Here’s Every Vegan Option at Del Taco

Del Taco is one of the most vegan-friendly fast-food restaurants. They offer Beyond Meat on most of their menu items. But it can still be confusing to tell which items are fully vegan. So I’ll be your guide to figure that all out!

Vegan options at Del Taco:

• Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito
• Epic Beyond Fresh Avocado Burrito
• Epic Beyond Cali Burrito (Customized)
• Beyond 8-Layer Burrito (No Cheese or Sour Cream)
• “Jacked Up Value” Bean & Rice Burrito (No Cheese)
• Beyond Avocado Taco
• Avocado Veggie Bowl
• Crunchtada Tostada (No Cheese)
• Signature Taco Salad (Customized)
• Crinkle Cut Fries
• Hashbrown Sticks
• Chips & Guac
• Bean & Cheese Cup (No Cheese)
• Sauces
• Beverages

Below, I’ll share how to order these items vegan. I’ll also share some menu items that are surprisingly NOT vegan. I’ll answer common questions, and I’ll end with a look at the whole-food plant-based (WFPB) options, too—for the extra-healthy vegans out there!

Del Taco Vegan Menu

This menu was compiled using the ingredients lists on the Del Taco website.

Del Taco does has a page on their website with Vegan and Vegetarian items. However, that list is incomplete. It doesn’t include the newest options and items you can get vegan by custom ordering.

Restaurant menus change frequently and vary by location. So double-check any important information with staff at your local Del Taco.

Vegan Burritos

This is where Del Taco shines. They have massive vegan burritos with actual Beyond Meat. So you can get a high-protein, highly filling meal.

Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito

This is Del Taco’s premiere vegan burrito. It comes with cilantro lime rice, Beyond meat, beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo in a flour tortilla.

It’s a big burrito—hence the name “Epic”—coming in at 820 calories and 44g protein. This will fill you up! Customize as you wish, but this is 100% vegan from the start. No need to remove anything.

Epic Beyond Fresh Avocado Burrito

Here’s another burrito with the option to use Beyond Meat rather than chicken or steak. Make sure you say “Beyond” and they hear that part. Otherwise you could get real meat.

Overall, the burrito comes with Beyond Meat, avocado, black beans, cilantro lime rice, lime seasoning, salsa casera, salsa, and salsa seasoning. (Yes, 3 different “salsa” ingredients!)

And again, this burrito is massive—930 calories and 44g protein! You’ll be stuffed!

Epic Beyond Cali Burrito (Customized)

This is a pretty fun burrito because it has french fries in it. That said, it requires a lot of modifications. So you might just be better off asking them to add fries to another burrito.

You need to request no bacon pieces, no cheese, and no sour cream. You also need to substitute the chipotle sauce with one of the vegan sauces below.

Beyond 8-Layer Burrito (No Cheese or Sour Cream)

This 8-Layer Burrito comes vegetarian on the menu. To make it fully vegan, just order without cheese and sour cream.

It’s quite a bit smaller than the “Epic” burritos, weighing in at 550 calories (and probably closer to 400 without the cheese and sour cream).

It comes with seasoned Beyond Meat crumbles, guacamole, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and red sauce. (Yes, the red sauce is vegan.)

If you don’t want Beyond Meat, you can get the 8-Layer Veggie Burrito (Without Cheese or Sour Cream) instead. It’s the same thing except it has cilantro lime rice in place of the Beyond Meat.

“Jacked Up Value” Bean & Rice Burrito (No Cheese)

These are the budget burritos. Small and simple. But that also means they’re easy to get vegan: Just ask for no cheese.

You’ll be getting their beans, cilantro lime rice, and their “tangy” green sauce (it’s vegan) in a flour tortilla. Simple.

Other Burrito Options

It’s technically possible to custom order more burritos to be vegan. But it would mostly be pointless, as the above options are much better. But for completeness, I’ll list two more:

• Macho Combo Burrito (without cheese or sour cream, substitute Beyond Meat or beans for the meat). The selling point of this burrito is that it’s huge. But the Epic Beyond Burritos are already huge, and easier to order.

