This Burger King Location is Going Totally Vegan for One Month

Burger King changed fast food forever when the chain introduced its mouthwatering Impossible Whopper back in 2019, making it the largest fast-food chain to offer a plant-based burger option (though White Castle did it the year before). Now, Burger King is upping the ante by announcing that its London flagship location will transition to a 100 percent vegan menu for one month. Burger King will introduce 15 new vegan meal options alongside its existing plant-based menu at the Leicester Square location, showing that you can indeed "Have it Your Way" at BK.

Burger King’s groundbreaking all-vegan location will start serving meat-free meals on March 14th and continue to ditch the meat until April 10th, giving Londoners a chance to experience a full-scale vegan fast-food operation. The major fast-food company has worked to develop its plant-based menu recently, incorporating Impossible Foods' nuggets and burgers to its menus. Alongside the existing Plant-Based Whopper and Vegan Royale served in London, a Plant-Based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL and Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale will join the menu. The company will also include its recently launched Katsu sandwiches during the one-month vegan trial.

With its menu of vegan hamburgers, cheeseburgers, onion rings, and dairy-free ice cream, Burger King’s all-plant-based venue is a part of a bigger trend toward offering consumers plant-based or meat-free options, while serving up their favorite fast food items, reimagined without the meat and dairy.

This is the first major international fast-food chain to go all vegan in a location, but other smaller companies have made the commitment and are growing fast. In the western US, Plant Power Fast Food is expanding locations, and in the east, PLNT Burger, now offers a fully vegan experience in and around the DC and Maryland area, and just opened its first outpost in New York City.

The competition for plant-based fast food has recently heated up as McDonald’s announced it's bringing the McPlant to America after testing it in the UK, and Burger King is planning to expand its plant-based offerings beyond the Impossible Whopper with chicken nuggets from Impossible.

Meanwhile, Panda Express is about to roll out vegan orange chicken from Beyond after the menu item became its most popular new offering since 1987. And Taco Bell is testing out its own plant-based meat, which has been met with excitement by its fans.

BK's new meat-free menu is a step toward achieving the company's long-term sustainability goals, according to a statement.

“We’re incredibly proud of our new meat-free menu; it absolutely delivers on big taste with no compromises and reflects our ongoing commitment to serving our customers a diverse and innovative range of products,” Chief Marketing Officer at Burger King UK Katie Evans said. “ The limited-edition menu is a direct result of our focus on vegan and plant-based innovation and goes hand in hand with our target of a 50 percent meat-free menu by 2030, as well as our commitment to sustainability and responsible business. We can’t think of a more fitting way to re-launch our new-look flagship in Leicester Square.”

Within the United States, Burger King has launched meat-free options nationwide, but the fast-food chain has lagged behind its competitors when it comes to taking the final steps and offering a totally vegan experience. The burger chain still does not offer vegan cheese or dairy-free mayonnaise options for its Impossible Whopper, but it has recently added Impossible's new chicken nuggets to the national menu.

Although Burger King US needs improvement, Burger King UK and Europe have set the standards high for the fast-food market. Early last year, UK’s CEO Alasdair Murdoch revealed that Burger King UK intends to transition to a menu that features 50 percent plant-based meals. The aim is to cater to the growing population of vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diners, but also the move has been praised by activist groups including PETA.

“PETA applauds the UK's first all-vegan Burger King – a whopping great step in the right direction for animals and the environment,” Director of Vegan Corporate Projects PETA Dawn Carr said “The planet needs a game-changing shift away from meat to combat the climate emergency, and Burger King is leading the way. We love its expanding meat-free range: from the Vegan Royale to the Vegan Nuggets, these plant-powered, protein-packed meals appeal to both vegans and meat-eaters!”

London’s vegan Burger King is the first fully plant-based storefront from the major food company, but it's not the first plant-forward location. Last fall, Burger King temporarily opened “Vurger King” in Spain, featuring a fully vegetarian menu for one month. In partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher, Burger King Spain tested new meat-free menu items including the Long Vegetal with vegan chicken.

Now, The Vegetarian Butcher is working closely with Burger King UK to bring these vegan dishes to Londoners. The plant-based company is helping Burger King introduce unique-to-the-market vegan options that will intend to change fast-food offerings worldwide.

“At The Vegetarian Butcher, we believe that plant-based foods should be just as tasty as meat and our juicy range of meat-free products prove just that – showing that consumers don’t need to sacrifice a thing when making a plant-based switch,” Senior Brand Manager at The Vegetarian Butcher Laura Iliffe said. “We’re providing meat-lovers the chance to cut-down meat without compromising on taste. We challenge you to taste the difference!”

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Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.