Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc, or just Popeyes, is a famous multinational fast-food chain. The Miami-based restaurant chain is renowned for its fried chicken mostly. The founder – Al Copeland – first tried to compete with KFC in 1972 with the store called “Chicken on the Run”. However, it failed. In 1975, he tried again with “Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken” restaurant. This time it became a success and now there are more than 3.700 restaurants all across the world according to Wikipedia.
As we said before, the restaurant is famous for its fried chicken. So, what do Popeye’s vegan options look like? Well, it isn’t easy to order vegan at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. There are only a few vegan options in the fast-food chain, and there is no such thing as vegan chicken any time soon.
Only some of the side dishes are considered vegan if you don’t mind the cross-contamination. Are Popeyes fries vegan? Yes, Cajon fries, and also hash browns are plant-based, but they are cooked in shared frier. The only certainly vegan item according to the allergen guide is jalapeno, which is not much.
There are quite several items that look vegan, however, you have to avoid them at all costs. Cajun rice and red beans & rice are not even vegetarian since it is made from beef soup and also contains meat. Furthermore, not even the biscuits are vegan at Popeyes, since they contain eggs and dairy, just like cinnamon apple pie. So what’s left? Drinks, and some dipping sauce.
What are the vegan options at Popeye?
Does Popeyes have vegan options? Yes, but, our list will be very short according to nutritional information found on their official website:
- Cajun fries
- Hash rounds
- Jalapeno
- BoldBQ sauce
- Creole Cocktail Sauce
- Coffee
- Drinks
- Coffee
The end. There is nothing else. No vegan chicken neither a normal plant-based dish. Let’s see the details!
Cajun fries
Cajun fries are almost the same as french fries, just a little bit more spicy. Thankfully, it is free from any animal ingredients such as grease and it is cooked in vegetable oil instead of lard. However, it shares the same frier with chicken items, so cross-contamination is a huge risk.
Hash rounds
Shredded potatoes cooked in vegetable oil, nothing much. The same issue goes for this as well, it is cooked in shared frier.
Jalapeño
Jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that is quite spicy. There is nothing extra-ordinary about Popeyes’ Jalapeño, also it is free from any animal ingredients. It’s nothing, but a nice add-on to the Cajun fries or single snack.
BoldBQ sauce
Sweet and tangy BBQ sauce with molasses, spices, and a slightly smoky flavor, and zero animal ingredients. The vegan sauce goes very well with Popeyes’ french fries.
Creole Cocktail Sauce
It is made of canned tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, onions, and garlic, along with seasonings and herbs. Luckily, there are no animal products for sure.
Drinks
There is nothing notable in the drink section just the ordinary vegan soft drinks such as Cola, mountain dew, Ice tea, some juices, and coffee.
What is non-vegan at Popeyes?
There are a few items, that might be great vegan options, however they are far from plant-based.
Are Popeyes red beans and rice vegan?
It is advised as smooth red beans and seasoned rice. However, red beans and rice are not even vegetarian! It is made with broth and beef. How an awful choice.
Cajun Rice
While Cajun fries are vegan, it isn’t since they make it with broth, unfortunately.
Is Popeyes’ biscuit vegan?
No, unfortunately, the biscuit at Popeyes is not vegan since all of them contain dairy and eggs.
Is Popeyes apple pie vegan?
While many places such as Burger King or Mcdonald’s offer dairy and egg-free apple pie, Popeyes’ cinnamon apple pie isn’t vegan.
Is Popeyes mashed potatoes vegan?
No, unfortunately, they make mashed potatoes with dairy.
Does Popeyes have vegan chicken?
The American junk-food chain’s main attraction is the chicken just like at KFC. Kentucky Fried Chicken launched Beyond Chicken a few years ago. So we would assume that their biggest rival – Popeyes – will also make vegan chicken. Well, Popeyes doesn’t have vegan chicken and it looks like it won’t have anytime soon. So the only option left for plant-based eaters is Popeyes’ sides.
