Noodles and Company, an American fast-casual restaurant, offers a wide selection of fusion favorites and has never played by the rules. With everything from pad thai to mac and cheese, this chain is inspired by food from all over the world, so it’s no wonder that it’s well-catered to its vegan clientele too. A couple of vegan options at Noodles and Company can even be ordered straight off the menu without any modifications. At Vegan Unlocked, with our full vegan menu and editor’s picks, we’ll guide you through the restaurant’s plentiful plant-based options – and unlike many chains, there’s so much more on offer than just a limp salad!
The Vegan Unlocked Research Team thoroughly inspected Noodles and Company’s menu of 35 items and found an impressive array of on-menu options.
Noodles and Company scored 3.3 out of 5 stars as a vegan-friendly establishment. This means that when visiting the chain, you won’t have to deprive yourself of your vegan favorites (tofu galore!), and you’ll even find some big-name vegan brands like Impossible™.
This score is calculated based on the number of vegan offerings on the Noodles and Company menu “as is” or with an easy substitution, a restaurant vegan customizability score and finally, the number of vegan options vs non-vegan options. Learn more about how Vegan Unlocked Ratings are calculated.
Secret Menu
Noodles and Company has a highly accommodating menu for vegans. Still, it’s fun to spice things up a bit! We put our team of vegan researchers on the job to expand this amazing menu even further. And two brand new delicious sandwiches were born!
Keen to keep things a little more simple? Scroll on for Noodles and Company’s vegan menu items and our editors’ top picks just below this section.
Buffalo Impossible Chicken Flatbread:
Get a side of Impossible chicken, a side of flatbread (no butter), a side of caesar salad (no dressing, no cheese, no croutons) and a side of buffalo sauce and roll everything together in the flatbread. You’ve got yourself a savory, flavorful and protein-packed meal!
BBQ Tofu Sandwich:
Get a side of French baguette (no butter), a side of BBQ sauce and a side of seasoned tofu. You can throw in some veggies if you’d like, too. Put it together as a sandwich and enjoy this hearty entree!
All the Vegan Options on the Noodles and Company Menu
So, what are the vegan options at Noodles and Company?
Meals
- Pasta Fresca: This Italian classic comes with penne pasta, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, roasted garlic, fresh tomatoes, and spinach; hold the cheese, and it’s completely vegan.
- Penne Rossa: To veganize this plate of pasta, order without cheese, throw in some Impossible™ chicken or tofu, and substitute the spicy tomato cream sauce with marinara sauce instead.
- Spaghetti and Meatballs: Making this traditional Italian-American dish vegan is pretty straightforward. Just take away the cheese and meatballs and sub in some Impossible™ chicken.
- Impossible™ Orange Chicken Lo Mein: This dish, inspired by flavors from the Hunan Province in China, is the chain’s first plant-based protein option and can be ordered straight off the menu. With Asian-style noodles sautéed in orange sauce with snap peas, napa and red cabbage, green onions, black sesame seeds, and cilantro, topped with Impossible™ Panko Chicken, this dish is fresh, zingy, and delicious.
- Japanese Pan Noodles: Completely vegan by default, this dish features caramelized udon noodles in a sweet soy sauce with broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, black sesame seeds, and cilantro.
- Spicy Korean Beef Noodles: These noodles, covered in a sweet and spicy Korean-style Gochujang BBQ sauce, are vegan when you remove the steak and replace it with either Impossible™ chicken or seasoned tofu.
- Cauliflower Rigatoni Fresca with(out) Shrimp: This cauliflower-infused rigatoni is just as tasty when you remove the shrimp and cheese, and if you love garlic, this one’s for you.
- Asian Apple Citrus Salad: Ordered without chicken, this zesty number is a must.
- Mexican Street Corn Salad: Hold the chicken and cheese and add in some citrus dressing, and this salad with Tuscan greens and kale will still satisfy your taste buds.
- The Med Salad w/ Chicken: If you’re looking for a light bite, this salad is just the thing. Remove the chicken and cheese, and substitute the med dressing with citrus dressing, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
- Zucchini Rosa with Grilled Chicken: If you like zucchini, this will be right up your street. Order without rossa cream sauce, chicken, and cheese, and then add either marinara sauce or balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil and the Impossible™ panko-crusted chicken.
Sides
- Baguette
- Seasoned tofu
- Flatbread
- Impossible™ panko chicken
Sauces, Add Ons, Toppings
- BBQ sauce
- Buffalo sauce
- Fresca sauce
- Japanese pan sauce
- Marinara sauce
- Orange sauce
- Spicy Korean-style gochujang BBQ sauce
- Sriracha sauce
- Citrus dressing
- Balsamic vinaigrette
- Olive oil
- Zuchini noodles
- Mushrooms (white or roasted)
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Cabbage blend
- Cucumber
- Snap peas
- Broccoli
- Kalamata olives
- Carrots
- Roasted zuchini
- Red onion
Kids
- Spaghetti and meatballs (without the meatballs)
Editor’s Picks: What Are the Top Picks on the Noodles and Company’s Vegan Menu?
If you fancy a no-fuss order that gets you a lot of bang for your buck, the Japanese Pan Noodles are the most cost-effective choice. While prices vary depending on location, for around $7, you can purchase this scrumptious bowl of noodle goodness.
If you’re tired of gray skies and rainy days, the Asian Apple Citrus Salad is Noodles and Company’s best summery salad that will blow the clouds away and bring back the warmth of the sunshine.
If you’re craving some plant-based protein, the Impossible™ Orange Chicken Lo Mein is the best meat-alternative option with its succulent and juicy vegan chicken pieces and sticky, sweet sauce.
Note: Vegan Unlocked is a tool dedicated to helping people find plant-based options. We are not an allergen resource and want to encourage our friends with allergies to proceed with caution. We cannot control and don’t always know when cross contamination takes place. See the Noodles and Company allergen menu here. As far as cross-contamination of vegan foods with animal products, this is completely up to your comfort level as an individual. Read our stance on cross contamination here.
Frequently Asked Noodles and Company Questions:
Is Noodles and Company’s pesto vegan?
No, its pesto contains parmesan cheese, so it’s not vegan-friendly.
Are the rice noodles at Noodles and Company vegan?
Yes! Noodles and Company’s rice noodles contain no egg or egg-derived ingredients, so they’re completely safe for vegan dining.
You can find out more information about eating Noodles and Company by visiting their website here.
Planning on visiting Noodles and Company soon?
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Noodles and Company’s Vegan Menu Was Brought to You by…
Madaline Dunn
Madaline is a vegan journalist, writer, and editor specializing in sustainability, current affairs, and social justice and the ways in which they intersect. Her work focuses on innovation and progress, prioritizing rigorous investigation. When she’s not writing, she’s in the kitchen experimenting with new plant-based recipes, reading a good book, or thinking about her next cup of coffee.
Cristina Garrido
Cristina is a vegan cook and recipe developer. She’s worked in several vegan kitchens, as a collaborator for different cooking blogs and now works as a consultant helping restaurants interested in making their menus more vegan-friendly. She’s passionate about cultural foods and culinary innovations. Her non-food related interests include thrifting, sustainability and exploring her new adoptive country, Portugal.
