Does Buc-Ee's Have Any Vegan Or Vegetarian Options?
Sure, technically, you can find vegan and vegetarian options at Buc-ees, but it's more by accident than by finding any purposeful items prepared for anyone who is cutting out meat or animal products from their diet. Even the tortilla of its veggie burrito is made with tallow, the rendered fat of an animal. So look closely and read the ingredients when you're grabbing a snack from the chain while on a road trip. Keep its tortilla ingredients in mind if you stop in during breakfast hours and are tempted by the bean, potato, and cheese breakfast taco.
The Buc-ee's options that are vegan and vegetarian are largely sweets and snacks. Fresh or dried fruit, bags of nuts, and protein bars are the majority of the vegan options available at the chain. Their house-made potato chips are fried in vegetable oil. Luckily, its famous Beaver Nuggets, a crunchy, sweet, cornmeal snack, are fully vegan. Vegetarians can also find hard-boiled eggs and cubes of cheese for some protein to fuel their drive. This is a gas station chain known for over a dozen flavors of beef jerky. It's not a place that necessarily caters to a plant-based diet!
Where to eat vegetarian and vegan food on the road
As a vegetarian or vegan, it can be hard to find something to eat while on a road trip. You may experience long stretches of open road between towns that are devoid of restaurants that cater to a plant-based diet. Often, the best bet is a Taco Bell, where you can customize your meal by following the beginner's guide to ordering. It's easy to substitute black beans or potatoes for most meats. Chipotle is another commonly found fast food spot with vegetarian and vegan options.
If you can wait to eat, thanks to a rise in the sales of plant-based foods, many moderately sized towns now have at least one vegan restaurant. It takes a little extra googling, as most of the time these spots won't have a billboard along the freeway. If there are no vegan restaurants, look out for any Middle Eastern restaurants, which feature many plant-based foods such as hummus or falafel. However, if you're truly out in the middle of nowhere, it's often best to just prepare ahead of time. Pack your own lunch. Stick a vegan sandwich in a cooler, have a vegan protein bar on hand, or try a tofu and mushroom lettuce wrap. Then you can avoid the need to examine every ingredient list before you take a bite.