What Are the Vegan Options at Islands? (Updated Guide)

  • By: Daniel B.
  • Date: December 23, 2022
  • Time to read: 6 min.

The Islands is one of those food chains that understand the importance of fresh food, friendly service, and a relaxed atmosphere. The Islands restaurant was founded in 1982 by Tony DeGrazier and mainly served burgers and fries along with various side cold drinks. But what about vegan options at Islands?

Over the years, Islands has included various vegan options in its menu so that everyone can enjoy their exceptional service and relish the flavorful vegan food items.

The first Islands restaurant was opened in the mainland of Southern California. Over the years, the restaurant has opened multiple outlets all across the United States. 

To create a list of the various vegan options at Islands, we went through their main menu, including food items available at every Islands outlet. 

What Are My Vegan Options at Islands?

While searching for various vegan options at Islands, we came across their menu, split into the following categories: Appetizers, Salads and Soups, Burgers, Beach Bowls, Island Tacos, Sandwiches, Desserts, and Shakes and Smoothies.

Appetizers

The Islands restaurant provides various appetizers ranging from chips and salsa to quesadillas so that their vegan customers can have a fantastic start to their day. The following are some of the Vegan appetizers that are a part of the Islands’ menu.

Fresh Cut Island Fries 

The Fresh Cut Island Fries is one of the oldest and first dishes introduced by Islands, alongside burgers and chilled smoothies. It’s also one of the Islands Signature dishes, as these are the best fries you can find on the Westside.

The Fresh Cut Island Fries are made up of fresh-cut potatoes cooked to perfection. The fries are neither too thick nor too thin, not allowing them to become soggy quickly. 

Moreover, the Fresh Cut Island Fries stand out from other fries because they are tossed in the Islands’ secret seasoning that gives them a unique flavor, making them the best vegan appetizer at the Islands restaurant.

Sweet Potato Fries

In addition to the classic Fresh Cut Island Fries, you can also order the Sweet Potato Fries at the Islands restaurant. They are vegan as they are made up in the same way as the Fresh Cut Island Fries, with the only difference being the different types of potatoes.

Tempura Green Beans

The Tempura Green Beans are the second-best vegan options at Islands in terms of appetizers. The beans are best served with spicy soy aioli and pineapple-chili dipping sauces.

Chips and Salsa

Another amazing and among the most common appetizers offered at Islands is chips and salsa. Both chips and salsa don’t make use of any dairy ingredient, making it a vegan appetizer.

Salads and Salad Dressings

Since the majority of the salads made by the Islands restaurant make use of dairy products, there is only one vegan salad and soup option available at Islands.

Strawberry Salad (Without Chicken)

The Strawberry Salad Without Chicken is the only vegan salad offered by the Islands restaurant. However, the salad comes under the “limited time offers” and isn’t available all the time.

Salad Dressings

There might be only one vegan salad available at the Islands restaurant; however, they provide multiple vegan dressings to add to your salad as per your taste.

The following are the two vegan salad dressings you can try at the Islands restaurants: Italian Dressing and Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing.

Burgers

Islands is one of the most famous restaurants in Southern California, known for its wide range of delicious burgers. 

To ensure that people with different dietary preferences don’t feel left out, the following are the vegan options at Islands menu under their Burger menu.

Big Wave Burger (Without Cheese and Bun)

The classic Big Wave Burger by the Islands includes freshly picked lettuce, finely sliced tomato, and onion, along with pickles and mustard. 

The classic burger can be made into a vegan burger if you ask them to remove the bun along with the cheese.

Long Boarder Burger (Without Cheese and Bun)

Like the Big Wave Burger, the Long Boarder burger in the Islands’ food list can be vegan if you ask the staff to remove the cheese and the bun.

The Long Boarder Burger comprises fresh lettuce, pickles, thinly sliced onion, and tomato. The main component of the burger is the Thousand Island dressing which elevates the burger to a new level.

Impossible Burger

The Impossible Burger is the most memorable and unique burger offered by the Islands restaurant. The burger is not unique only because of its name, ‘impossible’ but because of its ingredients.

