RANKINGS

Which fast food fries are vegetarian?

Almost every fast-food fry in the United States is vegetarian by ingredient. The exceptions are five chains that put beef into the fry preparation directly: McDonald's, Steak 'n Shake, Bojangles, Portillo's, and Smashburger. Avoid those five and ~49 chains qualify, ranked here by calories. (Outside the U.S., even McDonald's fries are reformulated and vegetarian — see the McDonald's Canada and UK notes below.)

# Chain Calories Serving size
01 Krystal 230 Regular French Fries (85g)
02 Popeyes 260 Regular Cajun (96g)
03 Sonic 290 Medium (100g)
04 Sonny's BBQ 300 Regular Crinkle Cut Fries (113g)
05 Dick's Drive-In 300 Regular Fries (99g)
06 Dairy Queen 310 Regular (113g)
07 The Habit Burger Grill 310 Regular French Fries (113g)
08 KFC 320 Medium (128g)
09 Dickey's Barbecue Pit 320 Regular Waffle Iron Fries (113g)
10 Taco Bell 330 Regular Nacho (117g)
11 White Castle 330 Small French Fries (85g)
12 Smokey Bones 330 Regular Natural Cut Fries (141g)
13 L&L Hawaiian Barbecue 330 Regular French Fries (side) (113g)
14 Mission BBQ 340 Regular Fresh-Cut (170g)
15 Woody's Bar-B-Q 340 Regular French Fries (128g)
16 Runza 340 Regular Crinkle-Cut French Fries (113g)
17 Bush's Chicken 340 Regular French Fries (113g)
18 laynes 340 Golden Crinkle-Cut Fries (regular side) (113g)
19 Wendy's 350 Medium (140g)
20 Cook Out 350 Regular French Fries (113g)
21 Culver's 360 Medium Crinkle-Cut (113g)
22 Chicken Express 360 Regular French Fries (113g)
23 Burger King 370 Medium (153g)
24 In-N-Out 370 French Fries (single size) (125g)
25 Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q 370 Regular French Fries (142g)
26 Hopdoddy Burger Bar 370 Hand-Cut Kennebec Fries (170g)
27 P. Terry's Burger Stand 370 Regular Fries (128g)
28 Famous Dave's 380 Regular Famous Fries (142g)
29 City Barbeque 380 Regular Hand-Cut Fries (142g)
30 Braum's 380 Medium Crinkle Cut Fries (113g)
31 Elevation Burger 380 Regular Hand-Cut Olive Oil Fries (128g)
32 Fatburger 380 Regular Fat Fries (113g)
33 Del Taco 390 Medium Crinkle-Cut (128g)
34 Golden Chick 390 Regular Battered French Fries (113g)
35 Raising Cane's 400 Regular Crinkle (156g)
36 Whataburger 400 Medium French Fries (128g)
37 Jack in the Box 410 Medium (125g)
38 BurgerFi 410 Regular Fresh-Cut Fries (142g)
39 Chick-fil-A 420 Medium (125g)
40 Hardee's 420 Medium Natural-Cut (156g)
41 Shake Shack 420 Regular Crinkle (134g)
42 MOOYAH Burgers 420 Regular Hand-Cut Fries (142g)
43 Wingstop 430 Regular Seasoned (127g)
44 Zaxby's 440 Regular Seasoned (148g)
45 Freddy's 440 Regular Shoestring (113g)
46 slim-chickens 470 French Fries (regular) (156g)
47 Checkers/Rally's 500 Medium Famous Seasoned (170g)
48 Five Guys 526 Little (227g) (227g)
49 Arby's 550 Medium Curly (128g)
How this ranking works Values shown are per-serving as published by each chain's official nutrition disclosure. Serving sizes vary — a Five Guys "Little" is roughly twice the weight of a McDonald's "Medium." The comparison is most meaningful chain-to-chain at equivalent order size. For full per-chain context, tap any name above to see the Nutrition Facts label on the chain's page.

Which fast food fries are vegetarian? The short answer.

Almost every fast-food fry in the United States is vegetarian by ingredient — meaning the potatoes, oil, and seasonings contain no meat or beef-derived products. The exceptions are five chains that put beef into the fry preparation directly: McDonald's, Steak 'n Shake, Bojangles, Portillo's, and Smashburger. Avoid those five and you have roughly 49 chains to choose from on Frypedia. The ranking below covers all of them, sorted by calories per serving.

The vegetarian standard is more permissive than the vegan one. Most vegetarians accept shared-fryer cross-contact — the fact that fryer oil also cooks chicken nuggets or fish fillets — because the fry itself contains no animal protein and the cross-contact is incidental, not intentional. Strict vegans treat that same cross-contact as disqualifying, which is why the vegan ranking shrinks to just eight chains. If you're vegetarian, the longer list applies.