• 1/2 lb. Bean & Cheese Burrito (without cheese). This is just a simple bean-and-cheese burrito, so when you remove the cheese, it’s mostly just beans, sauce, and a tortilla. The above options are better.

Vegan Tacos

If you prefer tacos over burritos, you can swing that as a vegan at Del Taco, too!

Beyond Avocado Taco

This is the main vegan taco option. No modifications needed.

It comes standard with a crunchy taco shell, some seasoned Beyond Meat, avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes. You should be able to get it in a soft shell if you prefer.

By the way, this is the same thing as the normal “Beyond Taco,” too—but it just has avocado instead of cheese, to make it vegan.

More Taco Options

There are other ways to order vegan tacos at Del Taco, too. But most of them would get you the same basic thing:

• Beyond Taco (without cheese). This is the same thing as the “Beyond Avocado Taco” but without avocado. So unless you hate avocado, there’s no reason to get this.

• Del Taco (without cheese, substitute Beyond Meat or beans for the meat). You’d end up with basically the same thing as the Beyond Taco.

• Value Taco (without cheese, substitute Beyond Meat or beans for the meat). These are just smaller tacos, and they come without the tomatoes.

More Vegan Entrees

If burritos and tacos aren’t your thing, there are more vegan dishes you can fill up on, too.

Avocado Veggie Bowl

This is one of Del Taco’s “Fresca Bowls.” And this one comes completely vegan—no replacements needed. It has their cilantro lime rice, avocado, seasoned black beans, tomato, onion, and romaine and iceberg lettuce.

It’s a simple little meal—just under 500 calories—and actually pretty dang healthy.

Crunchtada Tostada (No Cheese)

This is a wavy, crunchy taco shell, with beans, salsa, and lettuce on it. Really fun to eat, and pretty delicious. To make it vegan, just ask to get it without any cheese on top.

Signature Taco Salad (Customized)

This is a pretty cool salad—but it takes some customization to make it vegan. You need to remove the beef, cheese, and sour cream. They should be able to add Beyond Meat crumbles or more beans to replace them.

You’ll be getting sliced avocado, tortilla chips, seasoned black beans, pico de gallo salsa, cilantro, and romaine and iceberg lettuce. Comes with some Salsa Casera (vegan) on the side.

Vegan Sides

Del Taco has some great vegan sides, too!

Crinkle Cut Fries

French fries are a fast-food staple for vegans. Personally, I’m a fan of the Crinkle-Cut style, too. Very fun. These are cooked in vegetable oil—not animal fat or lard like some restaurants do.

However, they’re likely cooked in the same fryer as animal products. So if that bothers you, maybe ask at your location.

Hashbrown Sticks

The hash browns are cooked in vegetable oil just like the french fries. So no concerns from a vegan angle, unless you’re worried about a potentially shared fryer.

It’s amazing how many shapes you can get hash browns in. “Sticks” are a rare find, so hats off to Del Taco for this unique snack.

Chips & Guac

This is a nice, simple side. The chips aren’t made with animal fat, so no worries there. And the guac is 100% vegan, too!

Bean & Cheese Cup (No Cheese)

This side is specifically called a “Freshly Made Bean & Cheese Cup,” so they can definitely leave the cheese off, if you ask. This side will just be a cup of beans and red sauce. Simple but good!

Vegan Sauces

You’ve got all these vegan sauces you can potentially add or substitute into dishes:

• Green Sauce
• Red Sauce
• Taco Sauce
• Salsa Casera
• Cilantro Sauce
• Pico De Gallo Salsa
• California Chili Sauce

Note: The Chipotle Sauce is not vegan, as it contains buttermilk and egg yolk. The Secret Sauce is not vegan, as it also contains milk and egg.

