Tyler McFarland on March 20, 2023
Updated on November 8, 2023 Reviewed and fact-checked Found a mistake? Let us know!
Burger buns can be a funny but frustrating topic for vegans. Occasionally, restaurants will start serving a veggie burger… but the bun will still contain dairy. Fail! Luckily for you, I’ve analyzed 90 products to find the 49 buns (about 54%) that are actually vegan.
Some of the best brands for vegan hamburger buns are Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder Bread, Ball Park, Nature’s Own, Arnold, 365 (Whole Foods), Rudi’s Bakery, Aunt Millie’s, Food For Life, Sara Lee, and Franz. For other brands, be careful as some have ingredients like milk which makes them non-vegan!
Below, I’ll review which options are vegan from each brand. I’ll also address some popular hamburger bun brands that are not vegan so that there’s no confusion!
Vegan Hamburger Bun Brands
Let’s start by taking a quick visual tour of 11 vegan hamburger bun options you’re likely to see in stores. Then we can dig deeper into the “how to check if the hamburger buns are vegan” after that.
I’ll note a few cases where these brands are only likely to be found in a specific store (like 365, which is a store brand for Whole Foods). But most of these brands are found in common stores like Target, Kroger, Walmart, Publix, Safeway, Costco, Sprouts, and more.
1. Dave’s Killer Bread
Dave’s Killer Bread hamburger buns are confirmed vegan. Not only do they lack any dairy, egg, or honey—they are also made with organic sugar. This means even the strictest vegans will be satisfied, as organic sugar is not filtered with bone char.
These will likely be shelved with the “organic” or “natural” bread and buns, if your grocery store separates those from the normal bread and buns. Here are the two options you have:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| 21 Whole Grains and Seeds Burger Buns | Vegan |
| Burger Buns Done Right | Vegan |
2. Wonder Bread
Most Wonder Bread hamburger buns are vegan. The Honey Buns and Honey Sliders contain honey, but none of the Wonder Bread buns contain dairy, egg, or other animal ingredients.
Here’s the full list of Wonder Bread buns, with the vegan status for each:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Classic Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Seeded Hamburger Buns (Restaurant Style) | Vegan |
| Grill King Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Honey Buns | No (Contains Honey) |
| Honey Sliders | No (Contains Honey) |
| Sesame Twist Rolls | Vegan |
| Dinner Rolls | Vegan |
| Country Rolls | Vegan |
3. Ball Park
Most Ball Park hamburger buns are vegan. However, their “Golden Hamburger Buns” contain honey.
Here’s the full breakdown of burger buns from Ball Park:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Golden Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Honey) |
| Tailgaters Gourmet White XL Buns | Vegan |
4. Nature’s Own
Nature’s Own has one line of vegan hamburger buns called “100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns.” However, their “Butter Buns” and “Brioche Style” hamburger buns contain butter.
Here’s the full breakdown:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Hamburger Butter Buns | No (Contains Butter) |
| 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Perfectly Crafted Brioche Style Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Butter) |
5. Arnold
Arnold hamburger buns are vegan. None of their five burger bun products were found to contain any animal-derived ingredients.
Take note that these same products are also sold under the brand names Brownberry and Oroweat depending on location. From what I can tell, the ingredients are the same in each, but you may want to double check to confirm that.
Here’s the bun breakdown:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Country Potato Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
| Sesame Seeded Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
| 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
| Country White Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
| Crustini Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
6. 365 (Whole Foods)
365 (Whole Foods) hamburger buns are vegan. All four burger buns I was able to find by 365 were free of animal ingredients. These will only be found at Whole Foods Market. Here’s the breakdown of options:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| White Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Organic Hamburger Buns (Classic White) | Vegan |
| Organic Hamburger Buns (Whole Wheat) | Vegan |
7. Rudi’s Bakery
Rudi’s hamburger buns are vegan. All three flavors—White, Wheat, and 100% Whole Wheat—are free of animal ingredients. Here’s the breakdown:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| 100% Whole Wheat Buns | Vegan |
| Wheat Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| White Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
8. Aunt Millie’s
Most Aunt Millie’s hamburger buns are vegan. However, there are three non-vegan flavors: Hearth Butter Hamburger Buns, Hearth Hawaiian Hamburger Buns, and Stadium Honey Hamburger Buns.
Here’s the full list of Aunt Millie’s burger buns and whether they’re vegan:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Artisan Style Sandwich Rolls | Vegan |
| Brioche Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Classic Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Deli Beef Buns | Vegan |
| Deli Onion Buns | Vegan |
| Double Decker Seeded Buns | Vegan |
| Hearth Butter Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Butter, Cultured Cream) |
| Hearth Hawaiian Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Honey) |
| Hearth Whole Grain Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Johnsonville Deluxe White Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Perfection 1901 Deli Onion Buns | Vegan |
| Stadium Honey Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Honey) |
| Stadium White Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
9. Food For Life
Food For Life hamburger buns are vegan. You may know them as “Ezekial 4:9” buns. They are free of animal ingredients.
These are another “natural food” option. You may be most likely to find it in Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or health food co-ops. And these may be in the freezer. Here’s the breakdown of options:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame Sprouted Grain Burger Buns | Vegan |
| Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Burger Buns | Vegan |
| Sprouted Whole Wheat Burger Buns | Vegan |
10. Sara Lee
Four out of the nine Sara Lee hamburger buns I checked were vegan. The non-vegan options contained vitamin D3 (derived from lanolin from sheep’s wool) and milk, which are somewhat uncommon ingredients for hamburger buns.
