Del Taco is an American fast food restaurant known for its Tex-Mex food, big burritos, and small prices, offering customers a lot of bang for their buck. The American-style Mexican chain is also a big fan of cheese. In fact, each year, Del Taco grates nine million 40-pound blocks of cheddar cheese! This doesn’t sound very vegan, does it? But, Del Taco is actually a bit of a plant-based pioneer and was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to put Beyond Meat® on the menu. At Vegan Unlocked, we’ve made it even easier to eat vegan at Del Taco, and with our secret menu, full vegan menu, and editor’s picks, you’ll still be able to eat your weight in burritos.
The Vegan Unlocked Research Team sifted through all 86 items on the Del Taco menu and came away with one tasty custom creation and 13 on-menu options.
Del Taco scores an impressive 4 out of 5 stars as a vegan-forward restaurant. So, not only are there various vegan custom creations offered at Del Taco, but it also specifically caters to its vegan clientele, having teamed up with Beyond Meat® to deliver some plant-based power.
This score is calculated based on the number of vegan offerings on Del Tacos’s 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
When dining out at a chain restaurant, you’d be forgiven for thinking that finding plant-based products might be a little challenging. After all, while vegan options are becoming more prevalent, only last year, a report by World Animal Protection found that 43 out of the 50 top U.S. fast-Food chains were lacking in vegan options. That said, even if a fast food joint is not explicit about its vegan offerings, a little creativity can work wonders. We sent a team of vegan researchers to Del Taco to put their imagination to the test, and they came up with some delectable custom inventions. Remember, culinary innovation doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it can be as simple as removing cheese from a dish and subbing in some salsa.
Want to skip to something a little simpler? Keep scrolling for Del Taco’s vegan menu items and our editors’ top picks just below this section.
Snack Papa’s Taco:
For this tasty taco treat, order a snack taco with no beef and no cheese. Then, add in some chunky guacamole, pico de gallo (for a little heat), and a side of hash browns, and you’ve got a taco taste sensation.
Crispy Chicken(less) and Guacamole Torta:
This order is full of flavor and crunch. Get it without cheddar or ranch, and sub in some Beyond Meat®, and you’re bound to satisfy your hunger.
Epic Cali Bacon(less) Burrito:
Order this without bacon, cheese, or sour cream and sub in some juicy Beyond Meat®. Then add in guacamole and replace the chipotle sauce with either red or green sauce, depending on your spice preference.
All the Vegan Options at Del Taco
So, what else is vegan on the Del Taco menu? It turns out a lot!
Meals
- Epic Beyond Fresh Guacamole Burrito: This devilishly delicious burrito can be ordered straight off the menu. It comes with succulent Beyond Meat®, sliced avocado, spicy pico de gallo, salsa casera, zingy cilantro lime rice, and seasoned black beans, all wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla.
- Beyond Guacamole Taco: This 100% plant-based offering can also be ordered off the menu and comes in a crunchy corn shell or soft flour tortilla. Packed with Beyond Meat® crumbles, guacamole, crisp shredded lettuce, and fresh diced tomatoes, it will certainly tantalize your taste buds.
- Beyond 8 Layer Burrito: This Del Taco burrito is truly divine and comes with seasoned Beyond Meat® crumbles, slow-cooked beans, guacamole, diced tomatoes, lettuce, and red sauce. Just make sure to order it without cheese or sour cream to veganize it.
- Beyond Taco: If you fancy something with a bit of crunch, this one’s for you. The Beyond Taco is loaded with seasoned Beyond Meat® plant-based crumbles, crisp shredded lettuce, and fresh diced tomatoes. Order this without cheese to make it 100% plant-based. It can also be enjoyed with a soft tortilla.
- Bean and Cheese(less) Burrito: If you’re barmy about beans, you’ll love this burrito. Filled with slow-cooked beans made from scratch, just order this burrito without cheese to make it vegan.
- Crunchtada Tostada: This tempting Del Taco tostada features a thick, wavy, crunchy corn shell layered with slow-cooked beans made from scratch, tangy Salsa Casera, and crisp lettuce; ordered without cheese, this tostada is totally vegan.
