Everything Vegan at McAlister’s Deli (2023)

McAlister’s Deli is a pretty good spot for a vegan, with plenty of great salad options (with amazing vegan salad dressings), some pretty good sandwiches you can build, and a few side options for us vegans to choose from.

Overall there isn’t much to complain about at McAlister’s Deli as a Vegan, you can get yourself a nice warm sandwich or a stellar salad, with one of their many vegan sides with ease.

Build-Your-Own Vegan Sandwich at McAlister’s Deli:

• Choose Your Bread – 9-Grain, Baguette, Bread Bowl (yes they’ll allow it), Ciabatta, Country White Bread, Marbled Rye Bread, Pita, Pretzel Roll, Sliced Wheat Bread, or a Wheat-Wrap (tortilla).
• Choose Your Toppings – Avocado, Black Olives, Black Pepper, Cilantro, Cranberry Compote, Crispy Onion, Cucumbers, Granny Smith Apples, Green Bell Peppers, Green Onions, Jalapenos, Pickled Vegetables, Roasted Tri-Color Peppers, Romaine Lettuce, Mixed Salad Mix, Salt, Sauerkraut, Sliced Cucumbers, Cliced Red Onions, Sliced Tomatoes, Spinach, or Spring Salad Mix.
• Choose Your Sauces/Condiments – Yellow Mustard, Spicy Brown Mustard, Orange Cranberry Sauce, Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette, Olive Oil, Fat-free Chipotle Peach Sauce, Fat-free Raspberry Pecan Vinaigrette, or Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

While you can add some of the side-dishes to your sandwich to make it a bit extra “crunchy” or whatever your heart desires, that’s everything you can put on the sandwich, or make the sandwich out of, for free. Personally I’d recommend just getting an avocado-sandwich with some salad, bell peppers, jalapenos, crispy onions, cilantro, sliced onion, and maybe some tomatoes in it — skip the sauce/condiment. That sounds great to me, and it’s pretty dang healthy.

McAlister’s Deli Vegan Salad Options:

• Chef Salad (No Meat, Croutons, or Cheese)
• Savana Chopped Salad (No Gorgonzola, Meat, or Honey-roasted almonds)
• Southwest Chicken & Avocado Salad (No Meat, Cheese, or roasted black-bean corn pablano relish)
• Saltines, Oyster Crackers, and Tortilla Chips
• Orange Cranberry Sauce
• Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Fat-free Chipotle Peach Sauce
• Fat-free Raspberry Pecan Vinaigrette
• Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

All the other salads become identical to these ones once the non-vegan ingredients are removed, so if you want a salad those are really your only options. You can see if they’ll let you “build-your-own salad” but apparently it’s not always allowed, so don’t count on it being possible to do it. If it is though, then of course all the sandwich toppings would be available, which would make for a truly amazing salad.

Personally I’d recommend against the salad, even though McAlister’s Deli has some fantastic vegan salad dressings, unless they allow you to build-your-own salad and add in some things to spice up their otherwise boring salad combinations.

Build-Your-Own Vegan “Spud” (Potato) at McAlister’s Deli:

• Choose Your Spud – Baked Idaho Potato
• Choose Your Toppings – Avocado, Black Olives, Black Pepper, Cilantro, Cranberry Compote, Crispy Onion, Cucumbers, Granny Smith Apples, Green Bell Peppers, Green Onions, Jalapenos, Pickled Vegetables, Roasted Tri-Color Peppers, Romaine Lettuce, Mixed Salad Mix, Salt, Sauerkraut, Sliced Cucumbers, Cliced Red Onions, Sliced Tomatoes, Spinach, or Spring Salad Mix.
• Choose Your Sauces/Condiments – Yellow Mustard, Spicy Brown Mustard, Orange Cranberry Sauce, Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette, Olive Oil, Fat-free Chipotle Peach Sauce, Fat-free Raspberry Pecan Vinaigrette, or Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

The Toppings and Condiment options are the same as the Sandwich ones, so don’t go looking for something new or special in them if you’ve already read through the sandwich options.

McAlister’s Deli Vegan Side Options:

• Applesauce
• Mixed Fruit
• Superfood Slaw
• Tomato & Cucumber Salad
• Pickle Spears
• McAlister’s Deli BBQ Kettle Chips
• McAlister’s Deli Sea Salt Kettle Chips
• Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels
• Teddy Grahams
• SunChips (See What Flavors are Vegan here)
• Veggie Chili
• Saltines, Oyster Crackers, and Tortilla Chips

I’d say those are some pretty dang good side-options, at least for a sandwich place. Most of them only have vegan chips to choose from, but McAlister’s has many types of fruit, some unusual snacks like pretzels, some sweeter things like teddy grahams, and even a 100% Vegan-friendly Veggie Chili. 

Vegan Desserts at McAlister’s Deli:

• None

Unfortuantely McAlister’s Deli doesn’t really have any true vegan desserts available, however they do have some fruits and other sweet things in the “sides” section that could somewhat substitute a dessert if you’re really wanting one. Something fresh like the fruit is a good replacement to me.

So how is McAlister’s Deli for a Vegan?

It’s pretty dang good; there’s nothing really to complain about. Us vegans can get a pretty good meal there, made in many different ways, with some pretty tasty sides, and it won’t cost us any more than the non-vegan options.

While I’d say I probably prefer some other sandwich places like firehouse subs for their sauteed vegetables to put in your sandwich, or Jason’s Deli for their vegan pasta options, I’d never have an issue getting a meal at McAlister’s Deli. It’s a pretty good place for vegans to eat.

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