Vegan Option at Wendy’s? Chain Testing Black Bean Burgers

We don’t have a photo of the Wendy’s burger, yet, but doesn’t this one look delicious? Via Meal Makeover Moms on Flickr.

Just last week, we reported that comedian Steve-O had launched a petition asking fast food mega-chain Wendy’s to add a veggie burger to its menu, so vegans could have something, ANYTHING to eat while on-the-go. As it turns out, the company is already on it, testing a vegan black bean burger at two locations in Ohio.

At one locale, The Colombus Dispatch reports that the new item is listed on the Build Your Own Sandwich board, and comes on a “multigrain bun with pepperjack cheese, asiago ranch sauce, tomato, red onion and spring-mix greens”.

Obviously the cheese and ranch aren’t vegan, but the burger itself is, Wendy’s says.

“Based on the product we have in a small operational test right now, the ingredients in both the bun and the black bean patty would be considered vegan. The cheese and the sauce are not vegan so you could order without those toppings,” Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini told LatestVeganNews.com.

“We cook the black bean patty in a separate oven so it does not contact the grill where we prepare meat,” Bertini adds. “Of course, the  restaurant as a whole is not vegan or vegetarian so cross contact with other menu items is possible.”

They’re testing in two locations in Columbus, Ohio, Bertini confirms:  5505 W. Broad Street, 739 Bethel Rd. Let’s hope these become a national menu item sooner rather than later, so a vegan option at Wendy’s is more than a plain baked potato.

“It’s too early to say where this may go,” Bertini told the Dispatch, “but we’ve been encouraged by the early consumer response.”

Next up, McDonald’s?

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