By Meredith Binder

Back in July, The Vegetarian Resource Group reported on White Castle offering veggie sliders in select New York and New Jersey locations. (See original article here: http://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/07/14/white-castle-welcomes-vegetarians/) VRG dug a little deeper to find out some more information on this veg-friendly fast food option. These small veggie burgers are served on a plain hamburger bun (ingredients listed below).

The sliders are served with an avocado ranch sauce (ingredients listed below), which contains eggs and milk. The burgers can be ordered without this condiment. White Castle told us that these non-meat sliders are cooked on a separate grill from their meat versions; however, they can not guarantee that this grill has not been used to cook hamburgers previously. In those instances, they ensure that their staff thoroughly clean the grill prior to cooking the veggie patties. Nutrition information on the veggie sliders including calories and total fat is also included below.

White Castle recently ran out of the veggie slider product so unfortunately, at this time, they are no longer offering it. White Castle will not release specific sales information because they are not publicly owned. However, a brand-manager there told us that the veggie sliders were positively received. That is great news for those of us that crave more animal-friendly products in restaurants like White Castle. The fast food chain is currently reviewing the sales performance and customer feedback of the veggie sliders to determine if it will offer them again and in more locations. VRG encourages interested readers to contact White Castle to tell them that you are interested in them providing veggie sliders, and animal-friendly buns, at a location near you. You can contact them via their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WhiteCastle, and Twitter, @ WhiteCastle.

Bun Ingredients: (Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Yeast, Salt, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters Of Mono- And Diglycerides (DATEM), Calcium Sulfate, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid, Potassium Iodate, L-Cysteine, Azodicarbonamide (ADA),

Veggie Slider: (Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Oat Bran, Soybeans, Zucchini, Peas, Broccoli, Corn, Soy Flour, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Red Pepper, Arrowroot, Corn Starch, Garlic, Corn Meal, Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper).

Note: The patty is made in a facility that uses wheat. Dr. Praeger said they take cross contamination very, very seriously, “All of our gluten free items have been certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. As part of this process, our facility had to be inspected by a 3rd party.”

Avocado Ranch Sauce Ingredients: (Soybean Oil, Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Egg Yolk, Buttermilk Solids, Contains less than 2% of: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Lime Juice, Modified Food Starch, Natural Avocado Flavor, Spices, Sodium Benzoate, Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA as preservatives, Garlic, Lactic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Onion, Natural Smoke Flavor, Natural Flavor (Milk). CONTAINS: WHEAT, EGG, MILK, SOY

The contents of this article, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.