Review: Burger King Vegan Nuggets

I’m not in the habit of frequenting fast food chains, but when a new vegetarian offer appears, my ears perk up and my eyes go all bright with alertness like a dog that just heard a package crinkle in the kitchen. This has been happening more and more in the past few years as fast food places have pulled their heads out of their asses and figured out it’s a good way to reach more customers. And, I support it, because isn’t this kind of the goal of vegetarianism? For veggie options to be available and (okay–eventually, slowly, through tiny baby steps) overtake meat options?

So far, Europe seems to be leading in the arena of vegetarian and vegan fast food at chain restaurants. Though the Impossible Whopper and McPlant are available at some Burger Kings and McDonalds Stateside, the US has long lagged behind their European counterparts when it comes to vegetarian and vegan options. This is probably because–while there are a lot of vegetarians and vegans in the US–there is also a large percentage of Americans who make their personality “bacon” and little else. 

Vegetarianism also isn’t common in Morocco, where I live now (I’m originally from the US), and the prospect of being able to get a McPlant here is laughable. So, when I saw at an airport Burger King in Greece over the summer that they had released Vegan Nuggets, I then spent the next couple months plotting the day I’d be able to get my hands on some o’ them nugs. 

(Why didn’t I get some then? Well, I’d just eaten a slice of pizza, but mostly the line was too long. I am my crankiest self at airports so waiting in line at Burger King wasn’t going to happen.)

Basically, I’m trying to justify why, when I was in Belgium over fall break, I kept intermittently chanting “veggie nugs” under my breath while scanning the horizon for that familiar burger-shaped logo. And also why my boyfriend’s parents now think I’m obsessed with Burger King, since I shamelessly did this in front of them.

There are A LOT of Burger Kings pretty much everywhere, but it still took me a while to finally get those nuggets. I felt like a major doofus for going to the King when there were so many frites and waffles to eat, but my curiosity needed to be satisfied.

And you know what? They were fine. They’re nuggets and they taste like nuggets. The texture might be a little mushier than a real chicken nugget, but as long as you’re going to be eating unidentifiable sludge shaped into a nug, you might as well make it plant-based. My meat-eating boyfriend tried them and agreed.

I got two different sauces: chili cheese and curry. I liked the curry sauce better, but my boyfriend liked the chili cheese sauce, which is obviously not vegan, and I don’t think the curry sauce is, either. Honestly, though, I think the nuggets would be best with just ketchup or barbecue sauce. I just really like trying different sauces.

In conclusion, if the only thing holding you back from becoming a vegetarian is your love of chicken nuggets, then it’s time to make the switch. If you are not a nugget fiend but want a quick snack, you may not be blown away but you won’t be disappointed, either. 

The Burger King Vegan Nuggets certainly scratch that nugget itch, but they are still nuggets.

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