Arby’s is a fast-food restaurant that proudly celebrates “all things meat,” so it may be hard to find vegan options in its menu.
Still, we’ve heavily scrutinized the fast-food chain’s offerings to give you the best vegan options at Arby’s.
Arby’s: A Quick Overview
Arby’s is an acronym for R.B., or Raffel Brothers (not Roast Beef, as what most people think). In 1964, brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel founded the first Arby’s restaurant.
Forrest and Leroy Raffel were owners of a restaurant equipment business who decided to tap the market of a fast food business that didn’t serve the quintessential hamburger. They brainstormed together and decided to serve roast beef sandwiches instead, and along with potato chips and soft drinks, the first Arby’s menu was ready.
They sold the iconic roast beef sandwiches at $0.69 each, which was about quadruple the price of a typical hamburger at $0.15. Hoping to attract more upscale clientele, they modeled Arby’s interior to have a more luxurious feel than typical hamburger restaurants.
In just ten years, Arby’s was expanding at a rate of 50 stores per year, and they added several more menu items such as the Beef ‘n Cheddar, Curly Fries, roast turkey sandwiches, and their signature Arby’s Sauce.
Arby’s was also one of the first fast-food restaurants to offer impressive “lite” menu options, such as salads and sandwiches that were 94 percent fat-free and under 300 calories.
A Few Vegan Options You Must Try
Curly Fries
We’re happy to report that Arby’s iconic Curly Fries are 100 percent vegan friendly. The Curly Fries are made with yellow corn meal, enriched bleached flour, wheat flour, and modified corn starch, cooked in vegetable oil (a mixture of palm oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil), and flavored with natural flavor and other spices such as garlic powder and onion powder. We suggest dipping these in Arby’s Bronco Berry Sauce!
However, it’s important to note that all their fried foods use shared cooking equipment, so the Curly Fries will be using the same oil as their crispy chicken. If that’s okay with you, by all means, proceed.
Sweet Potato Waffle Fries
Arby’s markets their Sweet Potato Waffle Fries as a “special” item, so we’re afraid they might not be a permanent addition to the menu. This side dish is vegan friendly, made with sweet potatoes, cut in a unique crisscross waffle shape, and cooked in vegetable oil.
Homestyle Fries
Arby’s Homestyle Fries are often overshadowed by its more famous Curly Fries counterpart. These are classic, straight-cut french fries, made from rice flour and potato starch and deep-fried in vegetable oil. The french fries are 100 percent vegan friendly, and between you and me, we actually prefer Homestyle Fries over Arby’s Curly Fries. I also recommend you try out these healthy oven-baked fries!
Potato Cakes
We don’t think we’ve seen Potato Cakes anywhere else aside from Arby’s. Arby’s Potato Cakes are kind of like hash browns but come in a triangular shape. They are a great, filling treat for vegans, and made with 100 percent all vegan ingredients like corn flour and dehydrated potato.
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Side Salad (Without Cheddar Cheese)
By default, Arby’s Chopped Side Salad is served with shredded cheddar cheese, but you can ask the staff to omit the dairy ingredient to make it vegan-friendly.
Without cheese, the side salad will come with iceberg lettuce, leaf lettuce, and tomatoes. You can season the leafy dish with Arby’s vegan salad dressing options, like Light Italian Dressing and Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing.
The other salad option is the Chopped Farmhouse Salad, which is not vegan approved. It holds either chicken or turkey, pepper bacon, cheese, iceberg lettuce, leaf lettuce, and tomatoes.
Fruit Turnovers
Surprisingly, Arby’s Fruit Turnovers are vegan friendly, and so are their breads, like the French toast sticks and marble rye bread. The buttery, flaky pastry crust is made with margarine [1] and vegetable shortening, with no animal products involved in creating this dessert. You can choose between these two fruit flavors:
- Apple Turnover
- Cherry Turnover
Sauces
Thankfully, most of Arby’s signature sauces are vegan-friendly, so you don’t have to worry about dry salads or fries. Here is the complete list of vegan sauces:
- Arby’s Sauce
- Tangy Barbeque Dipping Sauce
- Marinara Sauce
- Bronco Berry Sauce
- Red Ranch Sauce
- Smoky Q Sauce
- Spicy Three Pepper Sauce
- Ketchup
These sauces, however, are not vegan as they contain egg and milk, so you should stay away from them (even if they are admittedly delicious):
- Buffalo Dipping Sauce: contains milk
- Horsey Sauce: contains egg
- Robust Marinara used for Pizza Sliders: contains milk
- Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing: contains egg and honey
Applesauce (Kids Menu)
Arby’s offers Tree Top Applesauce inside their kids' menu, which you can get as a vegan. The only ingredients included in this food item are apples, water, and added vitamin C. Other Arby’s locations offer apple slices instead of apple sauce.
Arby’s Sauce
Is Arby’s sauce vegan? Yes! It’s perfectly safe for vegan consumption as it contains no milk, eggs, honey, or other animal products. Here is the full list of ingredients:
- Water
- Corn Syrup
- Tomato Paste
- Distilled Vinegar
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Salt
- Modified Corn Starch
- Soybean Oil
- Xanthan Gum
- Garlic (dehydrated)
- Sodium Benzoate (preservative)
- Onion (dehydrated)
- Spice and Spice Extractives
- Artificial Flavor
- Extractives of Capsicum
Beverages
Arby’s has a great selection of sodas, fruit juices, and soft drinks that are vegan approved. Here is the complete list:
- Sprite
- Orange juice
- Brewed iced tea
- Coffee
- Dr. Pepper
- CapriSun fruit juice
- Coca-Cola
- Diet Coke
- Coca-Cola zero
- Mello Yello
- Diet Dr Pepper
- Nestle bottled water
- Barq’s Root Beer
- Minute Maid light lemonade
- Hi-C Flashin’ fruit punch
- Powerade Mountain Berry Blast
- Fanta Orange
FAQs
No. Unfortunately, as of 2021, Arby’s has yet to make a vegan version of their sandwiches and burgers. They’re obviously not a vegan-friendly restaurant as they don’t even offer enough fresh veggies in their menu so the customers can modify their sandwiches and burgers.
No, Arby’s doesn’t offer a vegan sandwich. The non-vegan restaurants have also not indicated that they will be adding vegan sandwiches in the restaurant menus anytime soon.
Final Thoughts
In all honesty, vegans probably won’t enjoy dining at Arby’s due to their limited vegan and vegetarian options. Of course, we don’t expect too much from a fast-food establishment that has pranked us countless times about pretending to add Impossible Foods and other vegan-friendly options.
Having said that, you’ll still be able to find fun snacks to munch on if you do decide to give this place a shot. Arby’s Fruit Turnovers and Potato Cakes are extremely yummy and worth trying if you’re on a vegan journey!
Reference:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-margarine-vegan
About Author
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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