What Are The Vegan Options At Great Harvest Bread Co.? (Updated Guide)

  • By: Daniel B.
  • Date: September 13, 2022
  • Time to read: 6 min.

If you love good real cuisine produced by real people using ingredients you appreciate, you’ll enjoy dining at Great Harvest. By serving cold and hot sandwiches in different exciting flavor combinations,  grain bowls, and fresh salads, they are on a quest to showcase that meals can be both nutritious and tasty.

But are they vegan-friendly? Unfortunately, they only offer a few vegan choices. However, it doesn’t have to be difficult to dine vegan at Great Harvest Bread Company. We discovered that with some tweaks and modifications, you can still grab your vegan meal.

Read on to see what you can order and what you can do when you find yourself at Great Harvest Bread Co. 

Great Harvest Bread Co. – Little Background Story

It all started back in the 1970s. Pete and Laura Wakeman, the founders, were simply two college students who baked fantastic custom whole wheat bread to raise money for their school expenses at Cornell University. The adventurous pair, newlywed in 1975, opened their very first Great Harvest bakery in 1976 in Great Falls, Montana.

The exceptional flavor of their bread, made with clean and basic spices and wheat obtained from local farmers, spread rapidly. It didn’t take very long for locals to inquire about establishing their own Great Harvest.

Later on, their business became famous and their dedication also attracted bakery owners who are society-focused, productive, innovative, and dedicated to providing delicious and fresh products to their target customers.

Vegan Options At Great Harvest Bread Co.

Dakota Bread

This whole wheat dough is lavishly kneaded with pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds for a nutritious, crispy, and savory loaf.

Dakota Bread’s nutritional content is presented below. Bear in mind that nutritional information varies from store to store. To make sure you consume the right nutrition you are attaining for your diet, don’t be hesitant to ask the staff. 

Calories170
Calories from fat45 g
Fat5 g
Saturated fat0.5 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol0 g
Sodium280 g
Carbohydrates24 g
Fiber4 g
Sugar5 g
Added sugar5 g
Protein7 g

Autumn Apple Bread

Made by mixing apples, maple syrup, golden raisins, sunflower seeds, oats, and nutmeg. It is guaranteed that you’ll fall in love with this healthy, wonderful delight.

Take a look at autumn apple’s nutritional data for reference.

Calories150
Calories from fat15 g
Fat2 g
Saturated fat0 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol5 g
Sodium300 g
Carbohydrates30 g
Fiber3 g
Sugar10 g
Added sugar5 g
Protein4 g

Everything Bread

It is like your beloved everything bagel, but this is in a bread that you can eat with any kind of meal. Great Harvest’s version is created with a whole grain combination that includes garlic and onion, as well as caraway, sesame, flax, poppy, polenta, sunflower seeds, oats, millet, and black pepper.

Presented below is everything’s nutritional content. 

Calories140
Calories from fat10 g
Fat1 g
Saturated fat0 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol0 g
Sodium350 g
Carbohydrates29 g
Fiber3 g
Sugar6 g
Added sugar5 g
Protein5 g

Popeye Bread

The Popeye bread is loaded with cheese, red peppers, spinach, and other fresh ingredients. To make this dish vegan, just request it with no cheese upon serving. 

Let me present to you its nutritional content.

Calories140
Calories from fat10 g
Fat2 g
Saturated fat0.5 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol5 g
Sodium430 g
Carbohydrates27 g
Fiber2 g
Sugar4 g
Added sugar4 g
Protein5 g

Veggie Three-Seed Hummus

It is one of several vegan choices on their menu and is tasty and satisfying enough to lure a meat lover. This sandwich works wonderfully with the Dakota bread and has a nutritious, protein hummus spread composed of puréed chickpeas and toasted sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, then topped with a colorful range of healthy vegetables.

Let’s take a look at Veggie Three-Seed Hummus nutritional content.