Two important asterisks. First: McDonald's natural beef flavor. Per McDonald's own ingredient disclosure, the U.S. fry contains "natural beef flavor" derived from hydrolyzed wheat and milk. Whether that flavoring contains actual beef is undisclosed; McDonald's classifies the fries as not vegetarian, and the chain has settled lawsuits over the issue (a $10M 2002 settlement with Hindu and vegetarian plaintiffs). Outside the U.S., the same fry is reformulated — UK and Canadian McDonald's fries contain no beef-derived ingredients. See The McDonald's Canada paradox. Second: cheese sauce orders. Several chains' fry-ordered-with-sauce defaults include dairy (Taco Bell's Nacho Fries with cheese, Wendy's chili cheese fries, Arby's loaded fries). The fries themselves are vegetarian; the sauces are vegetarian; the combination is vegetarian. Just call out if you're also avoiding dairy.

FAQ

Are McDonald's fries vegetarian?
Not in the United States. McDonald's U.S. fries contain "natural beef flavor" derived from hydrolyzed wheat and milk, and the chain explicitly classifies them as not vegetarian. (The 2001-2002 class-action lawsuit on this point ended in a $10M settlement.) In Canada, the UK, Australia, and most of Europe, the McDonald's fry is reformulated with no beef-derived ingredients and is widely treated as vegetarian-friendly. The UK fry is Vegetarian Society certified. Where you order matters.
Are Burger King fries vegetarian?
Yes. Burger King's U.S. fries contain no animal-derived ingredients — the rice-flour coating is wheat-free and meat-free, and the cooking oil is a vegetable blend. The fryer is shared with breaded chicken nuggets and fish fillets, but for vegetarian purposes (as opposed to vegan), shared-fryer cross-contact is generally accepted.
Are Wendy's fries vegetarian?
Yes. Wendy's Natural-Cut Sea Salt fries contain only potatoes, vegetable oil, dextrose, and sodium acid pyrophosphate — no animal-derived ingredients. The fries are cooked in shared oil with breaded chicken, but the fries themselves are vegetarian.
Are Taco Bell Nacho Fries vegetarian?
Yes. Taco Bell's Nacho Fries are wheat-coated and seasoned but contain no meat or animal-derived ingredients in the fry itself. The default order comes with Nacho Cheese Sauce (which is dairy — vegetarian, but not vegan). Order without the sauce or with red/green salsa to keep the order ingredient-clean for any dietary purpose.
Are Arby's curly fries vegetarian?
Yes. Arby's curly fries are coated in seasoned wheat flour and contain no animal-derived ingredients. They are not vegan-friendly (shared fryer with breaded chicken and fish, plus wheat coating), but they are vegetarian.
Are Steak 'n Shake fries vegetarian?
No. Steak 'n Shake switched to 100% beef tallow in January 2025. The fries are cooked entirely in rendered beef fat, which disqualifies them for both vegetarian and vegan diets.
Are Bojangles fries vegetarian?
No. Bojangles' Bo-Tato Rounds and Seasoned Fries are cooked in a canola oil and beef fat blend. The cooking oil contains animal fat, which makes the fries non-vegetarian regardless of the seasoning.
Are Portillo's fries vegetarian?
No. Portillo's per their 2024 nutrition and allergen PDF cooks fries in a vegetable oil and beef tallow blend, with shared filtration for the onion rings. The cooking medium contains animal fat.
Are Smashburger fries vegetarian?
No. Smashburger fries (including the SmashFries with rosemary and garlic) are cooked in a beef tallow and canola blend. The chain uses tallow as part of the flavor signature.
Are KFC fries vegetarian?
Yes by ingredient — KFC's Secret Recipe Fries contain no animal-derived ingredients (potato, vegetable oil, wheat flour, salt, leavening, plus minor processing aids). They're cooked in shared oil with the signature breaded chicken, but the fries themselves are vegetarian. Strict vegans treat the shared-fryer cross-contact as disqualifying; vegetarians typically don't.
Are In-N-Out fries vegetarian?
Yes. In-N-Out hand-cuts Kennebec potatoes in-store and fries them in 100% sunflower oil in a dedicated fryer. No beef tallow (despite social-media rumors). No shared fryer with animal items. Strict vegetarian-safe.
What's the difference between vegetarian fries and vegan fries?
Vegetarian fries contain no meat or animal flesh in the recipe. Vegan fries go further: no animal-derived ingredients of any kind (including dairy, beef flavoring, milk derivatives), AND no shared-fryer cross-contact with animal proteins. By the vegetarian bar, almost every fast-food fry qualifies (49 of 54 chains on Frypedia). By the vegan bar, only eight do — the Cold Eight.

Related reads

See all rankings: Rankings hub · Full chain directory: Browse all 54 chains