Hunger pangs? We feel you. Luckily, eating vegan on-the-go is easy, especially at Carl’s Jr.
The fast-food chain — founded in 1941 — specializes in charbroiled burgers and salty fries. And although the menu is largely made up of animal products — the place does have quite a few solid vegan options.
Carl’s Jr. Launches Vegan Burgers
Carl’s Jr. kicked off 2019 with a bang, becoming one of the largest burger chains to launch California-based food tech company Beyond Meat’s vegan patty.
“We know people are looking for options — in fact, roughly one-third of consumers identify as flexitarians — and we’re thrilled to partner with Beyond Meat to bring more delicious, irresistible flavors to our menu,” Jason Marker, CEO of the Carl’s Jr. parent company, CKE Restaurants, said in a statement following the launch.
The Beyond Famous Star — which features a charbroiled Beyond Burger patty topped with American cheese, mayonnaise, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, and dill pickles all on a sesame seed bun — was highly successful. And the chain sold 4.5 million burgers featuring the vegan meat patty in less than a year. As of April 2021, Carl’s Jr. sold nearly 12 million.
The chain has since released a number of mouthwatering menu items featuring Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat. The Beyond Meat patties can be substituted in place of beef or chicken in any of the fast-food chain’s burgers or sandwiches.
Carl’s Jr. Goes Beyond
Carl’s Jr. even went plant-based for a day. On Earth Day, Carl’s Jr. rolled out a completely vegan meat menu featuring Beyond Meat at a location in Los Angeles.
“We are excited to give our fans a fun, delicious way to celebrate Earth Day this year with a full plant-based meat experience at Carl’s Jr.,” Patty Trevino, senior vice president of brand marketing at CKE Restaurants, said in a statement.
Following the successful release in the U.S., the fast-food chain launched the Beyond Famous Star in all of its 21 locations in Canada. And in October 2019, the company launched vegan burgers in Spain. The vegan Moving Mountains burger is a plant-based alternative to its signature Famous Star cheeseburger. It features a blend of pea protein, wheat protein, and mushrooms, and offers up B12 and 15 grams of protein.
How to Eat Vegan at Carl’s Jr.
Are you hungry yet? These are all the plant-based offerings that Carl’s Jr. has to offer.
Note: Although the Beyond Burger patties are 100 percent plant-based, Carl’s Jr. does prepare them on shared cooking surfaces with meat products, so they are not certified vegan. Fried items, such as french fries and hash browns, may also be cooked in shared fryers with non-vegan food items.
Lunch/Dinner
Vegan burger. Fries. Cold pop. Need we say more?
Beyond Famous Star (order without cheese and mayonnaise)
Beyond Fiery Famous Star (order without Fiery Sauce and cheese)
Western Bacon Cheeseburger (order with a Beyond patty, no bacon, no cheese, and no onion rings)
Original Thickburger (order with a Beyond patty and no mayonnaise)
Guacamole Bacon Burger (order with a Beyond patty, no bacon, and no Santa Fe sauce)
Breakfast
Okay, not exactly a breakfast of champions, but it’ll do.
Hash rounds
Sides
Order them all, we won’t judge.
Crisscut fries
Natural cut fries
Dressing/Dipping Sauces
Double dip… we dare you.
Ketchup and mustard
Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spicy Buffalo Dipping Sauce
Sweet & Bold BBQ Dipping Sauce
Hungry for more? Check out our guides for eating vegan at Del Taco, KFC, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