Calories540
Calories from fat210 g
Fat23 g
Saturated fat3 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol5 g
Sodium1000 g
Carbohydrates65 g
Fiber14 g
Sugar16 g
Added sugar10 g
Protein20 g

Cobb Salad

Cobb salad is made with mixed greens, bacon, chicken, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, blue cheese, avocado, and Great Harvest croutons, topped with fresh homemade roasted lemon-garlic vinaigrette. Mexicali, yardbird, and Greek salads are among the other delectable salads available at your local Great Harvest. Just request your salad to be vegan so that all meats and cheese, as well as the croutons, would be removed from your order. 

For the nutritional content, see the table below. 

Calories480
Calories from fat280 g
Fat31 g
Saturated fat7 g
Trans fat0 g
Cholesterol165 g
Sodium970 g
Carbohydrates21 g
Fiber4 g
Sugar6 g
Added sugar3 g
Protein29 g

Is Great Harvest Bread Organic?

Although some of their bakeries provide organic bread, the majority of the wheat at Great Harvest is not organic.

Does Great Harvest Bread Co. Have Gluten-Free Bread?

Yes! Great Harvest Bread now offers gluten-free desserts and bread. Great Harvest believes in offering customers delicious items. Not only do they offer gluten-free products that taste better than any ordinary GF baked goods, but they also use a lot of whole-grain flours, such as buckwheat flour, whole grain brown rice flour, and flax meal. Presently, they provide at least four gluten-free types of bread each week and are always experimenting with new recipes. 

If you want to try their gluten-free menu, Tuesday is their current gluten-free baking day.

Is Great Harvest Bread Good For You?

Every Great Harvest bakery cafe grinds its flour on a daily basis to preserve it whole and retain all of the protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that the wheat kernel naturally delivers. According to the Federal Dietary Guidelines, every person should have at least  6 to 8 ounces of grains each day.

Other Popular Restaurants With Vegan Options

Since Great Harvest Bread Co. seems to not yet widened its vegan options, let me help you. Provided below are some popular restaurants that offer vegan dishes that might satisfy your taste. 

Great American Bagel

Great American Bagel takes pride in serving large, fresh bagels alongside other handcrafted paninis, sandwiches, and other items. They’ve been out of the service for about 35 years.

Let’s see what they have on their vegan menu:

  • PB&J
  • Vegetarian Sandwiches
  • Vegan Grilled Cheese
  • Cinnamon Raisin
  • Everything Bagel
  • Jalapeno
  • Garden Salad
  • Caesar Salad

Panera

Panera is well-known for serving nutritious fast food choices. This also applies to the bread company’s vegan clients.

Aside from a variety of salad options, Panera also serves vegan black bean soup and delectable broth bowls. Grab a French baguette as a side dish because they are also vegan.

Bread: Plain, Everything, Popeye seed, French Baguette, Sesame Bagels, Artisan Ciabatta, and Black Pepper Focaccia.

Meals: Mediterranean Bowl or Baja Bowl but order it with no Greek yogurt or without feta, Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad, Seasonal Greens Salad, Ten Vegetable Soup, and Mediterranean Veggie.

Sides: Apple, French Baguette, Banana, Pickle Spear, Kettle Chips, and Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad.

Olive Garden

You might be surprised to know that almost every Olive Garden pasta is actually vegan. The marinara sauce is also available, allowing you to fill up a pasta meal with vegetables and marinara.

Olive Garden is a casual dining restaurant brand in the United States that takes pride in Italian-American cuisine. There are approximately 900 Olive Garden outlets worldwide. Like other ethnic cuisines, Italian food has several vegetarian alternatives. 

Here’s a list of some of their vegan dishes:

  • Breadsticks
  • Salad with no croutons and substitute the dressing into vegan 
  • Minestrone soup
  • Spaghetti with marinara sauce
  • Create Your Own Pizza 
  • Steamed Fresh Broccoli

End Note

Great Harvest Bread Co. is definitely not a vegan haven and is not the ideal option for vegans. With a little modification and creativity, you could easily create a completely vegan dish. Just remember to request no cheese with your meal or ask if they have vegan cheese available. If Great Harvest doesn’t seem appealing to you, we provided other restaurant options you can check.

Happy vegan dining!