The Impossible Burger includes a plant-based patty in it, making it totally vegan! It’s pretty rare to find any vegan patty, let alone the one made out of plants, in any restaurant, but at Islands restaurant, you’ll be able to find the Impossible patty.

In addition to the plant-based, vegan patty, the Impossible Burger consists of fresh tomato and lettuce and a dressing made up of roasted garlic. Due to all these out-of-the-box additions, the Impossible Burger is famous among non-vegan as well.

However, you’ll be required to ask the staff to replace the bun of the burger with a vegan food item such as lettuce because the buns make use of dairy ingredients.

Gremmie Menu

If you thought that the Island restaurant provides a single menu for both kids and adults, allow us to introduce you to the Gremmie Menu. The Gremmie Menu at the Islands restaurant is specially made for kids and includes vegan options as well.

Junior Wave Burger (Without Cheese and Bun)

The Junior Wave Burger provided by Islands restaurant is like their usual Big Wave Burger but is available in a mini-sized. The small size makes it easier for kids to eat the burger and feel special that a special burger is made just for them.

The Junior Wave Burger includes lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and mustard. However, to make it completely vegan, you would need to tell the staff to remove the cheese and bun from the burger during its preparation.

Sauces and Sides

To complete all of your main dishes, the Islands restaurant also provides various vegan sauces and sides that you can have along with your vegan dish.

Sauces

The following are some of the vegan sauces that you can have along with your vegan dishes.

  • Hoisin Sauce
  • Teriyaki Sauce
  • Apple Sauce
  • Barbeque Sauce
  • Grilled Pineapple Salsa
  • Islands Salsa
  • Yellow Mustard

Sides 

In addition to the sauces, you can also order some sides to complement your vegan dish.

  • Avocado Slices And Guacamole
  • Sauteed Mushroom
  • Ranchero Beans
  • Refried Beans

Moreover, the Island restaurant also provides Hot Dog Buns, the only bun that doesn’t use any dairy products.

Additional Vegan Food Items

The list of the tasty vegan options at Islands isn’t limited to the ones mentioned above. The following are some of the vegan options served by Islands restaurant. 

  • Cal Rose Rice
  • Caribbean Cosmo
  • Cocoberry Blast
  • Garden Mule
  • Mango And Pineapple Daiquiri

However, many of these vegan dishes might fall under the Islands’ limited offer menu. Therefore, you should confirm with the staff and cooks at the Islands restaurant if the particular food item is available at the time of order or not.

Cocktails

The Islands restaurant provides a separate menu for Cocktails so that you can enjoy your vegan meal and have a great time. The following are various cocktails provided by the Islands:

  • Frose
  • Margarita
  • Mojito
  • Hand-Shaken Strawberry Daiquiri
  • Sunset Colada
  • Pina Colada
  • Mangorita
  • Islands Old Fashioned
  • Islands Bloody Mary
  • Big Island Iced Tea
  • Lava Flow
  • Kentucky Mule
  • Moscow Mule
  • Mai-Tai

In addition to cocktails, you can also find various wines, brews, and hard seltzers under the cocktails menu at Islands.

Can You Customize Your Order at Islands?

Yes. You can customize your order at Islands; however, it’s only limited to burgers. All the burgers made by the Islands come with an option of gluten-free buns.

Therefore, if you want to try any vegan food item at the Islands restaurant, then you can only choose from the various vegan options at Islands mentioned in the previous sections.

Wrapping Up

The Islands is a famous burgers and drinks restaurant that provides multiple vegan options. The restaurant started as a small restaurant that offered a limited number of burgers, cold drinks, and appetizers. With time, they evolved their menu, and added vegan options while sticking to their roots.

Let it be an appetizer, burger, salad, or a special meal for kids; you can find some delicious vegan options on their menu with ease. In addition to the vegan options at Islands, they also provide an array of cocktails and other beverages that you can enjoy side-by-side with your meal.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and grab some of the best vegan dishes from your vegan options at Islands restaurant nearest to your place.