The Best and Worst Burger Chains Ranked by PETA

PETA has assessed the vegan-friendliness of burger chains and restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, grading each one based on the availability of a vegan entrée on the menu. The resulting letter grades run the gamut from “A,” for chains that offer a vegan option, to “F-,” for those that have failed to make any attempt to provide an animal-free burger option.

This ranking is dynamic, and information will change as we receive updates from restaurants or learn of new menu options.

Grade: A

•  A&W Canada offers the highly sought-after Beyond Burger at all its Canadian locations. It comes on a vegan bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, ketchup, and mustard. Keep it vegan by asking for no mayo.

• Bareburger has a dedicated vegan menu and a vegan kids menu! You can choose from several different types of vegan burgers and sandwiches. For kids, you can opt for a burger, hot dog, or grilled cheese. Plus, the chain offers vegan shakes made with oat milk and an assortment of vegan mix-ins, including peanut butter, strawberry, banana, chocolate sauce, and Newman’s cookies. (If you really want to upgrade your meal, you can order a side of animal-free nuggets, too!)

• Burger 21 offers an animal-free patty with veggies and a wheat bun (the brioche bun is also vegan). Spice it up by adding barbecue sauce, guacamole, or Thai ketchup. (Note that the chain’s black bean patty is NOT vegan.)
• BurgerFi’s VegeFi Burger features a vegan patty crafted with quinoa and fresh vegetables, served on a vegan multigrain bun with lettuce, tomato, and crispy onions. Just ask for no American cheese and swap out the Fi Sauce for ketchup to make it vegan.  
• Burger King has an animal-free Whopper, topped with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, and ketchup on a sesame seed bun. Make sure to ask for no mayo and cheese to keep it egg- and dairy-free.
• Fuddruckers has an entire vegan menu at participating locations, including a Beyond Burger with vegan Good Planet cheese, Beyond Chicken Tenders, a vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Beyond Sausage, and Meatless Farms Chicken Cutlets. Vegan cheeses include Pepper Jack, Provolone, and American. Diners can also add Hooray Foods vegan bacon to their burgers. Well done!!!
• At Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, you can order any sandwich with the Dr. Praeger’s black bean patty and make modifications (such as no cheese or mayo) to make it vegan. The Dr. Praeger’s black bean patty, guacamole, onion, lettuce, and tomato combine to make for one delicious burger. And yes, the bun is vegan! If you’re in Colorado or Wyoming, get to Good Times, stat.

• The Veggie Burger at Habit Burger Grill can be made vegan by simply ordering it without cheese. The burger comes with sweet mustard sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers on a vegan bun. You can add raw onions and avocado if you’d like. The chain also offers French fries, sweet potato fries, tempura green beans (skip the dipping sauce), and a side salad to complete your meal.

• Johnny Rockets offers an animal-free burger topped with lettuce, tomato, chopped onion, relish, pickles, and mustard—just make sure you order it without cheese and mayo. They also offer vegan vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry shakes made with cashew ice cream, oat milk, and coconut whipped cream. The crispy French fries are also vegan.
• MOOYAH offers The Vegan, featuring the Dr. Praeger’s black bean patty, fresh avocado, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, tomato, and BBQ sauce all wrapped in crunchy iceberg lettuce. (The chain’s potato buns are vegan, so you don’t have to go for a lettuce wrap.) You can also opt for the Build Your Own Vegan Burger. Start with a lettuce wrap or potato bun, and then choose any of the veggie toppings except for the fried onion strings, and finish it with ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, A.1. Sauce, Cholula Hot Sauce, or Buffalo sauce. 
• Red Robin offers two animal-free patties, one made with ancient grains and quinoa. The bun is vegan, so just order your burger without cheese,  mayo, or garlic aioli. Diners can also get a side of bottomless fries or bottomless broccoli.

• TGI Fridays serves the Beyond Burger in its restaurants nationwide. Make sure to order the vegan bun and hold the cheese and TGI sauce.
• Twin Peaks serves a vegan Beyond Burger patty that can be added to any burger on the menu. Be sure to ask for yours without cheese or mayonnaise. Check with your local chain to make sure that the bun is vegan—if not, ask if you can swap the bun for a lettuce wrap!

