Looking for The Halal Guys vegetarian options? Falafel, hummus, baba ganoush (also spelled baba ghanoush), french fries, warm pita bread, and baklava are all meat-free, and most of them are vegan too. The chain started as one New York City food cart on 53rd and Sixth and grew into a global halal brand, but what about the vegetarians? Chicken and beef gyro platters get top billing on the menu. But the lineup that’s been on the cart since the early 1990s gives meat-free diners a real meal, not an afterthought. This guide covers every vegetarian and vegan option at The Halal Guys, which toppings and sauces to ask for to keep things plant-based, and the signature white sauce question that trips up most first-time visitors.
A Quick Look at The Halal Guys
Three Egyptian American partners founded The Halal Guys in 1990: Mohamed Abouelenein, Ahmed Elsaka, and Abdelbaset Elsayed. Their first cart sold hot dogs on West 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Within two years they pivoted from hot dogs to chicken and beef gyro over rice with pita, and that’s the format the chain still serves today.
Falafel was the vegetarian protein they added early on. Each falafel ball is ground chickpeas blended with onions, parsley, and spices, then fried until the outside turns golden brown. That’s why falafel, not a newer plant-based product, remains the meatless anchor of the menu. A single cart carried the brand for more than two decades before it partnered with Fransmart in June 2014. Today, The Halal Guys Franchise Inc. runs more than 100 locations across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Indonesia.
- 1990: Mohamed Abouelenein, Ahmed Elsaka, and Abdelbaset Elsayed launch a hot dog cart at 53rd and Sixth in New York City.
- 1992: The cart pivots from hot dogs to chicken, beef gyro, falafel, rice, and pita, the format that defined the brand.
- 2014: The Halal Guys partners with Fransmart and launches a franchise program.
- 2015: First brick-and-mortar restaurants open outside New York. International expansion follows.
- 2016: The company donates $30,000 in scholarships to LaGuardia Community College.
- 2026: The Halal Guys operates more than 100 locations across five countries, with the original New York City carts still running.
A short cart menu of halal food has always been the chain’s core. Vegetarians today order from nearly the same list the founders served in the 1990s: falafel as the protein, with hummus, baba ganoush, and french fries on the side. No Beyond or Impossible product sits on the U.S. menu as of 2026, and there’s no plant-based gyro. These dishes keep the vegetarian playbook here straightforward rather than expansive.
The Halal Guys vegetarian options: What to Order
Whether you want a quick sandwich or a full platter, the vegetarian order at The Halal Guys is built around falafel. Basmati rice, lettuce, tomatoes, warm pita, and sauce round out the regular menu, so keeping it simple is easy. Don’t expect extra toppings: green peppers, olives, and jalapenos aren’t on offer. Crisp green lettuce and diced tomatoes are the whole salad here, and the sauces do the rest of the work. Making the order vegan just means skipping the white sauce.
The Halal Guys Vegetarian and Vegan Options at a Glance
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Falafel Sandwich (pita) | Yes | Yes (no white sauce) |
| Falafel Platter (over rice) | Yes | Yes (no white sauce) |
| Falafel (side, plain) | Yes | Yes |
| Hummus (side) | Yes | Yes |
| Baba Ganoush (side) | Yes | Yes |
| French Fries | Yes | Yes (oil shared with chicken/gyro) |
| Pita Bread (plain) | Yes | Yes |
| Lettuce & tomatoes salad base | Yes | Yes |
| Hot Sauce (red) | Yes | Yes |
| Signature White Sauce | Yes | No (contains egg) |
| BBQ Sauce | Yes | Yes |
| Baklava | Yes | No (contains butter/honey) |
| Baklava Cheesecake | Yes | No (dairy) |
| Chocolate Chip Cookies | Yes | No (dairy/egg) |
| Hibiscus / Mint / Passion Fruit Lemonade | Yes | Yes |
Vegetarian Platters & Sandwiches at The Halal Guys
Both vegetarian builds are essentially the meat platter and the gyro sandwich with falafel swapped in. Beef, not lamb, is what the gyro here is made from, so it’s a different bite than you’d find at some Mediterranean places, but vegetarians skip it either way for falafel. Order the same platters and sandwiches, beef gyro or chicken, just built with falafel instead:
- Falafel Platter: Six to eight falafel balls over yellow basmati rice with green iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and a warm pita on the side. Pick your sauces and toppings at the register: white sauce, hot sauce, BBQ, or all three. This is the closest thing to a “main” on the vegetarian menu, and it’s usually the largest portion at the lowest price among the platters.
