McDonald’s Is Closer to Adding a Plant-Based Burger to Its Menu, Next Stop: UK

The long-awaited day of meat-free burger options at McDonald's at a store near you just got one step closer. Vegan Food UK recently reported that the fast-food chain is surveying customers about a vegan option and may soon be getting ready to add a meat-free option to the menu in the UK with a vegan certified burger.

Already the chain has rolled out its P.L.T. across Canada using Beyond meat to make the patty. Vox reported earlier this year that it's "One step forward, one step back for meatless meat."

Months later that's still the case. Back in January McDonald’s announced that it "would expand its Canadian trial of plant-based Beyond Burgers, offering them at 52 more restaurants in Ontario for the next three months starting January 14. This is an expansion of their P.L.T. (Plant, Lettuce, Tomato) Canadian trial run this fall, though it’s a very conservative expansion, encompassing only a few dozen more restaurants." Now 10 months later they are still equivocating about the next step. And the plan is to expand into the UK before the US.

McDonald’s has previously stated that the company is “always looking to develop new and exciting products for our customers looking to reduce their meat consumption.” The fast-food giant will keep its social media platforms updated with any new products and items in development.

McDonald’s is one of the last large chain fast food restaurants that does not currently offer vegan or plant-based options in the US, which is surprising considering the growing meat-less trend that is gaining momentum across the country-- with one-quarter of Americans saying they are trying to eat more plant-based foods. McDonald's seems to be a little late to the game in comparison to other fast-food chains like Burger King which offers the Impossible Whopper and White Castle which also serves up Impossible Sliders on their menu and Dunkin has Beyond Sausage on its breakfast menu, as KFC also has been expanding its plant-based nuggets (also by Beyond) at restaurants in the US, starting in Atlanta.

Like many other companies, McDonald’s took a massive hit during the pandemic lockdown and the company potentially adding new plant-based items to the menu will attract different customers. While the chain is currently riding the popularity of its "Travis Scott Burger", and has just announced a new collab with J.Balvin, a plant-based option would open the fast-food restaurant up to a whole new sector of customers, as even fries in the U.S. are not vegan because they contain beef fat, although UK fries are totally vegan.

While the current speculation of McDonald’s launching plant-based options is in the UK, we hope that once they release these items they will soon after be available in U.S. restaurants. UK McDonald's currently offer some vegan options such as the Veggie Dippers, which are vegan-certified by the Vegetarian Society.

Adding meat-free options to the menu would not only allow offer more options on the go for vegans but would also encourage current McDonald’s fans to try vegan options, which would lead to less meat consumption.

For more on plant-based options on the go, check out The 6 Best Fast Food Chains With Plant-Based Options.