Why Vegetarians Should Avoid This Seemingly Safe Popeyes Side Dish

If you're a vegetarian, you're no doubt used to being disappointed by fast food. Taco Bell is probably the chain with the most vegetarian options, but even there, nearly 90% of the menu is not vegetarian-friendly. At Popeyes, however, the situation is far worse. For one thing, even the fries are cooked in beef tallow, which prevents them from being a fallback option for those who don't eat meat. Even more annoying is the fact that a dish you'd expect to be 100% plant-based — red beans and rice — is actually nothing of the kind.

The rice part of the dish seems to be okay, but the beans are what's problematic, and it's not like you can really separate the two. In addition to sugar, seasonings, preservatives, and a small amount of food dye, those red beans are cooked with pork fat. While this ingredient may help make Popeyes red beans and rice extra tasty, it also means that the dish is not an option for vegetarians. What's more, due to religious dietary laws, it's also off-limits to Muslims and to Jews who keep kosher.

If both fries and red beans and rice are off-limits, just what can a vegetarian order at Popeyes? It looks like the mashed potatoes should be okay, as long as you can order them without gravy. (The Cajun gravy contains pork, beef, chicken, and turkey products.) They're not vegan, though, since they are made with butter. Biscuits, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese are other vegetarian-but-not-vegan options, with the mac being the closest you're likely to get to a non-meat main dish.

The real mystery is, why doesn't Popeyes get with the program and step up its non-meat menu options? Although only about 6% of Americans identify as strictly vegetarian, the idea of at least part-time plant-based eating is catching on. When Popeyes opened its first UK location in 2021, the menu featured a vegan (and also halal-certified) Creole Red Bean Sandwich. Not only is this sandwich still available, but it's been joined by a vegetarian Louisiana BBQ Red Bean Sandwich. You can even get it with meat-free Cajun rice on the side. Popeyes in Trinidad and Tobago also offers a red bean sandwich in both regular and spicy versions.

If these sandwiches are selling well enough for Popeyes to keep them in its international lineup, you'd think they'd at least be worth test-marketing in the United States. To date, however, Popeyes hasn't even hinted at plans to do so, which means it retains its spot on the list of least vegetarian-friendly fast food chains.