- Falafel Sandwich: Warm pita bread filled with falafel, lettuce, tomato, and your sauces. It’s smaller and cheaper than the platter but still substantial enough for a meal.
- Combo customization: The standard Combo Platter pairs chicken and beef gyro. Some locations will swap the gyro for falafel if asked, while others won’t. It’s worth asking, but don’t count on it as a default option.
Vegetarian Sides at The Halal Guys
The sides menu is where vegetarians get the most flexibility, and three of the four sides are fully vegan:
- Hummus: A creamy chickpea spread mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Vegan. It pairs well with warm pita bread or as an extra topping on the falafel platter.
- Baba Ganoush: A smoky roasted eggplant dip mixed with tahini and olive oil, with a nutty taste that’s creamier and slightly thinner than the hummus. Vegan.
- French Fries: Crinkle-cut and salted. Vegan ingredients go into the potatoes themselves. But they’re fried in oil shared with chicken and gyro at most locations, so strict vegans should ask before ordering. (British diners know these french fries as chips.)
- Falafel side: A small order of plain falafel balls without rice or pita, useful as a protein add-on or for sharing.
Vegetarian Desserts at The Halal Guys
- Baklava: Layered filo pastry with chopped nuts in a sweet honey or sugar syrup. It’s vegetarian, not vegan, because the filo is brushed with butter and the syrup is typically honey.
- Baklava Cheesecake / Chocolate Baklava Cheesecake: A sweet cheesecake hybrid layered with baklava-style filo and nuts. Vegetarian, contains dairy.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies: Standard bakery chocolate chip cookie. Vegetarian, contains dairy and egg.
To drink, the brick-and-mortar stores pour sweetened hibiscus, mint, and passion fruit lemonades made with real fruit juice, plus the usual fountain drinks. All three lemonades are vegan. If you’re vegan, skip the dessert case, since the chocolate chip cookies, cheesecakes, and baklava all use dairy, egg, or honey.
What’s Vegan at The Halal Guys?
Skipping the signature white sauce is the one rule for vegan ordering at The Halal Guys. That creamy white sauce is mayonnaise-based: soybean or canola oil, egg yolk, vinegar, water, salt, and seasonings. That mix makes it vegetarian but not vegan. Older guides called the white sauce “dairy,” but the chain’s published ingredient information shows no dairy in it. Egg is what rules it out for vegans instead.
- Falafel Platter, no white sauce: falafel, basmati rice, lettuce, tomatoes, warm pita, hot sauce and/or BBQ.
- Falafel Sandwich, no white sauce: the same gyro-sandwich format in a warm pita.
- Hummus + Baba Ganoush + Pita Bread: a vegan mezze plate built from sides.
- Hibiscus, Mint, or Passion Fruit Lemonade: all three are vegan.
None of the desserts are vegan. Butter and honey go into the baklava, dairy is in the cheesecakes, and egg and butter are in the cookies.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
The Halal Guys publishes a nutritional and allergen guide on its website, and it’s worth a look before you order. A few items vegetarians should know about:
- Signature white sauce: Contains egg (mayonnaise base). The company lists it as gluten-free and dairy-free, but not vegan.
- Falafel: Ground chickpeas with a blend of herbs, onions, and spices. Check at the register for sesame and gluten cross-contact at your specific location.
- Pita bread: Wheat-based and not gluten-free. Order the platter without pita for a gluten-free vegetarian build.
- Fryers: Chicken and gyro share a fryer with the falafel and french fries at most brick-and-mortar locations. A dedicated fryer for falafel is what the original New York City carts use instead. Ask before ordering if cross-contact matters to you.
- Hummus and baba ganoush: Both contain tahini (sesame). Skip these if you have a sesame allergy.
Tips for Vegetarians at The Halal Guys
- Order the Falafel Platter for the best value. It’s the best place to start: protein, basmati rice, salad, lettuce, tomatoes, and warm pita for not much more than the sandwich costs.
