Jack in the Box Vegan Options: Tasty Dishes for you to Enjoy!
With over 2000 outlets across the United States, Jack in the Box is a popular fast-food restaurant selling items such as chicken burgers, tacos, and breakfast burritos.
If you are vegan and you love fast food you may find your choices limited in some restaurants but, you will be glad to hear, Jack in the Box has a number of vegan-friendly options available. We take a look at the current Jack in the Box menu to get the lowdown on all of the vegan options available and what food needs to be avoided.
With everything from fries, salads, drinks, and sauces, we take you through tasty fast-food options that are free from animal cruelty so that you can enjoy a guilt-free treat. As Jack in the Box is open 24 hours you can enjoy plant-based dishes at any time of the day or night when you are struggling to eat out elsewhere, which is, unfortunately, a common problem when you are vegan.
If you want the lowdown on all things vegan at Jack in the Box we take a look at what is on offer for lovers of plant-based foods.
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Savory Vegan Options
Among the most popular items at Jack in the Box are tacos, sandwiches, desserts, churros, and shakes. When it comes to shakes, not all are vegan as some contain dairy, but we will take a look into them a little later.
There has been some confusion as to whether or not the Jack in the Box tacos is vegan or not, so to investigate further we took a look at the ingredients. Jack in the Box Tacos ingredients are:
Filling Ingredients: Beef, Chicken, Water, Textured Vegetable Protein (Soy Flour,
Caramel Color), Defatted Soy Grits, Seasoning (Chili Pepper, Corn Maltodextrin, Spices, Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour, Salt, Garlic Powder, Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy, and Wheat Proteins, Monosodium Glutamate, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Succinic Acid), Salt, Tomato Paste, Worcestershire Sauce.
Tortilla Ingredients: Ground Corn, Water, Lime. Cooked in Canola Blend Frying Oil.
As you can see the main taco fillings contain chicken or beef which means that they are neither vegan-friendly nor vegetarian. While the tortillas themselves would be suitable they cannot be bought on their own so you could not enjoy this dish when you visit Jack in the Box.
Jack in the Box Vegan Chicken Sandwich
Chicken and other meat substitutes are popular among vegans and Jack in the Box is the latest fast-food chain to join the trend. The plant-based ‘Un-Chicken’ burger is made up of pea protein and the patty comes in a vegan-friendly bun with a salad that includes lettuce and tomato.
You can add a vegan-friendly condiment to your burger to replace traditional mayonnaise. The burger comes in a classic flavor or a spicy seasoning and is cooked in vegan-friendly oils to ensure there are no animal products or by-products.
Un-Chicken Vegan Sandwich Locations
The Jack in the Box Un-Chicken vegan sandwich is not available in all stores, which is a shame. If you like in, Nevada, Monterey, Reno, or California you can enjoy them for a limited period.
Teriyaki Rice Bowl
The teriyaki rice bowl comes with rice, veggies, and sauce and can be customized. This means that if you want to enjoy it without meat then you can do it.
You can add extra veggies and sauce to make your bowl more exciting. Unfortunately, the bowl is the same price whether you have chicken with it or not, which is a little frustrating as you will get charged for adding more vegetables.
Hash Brown
Jack in the Box makes a great hash brown and vegans will be pleased to know that it does not contain any animal products or by-products. You can enjoy the hash brown on its own or as a side.
Vegan Sides
French Fries
The delicious French Fries at Jack in the Box are both vegetarian and vegan-friendly. The fries are cooked in canola-based oil and all seasoning is vegan-friendly.
Seasoned Curly Fries
Curly fries at Jack in the Box do not contain any animal products or by-products and are vegan-friendly.
Potato Wedges
Like the fries and the curly fries, Jack in the Box potato wedges do not contain any animal products or by-products and are therefore suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. Like the other fried products, the potato wedges are cooked in a canola blend frying oil.
