9 Lent-Friendly Fast Food Options That Aren't Fish Sandwiches

Whether from McDonald's, Popeyes, Long John Silver's, Arby's, or Culver's, fast food fish sandwiches can get old quick during Lent. But weeks of cooking at home without meat can prove to be much more difficult than you think, leading you to pass through a fast food drive-thru on the way home rather than mulling over what to make yourself for dinner. Even so, your fast food options go far beyond fish sandwiches, and there are plenty of other Lent-friendly dishes out there to choose from. 

More and more vegetarian-friendly fast food chains have brought meatless options to their menus in recent years. Naturally, that also means you'll find far more Lent-friendly options on fast food menus, too. From the meatless Impossible Whopper at Burger King to Starbucks' new Spicy Falafel Pocket, and from the spicy black bean and potato tacos from Taco Bell to the Sofritas at Chipotle — when you can't stand the thought of another fish sandwich, it'll be good to know that your Lent-friendly fast food choices don't stop there.

Starting off this list with the most obvious, and perhaps most basic, Lent-friendly fast food option is the Impossible burger from Burger King — or, as it's better known, the Impossible Whopper. While Burger King also offers its Big Fish Sandwich, this option is ideal when you're missing those classic fast food-style beef burgers — without the beef, of course. 

One advantage to going to Burger King — be it for a fish sandwich or an Impossible Whopper — is that, unlike your Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from McDonald's, your fries don't come with beef flavoring on the side. While it's not a common ingredient in most fast food French fries, a lot of people are surprised to find that McDonald's French fries aren't vegetarian and actually contain beef flavoring, and therefore aren't, technically, Lent-friendly. Burger King's fries, on the other hand, are certified vegetarian. 

So, not only can you enjoy them on the side of your Big Fish Sandwich and Impossible Whopper during Lent, but you also have the option to upgrade them for anything from onion rings or mozzarella fries, or go half on each. Paired with a shake, a BK iced coffee, Frozen Fanta, or your choice of soft drink, and rounded out with an order of cookies or churro sticks for dessert, you can consider all of your fast food Lent cravings curbed at Burger King.

Thankfully, Lent guidelines don't say anything about abstaining from caffeine — which means you get the green flag to continue your daily Starbucks runs. But if you happen to be hungry while you're there, it might be comforting to know that the coffee giant offers a couple of different Lent-friendly options for you to snack on, too. Aside from the cheese and cracker filled Snack Boxes, vegetarian Egg Bites, and pastries, you can look forward to more satiating food options like the Starbucks Crispy Grilled Cheese, which is served on the absolute best bread for grilled cheese sandwiches: sourdough. 

There are also options like the Tomato and Mozzarella on Focaccia sandwich, the Three Cheese and Egg Sandwich, and the Impossible Breakfast Sandwich. While you can only customize Starbucks sandwiches to an extent, it is possible to remove certain ingredients. So, you could technically order your usual Bacon, Gouda, and Egg Sandwich and ask them to remove the meat. However, Starbucks also offers a Spicy Falafel Pocket that is completely vegan. 

Made from smashed chickpea patties, creamy hummus, roasted red peppers, pickled onions, and served with a spicy chimichurri sauce — it might just be good enough for you to consider trying something new. Whatever you go with, it can be as simple as pairing it with your favorite Starbucks drink and a bag of popcorn or Siete chips. Because who said Lent had to be hard? Not Starbucks, that's for sure.

If you're more of a Dunkin' fan than a Starbucks lover, don't worry — there are options for you there, too. In fact, Dunkin' has more vegan food options than Starbucks does, which only means it has even more Lent-friendly dishes. Aside from your usual iced vanilla latte with oat milk or cold brew coffee, you can look forward to enjoying anything from Avocado Toast to classic Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwiches along with warm hash browns. 

Served on toasted sourdough, Dunkin's Avocado Toast is quite simple, featuring mashed green avocado topped with everything bagel seasoning. But you can easily level it up by asking for a fried or scrambled egg on the top. The classic Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich, on the other hand, hardly needs any upgrading. Served toasted on a classic English muffin and paired with a side of warm hash browns and coffee, you really can't go wrong. 

All of that being said, a simple way to upgrade your Dunkin' breakfast sandwich would be to ask for it on a butter croissant instead. It's also worth knowing that you can customize any of its other breakfast sandwich options to be made without meat, so your mornings will be more than covered this Lent.

Taco Bell is every vegan and vegetarian's favorite fast food chain — and that was true even before the chain launched its vegan CrunchWrap Supreme for a limited time in 2023. But it's likely to be one of your favorite spots this Lent, too. That's because basically anything on the menu that usually comes with meat can be substituted with beans and/or Potato Bites. That includes your tacos, your burritos, and yes, even your CrunchWrap Supreme. 

Any and all of these options are examples of what you can expect to get from Taco Bell this Lent. Perhaps equally exciting is all of the various sides you have to choose from. Whether you're a cheese quesadilla, burrito, taco, or CrunchWrap Supreme kind of person, you can pair your order with any side from Nacho Fries to chips and queso. Rounded all out with an order of Cinnamon Twists or Cinnabon Delights, there will be no itch left unscratched at Taco Bell this Lent.

