Taco Bell has many appeals—it’s quick, there’s a drive-thru, the meals is constant, and with over 7,000 Taco Bell areas within the US alone, there’s all the time one close by.
In July 2020, the chain precipitated an uproar by eradicating its beloved potatoes—along with different gadgets—to make method for brand new plant-based choices within the then-undetermined future. Fortunately, after greater than a six-month hiatus, the model reintroduced this starchy staple (the chain’s vegan menu simply wouldn’t be the identical with out it).
Leap to the ordering information
Is vegan meat coming to Taco Bell?
Taco Bell has launched quite a lot of revolutionary vegan eats, full with plant-based meat—albeit, for a restricted time solely in choose markets.
One such take a look at occurred in Irvine, CA for simply 4 days. Beginning on June 23, 2021, Taco Bell examined the Bare Chalupa with a Crispy Plant-Primarily based Shell at a lone Irvine location. Developed as a meat-free model of the Bare Hen Chalupa, the take a look at merchandise featured a shell made totally from a pea protein-based vegan hen.
Taco Bell
The next yr, in August 2022, the fast-food chain examined its personal proprietary vegan beef throughout choose areas in Birmingham, AL. And simply two months later, Taco Bell started testing a vegan carne asada choice within the Dayton, OH space for a restricted time.
Taco Bell’s vegan Crunchwrap and nacho fries
In June 2023, the fast-food chain rolled out its first, absolutely vegan entrée: the Vegan Crunchwrap with plant-based beef, dairy-free bitter cream, and heat vegan nacho cheese sauce. Taco Bell’s Check Kitchen labored for years tasting and testing to verify the vegan model, licensed by the American Vegetarian Affiliation, may stand as much as the unique.
Taco Bell
For this limited-time launch, Taco Bell selected to check the Vegan Crunchwrap in cities with sizable vegan populations: Los Angeles, New York Metropolis, and Orlando. The Vegan Crunchwrap was accessible for per week, and the chain has since stated that the take a look at was “overwhelmingly constructive.” The outcomes of those exams will decide the nationwide viability of future vegan rollouts, Taco Bell has stated.
The cult-favorite chain adopted up the Vegan Crunchwrap with yet one more limited-time launch: vegan nacho fries. Launched in October 2023, the dairy-free tacky fries formally turned the very first nationwide vegan launch in Taco Bell’s 61-year historical past. Whereas it is a step in the correct path, we’re nonetheless ready for the day Taco Bell completely provides a vegan-as-is merchandise to its menu.
Is Taco Bell’s Veggie Construct-Your-Personal Cravings Field vegan?
In January 2024, Taco Bell launched the Construct-Your-Personal-Cravings Field, a $5.99 meal that features a alternative of a speciality merchandise, traditional merchandise, aspect, and drink. When ordering the veggie field, clients can choose from quite a lot of the chain’s meatless menu gadgets. However you’ll have to make just a few customizations if you’d like an all-vegan field. Extra on this under
Find out how to order vegan at Taco Bell
Die-hard plant-based Taco Bell followers will bear in mind how ordering “fresco-style” used to make getting vegan meals at Taco Bell decidedly simpler. This might let workers know to switch all of the dairy-based components and mayo-based sauces with tomatoes. The time period was primarily code for “make it vegan.” Nonetheless, the fast-food chain not makes use of this terminology.
Regardless of Taco Bell retiring “fresco-style,” ordering vegan requires only a few swaps. Ask for beans instead of beef, and bear in mind to forgo cheese and bitter cream. Make your order even heftier by asking for further tomatoes or including potatoes or guacamole.
We love ordering for pickup by way of the web site or the app. Why? As a result of it makes customized orders—which it’s essential to do numerous if you’re ordering vegan—as simple as the faucet of a button. You possibly can take away, or add, any ingredient from any merchandise on the menu. That beats asking for a Crunchy Taco Supreme with beans as a substitute of beef together with any add-ons you’re craving.
Listed below are 14 vegan menu gadgets and extras to order the following time you’re at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell
1Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme
Taco Bell managed to invent a meals merchandise much more transportable than the burrito: the Crunchwrap. Go for the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme with out the bitter cream and nacho cheese sauce. You’re left with a sizzling, freshly pressed comfortable tortilla full of black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and a crunchy tortilla shell. Ask for a aspect of guacamole for dipping. Professional tip: add potatoes, too.