Here’s the breakdown of burger bun flavors:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Restaurant Style Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Restaurant Style White Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Soft & Smooth White Hamburger Buns | Gray Area (Contains Vitamin D3) |
| Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Hamburger Buns | Gray Area (Contains Vitamin D3) |
| Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Milk, Vitamin D3) |
| Artesano Bakery Buns | Vegan |
| Delightful Wheat Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Honey) |
| Sweet Hawaiian Sandwich Buns | Vegan |
| Hearty & Delicious Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Milk) |
11. Franz
Most Franz hamburger buns are vegan. However, the Hawaiian Hamburger Buns contain butter, milk, and egg ingredients. Here’s the breakdown of options:
| Buns | Are They Vegan? |
| Keto Buns | Vegan |
| Classic Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Sesame Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Hawaiian Hamburger Buns | No (Contains Butter, Milk, Egg) |
| Classic Sliders | Vegan |
| Wheat Hamburger Buns | Vegan |
| Premium Kaiser Buns | Vegan |
| Premium Sesame Buns | Vegan |
| Premium Onion Buns | Vegan |
| Premium Potato Buns | Vegan |
Are Hamburger Buns Vegan?
Roughly half of the hamburger buns on the market are vegan (by my definition). I analyzed the ingredients for 90 hamburger bun products, and I found that I’d consider 49 vegan, which is 54%.
For the purposes of this study, I did not count sugar or “natural flavors” as animal products—even though sugar may be filtered with bone char, and natural flavors can be derived from animals.
I did count all dairy, eggs, and honey as non-vegan, however. I also noted when vitamin D3 derived from sheep’s wool was an ingredient. Below I’ll show you all the results in easy-to-browse tables.
Do Hamburger Buns Have Dairy?
The majority of hamburger buns do not contain dairy, milk, or lactose. However, a significant percentage still do. Usually, it shows up in the form of nonfat milk or butter.
Here’s a list of where I found dairy products in hamburger buns:
- Nonfat Milk in every Pepperidge Farm burger bun (and butter in some, too)
- Nonfat Milk in every version of Martin’s Potato Rolls
- Butter in some Nature’s Own buns
- Butter and cultured cream in Aunt Millie’s Hearth Hawaiian Buns
- Milk in two buns by Sara Lee
- Butter and Milk in the Hawaiian buns by Franz
Do Hamburger Buns Have Eggs?
Most hamburger buns do not contain eggs. However, a few buns out there do have eggs—such as those made by Udi’s and Vermont Bread Company.
It wasn’t too surprising that Udi’s buns contain egg whites, as they focus on gluten-free products. As I covered in my blog post “Are There Eggs in Bread?” it is quite common for gluten-free bread products to contain egg whites.
Finding eggs in Vermont Bread Company buns was more surprising—but oh well.
Non-Vegan Hamburger Bun Brands
Now let’s cover some common hamburger brands that disappoint us vegans. Upon inspection, the following brands had no vegan options when it came to their hamburger buns.
1. Pepperidge Farm Hamburger Buns
Pepperidge Farm hamburger buns are not vegan. They all contain nonfat milk. Some flavors also contain butter or honey.
Here is the full breakdown of buns from Pepperidge Farm, and why they’re not vegan:
| Buns | Non-Vegan Ingredients |
| 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns | Nonfat Milk |
| Golden Potato Hamburger Buns | Nonfat Milk |
| Onion Hamburger Buns | Nonfat Milk |
| Sesame Topped Hamburger Buns | Nonfat Milk |
| Sweet Hawaiian Hamburger Buns | Nonfat Milk |
| Farmhouse Buns Butter | Butter, Nonfat Milk |
| Farmhouse Buns Hearty White | Nonfat Milk |
| Farmhouse Buns Rustic Potato | Nonfat Milk |
| Farmhouse Buns Soft White | Nonfat Milk |
| Farmhouse Buns Sourdough | Nonfat Milk |
| Butter Sliders | Butter, Nonfat Milk |
| Golden Potato Sliders | Nonfat Milk |
| Sesame Topped Sliders | Nonfat Milk |
| Sweet Hawaiian Sliders | Nonfat Milk |
| White Sliders | Nonfat Milk |
| Wheat Sliders | Honey, Nonfat Milk |
2. Martin’s Potato Rolls
Martin’s Potato Rolls are not vegan, as they all contain dairy products. Here is the full breakdown of flavors and why they’re not vegan:
| Buns | Non-Vegan Ingredients |
| Sandwich Potato Rolls | Nonfat Milk, Butter |
| Sliced Slider Potato Rolls | Nonfat Milk, Butter |
| Dinner Potato Rolls | Nonfat Milk, Butter |
| Party Potato Rolls | Nonfat Milk, Butter |
| Big Marty’s | Nonfat Milk |
3. Udi’s Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
Udi’s gluten-free hamburger buns are not vegan. Both their “Whole Grain” and “Classic” hamburger buns contain egg whites.
Here’s the breakdown:
| Buns | Non-Vegan Ingredients |
| Whole Grain Hamburger Buns | Egg Whites |
| Classic Hamburger Buns | Egg Whites |
4. Vermont Bread Company Buns
Vermont Bread Company hamburger buns are not vegan, as they all contain eggs. This is interesting because almost no other hamburger buns contain egg (except gluten-free ones).
Here’s the breakdown:
| Buns | Non-Vegan Ingredients |
| 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns | Eggs |
| 100% Whole Wheat Slider Buns | Eggs |
| Potato Hamburger Buns | Eggs |
| Potato Sliders | Eggs |
More Guides to Vegan Brands
If you’d like some food ideas to help you on your vegan journey, here are links to some of my Vegan Food Brand Guides:
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I’m Tyler McFarland, the editor and main author here. When I first went vegan 13 years ago, convenience products like veggie burgers and soy milk were a lot harder to find. Now they’re everywhere!