KFC is experimenting with vegetarian fried chicken

By Cale Guthrie Weissman

June 06, 2018

Kentucky Fried Chicken may just have to change its name to Kentucky Faux Chicken. That’s because the fried chicken giant is reportedly testing out–dare I say tasting out–some vegetarian meat alternatives. According to FoodBeast, KFC is going to experiment with plant-based fried chicken at some of its U.K. locations. In a statement to the website, KFC said: “once we’ve perfected the recipe we aim to test with customers this year, and if all goes well, we hope to launch a new vegetarian option in 2019.”

This is certainly surprising news for a global food chain that’s predicated on serving fatty meat. At the same time, vegetarian alternatives may now finally become more standard for larger restaurants. Taco Bell, for instance, has long offered beans as a vegetarian filling. Other big chains like Burger King have offered veggie burger alternatives. And most recently Shake Shack has gone beyond its cheese-filled mushroom burger by testing out a new beet-based veggie patty that can be served vegan.

So maybe this will become the new normal–after decades of vegetarians pleading with these large restaurant chains to offer more veggie-friends options. I’ll be sure to try out KFC’s new fried chicken as soon as I can get my hands on it. And I’m waiting with bated breath for Panda Express’s veggie orange chicken.

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