Eating Vegan – Nando’s (UK)

Must Try Recipes

Despite its very chicken vibe, Nando's is one of the best places in most towns to eat as a vegan, with nine different hot mains for us (sure they are rooted in three different bases, but they're different 😉) and four main meal salads. Having quickly become one of the most popular chains in the UK, I'm pretty sure some of your friends visit regularly, but now you don't need to be put off by the usual “but you can't eat there, it's a chicken restaurant!”

Check out the items below that are suitable for vegans:

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Last updated: 27 September 2022

Starters

  • Sweet Potato Wedges with Garlic PERinaise – Crispy wedges served with our creamy plant-based Garlic PERinaise dip. Perfect for sharing!
  • Houmous with PERi-PERi Drizzle – With warm pitta triangles. Great to share.
  • Spicy Mixed Olives – Spicy mixed olives co-starring mushrooms, garlic, and red pepper.
  • PERi-PERi Nuts – Crunchy almonds, cashews and macadamia nuts in a fiery PERi-PERi seasoning. This item has a possible cross-contamination warning, but doesn't actually contain any dairy.
  • Garlic Bread – Grilled for the perfect crunch. This item has a possible cross-contamination warning, but doesn't actually contain any dairy.

Mains

Burgers, Pittas & Wraps

  • The Great Imitator Burger – The vegan ‘chicken' PERi-Plant strips are made from pea-protein but taste just like their famous PERi-PERi chicken. Served in a Portuguese Roll with Lemon & Herb mayo, lettuce, tomato and PERi-Ketchup.
  • The Great Imitator Pitta – The vegan ‘chicken' PERi-Plant strips are made from pea-protein but taste just like their famous PERi-PERi chicken. Served in a toasted pitta with Lemon & Herb mayo and crunchy slaw in a tangy dressing.
  • Spiced Chickpea Burger – A chickpea and spinach patty with hints of cumin, coriander and turmeric, loaded with houmous, red pepper chutney and topped with red pickled onions. Served in a bolo do caco soft, sweet roll.
  • The Great Imitator Wrap – The vegan ‘chicken' PERi-Plant strips are made from pea-protein but taste just like their famous PERi-PERi chicken. Served with plant-based Garlic PERinaise, lettuce, and chilli jam. The wrap has a chance of containing shellac as all their products that contain lemons cannot be guaranteed that the particular lemons used did not have a shellac coating (see important information below after the menu).
  • Portobello Mushroom & Halloumi Pitta – Portobello mushroom and grilled halloumi with chilli jam, wild garlic aioli, and lettuce. The mushroom and halloumi you know and love, with an epic upgrade. Ask for it without the halloumi and aioli (or swap to plant-based PERinaise).

Salads

  • Rainbow Bowl – Warmed spiced grains and long-stem broccoli with houmous, rainbow slaw, pickled golden carrot and a sprinkle of seeds. Choose it on its own, or add PERi-Plant (vegan ‘chicken' strips).

Sauces/Bastes

  • Plainish – All sauces and bastes have a chance of containing shellac as all their products that contain lemons cannot be guaranteed that the particular lemons used did not have a shellac coating (see important information below after the menu)

Sides

Regular

  • Garlic Bread – Grilled for the perfect crunch. This item has a possible cross-contamination warning, but doesn't actually contain any dairy.
  • Mixed Leaf Salad – A mix of four leaves, sweet baby plum tomatoes, and cucumber. Served with Balsamic dressing.
  • Chips
  • PERi-Salted Chips – Crispy and sprinkled with PERi-PERi salt.
  • Corn on the Cob – Crunchy, crisp and sweet. Flame-grilled and served with butter. Make sure you ask for this without the butter.
  • Long Stem Broccoli – Served in a garlic and lemon oil.
  • Spicy Rice – Lightly spiced rice.
  • Rainbow Slaw – A fresh mix of crunchy veg in a tangy dressing. Topped with seeds.

Extras

  • PERi-PERi Drizzle
  • PERi-BBQ – Sweet and smoky with PERi-PERi spice.
  • Garlic PERinaise – Nando's famous PERinaise, but plant-based and packed with a garlicky punch.
  • Chilli Jam – Sweet and sticky with just a hint of spice. Great for dunking.
  • Grilled Pineapple
  • Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Desserts

  • Mango Gelado – Nando's twist on ice cream. Light, creamy, and dangerously moreish.

