We’ll be honest, Five Guys is not a place you’d flock to as a vegan. It is a burger joint after all, so it’s not the type of place that embraces plant-based alternatives, unlike Asian options such as Yo! Sushi or the various Chinese takeaways.
Five Guys doesn’t have a specific vegan menu either, so it’s a matter of looking at the ingredients of their potential vegan items.
That said, there are a few items on the Five Guys menu that qualify as vegan, and we’ve compiled a list of all the vegan-friendly options so you can order with confidence if you’re required to tag along with friends or family members…
Vegan options at Five Guys
- Five Guys Style Fries
- Cajun Style Fries
- In-Shell Peanuts (Free)
- Veggie Sandwich (Substitute the Bun)
- Toppings and Sauces
- Mix-Ins (Mostly Fruit)
- Beverages
Five Guys Style Fries
These are straight-up classic french fries, and Five Guys are pretty renowned for how good their fries taste. Thankfully, these are cooked in 100% peanut oil rather than in animal fat or lard as some other similar restaurants do.
This means they’re fine for vegans. They’re also made of just three ingredients: potatoes, refined peanut oil, and salt - so there are no nasty additives. Just bear in mind the peanut oil if you have any allergies.
Cajun Style Fries
If you prefer something with a little added spice and flavor, the Cajun Style Fries are also 100% vegan, as they’re cooked in peanut oil like the regular fries.
Again, these fries are raved about, so they’re definitely worth a try.
They contain a few more ingredients than the standard fries, but these are basically just herbs and spices.
The Cajun Style Fries contain potatoes, refined peanut oil, salt, and Five Guys’ cajun seasoning: which is a blend of garlic, salt, onion, paprika, oregano, red and white pepper, and spices.
In-Shell Peanuts (Free)
Not the most exciting thing on the menu by any means, but you might be glad to hear that Five Guys include free in-shell peanuts with every order.
They’re more of a snack than a meal, but after all, they’re free, so we’ll take them… You could even nab your family or friend's free peanuts and save your money.
Veggie Sandwich (Substitute the Bun)
Five Guys offer a veggie sandwich which contains grilled onions, mushrooms, green peppers, lettuce, and tomatoes.
So basically, just vegetables in a bun - even supermarkets like Morrisons do better! However, while this option is vegetarian, sadly it’s not vegan, as Five Guys’ buns contain milk and eggs.
Frustratingly, Five Guys don’t have a vegan bun option, even though that seems like a simple solution to this issue.
Some people substitute the bun for a lettuce wrap, but this isn’t the most filling option, unless you combine it with fries, too. You could also add some sauces to give the veggies a bit of flavor - we’ll cover these below.
Toppings and Sauces
The below toppings and sauces are all vegan, so feel free to add these to your fries or sandwich to shake things up a little:
- A.1. Original Steak Sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Green Peppers
- Grilled Mushrooms
- Hot Sauce
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Ketchup
- Lettuce
- Malt Vinegar
- Mustard
- Onions / Grilled Onions
- Pickles
- Relish
- Sea Salt
- Tomatoes
Just bear in mind that at some locations Five Guys offer a “fry sauce”- however, this isn’t vegan as it contains egg.
Mix-Ins
Five Guys are pretty famous for their milkshakes. However, don’t expect a vegan milkshake, as sadly Five Guys is yet to introduce even one to their menu.
However, there are a few vegan options on the mix-in menu, which are ingredients added to milkshakes.
So, you could potentially whip something up yourself, or ask staff if they’re willing to cobble you something together.
The following are all the vegan mix-in options:
- Banana
- Cherry
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Dark Vanilla Syrup
- Oreo Cookie Pieces
- Oreo Creme
- Peanut Butter
- Strawberry
Beverages
In terms of the standard beverages, these are vegan-friendly, as they’re simply Coca-Cola products.
Five Guys usually have a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine at their restaurants, which allows you to combine different flavorings.
Alternative restaurants to try
Considering the rising popularity of veganism, especially as the impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent, it’s quite shocking that Five Guys haven’t brought out a vegan burger yet, or, at the very least, provided a vegan bun for their ‘veggie sandwich’.
However, if you do have a say in which burger joint to choose, there are several others that offer far better options for vegans. Carl’s Jr, another burger chain, actually offers a vegan burger. They use ‘Beyond Burgers’ which can substitute any of the burgers on their menu.
There’s also Wendy’s. They have a baked potato, apple slices, homestyle potatoes, and chips and salsa on their menu which are all vegan friendly.
Like Five Guys, they also offer a “veggie sandwich” but this can easily be made vegan, as Wendy’s buns are vegan. Even Sonic Drive-In has vegan onion rings, tater tots, and a soft pretzel, which is a whole lot better than Five Guys.
If you're looking for something vegan but different from burgers, have a look at the Prezzo italian vegan options.
Final Say
Judging on what’s available for vegans at Five Guys, we wouldn’t really recommend it for vegans.
However, we understand that there are occasions when you don’t have a say in where to eat, and you have to compromise with friends and family.
So, if you do find yourself eating at Five Guys, we’d just recommend bearing in mind that you’re unlikely to get a substantial meal at the place.
You’ll mainly be eating fries, peanuts, or perhaps a lettuce wrap, so you may be pretty hungry afterward.
On the other hand, if you can convince your friends and family to eat elsewhere, there are plenty of other restaurants and burger joints that are increasingly marketing themselves towards vegans and vegetarians. You can find some in our vegan selection of restaurants in Bournemouth and Belfast.
We hope that Five Guys will soon catch on and make their buns vegan, as well as introduce a vegan burger, too.