Canadian Chain Restaurants with Vegan Options

Something I get asked quite frequently is "how do you eat on the go as a vegan"? It can seem daunting at first but once you learn, it becomes quite easy. Firstly, if you know you are going somewhere that will have limited options, bring something with you. Energy and protein bars (there is a vast selection of vegan bars on the market now, such as Larabar, Clif bar and Luna Bar), fruit (fresh or dried), trail mix, nuts, vegan yogurts or pudding. The list never ends. My main focus of this blog post however, is going to be vegan options in chain restaurants across Canada. A tip I can give is, Mexican, Middle Eastern and Asian places tend to be fairly vegan-friendly. You still always need to ask questions though as many use things such as lard or fish sauce. Italian joints are also usually fairly vegan-friendly, most pastas are already vegan (unless egg based) and marinara sauce is normally as well. Pizza crusts and sauces tend to be naturally vegan but as always, ask questions! If worse comes to worse, most places at least offer french fries that are cooked in a plant oil or a salad.  

Here we go:

A&W: Offers the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich, ask for no mayo or uncle sauce. Personally I still won't eat here until they can guarantee separate grills but I'm including it for all those people who aren't as picky as I. They have added the Beyond nuggets now. Deep-fried in the same fryers as animal products. Locations all across Canada.

BarBurrito: Mexican style fast food chain. Offers veggie ground and bean for tacos, burritos or bowls. Locations across Canada. 

Beavertails: Surprisingly enough, you can actually get a Beavertails as a vegan, The following can be made vegan, simply ask for no butter: Cinnamon sugar and Killaloe Sunrise, Apple cinnamon with no caramel drizzle or butter, Maple without butter or chocolate and coco vanil without butter or chocolate. You can also get their smoothies without yogourt.

Booster Juice: Fresh juices and smoothies. They offer plant milk alternatives and their Acai Energy Bowl and the Sweet Greens bowl are vegan as well.

Boston Pizza: BP now offers a marked vegan burger and bowl on the menu. They also carry daiya cheese and Beyond crumbles for pizza, original or thin crust is safe for vegans. Located countrywide.

Burger King: Canada has finally got the Impossible Burger. Like A&W the patty is cooked on the same grill as beef which I personally won't consume. Also make sure to ask for no mayo on the bun. Their fries and onion rings are safe as well. Located countrywide. 

Cheese Curds: Offers a vegan burger and veggie poutine. Locations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Cultures: Nutritious fast-food, offering sandwiches, bowls and salads. They have marked vegan options and offer tempeh as a meat-alternative. Location in the Halifax Shopping Centre.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria: This pizzeria is rapidly expanding across Canada but is currently in Western Canada mostly and a couple locations in Ontario. They offer delicious authentic Italian pizza and even have Daiya cheese on the menu.

Freshii: Freshii has finally arrived locally for me but they have lots of locations all across Canada. They offer lots of vegan options that are clearly marked including, chili, wraps, bowls, burritos, oatmeal, fresh juices and more. They normally have a list of vegan options if you ask a staff member. Locations all across Canada. 

Gojis: Gojis has 3 locations in Atlantic Canada (Moncton, PEI and Antigonish). They have their amazing vegan almond milk frozen yogurt. They offer several vegan-friendly toppings and also dairy free sorbet and just added coconut and cashew milk froyo to the menu as well.

Habaneros: Mexican burrito bar that offers vegan bombay curry, porkless and vegan steak for tacos, burritos and bowls. Locations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

 Harvest Clean Eats:  Offers a wide selection of vegan options, including bowls, salads, smoothies, soups and more. Locations across the Maritimes. 

 Harvey's: The veggie burger is vegan and so is the bun! And the great part is you get to choose your own toppings, so you get exactly what you want. Their fries and onion rings are also vegan-friendly and they have veggie gravy as well. Note: I avoid the relish as there's cross contamination. They have a dedicated grill for their veggie burgers as well. Locations all across Canada.

Ikea: Cafeteria style restaurant that offers a veggie balls plate with vegan meatballs, rice and veggies, pasta marinara, salads and unique fountain drinks for a dollar. They also now serve veggie dogs at the canteen.They are vegan, the bun is vegan and are kept separately from the hot dogs. Plus they are even cheaper than the meat ones! Thank you Ikea! Also now have strawberry frozen soft serve.Very affordable and delicious! In the grocery section you can also purchase the veggie balls, vegan gummies, vegan caviar, fruit drinks and more. Location in Dartmouth Crossing.

Irving Big Stop: Offers the Beyond Burger. Locations across the Maritimes. 

Jack Astor's:  Their fajitas can be done vegan by leaving out the cheese and sour cream, add mushrooms or tofu. They also have some other bowls and salads that I think may be customizable. They offer tofu as a meat alternative and have orange sorbet for dessert. Locations Canada wide.

Jugo Juice: Who doesn't love a good smoothie or juice? They even offer almond and coconut milk and have Vega protein powder that can replace the whey protein. Vegan protein bars are also available at the counter. Location in MicMac Mall.  

Jungle Jim's:  Maritime chain restaurant that offers a Viva Las Vegan bowl.

KFC:  Offers the plant-based Lightlife chicken burger. It is cooked in the same oil as chicken products so although I won't touch it, I know others aren't as strict as I. Locations Canada-wide

The Keg: Offers a few vegetarian options on their menu, not totally sure of vegan status. Vegetarian meatloaf and Mediterranean cauliflower sound vegan. Locations in Dartmouth and Halifax.