Wine

  • Creative Block 2 (South Africa) – A crisp Sauvignon Blanc blend with classic gooseberry and lime flavours. ABV 13.42%.
  • Creative Block 5 (South Africa) – Full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend with blackberry, cassis and spicy oak flavours. ABV 13.52%.
  • Cara Viva Medium Dry (Portugal) – An off-dry gem. Suits PERi-PERi spice. ABV 11.5%.
  • Cara Viva Summer Fruit (Portugal) – A burst of summer fruitiness. ABV 11.5%.

Nandinos

Mains

  • Ask them if they can do a Great Imitator or build a main from the sides/extras (eg PERi-Plant Strips), as there are no vegan options now.

Dino Sides

  • Spiced Grains & Butternut Squash – Served warm with green beans and dried fruit.
  • Spicy Rice – Lightly spiced rice.
  • Long Stem Broccoli – Served in a garlic and lemon oil.
  • Corn on the Cob – Flamed-grilled. Crunchy, crisp and sweet. Make sure you ask for this without the butter.
  • Little Tomatoes – Small, red and sweet. Cut into halves for small hands.
  • Chips

Desserts

  • Chilly Billy Lolly – Apple & blackcurrant flavour.

Drinks

  • Kid's Cawston Press Apple & Pear – 200ml. Pressed apples and pears shaken up with water. No added sugar, 60% juice and not from concentrate.
  • Kid's Cawston Press Summer Berry – 200ml. Pressed fruit shaken up with water. No added sugar, 60% juice and not from concentrate.
  • Bottle Green Apple Cordial – 50ml. Apple and plum cordial. Mix with water to taste.
  • Bottle Green Strawberry Cordial – 50ml. Strawberry cordial. Mix with water to taste.


Important information from Nando's about shellac in their products (big thanks to Amz who emailed them and received this reply):
“Since we launched the Great Imitator, we have tried to make it as clear as we can on our menus & website, that although the Great Imitator itself is a plant-based recipe (we do not call this a vegan product) our wraps and sauces are not. However, we have always highlighted the use of shellac within our sauces & wrap in our Food Allergy & Nutritional File housed in all our restaurants. Our bread wraps, marinade, all our basting & condiment sauces contain lemons as an ingredient – whole lemons in particular are used with these products. Regrettably, we are unable to guarantee that the lemons used with our supplier are shellac free (un-waxed), hence our message regarding shellac across our Nando’s menus. Until a time where we can 100% guarantee the lemons sourced for these products are shellac free (un-waxed), we are unable to change this. Shellac isn’t actually the beetle itself, it is derived from the beetle and is in fact a resin secreted by the female – It’s also known as the food additive E904. This in turn is then added to fruits and vegetables to ‘preserve’ the item. I do have good news for you, however, our Great Imitator in a burger and pitta; if ordered without any basting sauce will be shellac free. We have also added more vegetarian and plant-based options to our menu.”

For more info, please check the Nando's website

If you have any updates or comments about this, please add them below, we want this to be as updated as possible so any tips you have will be greatly appreciated!

First published: 23 June 2015
Last updated: 27 September 2022

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31 COMMENTS

  1. Wow… Your Nandos has so much more veg/vegan variety than ours in Australia…. We have such great food here and yet so few Nandos options compared to yours. It’s like if you don’t eat chicken…. go away!

    When I was studying I used to go there for garden salad and couscous but no idea if they were strictly vegan.

  2. I suppose that it MAY be passable to visit such a place with friends who are not vegan, but so many of the vegetarian dishes become very dull when you take away the cheese etc. which leaves no protein in many cases as well.
    Vegans should not be prepared to put up with these tasteless alternatives. If vegans really wanted to make like easier for themselves and others, they would open their own caterers and provide delicious food to entice vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters. Most customers to vegetarian restaurants usually eat meat, and are attracted, for various reasons to the varied and tasty food available.
    Where is that pioneering spirit from the beginning of the 20th. Century, when veggies opened factories and shops around the U K to spread their humane ideas. Why work for the enemy, as so many people do?

