Vegan Vegetable Nuggets Arrive at McDonald’s

McDonald’s has introduced a vegan take on its popular chicken nugget. The meat-free treat is available in its Norway locations.

The nuggets are filled with chickpeas, cauliflower, corn, carrots, onion, and potatoes and are coated in a crunchy breaded outer.

Also in its Norway restaurants, the second largest fast food chain in the world, after Subway, launched a Vegetarian McFeast burger. The burger is served with a breaded bean-based patty, McFeast sauce, dairy cheese, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. If ordered without cheese, the burger is vegan.

The new menu additions follow the success of various meat-free launches across the region. In 2017, the McVegan burger arrived in Sweden and Finland, where it was purchased 150,000 times in one month. The McVegan burger patty was made by Nordic food group Orkla. Orkla’s CEO Peter Ruzicka named the partnership with McDonald’s “very successful.”

“People want to eat more plant-based food, partly because of health reasons, but also because of environmental reasons,” he said in a statement. “[The McVegan has] less climate impact than a regular burger made of meat… And this has received a lot of attention worldwide. This trend, of course, is not only in the Nordics.”

Last year, McDonald’s Finland launched a second vegan burger across its 65 locations, called the El Veggo. It features a soybean steak, spicy salsa sauce, and vegan McFeast sauce.

In January, Sweden locations of the fast food joint became home to the McFalafel, a vegan Happy Meal option that includes falafels made with chickpeas, parsley, garlic, and cumin and a vegan pepper dip.

McDonald’s UK has also dipped its toes into vegan eating recently, launching a plant-based Happy Meal option of its own. The UK’s version features veggie split pea-based goujons with dairy-free red pesto sauce. The move came about after research revealed that around one in three McDonald’s customers want more meat-free options.

In the U.S, the food chain launched a vegan McAloo Tikki at its global headquarters restaurant in Chicago. The sandwich, which is also served at McDonald’s’ India locations, comes with a samosa-spiced veggie patty made from potatoes and peas, as well as egg-free tomato mayonnaise.