Bojangles is a popular chain of fast-food restaurants in the United States. They are very similar to Popeye’s and KFC, but just like them, are the vegan options at Bojangles limited too?
To put it simply, Bojangles is not the best option for vegans as they have minimal options. If you are a vegan looking to grab a quick bite, maybe Bojangles can help. But if you want a full 3-course meal, then it is not the ideal place.
This article will give you the complete list of vegan foods (including sides and salad dressings) available at this fast-food restaurant.
If you’re curious to know more, keep reading.
Table of Contents
What Is Bojangles?
As mentioned earlier, Bojangles is a well-known fast-food restaurant chain located in the United States. This restaurant is famous for its main dish, the Chicken n Biscuits.
It was started in the year 1977 by the names Richard Thomas and Jack Fulk. These people are two veterans that operated restaurants. Now, you may be wondering about the name of this restaurant. “Bojangles” might sound funny to some, as it was suggested by Fulk when he heard the well-known song “Mr. Bojangles” sung by Jerry Jeff.
This song was randomly played on the radio one day, and when Fulk heard it, he instantly knew what the name would be!
However, it was not until 1989 that it started gaining popularity. It was during this year when Hurricane Hugo hit the state. All the restaurants had closed their services to the people, but Bojangles remained open.
This helped many citizens by providing food during a tough time, which made them stand apart from the other fast-food restaurants.
Today, they have set up their restaurant in 355 locations, and 100 are in Florida.
Are There Vegan Options at Bojangles?
Even though there are not many vegan options at Bojangles, there are still a few foods available that are vegan-friendly. Let’s explore these options based on the category of food.
Vegan Sides
Grits
This is a popular type of breakfast that is also highly versatile. It is very easy to prepare, and it provides the body with a lot of protein.
It uses all plant-based ingredients, and it’s completely vegan-friendly.
Cajun Pinto Beans
There is a common misconception about veganized foods that they aren’t as tasty or healthy as regular food. The Vegan Cajun Pinto Beans is a classic recipe that is here to prove it wrong.
Ingredients like hot sauce, cayenne peppers, and paprika are used to add flavor to this mouthwatering meal!
Green Beans
Not only are they vegan-friendly, but they are also gluten-free and prepared with little to almost no oil. This means it is free of any unhealthy calories and fats so that you can eat these to your content!
Garden Salad
While you’re ordering this, make sure you inform them that you prefer the Italian dressing on it to be vegan-friendly. Also, you’ll need to let them know that you’d like this with no added croutons or added cheese.
A Garden Salad is a meal that is vibrant and extremely attractive to look at. Among the fruits and vegetables used to make this dish, people also add edible flowers to it! The vibrancy and the overall beauty of this dish are what make it so unique from the rest.
Some vegan-friendly ingredients used to make this dish are cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, cranberries, apples, and so on. The ingredient list might be long, but do you know what’s not? The method of preparation.
It is so easy to make that all you’ll need is 5 minutes.
Another way to spice up this colorful dish is by adding vegan-friendly Italian dressing or adding the Vegan Cajun Pinto Beans! By doing this, the Garden Salad will have something to offer for everyone.
Sauces
Vegan Barbeque Sauce
You can’t deny the fact that everyone loves a good dipping sauce. And when it’s barbeque, it’s a definite hit. What makes this more appealing to some people is that Bojangles offers vegan Barbeque Sauce!
A delicious vegan-friendly Barbeque Sauce is made using plant-based ingredients like natural ketchup, apple cider vinegar, the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon or white vinegar, brown or coconut sugar, and Worchester sauce (the veganized version, obviously).
The flavorings used in this sauce are paprikas, mustard seeds, onion, garlic and chili powder, etc.
To some, this ingredient list might seem a little too lengthy. However, the good news is that all these ingredients are easily accessible. And the process to make this is even simpler. It will require a maximum of 15 minutes, and it can be stored and used for a long time.
Dressings
Vegan Ken’s Italian Dressing (Fat-Free)
This is an Italian dressing made by a company called Ken’s. It is fat-free, vegan-friendly, and free of gluten. Other than that, it is also kosher.
Even though it is vegan-friendly, it still has a spicy taste, and you can easily detect the added vinegar when you try it.
FAQs
Are French Fries at Bojangles Vegan-Friendly?
French fries are made of potatoes, which might make one think they are vegan-friendly. However, this is not the case at Bojangles.
The fat used for frying purposes is made from the fat of beef and canola oil. Since the fries are cooked in oil-containing beef fat (derived from animal sources), these are NOT vegan-friendly.
Are Their Mashed Potatoes Vegan?
Typically, the preparation of mashed potatoes includes adding milk. Milk is not a plant-based ingredient. The same applies to the mashed potatoes served at Bojangles. They also use milk while preparing them, and this makes them non-vegan.
Should Fast Food Restaurants Start Including Vegan-Friendly Food?
Yes, and this is because veganism is a trend that is expanding rapidly. Fast food restaurants must consider this factor to cater to a broader audience.
Wider Audience
When popular restaurants start including vegan food on their menus, they attract many people. A restaurant with a vegan-friendly menu can quickly profit more than one that does not have vegan-friendly food.
Including vegan food will also give the restaurant a good name by appealing to a broader market and audience.
The community of vegans is usually one that is very close and friendly among them. When you start including vegan-friendly options, the word can quickly spread like wildfire!
An Increase in Sales
When you start to cater to a broader audience, it will automatically help in boosting the sales value. More customers equal more pay. It’s very simple logic.
Appeal to the Old Customers
Adding vegan-friendly foods to a menu can also help please the existing customers. They will find a wide range of food options to choose from. When a restaurant provides a customer with variety, it keeps them more interested.
Old menus can sometimes bore the customers, and a lack of variety will cause them to start finding other restaurants.
Hence, adding variety can help you retain your old customers.
Increased Presence of Groups
You may have noticed that people who go into a restaurant as a group of 5 to 10 or more will always eat a lot. There is a lot of variety on the table, and everyone will want to get a taste of everything.
Friend or family groups usually prefer vegan-friendly eateries, especially if one among them is a vegan. A restaurant must have vegan-friendly options to cater to all the group members.
Including vegan-friendly dishes in your menu increases the chances of capturing people’s attention in groups who want inclusivity in their meals.
And when you get a large group of people to eat at your restaurant, you can also earn a lot!
Summing Up
This article taught us that Bojangles is probably not the best place for vegans. Among the plenty of food seen on their menu, only a handful of them is vegan friendly.
Vegan options at Bojangles include Vegan Grits, Vegan Cajun Pinto Beans, Vegan Green Beans, Vegan Garden Salads, Vegan Barbeque Sauce, and Vegan Italian Dressing. This is not a very wide range of vegan options, but they are still something.