Taco Bell to Launch Dedicated Vegetarian and Vegan Menu

Fast-food chain Taco Bell will launch its first dedicated vegetarian menu in 2019. The menu—which Taco Bell is developing as part of its “New Year’s Commitments”—will also include new vegan options that Taco Bell will share with VegNews later this year. Currently, the chain’s customizable menu offers 28 certified-vegan options. After launching its “How to Eat Vegan at Taco Bell” guide in 2016, the chain reformulated its rice to be vegan-friendly and debuted a line of vegan chips developed to mimic its hot sauce options. “We’re always looking for ways to give our customers more choice when they eat at Taco Bell. We know that Americans are increasingly opting for vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian meals, and we pride ourselves on being able to accommodate a wide variety of diets and lifestyles,” Missy Schaaphok, Taco Bell’s Manager of Global Nutrition & Sustainability, told VegNews. “That’s why we’re excited to offer our first-ever dedicated vegetarian menu, as well as new vegetarian and vegan menu items to provide our customers with more choices—without compromising craveability, simplicity, quality, or value.” In December, competing chain Del Taco expanded its vegan meat option—made with a specially formulated version of Beyond Meat crumbles—to 16 locations in Southern California.