McDonald’s and vegan people sound like flip sides of a card. That’s what people believe. But in reality, McDonald’s has been striving to serve all consumer segments.
Despite the common belief, there are many options at McDonald’s for vegans. Regardless of which country you’re residing in, there is a lot on McDonald’s menu to serve the appetite of their vegan and vegetarian customers.
Let’s keep the vegan discussion apart. Today, our main question to answer is ‘are McDonald’s apple pies and fries vegan or vegetarian? This article explores the answer to the most asked questions about McDonald’s Apple pies and fries.
We will have a virtual tour of McDonald’s across different countries to discover their recipes and if it fits a vegan or a vegetarian menu. We will answer your query no matter which country you’re residing in.
So let’s get started without any further ado and find answers to your questions.
Is It Easy To Order Food From McDonald’s As A Vegan?
Before we get into the main content, let’s discover if it’s easy for a vegan to order food from McDonald’s. A vegetarian can find a lot of options on the McDonald’s menu.
However, the same statement can’t be given to vegan people. Despite the reason you adopted the vegan lifestyle, finding pure vegan products without starving is next to hard.
With McDonald’s, you can find a handful of vegan options on the menu. But it will require you to do a lot of research before actually tapping the order button.
You can check our blog on food options for vegans and vegetarians at McDonald’s. We hope it will help you sort the menu and get your meal plate. We will head back to our purpose and find if fries and apple pies are vegan at McDonald’s.
Apple Pies At McDonald’s; Vegan, Vegetarian, Or Non-Vegan?
If you’re a fan of pie, you would already know what it is. And if you’re someone just looking for information on vegan options at McDonald’s, we will introduce you to pies.
The pie is made of pastry dough, and it’s baked by adding a filling. The pie filling can be anything you can think of. These fillings can range from sweet jams to sour ingredients, meat, chicken, fruits, etc. Pies are usually baked in a pastry-lined pan. In short, there can be sweet pies or sour ones.
Let’s move on to apple pies. These are sweet pies having apples as the filling ingredient. Apple pies are known to be originated from the land of British, England.
However, it’s more often associated with America, and a famous phrase also says ‘As American as apple pie.’ So we won’t get into this argument. Wherever apple pies originated, it’s a great addition to the eateries.
Let’s see what is added to apple pies at McDonald’s across different countries.
USA
If we look into the ingredients of apple pies at USA McDonald’s, here is what is added:
- Apples
- Flour
- Sugar
- Palm oil
- Water
- Apple juice concentrate
- Food starch(modified)
- Yeast extract
By looking at the ingredients, we can easily say that there’s no product added to apple pies that can be problematic for vegans or vegetarians. Therefore, we can say that McDonald’s apple pies served across restaurants in the USA do not contain any non-vegan items.
The apple pies are made by Bama Companies in Tulsa, and then its baking process is carried out at McDonald’s restaurants. Therefore, we can say that the product is vegan, but cross-contamination with milk can’t be guaranteed.
UK
According to the official statement of McDonald’s in the UK,
‘McDonald’s apple pies are prepared by using vegetarian and vegan ingredients. They clearly declare that no animal-origin ingredient is added. Sunflower oil and rapeseed oil are used for frying the pies.
However, there might be a chance that oil used to fry Apple pies can come into contact with oils used for frying chicken or fish products. The reason behind this is the uniform filtration process for all oils. Therefore, cross-contamination cannot be guaranteed.’
If we look at the ingredients of the UK McDonald’s apple pies, it includes:
- Water
- Wheat flour
- Apple
- Mixed spices
- Vegetable oil
- Flavoring
- Lemon juice concentrate
- Yeast extract
- Dextrose
- Sugar
- Modified starch
What is the verdict?
We can say that McDonald’s UK-served apple pies are fit for vegan and vegetarian customers. You can comfortably order and enjoy vegan apple pies from McDonald’s in the UK.
Australia
Let’s fly over to McDonald’s, Australia.
At McDonald’s Australia, apple pies contain cow milk. However, no non-veg items are added to the apple pies. Therefore, the apple pies served in Australian McDonald’s are fit for vegetarians. On the other hand, it’s not fit for vegan customers due to the presence of cow milk.
