Can Vegans Eat At Nando’s UK?

Nando’s is a South African fast-food chain. Its speciality is flamed-grilled chicken. Yet, that is completely non-vegan.

However, there are vegan options available on Nando’s menu. Nando’s does state that it isn’t a vegan restaurant. Yet, they do add that they try to make options available for everyone.  Filtering their menu options, we have come up with all the vegan-friendly items in Nando’s. 

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Starters

To get you going before the main course, you can select these:

• Sweet Potato Wedges with Garlic PERinaise: Crispy wedges served to you with vegan garlic dip.
• Spicy Mixed Olives: Spiced up olives are combined with mushrooms, garlic and red pepper. Zing!
• Houmous with PERi-PERi Drizzle: Triangular pitta bread with spicy peri-peri on top

Salads

• Rainbow Bowl: A mix of everything healthy: grain, broccoli, rainbow slaw, carrots and seeds. Enjoy!

Veggie

• The Great Imitator Wrap: The pea-based alternative to Nando’s peri-peri chicken. It still tastes like chicken but without the chicken. The wrap also includes Garlic Perinase, lettuce and some chilli jam.
• The Great Imitator Burger: Similar to the wrap, but it’s a burger. Inside you will find Lemon and Herb mayo, lettuce, tomato and ketchup. 
• Spiced Chickpea Burger: Between then bolo do caco roll is a patty made from chickpea and spinach. Plus there is the usual lettuce and tomato as well as red pickled onions.
• The Great Imitator Pitta: Again here we have the pea-based chicken offering. Lemon and Herb mayo mixed with slaw and a mustard dressing will surely have you wanting more. 

Nando’s Kids

Just because you’re a child and also a vegan doesn’t mean you have to miss out on dining at Nando’s. You can still enjoy the experience.

So chin up, here is Nando’s vegan Kids range.

Dino sides

• Spiced Grains & Butternut Squash: Try and have your kid eat these greens (there is fruit also)!
• Spicy Rice: Not too spicy. 
• Long Stem Broccoli: Broccoli on a plate. It’s given a touch of garlic and lemon flavour. 
• Corn on the Cob: Flame-grilled corn. Yum!
• Chips: The best way to eat potatoes. 
• Little Tomatoes: Halved so tiny hands can pick them up. Or you can always use a fork.

Dessert OR Drink

• Chilly Billy Lolly: A cold treat of apple and blackcurrant
• Kid’s Cawston Press Apple & Pear: A juice made from apples and pears shaken with water. How James Bond-like is that!
• Kid’s Cawston Press Summer Berry: With this you have apples, strawberries and raspberries making a delightful drink.
• Bottle Green Apple Cordial: Apple and Plum cordial just waiting for you to add water.
• Bottle Green Strawberry Cordial: Chuck in some water and you’ve got a delicious juice.

Sides

The adults also have a good selection of sides to choose from. The Chips and Long Stem Broccoli is the same as that found on the Kids Menu.

We have left these off the list below to save from repetition.

• PERi-Salted Chips: Chips sprinkled with peri-peri salt. 
• Garlic Bread: Two slices of crunchy bread. 
• Chips: For those who don’t want peri-peri salt
• Rainbow Slaw: Vegetables sliced and mixed and presented in a mustard dressing. Seeds finish everything off.  
• Mixed Leaf Salad: Four lettuce leaves nest cucumber and tomatoes. Balsamic vinegar adds a hint of tartness.

Extras

To enhance your meal, grab some of these extras to fill in the hunger gaps.

• Garlic PERinaise: Nando’s Perinaise reimagined for vegans. It’s all plant-based.  
• Chilli Jam: Dip your garlic bread or chips into this spicy jam. 
• PERi-BBQ: Peri-Peri sauce makes this dip spicy.  
• PERi-PERi Drizzle: Why dip when you can drizzle? Pour some of this over your vegetables to spice them up.
• PERi-Plant Strips: Strips of pea protein that taste like chicken.
• Grilled Pineapple: A lonely ring of pineapple that is crying out to be added to your burger.
• Grilled Portobello Mushroom: A smokey tasting fungi. Choose which dish you want to include it with

Desserts

For the adults, you only get one vegan option here.

• Mango Gelado

Drinks

The drink menu offers a range of soft drinks and juices. 

All the Coca-Cola range is vegan friendly. Also, you have a good choice of cordials and fruit drinks. 

The Bottle Green Apple Cordial and Bottle Green Strawberry Cordial appears on both Kids and standard drinks menu. 

Soft drinks

• Bottomless Coca-Cola
• Bottomless Coke Zero
• Bottomless Diet Coke
• Bottomless Fanta
• Bottomless Sprite Zero
• Coca-Cola
• Coke Zero
• Diet Coke
• Fanta
• Sprite Zero
• RUBRO Peach: South Africa’s Rooibos is blended with peach to make a tea that is restorative after a long day. 
• RUBRO Berry: Same as the RUBRO Peach but with berries
• RUBRO Lemon: A lemon flavoured version of this tea. 
• Karma Drinks Gingerella: A sparkling ginger drink that is sure to go down well. 
• NIX and KIX Cucumber Mint: An effervescent drink that will give you a boost in energy thanks to the cayenne in this will help. 

For some reason, the Still Water and Sparkling Water is listed as vegetarian but not vegan. Having a look at the nutritional information doesn’t provide any clues as to why this water isn’t classed as vegan. 

Beer & cider

If you are wanting a beer to match your meal, there are three vegan choices. 

• Sagres: A popular beer in Portugal. It’s a light, dry beer with a good body.
• Sxollie: If you love sweet and sour, try this. The toffee apple touch will have you reminiscing about fairgrounds.
• Black’s Kinsale Pale Ale: Want to head over to the tropics? This ale will help thanks to its flavour base. 

Wine

Sometimes there is nothing like a good wine to finish off a meal. Try one of these:

• Creative Block 2 (South Africa): Gooseberry and lime combine to add a unique flavour palate to this wine. 
• Creative Block 5 (South Africa): If you want a wine with a more “woody” base, try this one. It combines blackberry, cassis and oak. 
• Cara Viva Medium Dry (Portugal): A perfect match for that spicy peri-peri meal.
• Cara Viva Summer Fruit (Portugal): Wanting a touch of summer? Then this wine will definitely deliver. 

Nando’s is vegan to some degree

For those vegans wanting to head out for a meal, you may be wondering if Nando’s is somewhere to visit. It isn’t completely vegan yet its menu is very inclusive.

Above we have listed all the plant-based items that you will find on Nando’s menu. 

Both kids and adults will be able to find something that will meet their vegan needs. Veganism is an increasingly popular lifestyle choice.

Restaurants have been paying heed to the demands of this market. Nando’s is no exception here. 

As a vegan or vegan family, you should give it a try. Lekker eet!