- Build a mezze. Hummus, baba ganoush, pita bread, and a side of falafel balls make a shareable vegan plate without ordering an entree.
- Go easy on the hot sauce at first. The signature red hot sauce is famously aggressive, so start with a half-portion.
- BBQ sauce is the underrated topping. When white sauce is off the table for you (vegan) and hot sauce feels too intense, BBQ adds moisture without heat.
- Carts and brick-and-mortar stores aren’t identical. Menus are nearly the same, but desserts and the lemonade lineup are mostly a brick-and-mortar thing. Platter, sandwich, and sides only is the New York City cart menu.
- Confirm cross-contact at your location. A shared fryer may cook the falafel. The white sauce is mixed in-house, so its recipe can drift a little between franchises.
That covers the complete rundown of The Halal Guys vegetarian options. Bookmark this guide so you always know what to order, and check our other restaurant guides for more meatless picks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Halal Guys vegetarian-friendly?
Falafel has been on the menu since 1992 and serves as the vegetarian stand-in for chicken or beef gyro on both the platter and the sandwich. Hummus, baba ganoush, french fries, pita bread, and baklava round out the meatless options. The menu is small, but the vegetarian items are clearly built into the core lineup rather than tacked on.
Is the white sauce at The Halal Guys vegetarian or vegan?
Vegetarian, not vegan, is what the signature white sauce is. Its published ingredient list is a mayonnaise base: soybean and/or canola oil, egg yolk, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and seasonings, with no dairy. Vegans should order without it, while vegetarians who eat eggs can have it without issue.
Is the falafel at The Halal Guys vegan?
Ground chickpeas, onion, herbs, and spices go into the falafel, with no animal ingredients at all, so it’s vegan. Most locations fry the falafel balls in oil shared with chicken and gyro, so strict vegans concerned about cross-contact should ask before ordering. A dedicated falafel fryer is traditionally used at the original New York City carts.
Does The Halal Guys have a veggie burger or plant-based meat option?
No plant-based meat substitute, whether Beyond, Impossible, or otherwise, is on the U.S. menu as of 2026. Falafel is the only vegetarian protein on the menu, and the brand has stuck with it instead of adding a newer plant-based product.
Are The Halal Guys french fries vegan?
Crinkle-cut potatoes seasoned with salt and no animal ingredients make up the french fries, so they’re recipe-vegan. At brick-and-mortar locations the fryer is typically shared with chicken and gyro, which is fine for most vegetarians but a dealbreaker for strict vegans. Ask staff at your specific location if cross-contact matters to you.
Is the baklava at The Halal Guys vegan?
Butter-brushed filo and a sweet honey or honey-syrup glaze go into traditional baklava, which makes it vegetarian but not vegan. Dairy is also in the baklava cheesecake variants. No fully vegan dessert exists at The Halal Guys as of 2026.
How many The Halal Guys locations are there?
More than 100 locations make up The Halal Guys as of 2026. That includes the original carts in New York City plus brick-and-mortar restaurants across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Indonesia. Fransmart brought the chain into franchising starting in June 2014. For nearly 25 years before that, it was a single Midtown cart.
Who founded The Halal Guys?
Three Egyptian American partners founded The Halal Guys in 1990: Mohamed Abouelenein, Ahmed Elsaka, and Abdelbaset Elsayed. A hot dog cart at 53rd and Sixth in New York City is where they started, and they pivoted to chicken, beef gyro, falafel, and rice with pita in 1992, the format the chain still serves today.
Conclusion: Eating Vegetarian at The Halal Guys
A meat-forward menu that nonetheless treats vegetarians as a first-class case, that’s The Halal Guys. Falafel is one of the four core proteins, not a substitution. The Falafel Platter is the highest-value vegetarian order, the sides menu is mostly vegan, and skipping the white sauce in favor of hot sauce or BBQ keeps any item vegan-compatible. For more on ordering meat-free at chains, see our master guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, or browse the full Restaurants archive. If The Halal Guys isn’t nearby, neighboring guides for Panera Bread, Noodles & Company, and Togo’s cover similar Mediterranean and grain-bowl territory.
