First launched as Taco Tia back in 1954, Taco Bell has been around for yonks and serves billions of tacos to billions of people each year. The Mexican-inspired fast-food chain serves up a wide array of deep-fried, cheesy, and meat-filled offerings and, so understandably, isn’t number one on the top vegan hangout list. Nevertheless, Taco Bell does cater to its vegan clientele, and at Vegan Unlocked, armed with our secret menu, editor’s picks, and full menu, it’s never been easier to eat vegan at Taco Bell. Oh, and if you’re barmy about beans, you’re in for a treat.
The Vegan Unlocked Research Team combed through all 65 items on the Taco Bell menu and came away with some rather tempting custom inventions and a variety of finger-licking on-menu options.
Taco Bell scores 3 out of 5 stars as a vegan-friendly restaurant. So, while you won’t find any melted dairy-free Daiya in your Crunchwrap Supreme or spicy crumbled tofu in your taco, you’ll still be able to chow down on something scrumptious.
This score is calculated based on the number of vegan offerings on Taco Bell’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
There are no two ways about it, trying to eat vegan at fast food restaurants often feels like a bit of a faff, and sometimes it’s downright disheartening. But it doesn’t have to be if you have the know-how to hack a menu. At Vegan Unlocked, we sent our team of vegan researchers to Taco Bell to do just that, and they didn’t disappoint, coming up with some truly tantalizing custom creations. That said, creating Taco Bell vegan options doesn’t have to stretch your creativity, it can be really simple too, for example, swapping out some beef for beans!
In search of something a little more straightforward? Scroll on to find Taco Bell’s vegan menu items and our editors’ top picks just below this section.
The Beef(less) Burrito Supreme
Order the Burrito Supreme without cheese or sour cream, and substitute the seasoned beef with spicy potatoes for a deeply satisfying and flavorful surprise. If you like things even spicier, why not throw in some jalapenos to make your burrito a tongue-tingler?
Fiesta Veggie Burrito
This fiery burrito comes with seasoned rice, black beans, tomatoes, guacamole, and Taco Bell’s Red Strips, its red-colored tortilla chips, which are similar to Fritos, and, lucky for us, 100% vegan. Order this without cheese, sour cream, or chipotle sauce to make it fully vegan-friendly, and sub in some diablo or fire sauce for a bit of heat.
All the Vegan Options at Taco Bell
So, what else is on the Taco Bell vegan menu?
Meals
- Bean Burrito: Featuring a warm flour tortilla stuffed full of refried beans and diced onions and slathered in taste-bud-tantalizing red sauce, ordered without cheese, this burrito is one not to miss.
- Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme: With a satisfying crunch from the tostada shell and lettuce, and delicious mouthfuls of black beans and tomatoes, the Crunchwrap Supreme is totally vegan when ordered without sour cream or cheese sauce.
- Black Beans and Rice: This simple, stripped-back dish is just as delicious as the other items on the menu and vegan at face value. No swapping or substituting is needed here!
- Tacos: Tacos are an American favorite and delightful when ordered crunchy or soft. Order with either black beans, refried beans, or spicy potatoes, and leave out the cheese to make it vegan-friendly.
- Veggie Mexican Pizza: This Italian-Mexican hybrid sandwiches refried beans, Mexican pizza sauce, and tomatoes between two Mexican Pizza shells. Ordered without cheese, and it’s 100% plant-based.
- Black Bean Chalupa Supreme: This classic Chalupa dish layers black beans, tomatoes, and lettuce on a pillowy, cloud-like shell. When ordered without cheese or sour cream, this is a delectable vegan treat for any time of the day.
- Power Menu Bowl: This hearty menu item, ordered vegan, features black beans, Mexican rice, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes. Just make sure to leave out the sour cream, cheese, and avocado ranch. To make it a bit saucier, add in some hot sauce to get you salivating.
Sides
- Black beans
- Hash brown
- Beans and rice
- Pintos and cheese without the cheese
Sauces, Add Ons, Toppings
- Diablo sauce
- Fire sauce
- Hot sauce
- Mild sauce
- Breakfast salsa
- Red sauce
- Guacamole
- Onions
- Spicy potatoes
- Black beans
- Pinto beans
- Lettuce
- Jalapenos
- Seasoned rice
- Tomatoes
- Green sauce
- Mexican pizza sauce
Editor’s Picks: What Are the Top Vegan Meals at Taco Bell?
Contrary to popular belief, eating at Taco Bell doesn’t have to be unhealthy. The healthiest item on the menu is the veggie Power Menu Bowl. Packed full of protein from the black beans and loaded with healthy monounsaturated fat from the guacamole, this Taco Bell bowl is brimming with the good stuff. Plus, with the lettuce and tomatoes, it’ll help you meet your five-a-day fruit and veg target.
These days, almost everyone’s feeling the pinch, and even fast food menus have gotten more expensive. So, it’ll be reassuring to hear that Taco Bell still offers some more affordable options. The best value-for-money option at the chain is the Fiesta Veggie Burrito. Coming in at $2, this burrito is flavorful and filling and won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
You may not think that Italian and Mexican cuisine are two dining experiences that meld well together at first, but Taco Bell has proved us wrong. The Veggie Mexican Pizza is our fusion favorite. A pizza made with tortilla shells? It turns out it’s just crazy enough to work!
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 Taco Bell’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.
Frequently Asked Taco Bell Questions
Are Taco Bell’s Fries Vegan?
Taco Bell fries are indeed vegan-friendly, as are its nacho fries, which occasionally appear on its menu if ordered without nacho cheese dipping sauce. Just sub in some diablo dipping sauce or cool guacamole if that’s more your thing.
Are Taco Bell Refried Beans Vegan?
Yes, both of Taco Bell’s beans (black beans and refried beans) are certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association (AVA).
Does Taco Bell Have Vegan Meat?
Although Taco Bell is not offering vegan meat US-wide, it is currently trialing a vegan meat alternative in 50 of its Birmingham, Alabama restaurants. This is also separate from the chain’s collaboration with Beyond Meat to create the Beyond Carne Asada Steak. So, brace yourselves for exciting times ahead.
You can find out more information on Taco Bell by visiting their website here.
Planning on visiting Taco Bell soon?
Be sure to tag Vegan Unlocked and share your vegan meal or custom creation to be entered into our monthly giveaway!
Taco Bell’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.