Right there next to Taco Bell is Chipotle, waiting to serve you all of your fast casual Mexican cravings this Lent. But unlike Taco Bell, Chipotle goes beyond beans and cheese and offers an actual meat alternative with its plant-based Sofritas. While there's a money saving reason you should never order tacos from Chipotle, the Sofritas can be substituted for the meat in your usual bowl or burrito order to deliver a texture and flavor comparable to your usual non-plant-based protein option. Plus, it can be combined with other vegetarian toppings like beans, veggie fajitas, cheese, fresh lettuce, and guacamole to fulfill all of your Chipotle cravings. 

Aside from the usual soft drinks and its house-made lemonades and agua frescas, Chipotle doesn't offer much for sides to pair with your food, sticking with crispy tortilla chips and fresh salsa or guac. But it's more about how you use them. While you could certainly eat them how they're intended to be eaten and dip them into a side of salsa or guacamole, a lot of people like to skip the plastic spoons and forks and use the chips as their cutlery for their Chipotle. Dipped directly into your bowl, you get the added crunchy satisfaction of biting into a chip with every bite. 

Craving fried chicken? KFC has the next best thing for you this Lent. As the first national chicken chain in the U.S. to offer a plant-based option on the menu, KFC partnered with Beyond Meat to develop its own meat-less alternative in 2022. Made from soy and wheat proteins and breaded in an exclusive coating similar to the one used on KFC's popular Popcorn Nuggets, the chain's Beyond Fried Chicken Nuggets deliver all of the delicious flavors and aromas you'd expect when opening a box of fried chicken from KFC — just without the chicken, of course. 

Served as a six-piece option, a 12-piece option, or as a combo with a side, dipping sauces, and a drink, KFC's Beyond Fried Chicken Nuggets can be enjoyed all sorts of ways. Whether dipped into some classic KFC Sauce or Honey BBQ, KFC's Lent-friendly nuggets can be paired with any of your favorite sides to make a full meal. With vegetarian options like KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, sweet corn, cole slaw, and, of course, crispy warm French fries, KFC leaves you with no craving unmet this Lent.

There are more sandwiches than just fish sandwiches for you to bite into this Lent — look no further than Jimmy John's as proof. While the chain has since discontinued the Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and the Pita Jimmy Chips it brought to the menu in 2024, the American sandwich chain has always had a Veggie sandwich on its menu on top of its two fish sandwich options (the Club Tuna and the Totally Tuna): the original #6, otherwise known as "The Veggie." 

Made by layering slices of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers with folded squares of provolone cheese, The Veggie is spread with avocado and mayonnaise and sandwiched between JJ's fresh baked bread for something equally as indulgent as its meaty menu alternatives. On top of all the other delicious fillings that already come with this sandwich, The Veggie from Jimmy John's can be customized with additions like Jimmy peppers, tuna salad, sliced pickles, and more.

It can also be ordered as a wrap. Paired with a bag of crispy Jimmy Chips, which come in flavors including Salt and Vinegar, BBQ, and Jalapeño — extra points if you use the chip flavors to elevate the sandwich by crunching them up inside of it — along with a cookie and a drink, you get a quick, filling, and convenient lunch option you can enjoy from Jimmy John's all Lent long. 

The Panera menu is full of Lent-friendly options — from smoothies and bagels to yogurt parfaits and avocado toast. But everybody knows that when you go to Panera, you're going for one of three things: a soup, a salad, or a sandwich — or, even better, a combo of all three. Fortunately, being vegetarian, a lot of the popular Panera soups are already Lent-friendly. The same thing goes for a lot of the sandwiches, too. 

With your choice between the Toasted Garden Caprese, the Grilled Cheese, and the Mediterranean Veggie for lunch, or the Garden Avo and Egg White Sandwich or the Ciabatta Egg and Cheese Sandwich for breakfast, you can pair any option with your go-to salad or soup of choice. Just double check the broth to make sure it doesn't include meat. From the seasonal favorite Autumn Squash Soup to Creamy Tomato Soup, Panera has plenty of Lent-friendly soups made with vegetable broth for you to slurp over the next few weeks. 

Paired with your choice of sandwich, Mac and Cheese, or green salad like the Mediterranean Greens with Grains, the Greek Salad, or the Balsamic Greens with Grains, you'll have a healthy and convenient Lent-friendly meal. Keep in mind, you can also customize other salads like the Green Goddess Chicken Cobb or the Southwest Chicken Ranch to be made vegetarian. And you can help yourself to any of the sweets in the display case, too, of course.

If you think about it, a lot of the most popular Chinese food dishes are vegetarian by nature — and this Lent, Panda Express will be serving you up all of them. While more famous for its Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef dishes, the base of all Panda Express meals always starts with one of three things: white rice, fried rice, or chow mein noodles — all of which are Lent-friendly. 

But you don't have to stop there, either. Certain Panda Express locations offer a plant-based Beyond the Original Orange Chicken option from Beyond Meat that you can pair either of them with, while other locations also serve a vegetarian Eggplant Tofu. 

With a-la-carte options like the Super Greens, which is a combination of cooked broccoli and bok choy, and an order of Veggie Spring Rolls or Cream Cheese Rangoons, your Panda order doesn't have to look too different than it usually does. Paired with your favorite Panda-crafted Refresher – which come in flavors like Mango Guava, Peach Lychee, and Watermelon Mango — and there's really nothing left for you to miss at Panda Express this Lent.