The main ingredients of Australian apple pie are:
- Apple
- Margarine
- Acidity regulators
- Natural color and flavor
- Wheat flour
- Whey powder
- Mineral salt
- Wheat starch
- Spices
Besides the addition of milk in Australian apple pies, the apple pies are not fried separately. Therefore, the chances of cross-contamination are high and evident. In other words, a vegan can’t have apple pies served in Australian McDonald’s.
Canada
In Canada, apple pies are good-to-eat options for vegans and vegetarians. This statement is given based on the ingredients of apple pies. However, the restaurant has no declaration or certification for their apple pies to be vegan suitable.
Canadian McDonald’s has not added milk as a potential allergen in apple pie ingredients. Therefore, you can be confident about no cross-contamination.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s apple pie is also good for vegan people, and there are no milk products or animal products added to the apple pies. There’s no milk, egg, butter, meat, etc., added to the apple pies prepared in New Zealand.
Just like in the USA, UK, and Canada, there is a chance of cross-contamination due to the oil filtration process. Another potential of cross-contamination is because the apple pies are not fried separately from the meat products.
As a whole, the apple pies served in New Zealand McDonald’s are fit for vegans and vegetarians.
Fries At McDonald’s; Vegan, Vegetarian, Or Non-Vegan?
We all love french fries, and it’s one thing that can be ordered anywhere, anytime. However, when you want to eat the delicious french fries at McDonald’s, you might have to think twice if you’re a vegan.
You might be wondering how can the french fries be non-vegan. We’re going to dig into the french fries recipes of McDonald’s in different countries. It will help us answer if fries are McDonald’s are vegan or not.
USA
Let’s start with the USA.
We don’t want to start with bad news, but only two items at McDonald’s USA are vegan: apple pies and apple slices. Therefore, french fries served in USA McDonald’s are not vegan.
You must be thinking about what is added to french fries to make them non-vegan. The vegetarian or vegan ingredients of french fries have not been officially disclosed by McDonald’s. But when we go through the ingredients, it’s easy to locate the culprit.
Here are the ingredients of french fries:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil
- Natural beef flavor
- Sodium acid pyrophosphate
- Salt
- Dextrose
So, you clearly know that french fries are not vegan.
UK
Good news for vegan people in the UK: McDonald’s french fries in the UK are 100% vegan, and the vegetarian society has also approved it.
Not only the french fries in the UK McDonald’s do not contain any animal-derived ingredients but are also fried separately from the animal products frying oil. Therefore, the chances of cross-contamination are also very low when ordering from McDonald’s UK.
Australia
In Australia, french fries are vegan, unlike apple pies. There are no animal-derived ingredients added to the fries. The main ingredients of Australian french fries are:
- Potatoes
- Canola oil
- Mineral salt
- Antifoam
- Dextrose
Should the vegans be confident when ordering?
Generally, there should be no problem for vegans to order french fries from McDonald’s. However, if any strict vegan is there, concerns might be there because according to the official statement of McDonald’s:
“No food items are certified as vegetarian. While some ingredients may not contain animal ingredients, we cannot guarantee that there will be no cross-contact with ingredients that do contain animal ingredients in our kitchens.”
On the whole, the french fries are vegan friendly and fit for vegan customers.
Canada
In Canada, french fries are vegan as no animal-derived ingredients are added. However, the certification of vegan-friendly or vegetarian-friendly products is guaranteed. Moreover, the official statement of Canadian McDonald’s also says that no products are vegetarian or vegan certified.
Despite no addition of animal-derived ingredients, cross-contamination might occur due to the same frying equipment, oil filtration, etc. The ingredients of Canadian french fries are as follow:
- Potatoes
- Canola oil
- Hydrogenated soybean oil
- Natural flavor
- Sodium acid pyrophosphate
- Citric acid
- Dimethylpolysiloxane
Final Words?
What is the final verdict about the fries and apple pies served at McDonald’s?
Well, the final verdict about apple pies served at most McDonald’s restaurants is positive for vegans and vegetarians. They can order and eat apple pies in McDonald’s restaurants.
However, vegan people can’t have apple pies in Australia as milk is added to this delicacy.
When we talk about french fries, they’re vegan at McDonald’s in New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and Australia. However, the french fries served in the USA McDonald’s contain beef flavor that makes them unfit for vegans and vegetarian people.