Is Wendy's Vegan? Vegan Options at Wendy's

Wendy's is not very vegan-friendly: there is no plant-based protein on its US menu, every bun lists milk (the Sandwich Bun at select locations), and every cookie, bakery item and Frosty contains dairy, egg or both. The vegan core is sides, namely French Fries, a Plain Baked Potato with chives, Apple Bites and breakfast Seasoned Potatoes, plus an Apple Pecan Salad without chicken, blue cheese and pecans, with Sweet Chili sauce, ketchup and Pomegranate Vinaigrette to go with them.

Vegan as served, per Wendy's own sources: French Fries, Plain Baked Potato, Chives (baked potato topping), Apple Bites, Ketchup, Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing, All-Natural Lemonade, and 5 more in the table above. 3 more items are vegan with a change.

Order a Plain Baked Potato with chives (no buttery spread, sour cream or cheese), French Fries with ketchup or Sweet Chili sauce, and Apple Bites, with a lemonade, black coffee or Cold Brew to drink. For something fresher, add an Apple Pecan Salad with no grilled chicken, no blue cheese and no roasted pecans, dressed with Pomegranate Vinaigrette. In the morning, swap the fries for Seasoned Potatoes.

By ingredients, yes: Wendy's lists potatoes, vegetable oil, starches, rice flour, dextrin, salt, leavening, dextrose and xanthan gum, cooked in vegetable oil and finished with sea salt, with no animal ingredients. Wendy's does not say whether the fries share fryer oil with breaded chicken, and its chicken nuggets and breaded fillets list the same kind of cooking oil (soybean, canola, corn and/or cottonseed with hydrogenated soybean oil), so strict vegans should treat shared fryers as possible.

Not on the current US national menu: every burger in the online Hamburgers category is beef, and no plant-based patty or meatless sandwich appears on the online menu. Wendy's tested a Spicy Black Bean Burger in Columbus, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh starting in July 2021, and that sandwich came with pepper jack cheese.

No. The Potato Bun used on Dave's burgers, the Baconator and the Classic and Spicy chicken sandwiches lists nonfat dry milk, and the Sandwich Bun on the Jr. burgers and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich lists nonfat dry milk at select locations. The croissant contains butter and whole milk powder, and the biscuit contains buttermilk and whey.

Of the six dipping sauces, only Sweet Chili has no animal ingredients: Signature and Honey Mustard contain egg (Honey Mustard also has honey), Creamy Ranch and Scorchin' Hot contain egg and milk, and Honey BBQ contains honey. The ketchup offered with fries and nuggets also lists no animal ingredients. Wendy's says sauces can be bought separately for a 50 cent upcharge.

No. Wendy's own Frosty FAQ answers "Yes" to whether the Frosty has dairy, and both the vanilla and chocolate Frosty list milk, cream and whey. The Frosty Swirls and Frosty Fusions start from the same base, both cookies list eggs and butter, and the Cinnabon Pull-Apart lists eggs and milk, so nothing on the Frosty or Bakery menu is vegan.

Yes, with changes: order the Apple Pecan Salad with no grilled chicken, no blue cheese and no roasted pecans, and keep the Pomegranate Vinaigrette. The roasted pecans contain honey and lactose, while the base blend (romaine, spring mix, apples and dried cranberries) and the vinaigrette list no animal ingredients. The Taco, Parmesan Caesar and Cobb salads have cheese or egg mixed into the blend itself.

The Plain Baked Potato is: Wendy's lists its only ingredient as potato, and chives can be added. Skip the buttery spread, which contains butter and buttermilk solids, along with the sour cream, cheese, bacon and chili toppings.

No. Wendy's chili is made with ground beef along with chili beans, tomatoes, onions, celery and green peppers, and its ingredient statement also lists milk as an allergen.

By ingredients, yes: they are potatoes, vegetable oil, starches, rice flour, spices, garlic and onion powder, cooked in vegetable oil, with no animal ingredients listed. They are a breakfast item, and Wendy's says not every location serves breakfast.