is that they have so many ways to easily make dishes vegan. You can also easily create your own meal with lots of veggies. It should also be noted that according to Thai Express’s website, the same oil used to cook tofu and eggplant is used to cook animal proteins.
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- Fragrant rice: basil fried rice, Thai fried rice (ask for no egg and fish sauce in rice dishes)
- Savoury stir fry: basil, cashew, ginger, lemongrass, soya garlic, sweet & sour (ask for no egg in stir fries)
- Pad Thai, pad sew (ask for vegan sauce and no egg or fish sauce)
Taco Bell
Taco Bell has been providing many options not just for Canadian vegan fast food lovers, but for vegans all over. Beans (refried or black) can be used to substitute beef, guacamole can be added to any dish, and there are tons of veggies to choose from. Currently, there are no Canadian locations that have plant based meats, but in England, three locations do.
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- All soft/hard shells, as well as tortillas
- Ask for beans instead of beef in a custom burrito
- Spicy tostada (ask for no cheese, no creamy chipotle sauce)
- Most popular items can be made vegan by asking for it Fresco Style: Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme, the Black Bean Quesarito, and the 7-Layer Burrito
- Veggie power bowl (ask for no cheese, no sour cream)
- Potatoes, plain rice
- Fries
- Cinnamon twists
New York Fries
If you’re looking for options for a quick snack, New York Fries has some options. You can order the fries plain, and then add as many veggie toppings or condiments as you’d like. Currently, none of their poutine dishes are vegan friendly.
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- Fries
- All vegetable toppings
- All condiments except mayo, cheese sauce, sour cream
- Veggie Works (ask for no cheese, no sour cream)
Yogen Früz
Many Canadians were shocked to hear that the popular frozen yogurt shop would have options that are not only dairy-free, but vegan as well. Every year, Yogen Früz changes their menu a little bit, and recently they’ve been adding more vegan choices. But be warned: these options are usually only available for a limited time and at select locations.
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- Soft serve: vegan pineapple, vegan watermelon mint (at select locations) vegan coconut strawberry, vegan acai
- Black sesame sorbet
- Smoothies: berry beet punch, kiwi kale island, carrot mango sunrise
We hope you enjoyed our Canadian Vegan Fast Food guide!
If you have any suggestions or additions we would love to hear from you!
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Are looking for more vegan options? Check out our list of the top finds at chains across the UK. Heading abroad? Check out our Top Tips for Vegan Travel.