Beverages

There are plenty of vegan drinks to choose from:

• Real Strawberry Lemonade
• Gold Peak Iced Tea
• Prima Java Coffee
• Simply Orange Juice
• Coca-Cola
• Diet Coke
• Cherry Coke
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
• Sprite
• Mr. Pibb Xtra
• Barq’s Root Beer
• Fanta Orange
• Minute Maid Light Lemonade
• Hi-C Fruit Punch
• Powerade Blue Mountain Blast
• Fuze Raspberry Iced Tea

Their coffee is 30% Rainbow Alliance Certified, which helps ensure sustainable and ethical farming practices. You may think it’s strange or insufficient to commit to this only 30% of the way, rather than 100%. But the Rainbow Alliance website explains this.

In some cases, a company is simply not able to buy 100% certified product to meet their needs in terms of volume. It may be the case that not enough farms are yet certified to meet the volume needed. So that could be the case here.

But What About…

Since Del Taco has so many vegetarian- and vegan-friendly options, there are a ton of clarification questions to answer.

Is Del Taco Cilantro Lime Rice Vegan?

Del Taco Cilantro Lime Rice is confirmed vegan. It contains no butter, lard, egg, animal broth, or any other animal product.

INGREDIENTS: “Water, Parboiled Long Grain Rice Enriched [with Niacin, Ferric Orthophosphate (Iron), Thiamin Mononitrate (Thiamin), Folic Acid], Cilantro Lime Sauce [Soybean Oil, Salt, Green Chile (Green Chile Peppers, Citric Acid), Green Onion, Cilantro, Parsley, Lemon Juice, Distilled Vinegar, Contains 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Garlic Puree (Garlic, Water, Citric Acid), Lime Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Spices, Ginger Puree (Ginger, Water), Xanthan Gum, Natural Extractives of Lime].”

Are Del Taco Churros Vegan?

Del Taco Churros are not vegan, as they contain egg and milk ingredients. Specifically, they contain egg yolk, egg whites, and sodium caseinate.

Here are the full ingredients for Del Taco Churros:

INGREDIENTS: “Wheat Starch, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following: Canola Oil, Cotton Seed Oil, Palm Oil, Soybean Oil), Yellow Corn Flour, Water, Sodium Caseinate, Egg, Egg Whites, Egg Yolk, Cinnamon, Salt, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda), Guar Gum, Propylene Glycol, Sugar, Mono And Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, BHT, Artificial Flavors.”

Are Del Taco Donut Bites Vegan?

Del Taco Donut Bites are not vegan, as they contain milk and egg ingredients. Specifically, they contain whey, skim milk, and egg whites.

Here are the full ingredients for Del Taco Donut Bites:

INGREDIENTS: “Enriched Unbleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron as Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Enzyme, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Whey (A Milk Derivative), Dextrose, Skim Milk, Yeast, Contains less than 2% of the following: Soybean Oil, Salt, Defatted Soy Flour, Leavening Gum, to preserve freshness (Calcium Proprionate), Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Colored with (Beta Carotene), Egg Whites.“

Does Del Taco Have Vegan Cheese?

Del Taco does not have vegan cheese currently. However, you can get many of their burritos, tacos, and other dishes made vegan without cheese. You could also add your own vegan cheese at home if you really wanted!

Are Del Taco Refried Beans Vegan?

Del Taco Refried Beans are confirmed vegan. They are not made with lard, animal fat, butter, or any other animal ingredients.

There are two possible ingredients lists for their Beans, and it just depends which region you’re in. You’ll be getting one of the following (both are vegan).

INGREDIENTS: Pinto Beans, Water, Seasoning (Salt, Corn Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil, Silicon Dioxide, Yeast Extract, Yeast, Dried Soy Sauce (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Natural flavor, Caramel Color.

INGREDIENTS: Pinto Beans, Salt, Contains 2% or Less of, Onions, Maltodextrin, Garlic, Natural Flavor (Contains Tortula Yeast), Yeast Extract, Spices, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Palm Oil.

Does Del Taco Have Vegan Chili Cheese Fries?

Del Taco does not have vegan chili cheese fries, as they do not have vegan cheese. However, you can get the normal Crinkle Cut Fries—they are confirmed vegan.

Are Del Taco’s Tortillas Vegan?