  3. […] chains are starting to realise that there’s a market to be served. You can get vegan options in Nando’s (the veggie burger without mayo and the chips are good, as is the sweetcorn side – your server […]

  4. Hey, just wanted to update you as we checked the allergy info on the website as we wanted to get Nandos last weekend, the veggie burger patties contain eggs as an ingredient, not as cross contamination. They have for sure changed the entire menu since this post was originally made as there was extremely little available to us even when asking my for things without cheese etc

    • Hi Amy, they have confirmed that the patties don’t have egg, and it comes up as containing egg (rather than cross contamination) as they take the whole thing into account (i.e. with the mayo – which has eggs in it). So as long as you ask for it without the mayo (or yogurt in the wrap) then you should be safe 🙂
      i have also updated the whole post after talking to Nando’s – it’s grown! 🙂

  5. What about the beanie burger? I thought it was vegan as long as you order without mayo. What has changed? I had one last week, now I’m gutted!

    • With 500,000 vegans nationwide apparently, surely we could open 1000 catering establishments with 5 vegan staff in each, and that’s only using 1% of vegans.
      What will all the other vegans do to help spread the lifestyle?
      1000 Health Food and organic stores- another 1%
      1000 regular cookery demonstrations- another 1%
      1000 local societies and groups meeting weekly or more frequently- another 1%
      1000 mobile caterers/stalls at markets and in town centres- another 1%
      That’s only 5% of vegans active.
      What will all the rest do?

    • What do mean by chicken salt? Is it the peri-peri salt? Or the regular salt they use? What is in it that is not vegan? Where did you find this information? Thanks 🙂

  6. Nandos cook their veggie burgers on the same grill with the Chicken – contamination is common !!

    My wife found Chicken in her veggie wrap and when she complained to Nandos head office they sent her a letter explaining that they are a chicken shop, they sell chicken. They offer food called “veggie” but nowhere say it is vegetarian or claim that it is. The letter said they tell their staff to “try” to scrape as much chicken off as possible before cooking a veggie burger, but if you want vegetarian food to eat somewhere else, and sorry they won’t see you again.

  7. Wow…I can’t believe that so many vegans would choose to eat in a place that is responsible for the death of so many chickens!
    Also, do you seriously believe that everybody working in those kitchens gives a f*** about cross contamination?
    Ian’s comments sum up their attitude really.

  8. The medium sauce at Nandos is NOT vegan. You need to change this on here as I made the mistake of ordering it and luckily a member of staff informed me it is not vegan. It’s only suitable for Vegetarians.

  9. I’m a vegan who works at Nando’s, and the spicy rice has just been made vegan! I don’t think the website has been updated yet and it might not yet be in all the stores, but it is happening. Ask to check the box (it has ingredients listed on the label) in the restaurant, they’ll be able to show it to you.

  10. Another nandos worker here! Spicy rice and sweet mash are also vegan. Both have had the butter taken out.

    Also so is the chocolate gelato

  11. Hi, the namdos sauces are not vegan according to a Allergy & Dietary Handler for Nando’s I spoke to via email please see below:

    Since we launched the Great Imitator, we have tried to make it as clear as we can on our menus & website, that although the Great Imitator itself is a plant-based recipe (we do not call this a vegan product) our wraps and sauces are not. However, we have always highlighted the use of shellac within our sauces & wrap in our Food Allergy & Nutritional File housed in all our restaurants.

    Our bread wraps, marinade, all our basting & condiment sauces contain lemons as an ingredient – whole lemons in particular are used with these products. Regrettably, we are unable to guarantee that the lemons used with our supplier are shellac free (un-waxed), hence our message regarding shellac across our Nando’s menus.

    Until a time where we can 100% guarantee the lemons sourced for these products are shellac free (un-waxed), we are unable to change this.

    Shellac isn’t actually the beetle itself, it is derived from the beetle and is in fact a resin secreted by the female – It’s also known as the food additive E904. This in turn is then added to fruits and vegetables to ‘preserve’ the item.

    I do have good news for you, however, our Great Imitator in a burger and pitta; if ordered without any basting sauce will be shellac free. We have also added more vegetarian and plant-based options to our menu.

    (I also checked to order without any basting sauce you just select the plainish option which means no sauce/basting)

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