Are there any vegan options at KFC? World-famous Kentucky Fried Chicken is a fast-food chain that specialized in fried chicken. There aren't many menu items that can fit in with a vegan diet but there are a few. Read on to find out all of the KFC vegan options.
All ingredients, nutritional and allergen information can be found on the Kentucky Fried Chicken website.
Beyond Chicken
In 2022, KFC's Beyond Chicken Nuggets were released at thousands of locations nationwide. However, it was for a "Limited Time". Unfortunately, the Beyond Meat vegan nuggets no longer appears on their menu. But as it's still on their allergen menu, I'll include it. Hopefully the Beyond Nuggets will return!
That being said, KFC does not have a separate fryer for their plant-based foods. Since they only have shared fryers there is always the chance of cross contamination as other menu items contain meat and dairy. The good news is that their food is fried in vegetable oil, not lard.
Vegan Options at KFC
There aren't very many plant-based options at KFC. Below are all of the menu items that are free of animal products.
Limited Time
Again, the Beyond Nuggets seem to be off the menu at KFC. But they are still listed on their allergen menu.
- Beyond Fried Chicken Nuggets
Homestyle Sides
Your best bet is to order a bunch of vegan sides to create a meal. One surprise is that the BBQ Baked Beans do not contain any meat and are vegan. The extensive ingredients are listed below.
- BBQ Baked Beans Ingredients: Beans, Water, Sugar, Tomato Paste, Corn Syrup, Salt, Paprika, Spice, Caramel Coloring, Natural Flavoring and Garlic Powder. Sugar, Brown Sugar, Tomato Powder, Salt, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Modified Potato Starch, Spices, Mustard Flour, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Worcestershire Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Salt, Caramel Color, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Spices, Tamarind, Natural Flavor), Citric Acid, Beet Powder (color), Natural Smoke Flavoring, Molasses Powder (Molasses, Wheat Starch, Soy Flour, Soy Lecithin), Caramel Color, Sucralose, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor, Tamarind Extract, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, And Less Than 2% Each of Soybean Oil And Silicon Dioxide Added As A Processing Aid.
- Corn on the Cob
- Green Beans
- Secret Recipe Fries
- Sweet Kernel Corn
- Kids Meal Applesauce
Salads
With a modification, there is one vegan salad available.
- House Side Salad (no croutons)
Salad Dressing
If you order a house salad, there is only one salad dressing made without any animal products.
- Marzetti Light Italian Dressing
Vegan Desserts
The big surprise is that there is a dessert at KFC that's vegan-friendly - the Apple Turnover. The ingredients are listed below.
- Apple Turnover Ingredients: Diced Apples (Apples, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Salt), Enriched Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Palm Oil, Modified Food Starch. Contains 2% Or Less Of: Rice Flour, Dextrose, Salt, Spice, Sugar, Locust Bean Gum, Citric Acid, Sunflower Lecithin, Yeast Extract, Enzyme.
Dipping Sauces and Condiments
There are a few kinds of vegan sauces and condiments. Unfortunately, the KFC Dipping Sauce contains eggs and is not vegan-friendly.
- BBQ Dipping Sauce Cup
- Grape Jelly Packet
- Ketchup
- Lemon Juice Packet
- Strawberry Jam Packet
Kids Drinks
- Capri Sun 100% Juice Fruit Punch
Beverages
There are many beverages that do not contain any dairy.
- 7UP
- Classic Lemonade
- Code Red Mountain Dew
- Diet Dr. Pepper
- Diet Mist Twst
- Diet Mountain Dew
- Diet Pepsi
- Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
- Dr. Pepper
- Lipton Brisk Lemon Tea
- Lipton Brisk No Calorie Peach Iced Green Tea
- Lipton Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea
- Lipton Brisk Sweet Iced Tea
- Lipton Brisk Unsweetened No Lemon Iced Tea
- Manzanita Sol
- Miranda Strawberry
- Mist Twst
- Mountain Dew
- Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning
- Mug Root Beer
- Pepsi
- Pepsi Zero Sugar
- Sobe Lifewater Yumberry Pomegranate
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Tropicana Fruit Punch
- Tropicana Light Lemonade
- Tropicana Pink Lemonade
- Tropicana Twister Orange
- Wild Cherry Pepsi
Not Vegan at KFC
Unfortunately, some of the favorite menu items at KFC that might appear vegan are, in fact, not. These include:
- KFC Sauce
- Biscuits
- Croutons
- Mashed Potatoes
- Coleslaw
- Potato Salad
- Macaroni Salad
Vegan KFC in the UK
One thing that should be mentioned is that there is a vegan burger option at KFC in the UK. Similar to many other chains, the UK just has more vegan options.
This burger is the Original Recipe Quorn™ fillet which is coated in the famous KFC 11 herbs and spices. It also comes with lettuce and vegan mayo. Hopefully this option will come to KFC locations in the US.
Best KFC Vegan Meal Idea
I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to eat at a KFC. However, if I found myself at one I would probably order the following:
- House Side Salad without croutons and with Marzetti Light Italian Dressing
- BBQ Baked Beans
- French Fries
- Apple Turnover for dessert...because why not?
FAQ
Are the French fries at KFC vegan?
Yes, the French fries do not contain any animal ingredients but they are cooked in a shared fryer.
Is there a KFC vegan burger?
No, there isn't a vegan burger at KFC in the United States yet. We can hope that they expand their vegan-friendly options in the future.
How many KFC locations are there?
There are more than 24,000 KFC restaurants in the United States and around the world.
Summary
Will there ever be KFC Beyond Fried Chicken or other vegan chicken options? KFC fans (vegan) can hope to find that in the future. For now, plant-based eaters will have to make do with vegan-friendly sides.
Wondering what the vegan options are at other fast food chain restaurants? Check out:
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