- 8 Layer Veggie Burrito: Order without cheese or sour cream, and you’ll have a delectable burrito filled with slow-cooked beans, cilantro lime rice, house-made guacamole, shredded lettuce, fresh diced tomatoes, and zesty red sauce to wake up your tastebuds.
- Bun Taco: The bun taco is a little bit different from the other offerings on the Del Taco menu, and instead of coming in a crunchy corn shell or tortilla, it arrives in a soft bun. Order this without cheese and Beyond Meat® instead of seasoned ground beef.
- Bean and Cheese(less) burrito with red sauce: This order comes with Del Taco’s signature slow-cooked beans, with a mild spice from the red sauce. Just order it without the cheese.
- Bean and Cheese Burrito with Green Sauce: Ordered without cheese, this burrito packs a bit more punch than its red sauce counterpart, so it’s great if you like things spicy.
- Classic Grilled Chicken(less) Burrito: This burrito can be ordered with pinto beans instead of grilled chicken, and make sure to scrap the cheese and secret sauce.
- Del Beef(less) Burrito: Order with pinto beans and without cheese, and you’ve bought yourself a ticket to flavor town. As an added bonus, this burrito is pretty nutritious, too, because pinto beans are high in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
- Taco Salad With Fresh Guacamole: If you’re looking for something a little lighter, order this salad without cheese or sour cream, and add in some Beyond Meat® .
Appetizers
- Taco Del Carbon with Beyond Meat® as a meat substitute
- Queso Loaded Nachos with no queso or sour cream, and sub in some Beyond Meat®
- 3 Layer Queso Nachos ordered without Queso Blanco
Sides
- Crinkle cut fries
- Hashbrown sticks
- Del Cheeseburger ordered without the beef patty, cheese, or burger sauce
- Queso Loaded Fries with no Queso Blanco, no sour cream, no cheese, and some Beyond Meat® subbed in
- Chili cheddar fries with the chili topping substituted with red or green sauce, and ordered without cheddar
- Carne Asada Fries ordered without cheddar, substitute the Carne asada with Beyond Meat®, and switch the secret sauce to the red or green sauce
- Chips and fresh house-made guac
- Fresh house-made guac
Kids
- Snack Taco Kid Loco ordered without cheese and with Beyond Meat®
- Bean & Cheese Burrito Kid Loco ordered without cheese
Sauces, Add Ons, Toppings
- Mild sauce
- Del Inferno sauce
- Ketchup
- Del Scorcho sauce
Editor’s Picks: What Are the Top Vegan Meals at Del Taco?
If you’ve not got long for your lunch break, or you feel like hunger is about to turn you into a hangry monster, the Epic Beyond Fresh Guacamole Burrito is the best dining-in-a-dash option. Ordered straight off the menu, this no-fuss burrito is packed full of plant-based deliciousness and will tame your inner hangry hellion.
Perhaps you’re out with the kids for a Saturday treat or giving mum and dad a break from your younger siblings. Seemed like a great idea at the time, and now they’re getting a little raucous? Del Taco’s kid calmer is the Snack Taco Kid Loco, with Beyond Meat and without the cheese. This vegan option is so good that the kids will be too busy gobbling it down to squabble – well, at least for a few minutes.
Del Taco is known for its flavorful Mexican-style cuisine, but for those who are a bit scared of spice, it might be a little intimidating. If you’re trying to expand your flavor horizons, the best option for spice skeptics is the 8 Layer Veggie Burrito. Loaded with veggies and slow-cooked beans, this burrito has a little added heat from the red sauce, but it’s a good go-to for those new to spice. Plus, it comes with avocado if things start feeling a little too spicy.
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 Del Taco’s 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 Del Taco Questions
Does Del Taco Have Vegan Cheese?
Unfortunately, for the time being, Del Taco doesn’t offer any vegan cheese. But, considering that they were one of the first chains to champion plant-based meat, it could be on the horizon.
Is the Secret Sauce at Del Taco Vegan?
No, Del Taco’s Secret Sauce contains both egg and milk. But that’s all we can tell you, because the rest is a secret!
Is Del Taco rice vegan?
Yes, fortunately, Del Taco’s flavorful, zesty cilantro rice is completely vegan.
You can find out more information on Del Taco by visiting their website here.
Planning on visiting Del Taco soon?
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Del Tacos’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.