Side Salads
A side salad is a great accompaniment to many Jack in the Box dishes, especially the more greasy offerings, as it adds a healthy aspect to the food. Some people enjoy salads as their main dish when they want a lighter lunch or snack.
You will be pleased to know that when you exclude the ranch dressing and the crouton, the Jack in the Box salad is vegan-friendly. You don’t need to eat a boring salad, though, as you can simply replace a Ranch dressing with a classic balsamic vinaigrette.
The balsamic vinaigrette is the only salad dressing you can eat as all others contain milk and/or eggs.
Corn Sticks
The corn sticks at Jack in the Box are suitable for vegetarians and are vegan-friendly.
Fire Roasted Salsa
As the salsa at Jack in the Box is made of vegetables, seasoning, and vegetable-based oils it is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. This is one of our favorite slides as it is packed full of flavor and elevates some of the more bland-tasting food.
With all of the fried foods, such as fries and wedges, it is important to check with the store that you are visiting that they cook the plant-based foods separately from any animal products. This should be the case but if you are a very strict vegan then you should check for assurance.
Vegan Sauces and Condiments
Jack In The Box stock a range of popular and tasty vegan-friendly sauces and condiments for you to enjoy with your food. These sauces do not contain any ingredients that are derived from an animal which means that they are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.
- Barbecue Dipping Sauce
- Classic Ketchup
- Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
- Hot and Regular Taco Sauce
- Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce
- Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
- French’s Mustard Packet
- KKikkoman® Soy Sauce Packet
- Teriyaki Sauce Regular
- Teriyaki Dipping Sauce
- Sweet ‘N Sour Dipping Sauce
These sauces and condiments go particularly well with the fries!
Vegan Drinks
Jack in the Box stock a wide range of cold drinks, including:
- Barq’s Root Beer
- Coca-Cola
- Coca-Cola Zero
- Sprite
- Powerade Mountain Blast
- Dr. Pepper
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Strawberry
- Gold Peak Classic Blend Tea
- Jumpin’ Jack’s Splash (Regular and Diet)
- Mello Yello
- Barq’s Root Beer
- Minute Maid Orange Juice
- Minute Maid 100% Apple Juice
- Minute Maid Lemonade
As you can see, there is a great selection of your favorite vegan-friendly sodas and juices that you can enjoy alongside your plant-based food.
Jack in the Box Churros
Some churros are vegan and others not so it is important to check at the store that you buy churros in whether it is suitable for a vegan diet.
Jack in the Box Ingredients
To confirm, Jack in the Box churros are not vegan-friendly as they contain the below ingredients:
Dough: Enriched Wheat Flour, Water, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Palm Oil, Soybean Oil), Modified Food Starch, Artificial Flavor, Vital Wheat Gluten, Sugar, Salt, Baking Powder, Egg Whites, Monoglycerides, Xanthan Gum).
Filling: Sugar, Cream Cheese [Pasteurized Milk and Cream, Cheese Culture, Salt, Carob Bean Gum], Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Tapioca Starch, Fructose, Oat Fiber, Cinnamon, Salt, Egg Whites, Locust Bean Gum, Mono & Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Natural Flavor.
The churros are cooked using a canola-based frying oil and topped with cinnamon sugar. As the main ingredients contain milk, cream, egg, and cheese culture they are not vegan-friendly.
Vegan Coffee
When it comes to drinking coffee at Jack in the Box you need to ensure that you use a suitable milk substitute as all kinds of milk here are not vegan-friendly.
The coffee itself, whether regular or decaffeinated, is vegan but you will need to ask for black coffee or coffee that has the High Mountain Arabica with a plant, oat, or almond milk. You may also be able to find some other plant-based alternatives in certain chains, such as soy milk.
Summary
Overall, there are some great vegan options in Jack in the Box and it is good to see a well-established food chain rise to the occasion in providing plant-based food to an ever-increasing vegan population. Like many chain stores, Jack in the Box makes it easy for customers to order and collect their food and it is good value for money compared to some vegan-friendly fast-food chains.