Del Taco’s tortillas are confirmed vegan. They do not contain lard, animal fat, or any other animal ingredient.

Here are the full ingredients for Del Taco’s tortillas:

INGREDIENTS: “Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Thiamine), Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening (Interesterified Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, And/Or, Palm Oil), Contains 2% Or Less Of: Salt, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate, And/Or, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Calcium Sulfate), Dough Conditioners (Fumaric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite), Preservatives (Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Sorbic Acid, And/Or, Citric Acid).”

Is Del Taco Guacamole Vegan?

Del Taco Guacamole is confirmed vegan. It only contains avocado, salsa, lime juice, and salsa seasoning. None of those contain any animal ingredients.

Is Del Taco Green Sauce Vegan?

Del Taco Green Sauce is confirmed vegan. Here is the full ingredients list:

INGREDIENTS: “Water, Diced Green Chilies (Green Chilies, Citric Acid), Jalapeno Peppers (Jalapeno Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Salt), Green Chili Puree (Green Chilies, Citric Acid), Modified Food Starch, Salt, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Ground Cumin.”

Is Del Taco Chipotle Sauce Vegan?

Del Taco Chipotle Sauce is not vegan, as it contains buttermilk and egg yolk. Here is the full ingredients list:

INGREDIENTS: “Soybean Oil, Water, Buttermilk, Vinegar, Egg Yolk, Garlic, Chili Sauce (Water, Sugar, Chipotle Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Modified Food Starch), Contains Less than 2% of: Smoked Jalapeno, Lime Juice Concentrate, Salt, Sugar, Spices, Onions, Chipotle Peppers, Ancho Chili Peppers, Natural Smoke Flavor, Red Bell Peppers, Paprika, Red Pepper, Corn Oil, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Sodium Benzoate, And, Calcium Disodium EDTA, As Preservatives, Disodium Inosinate, And, Disodium Guanylate, Maltodextrin, Tomato Paste, Sorbic Acid, Sorbitol, Olive Oil, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavor, Hydrolyzed Protein (Wheat, Soy), Yeast Extract, Natural Extractives of Turmeric and Annatto.”

Is Del Taco Secret Sauce Vegan?

Del Taco Secret Sauce is not vegan, as it contains milk and egg ingredients.

Are Del Taco Sprite Poppers Vegan?

Del Taco Sprite Poppers appear to be vegan. I struggled to find a full ingredients list or allergen menu including Sprite Poppers. But there would be no obvious reason for milk, eggs, or other animal products to be included. Plus, the tapioca balls in boba tea are typically vegan.

Does Del Taco Have Vegan Desserts?

Del Taco does not really have vegan desserts. The churros, donut bites, cheesecake bites, and shakes are not vegan.

Whole-Food Plant-Based Options

What if you’re not just vegan, but also trying to eat a healthy, whole-food diet? Can you get a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) meal at Del Taco?

Despite the plethora of vegan options at Del Taco, there are not many strictly WFPB options. Let’s look at why.

First, all the tacos and burritos come in a tortilla (hard or soft) that’s made with processed flours and oils. So those are not really whole foods. You could still make a pretty healthy meal from them—but it won’t be fully WFPB.

Second, Beyond Meat is made from processed oils, too. That said, if you want to replace the Beyond Meat with a whole food, you can ask for beans instead. They look pretty healthy. (I posted the ingredients above.)

You can veganize the Signature Taco Salad, but you’d want to leave out the chips to make it WFPB. You could get the Avocado Veggie Salad—but it comes with white rice, not brown. And you could get the cup of beans as a side, but they contain a small amount of oil.

The guacamole looks to be WFPB. But can you find something WFPB to dip in it?

A lot of the other options are centered on fried potatoes or fried corn (chips, fries, hash browns).

Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey

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2. This is the best vegan multivitamin I’ve found in my 14 years of being vegan. It has vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3—and nothing else. Translation: It only has the nutrients vegans are actually low in. Read my full review of Future Kind’s multivitamin here (with 10% discount).