McDonald’s Quietly Left Meat Out Of This New Menu Item

7/27 UPDATE: Thanks to Liv for reaching out to let me know McDonald’s French fries are not vegetarian; this was genuinely heartbreaking news to no less than two vegetarians in my life. The following piece has been edited to remove reference to that item as a vegetarian-friendly option.

Vegetarians have so much to choose from at McDonald’s! There are drinks, apple slices, and… pies? Okay, maybe it isn’t the greatest veggie-friendly fast food menu of all time. Not everyone can be Burger King or Taco Bell.

Vegetarian options like oatmeal and egg-and-cheese sandwiches are plentiful on the breakfast menu, but what about lunch and dinner? Outside of the dessert menu (which is famously available in its entirety 100% of the time), there really isn’t much to offer if you’re eating meat-free for whatever reason.

That said, McDonald’s just dropped a new menu item that’s taking the internet by storm, and vegetarians will be shocked by the underadvertised lack of one particular ingredient. The Golden Arches’ creamy new Caesar Sauce launched earlier this month. With its Parmesan, garlic, and lemon notes, it’s obviously emulating classic Caesar dressing.

Caesar dressing is traditionally made with some form of anchovy, putting it out of reach for the vegetarian crowd. That ingredient doesn’t get advertised too often since the idea of anchovies gives many people the ick, but vegetarians in the know always skip past Caesar when it’s offered.

(If you’re a vegetarian who didn’t know Caesar wasn’t safe for you, I’m so sorry.)

Well, per the nutritional facts, it looks like McDonald’s skipped the fish when formulating its new Caesar Sauce. Score one for menu accessibility? (Subtract one for menu authenticity?)

I even triple-checked with my contact at McDonald’s just to be safe: Yes, this new Caesar Sauce is 100% vegetarian-friendly. It is not vegan because of the Parmesan cheese and eggs, but there’s no pleasing everyone.

Why isn’t McDonald’s drawing more attention to the fact that it’s now the largest producer of fish-free Caesar dressing in the country? As we speak, there are legions of vegetarians who have no idea how easy it is to get their hands on a very rare variant of this popular salad dressing.

Considering this traditionally fishy sauce is currently being served exclusively on chicken-based items, most vegetarians will likely scroll past it without a second glance. There’s no explicit “Vegetarian” tag or callout on the item’s menu listing, nor has McDonald’s called this fact out in any advertising.

Admittedly, “this sauce is vegetarian!” may not be the biggest selling point if there aren’t any vegetarian-friendly items on the menu to logically use it on. Still, if any vegetarians out there miss Caesar dressing, you’re not going to find a more affordable and accessible version anywhere else.