Hardee’s: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Hardee’s is a beef, pork, and chicken chain, not a vegetarian-friendly one by design, and its brief run with the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage around 2019 and 2020 has ended with no plant-based replacement. Your options come down to sides, a build-your-own salad, and bread with condiments, plus a regional burrito menu if your store carries it. Hardee’s shares a nearly identical menu with its West Coast sibling Carl’s Jr, and both chains are owned by CKE Restaurants, so a similar vegetarian playbook applies at either one.

What to order at Hardee’s

Where the Red Burrito sub-menu is available, the Beans, Rice and Cheese Burrito is the most meal-like vegetarian pick, made with refried beans, Mexican rice, cheese, and salsa in a flour tortilla. The Side Salad with cheddar is a reliable option too. Natural-Cut French Fries, Hash Rounds, and Crispy Curls round out the sides, along with Chips and Salsa on the Red Burrito menu.

What to watch out for

The Red Burrito menu isn’t at every location, so call ahead if the burrito is the reason you’re going. Fries, Hash Rounds, and Crispy Curls all share a fryer, and the allergen guides don’t confirm whether the refried beans are lard-free or the rice is made without chicken broth. Buttermilk Ranch and the Beer-Battered Onion Rings both fall out of vegan territory because of dairy and whey.