Here’s Every Vegan Option at Whataburger

Whataburger is a classic Texas chain restaurant. Although they don’t cater to vegans at all, luckily there are still a few items on the menu you can scrape together into a meal. I’ll show you what I found after reading ingredients lists on the website for a couple of hours.

Vegan options at Whataburger:

• French Fries
• Hash Brown Sticks
• Apple Slices
• Garden Salad (No Cheese)
• Texas Toast
• Beverages

More details on all these below. I’ll also answer common questions about Whataburger fruit chews, onion rings, apple pies, biscuits, and more!

I’ll end with a whole-food-plant-based guide to Whataburger, too—for those of you avoiding fried and processed food! I have a clever idea about what to take with you to the restaurant to round out your meal and keep it healthy.

Whataburger Vegan Menu

To make this vegan menu, I consulted the full ingredients lists found on the Whataburger website for each of these items.

With 13 years of experience reading ingredients lists as a vegan, I can tell you confidently that these items are vegan!

1. French Fries

The classic vegan menu item: Fries! These are fried in soybean oil, not animal fat like some restaurants (I’m looking at you, Buffalo Wild Wings).

Note: It’s possible that these are fried in a shared fryer with chicken or other animal products. If this would be a deal-breaker for you, then be sure to ask about the setup at your Whataburger location.

2. Hash Brown Sticks

I love hash browns in all their forms. Whataburger makes theirs in an elongated patty form. Like a long, flat tater tot—love it.

As another blogger has noted*, you can even substitute these patties into a burger if you want to create a sort of make-shift “veggie burger” at Whataburger. Of course it won’t actually taste or feel much like a burger, but it’s something! (*link removed)

Note: It’s possible these are fried in a shared fryer with chicken or other animal products. If this would be a deal-breaker for you, then be sure to ask about the setup at your Whataburger location.

3. Apple Slices

Gotta love when there’s an actual healthy, whole-food option. Here we have apple slices in a bag. Simple enough. Probably a rip-off compared to buying apples from the grocery store, but a solid vegan option none-the-less.

4. Garden Salad (No Cheese)

This is a simple salad. Once you remove the cheese, all that remains is romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, and match-stick shredded carrots.

You have the choice of adding these toppings for a little extra cost, too

• Grilled Jalapenos
• Jalapenos
• Avocado
• Fire Roasted Mushrooms
• Grilled Peppers & Onions

Personally, I always recommend adding avocado because it’ll make your salad way more filling. The healthy fats will also aid in nutrient absorption.

For vegan-friendly salad dressings, these seem to be the options:

• Herb Vinaigrette
• Balsamic Vinaigrette

5. Texas Toast

Several of Whataburger’s sandwiches and burgers use Texas Toast as the bun. It turns out that this Texas Toast is vegan. It’s cooked with something they call “bun oil” (mainly just soybean oil), which is vegan.

It still may be worth asking to make sure your Texas Toast doesn’t come with butter, but you should be able to get this as a vegan, no problems.

6. Beverages

Plenty of vegan beverages to choose from:

• Coca-Cola
• Diet Coke
• Coke Zero
• Sprite
• Dr Pepper
• Diet Dr Pepper
• Barq’s Root Beer
• Fanta
• FUZE Tea
• Powerade
• Lemonade
• Sweet Tea
• Unsweet Tea
• Water

Are Whataburger Fruit Chews Vegan?

Whataburger fruit chews are not vegan. They contain gelatin.

Does Whataburger Have a Vegan Burger?

Whataburger does not have a vegan burger. You can substitute a hash brown patty or other plant-based menu items into a burger, but they will not approximate a real burger in any major way.

Is the Apple Pie at Whataburger Vegan?

The apple pie at Whataburger is not vegan. The Whataburger website says it contains milk in the glaze.

Are Whataburger Onion Rings Vegan?

Whataburger onion rings are not vegan. They contain dried egg whites, nonfat milk, and whey.

Do Whataburger Fries Have Dairy?

Whataburger fries do not contain dairy in their ingredients. However, if you have a severe dairy allergy, you may want to check whether the fries are prepared in the same fryer as dairy-containing products and may be contaminated as a result.

What does Whataburger Fry Their Fries In?

Whataburger fries their fries in ZTF Whataburger liquid shortening. From what I can tell, this is composed of mainly soybean oil. All indications suggest that Whataburger fries are vegan.

Are Whataburger Biscuits Vegan?

Whataburger biscuits are not vegan. They contain milk.

Whole-Food Plant-Based Options

With my vegan guides to restaurants, I like to include a list of whole-food plant-based (WFPB) options. If you’re vegan for health and trying to strictly avoid fried and processed food, too, this section is for you.

WFPB options at Whataburger:

• Apple Slices
• Garden Salad (No Cheese)

These are the only real WFPB options, as all the other vegan options contain oil or sugar—most of them are deep-fried!

As I’ve recommended for a couple other restaurants: If you want to eat WFPB, you may want to bring your own peanut butter. It could make the apple slices a lot more filling!

Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey

1. This is the best free video training I’ve found on plant-based nutrition. You’ll learn how to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and obesity—all with plant-based food. Watch the free “Food for Health Masterclass” here.

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).