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• White Castle offers veggie sliders topped with pickles and onions on its signature vegan bun—just make sure you order them without cheese. The fries are also vegan, so you can indulge in a combo meal.
• White Spot, Canada’s nearly 100-year-old burger chain, rolled out an animal-free burger at its 64 locations, saying it did so, “Quite simply, because our guests have asked.” Order your burger with an animal-free patty, a lettuce wrap, and no jalapeño ranch (the gluten-free is vegan at some locations, so check with before you order it on the GF bun).

Grade: B

• Shake Shack’s Veggie Shack burger features a veggie patty made from mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and grains. It can be made vegan by holding the American cheese, ShackSauce, and crispy onions and requesting a gluten-free bun or a lettuce wrap. The chain’s first Veggie Shack test came after talks with PETA. We hope Shake Shack will offer a vegan burger option that doesn’t require modification in the future.
• Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers offers a delicious vegan burger patty and bun. Be sure to omit cheese and Thousand Island. Some Texas locations may serve a veggie patty made with egg, so check with the restaurant for specific ingredients.
• Ruby Tuesday’s animal-free burger can be made vegan if you swap out the brioche bun for a lettuce wrap. Make sure you also order it without cheese! 

Grade: C

• We urge A&W U.S. to follow its Canadian counterpart by offering a Beyond Meat Burger (which can be customized to be vegan) at all of its restaurants. 
• Whataburger doesn’t have a designated veggie burger on its menu, but it does apparently have a “secret menu” with a veggie burger that swaps out the beef patty for crunchy hash browns. Check with your location to see if you can order a vegan-friendly sandwich!

Grade: D

• Culver’s has a Harvest Veggie Burger, but the veggie patty itself is made with cheese. We encourage the chain to offer a vegan burger at all its locations nationwide.
• Smashburger has been downgraded for discontinuing its vegan milkshakes and serving a vegetarian black bean burger that cannot be made vegan. We’re also disappointed that the restaurant fries everything—even its sides of carrots and green beans—in oil containing animal fat. We’d like to see the chain explore vegan burgers and other vegan options.
• Five Guysoffers a veggie sandwich with grilled onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and tomatoes. The bun is not vegan, but you can order the veggie sandwich in a lettuce wrap with A1, BBQ, or hot sauce with a side of vegan fries. We hope five guys offers a more substantial option soon!
• Dairy Queen offers a Non-Dairy Dilly Bar, but the chain is still behind on other vegan offerings. There are currently no veg sandwiches, but the French fries are vegan. 

Grade: F

The following restaurants do not currently offer any animal-free burgers, though some allow substitutions, like mixed veggies, on a bun or roll. We welcome the following burger joints to contact PETA to learn more about the healthy, delicious vegan options that they could offer for an “A” rating.

• Carl’s Jr. 
• Hardee’s
• Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes & Fries
• In-N-Out Burger (Tell In-N-Out it’s time it got on board with vegan options.)
• Jack in the Box
• Krystal
• McDonald’s 
• Sonic Drive-In
• Wendy’s

Grade: F-

• Checkers and Rally’s menus are a nightmare for animals. Nearly everything is covered in beef chili, cheese, or bacon—and even the French fries have eggs in them! This chain’s steadfast refusal to provide anything that isn’t smothered in animal-derived ingredients earns it the lowest possible grade.
• Steak ‘n Shake has no vegan burger options, and its fries are cooked in beef tallow.

Finally, several national chains that aren’t primarily known for their burgers—such as Denny’s, Yard House, and The Cheesecake Factory—also serve vegan patties, so you can get your fix even if you aren’t near one of our Grade “A” burger joints.

Every Animal Is Someone

Cows form deep bonds with their families and friends, protect their babies, and mourn when they lose a loved one. These sensitive, social animals do not want to be slaughtered for their flesh or abused for their milk. Every time you choose a vegan burger, you’re not just enjoying a delicious meal—you’re sending a powerful message to companies that compassion must be on the menu.

Has one of your favorite restaurants received a failing grade? Contact it through its website, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media accounts to let it know that you want a vegan option—and encourage your friends to do the same.