Meltwich: has a vegan menu which includes sandwiches, a burger, poutine and chikn strips. Has locations across Canada, with 3 in Nova Scotia. 

Menchie's: Menchie's has locations worldwide and offers dairy-free vegan sorbet that is delicious! No locations in the Maritimes anymore but other areas of Canada still have them.

Mezza Lebanese Kitchen: Offers amazing falafels that you can have on a plate with other Lebanese cuisine, as a wrap, bowls or burger. Locations across Nova Scotia and expanding into other parts of the Maritimes.

Moxie's: Has a plant based menu with selections such as the Beyond burger, vegan tofu lettuce wraps and vegan tacos. Locations across Canada. 

 
New York Fries: So it may just be fries but it is vegan. They use sunflower oil, no animal fat and hey they are a naughty greasy treat. :) Locations across Canada including the HRM.

Panago Pizza: Chain franchise across Canada that is now offering Daiya cheese, Impossible nuggets and vegan cheesy bread. They also are offering Beyond Meat crumbles and meatless pepperoni. Remember to ask for gluten-free dough as well because apparently the regular ones have l-cysteine. Locations in different areas of Canada.

Papa John's: The sauce and original hand-tossed dough are vegan, ask for no cheese and add veggies and you have a vegan pizza. The garlic dipping and BBQ sauce are vegan as well.

P.F. Chang's: If you are in Winnipeg or Montreal you are in luck. P.F. Chang's has many locations across the US but only 2 within Canada at this time. They have a vegetarian menu that is also vegan-friendly.

Piatto Pizzeria: They have locations throughout the Maritimes and has a vegan pizza on the menu with vegan cheese.

Pita Pit:  They offer vegan-friendly pitas and smoothies. You can navigate their website to tell you what is vegan with their dietary restrictions setting. They also have nutritional charts readily available in store and mark items that are vegan with a V+. Some options are spicy black bean and falafels. Locations across Canada.

Pizza Delight: This is more of an eastern franchise but Pizza Delight has always been one of my favourites since I was a little kid, so I'm happy that their dough and amazing sauce is vegan-friendly. You can do either a pizza or calzone but make sure to ask for no cheese. With the panzorotti you also need to ask them to not put garlic butter over the top and to switch the meat sauce it comes with to marinara. Locations throughout the Maritimes.

Pizza Pizza: Finally a Canadian pizza chain that offers vegan cheese by Violife! and Yves pepperoni. They have Lightlife chicken burgers and nuggets on the menu and vegan Ben & Jerry's as well. They also have a great selection of interesting toppings. It's super inexpensive as well and very quick, 15 minutes or it's free! Locations across Canada including in the HRM.

Pur & Simple: They offer a couple vegan options on the menu including one specifically called "The Vegan" and 80% of their smoothies. They have the Impossible burger on their lunch menu. Locations across Canada.

Quizno's: The wheat baguette with BBQ, guacamole, four pepper chili, marinara or mustard and lots of veggies. Locations across Canada.

Second Cup: They have over 300 locations across Canada and offer soy and almond milk for drinks. They also now have vegan-friendly smoothies as well and a couple packaged snacks by Sweets From the Earth. Locations Across Canada.

Smitty's: Locations across Canada, they offer a plant based black bean burger in place of a beef patty. 

Starbucks: Almost all of Starbucks drinks can be made vegan when made with soy, coconut or almond milk (refer to the link to double check which aren't). The plain and multigrain bagels are suitable. They usually have little packaged snacks that are suitable as well, such as Justin's dark peanut butter cups. Locations across Canada.

Subway: Simply get a veggie delite from Subway, omit cheese and mayo. Load up on veggies. Their Italian, roasted garlic and wraps are all vegan-friendly. Sweet Onion sauce is vegan or simply go with mustard or bbq sauce if your location offers it. Also some locations across Canada offer a vegan veggie patty. It's totally delicious and is indeed vegan unlike the American counter part. Locations across Canada.

Taco Bell: Burritos can easily be made vegan, ask for no cheese, hold the sour cream and you are good to go. You can get them to add rice or potatoes, lettuce, onion and tomato to them for an extra kick. And don't forget the sauce. Locations across Canada.

Thai Express:  With several locations across Canada they offer fast Thai food. They have several vegetarian options that also happen to be vegan (some come with egg normally but it can easily be left out). Their spring rolls are also vegan. 

The Chopped Leaf: Healthy fast food with customizable bowls, wraps, sandwiches, salads and more. Offers falafel and tofu for protein. Locations across Canada, including Dartmouth.

Tim Hortons: Tim's is FINALLY offering almond milk nationwide. Their coffee and teas are mostly vegan, ice capps can even be veganized now with almond milk. Many of the bagels at Tim's are vegan except those containing cheese or honey. The l-cysteine is artificial and therefore vegan-friendly.  Their oatcakes and so is their oatmeal, hash browns and flatbreads.

Wendy's: They offer a plain baked potato, the Deluxe Garden Salad with red Italian dressing and no cheese, and French fries.

Wok box: Wok Box offers quite a few vegan options and even label many now that can be made vegan. If you love noodles and rice, you'll love Wok Box. They have also started to offer vegan chicken from YamChops! Check their website for all the details. There are many locations across Canada. Locations across Canada including Dartmouth Crossing.

Yogen Fruz: If you are looking for something sweet, Yogen Fruz offers a large selection of non-dairy sorbets and smoothies. They have locations all across Canada, as well as many other parts of the world. Looks like they are located in Pita Pit locations from what I can find.

Please note: Asking every place you go into about policies regarding separate fryer's or other cross contamination is a good idea. Many restaurants differ by area.