From hot dogs, where it all started from, and burgers to hand-spun shakes and frozen custard, all the things that Shake Shack is known for happen to be non-vegan. This leaves many wondering if this fast-casual restaurant chain has anything for vegans.
If the question has popped up in your mind, too, keep reading as we figure out all about Shake Shack vegan options.
Does Shake Shack Have Vegan Options?
Technically, it does.
But, the real question is, are they good enough? Do they make Shake Shack worth visiting for vegans?
Let’s find out.
What are the Vegan Options at Shake Shack?
Here’s all that’s vegan at Shake Shack:
- Veggie Shack*
- Fries
- Drinks
It’s a sad list. But that’s what it is, at least for now. Shake Shack seems to have been contemplating vegan options for quite some time. Let’s just hope they act upon it soon and bring more choices for vegan plant-eaters (they do have a few choices for vegetarians already).
Shake Shack doesn’t provide ingredient lists for its foods on the website. However, it does provide an allergen guide, which is what I have used to put together this disappointing list of vegan foods at Shake Shack.
Read on for a more detailed analysis of this so-called vegan menu of Shake Shack.
Shake Shack Vegan Options – A Detailed Overview
Shake Shack’s vegan menu isn’t exciting, and you may not be interested to know more about it.
However, it’s worth knowing about your options, not just at Shake Shack, but at any restaurant (which is exactly why I have started this series of articles) because you never know when you will end up at any eatery with someone else, if not on your own.
All this information will come in handy at that time and will save you time and effort in ordering food for yourself.
So, let’s take a look at Shake Shack vegan items, shall we?
Veggie Shack*
If you’re anything like me, who loves to stay up-to-date with vegan food news, you must know that Shake Shack announced a veggie burger called Veggie Shack (unsurprisingly) in April 2018.
It was a small test run, though, and only those living in Austin, LA, and NYC got to taste this meatless burger.
The test seemed to have gone well because, in November 2020, the restaurant announced that they were making it available at some more locations.
Now, here’s the thing – the announcement said that it was only available for a limited time, which makes one think that it might not be offered at the moment.
However, it’s still there on the Shake Shack allergen menu as well as mentioned on the FAQs page. I tried confirming the availability of Veggie Shack through other online sources.
But, they also seem to be confused like me. Some sources say it’s available at selected locations, while a couple of them say it’s no longer on the menu anywhere.
If you happen to live in New York, California, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, or Kentucky, confirm the availability of the veggie burger at your local Shacks.
Note:
Shake Shack veggie burger wasn’t originally vegan-friendly; it was vegetarian and came with cheese, non-vegan sauce, and a dairy-containing bun.
You had to get it customized for the vegan diet. However, it seemed they changed the recipe a bit when they made it available at more locations. As per the information on the Shake Shack website, the “new” veggie burger seems to be vegan-friendly.
It has a veggie patty made with greens, grains, and herbs and comes with shredded lettuce, roasted tomatoes, avocado, and a tangy lemon mayo inside a whole wheat bun. Both the mayo and bun are dairy-free and egg-free as per the restaurant’s allergen menu.
Fries
Shake Shack offers a few different varieties of fries. But, only the regular ones are vegan-friendly.
According to the Shake Shack website, they use vegetable oil in fryers, which means there’s no animal fat in the fries.
They may be cooked in shared fryers, though. If this is something that troubles you, make sure to confirm at your local Shake Shack before ordering.
If you like spice, you may request them to add cherry peppers to your fries. They are in the Double Down Fries (which are not vegan), so they should have them available.
Steer clear of the sauce they use in other fries varieties; it’s cheese-based.
Shake Shack Vegan Drinks
Shake Shack doesn’t offer non-dairy milk options, which means the popular Shack shakes are not an option for you. Steer clear of the floats, too; they also have milk and eggs, as per the allergen menu. Wondering what drink options do you have, then?
The exact variety of drinks may vary across different locations, but here are the vegan-friendly options you can expect to find at Shake Shack:
- Coke
- Coke Zero
- Diet Coke
- Pepsi
- Diet Pepsi
- Pepsi MAX
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Grape
- Sprite
- Mountain Dew
- Dr. Pepper
- Lemonade
- Seasonal Lemonade
- Orange Juice
- Fifty-Fifty
- Abita Root Beer
- Shack I2 O
- Fresh Brewed Iced Tea
- Fresh Brewed Sweetened Iced Tea
Beer & Wines
- Shack White
- Shack Red
- Brooklyn Brewery Shackmeister Ale
- Sparkling Wine
*Beer float is not vegan. It contains egg and milk.
Shake Shack Vegan Food FAQs
- Does Shake Shack have an Impossible burger?
Shake Shack doesn’t have an Impossible burger at the moment.
- Is Shake Shack mushroom burger vegan?
Shake Shack’s mushroom burger, or ‘Shroom Burger as it’s officially called, is a meatless burger with a patty made with mushrooms. However, it’s not vegan. The Shroom patty is stuffed with cheese. Moreover, the sauce has eggs, and the bun they use contains milk.
- Is Shack sauce vegan?
Sadly, it’s not. According to the restaurant’s allergen menu, the Shack Sauce contains eggs.
Conclusion – Is Shake Shack Vegan-Friendly?
Absolutely not!
Shake Shack is not a place a vegan would want to go to, especially when we’re not even sure if they still have the veggie burger or not. They have fries and drinks, but you can get these items from literally anywhere; you don’t have to go all the way to Shake Shack for them.
Did you find this article helpful? Interested to know if any other burger chain offers vegan burger options? Check out my article McDonald’s Vegan Options to find out if this fast-food giant has what Shake Shack does not.