Till Taco Bell makes the limited-time Vegan Crunchwrap a everlasting menu merchandise, we’re satiating our cravings with this filling black bean creation.
2 Black Bean Chalupa Supreme
This fluffy, fried, flour-based shell is fortunately vegan. Ask for this with out bitter cream and cheese and also you’ll get a crunchy chalupa full of black beans, tomatoes, and lettuce. We find it irresistible with jalapeños.
Taco Bell
3 Bean Burrito
Surprisingly, the bean burrito isn’t vegan as-is (it incorporates cheese). Nonetheless, order it sans cheese, and also you’re set with a heat flour tortilla wrapped round refried beans, crimson sauce, and diced onions. Add chopped tomatoes for a bit of further sustenance. Not a fan of refried beans? Ask for black beans or potatoes as a substitute.
4 Spicy Potato Comfortable Taco
This one-dollar surprise turns into vegan if you order it with out cheese and chipotle sauce. Including onions and jalapeño peppers is extremely really helpful.
5
Comfortable and Crunchy Tacos
Other than the Spicy Potato Comfortable Tacos, all tacos, comfortable and crunchy, could be vegan as long as you swap the meat for black or refried beans and depart off the cheese, bitter cream, and chipotle sauce. Attempt the Crunchy Taco Supreme with beans as a substitute of beef and cargo up on add-ons. Sadly, the Doritos Locos shells aren’t vegan.
Taco Bell
6 Black Beans and Rice
Rejoice! The great ol’ black beans and rice is vegan and even higher if you load it up with toppings. However in the event you actually need a veggie bowl, then take a look at the following choice.
7 Energy Menu Bowl – Veggie
All it’s essential to do to make this rice bowl vegan is order it with out cheese, bitter cream, and avocado ranch sauce. Do this and also you’ll have a beautiful meal of seasoned rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and guac. If you wish to go the additional mile, then pile on all the veggie add-ons at your disposal.
8 Nachos and Nachos BellGrande
The nachos include cheese by default, however these salty, crunchy chips are vegan in the event you get them with guac and tomatoes. It’s also possible to make the Nachos BellGrande vegan by getting it with out cheese and bitter cream and swapping the meat with black beans.
9Veggie Mexican Pizza
Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza made a a lot anticipated return to the menu in September 2022. The Veggie Mexican Pizza already omits beef, however order it with out cheese to make it vegan. It will depart you with a crunchy “pizza” shell, refried beans, tomatoes, and Mexican pizza sauce. Add jalapeños or a aspect of guacamole for a heftier meal.
Taco Bell
10 Hash Browns
Want breakfast? You gained’t discover a lot at Taco Bell, however you can see hash browns and low. It could be humble, however potatoes and caffeine will get the job accomplished if you’re in a pinch with no different choices round you.
11 Cinnamon Twists
No disgrace in the event you order multiple bag. These crispy, light-as-air snacks are barely paying homage to churros and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
Taco Bell
12 Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze
That is the famed Baja Blast however in slushie kind. Taco Bell is understood to launch limited-time slushie Freezes all year long, however bear in mind to verify the components because the chain has been recognized to make use of confectioner’s sugar in its Freeze drinks.
13 Veggie Construct-Your-Personal Cravings Field
Launched in January 2024, the Veggie Construct-Your-Personal Cravings Field permits clients to buy a four-item meal (speciality merchandise, traditional merchandise, aspect, and drink) for $5.99. To order an all-vegan Cravings Field, you’ll have to make just a few modifications. To your speciality merchandise, select between the Black Bean Chalupa Supreme and the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme—bear in mind to omit the bitter cream, cheese, and cheese sauce. To your traditional merchandise, the Bean Burrito and Spicy Potato Comfortable Taco could be made vegan by eradicating the cheese and chipotle sauce. To your aspect, stick with the cinnamon twists or omit the cheese from the Tacky Fiesta Potatoes.
14 Extras
Other than every thing else that we talked about above, the recent sauces from Delicate to Diablo are all vegan, so you may be happy to pour them over every thing. What a stunning factor. Make sure to avoid wasting to your home-cooked meals, too.
For extra vegan fast-food choices, learn:
Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews in addition to a author and runner dwelling in Orange County, CA.
