Taco Bell has many appeals: it’s fast, there’s a drive-thru, the food is consistent, and with more than 8,000 Taco Bell locations in the US alone, there’s always one nearby. Best of all, with just a few modifications, a number of menu items can be made vegan.
In fact, the fast-food chain has previously offered iconic menu items reimagined with entirely plant-based ingredients—think Nacho Fries complete with dairy-free cheese; vegan Crunchwraps featuring vegan cheese, dairy-free sour cream, and meatless grounds; and a Naked Chalupa With a Crispy Plant-Based Shell made with pea protein-based chicken.
While these limited-time vegan offerings are no longer available, it’s still easy to order vegan at Taco Bell. Here’s what you need to know.
Taco Bell
How to order vegan at Taco Bell
At Taco Bell, “fresco” is the magic word when ordering vegan. Ordering an item fresco-style lets employees know to replace all dairy-based ingredients and mayo-based sauces with pico de gallo. Remember to also ask for beans in place of beef, and for extra heft, add potatoes or guacamole to your order.
We love ordering for pickup via the website or the app. Why? Because it makes custom orders—which you need to do a lot of when you’re ordering vegan—as easy as the tap of a button. You can remove, or add, any ingredient from any item on the menu. The website even has a “Make it Fresco” option that will automatically remove dairy ingredients and mayo-based sauces while adding pico de gallo.
Here are 15 vegan menu items and extras to order the next time you’re at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell
1Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme
Taco Bell managed to invent a food item even more portable than the burrito: the Crunchwrap. Opt for the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme without the sour cream and nacho cheese sauce. You’re left with a hot, freshly pressed soft tortilla filled with black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and a crunchy tortilla shell. Ask for a side of guacamole for dipping. Pro tip: add potatoes, too.
2 Black Bean Chalupa Supreme
This fluffy, fried, flour-based shell is thankfully vegan. Ask for this without sour cream and cheese and you’ll get a crunchy chalupa filled with black beans, tomatoes, and lettuce. We love it with jalapeños.
3Veggie Mexican Pizza
Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza is a fan-favorite specialty. The Veggie Mexican Pizza already omits beef, but order it without cheese to make it vegan. This will leave you with a crunchy “pizza” shell, refried beans, tomatoes, and Mexican pizza sauce. Add jalapeños or a side of guacamole for a heftier meal.
4Nachos BellGrande
Make the Nachos BellGrande vegan by ordering them without beef, nacho cheese sauce, and sour cream. You’ll be left with a bed of crispy tortilla chips topped with beans and tomatoes.
Taco Bell
5 Bean Burrito
Surprisingly, the bean burrito isn’t vegan as-is (it contains cheese). However, order it sans cheese, and you’re set with a warm flour tortilla wrapped around refried beans, red sauce, and diced onions. Add chopped tomatoes for a little extra sustenance. Not a fan of refried beans? Ask for black beans or potatoes instead.
6Bean and Rice Burrito
Order Taco Bell’s Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito fresco style for a vegan-friendly offering made with just beans, seasoned rice, and pico de gallo.
7 Spicy Potato Soft Taco
This one-dollar wonder becomes vegan when you order it without cheese and chipotle sauce. Adding onions and jalapeño peppers is highly recommended.
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Soft and Crunchy Tacos
Aside from the Spicy Potato Soft Tacos, all tacos, soft and crunchy, can be vegan so long as you swap the meat for black or refried beans and leave off the cheese, sour cream, and chipotle sauce. Try the Crunchy Taco Supreme with beans instead of beef and load up on add-ons. Unfortunately, the Doritos Locos shells are not vegan.
9Veggie Bowl
Think of the vegetarian Veggie Bowl as Taco Bell’s take on Chipotle’s signature bowls. To make the Veggie Bowl vegan, ask for no cheese, avocado ranch sauce, and sour cream. This leaves you with black beans, seasoned rice, purple cabbage, lettuce, pico de gallo, and guacamole. For a kick of heat, we like to add jalapeños.
Taco Bell
10Black Beans and Rice
Sometimes, simple is best. The good ol’ black beans and rice bowl is vegan. Enjoy it on its own for a quick meal or pair with a vegan-friendly taco. Alternatively, go for the Veggie Bowl for a gussied up version of this classic.
11Chips and Guacamole
No modifications needed here—Taco Bell’s chips and guacamole are suitable for vegans. Pair this side with the Soft Potato Tacos for a little more sustenance.
Taco Bell
12Hash Browns
Need breakfast? You won’t find much at Taco Bell, but you will find hash browns and coffee. It may be humble, but potatoes and caffeine will get the job done when you’re in a pinch with no other options around you.
13 Cinnamon Twists
No shame if you order more than one bag. These crispy, light-as-air snacks are slightly reminiscent of churros and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
Taco Bell
14 Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze
This is the famed Baja Blast but in slushie form. Taco Bell is known to launch limited-time slushie Freezes throughout the year, but remember to check the ingredients as the chain has been known to use confectioner’s sugar in its Freeze drinks.
15 Extras
Apart from everything else that we mentioned above, the hot sauces from Mild to Diablo are all vegan, so you can feel free to pour them over everything. What a lovely thing. Be sure to save some for your home-cooked meals, too.
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
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Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
