Casual dining restaurants offer the perfect environment for spending some fun time with friends and family.
But, as we all know, you can’t just go to a restaurant for its environment and vibe when you’re a vegan. You also have to find out if it serves vegan food.
While some eateries require a look at the menu to figure out if they are vegan-friendly or not, others’ name says it all.
Steakhouses are at the top of the list of restaurants that scream non-vegan friendliness. Is Outback Steakhouse the same? Or is it an exception? Let’s find out all about Outback Steakhouse vegan options.
Does Outback Steakhouse Have Vegan Options?
Unfortunately, none of the food items listed on Outback Steakhouse’s menu come standard as vegan-friendly. That’s pretty disappointing, keeping in view the rapid rise of veganism. But, it is what it is. You can’t really do much about it except request the restaurant to make their menu more inclusive by adding at least a few completely plant-based options.
Although there isn’t anything vegan as listed on Outback Steakhouse’s menu, you can scrape together a “vegan meal” at this Australian-themed American restaurant.
What Can Vegans Eat at Outback Steakhouse?
You can get the following vegan options at Outback Steakhouse through a customized order:
- House Salad
- Pecan Chopped Salad
- Fresh Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Baked Potato
- Sweet Potato
- Fresh Fruits
- Vegan Dressings
- Beverages
You can’t get these items right off the menu when eating vegan at Outback Steakhouse; you have to give special instructions to have them customized according to your vegan diet. Thankfully, Outback Steakhouse staff is very helpful and considerate of people’s specific dietary needs, so you won’t likely have any difficulty getting these items made a certain way.
Read on to learn how to order these foods vegan at Outback Steakhouse as well as to get answers to the questions you’ll likely have about vegan options at Outback Steakhouse.
Note:
This list of Outback Steakhouse vegan foods doesn’t include fried items because the restaurant confirms that they are cooked in the same fryers used for meat products, leading to cross-contamination. Moreover, multiple online sources assert that they use animal fat for frying foods.
This makes Outback Steakhouse fried items unsuitable for all vegans, including those who don’t really mind eating plant-based foods cooked in shared equipment.
It’s also important to note that since the latter piece of information comes from unofficial sources, it’s best to confirm at your local Outback Steakhouse what oil do they use for frying if you aren’t particular about cross-contamination.
Outback Steakhouse Vegan Options – A Detailed Breakdown
▪ House Salad
Appearing on the Soups & Side Salads menu, this is the standard House Salad, similar to the one that you find at the majority of other restaurants. It’s made with Napa cabbage, mixed lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions and comes topped with Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, housemade croutons, and your choice of dressing.
It’s pretty simple to get this salad customized according to the vegan diet. Simply ask them to hold the cheese and croutons and choose a vegan salad dressing (listed below).
▪ Pecan Chopped Salad
It appears as Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad on Outback Steakhouse’s menu, making it evident what you have to remove to make this salad vegan. However, there is one more non-vegan item in it – the dressing!
Outback Steakhouse’s Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad comes with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette, which is clearly not vegan. So, make sure to substitute it with a vegan salad dressing.
Outback Steakhouse vegan salad that you will get will have chopped mixed greens, red cabbage, green onions, shredded carrots, cinnamon pecans, and the restaurant’s signature Aussie Crunch.
Important
All online sources and the restaurant itself tell you to only ask for these two modifications to make this Outback Steakhouse salad vegan. However, there’s one more ingredient I am concerned about, and that is the Aussie Crunch.
For those who do not know, Aussie Crunch is simply fried angel hair pasta.
While it is totally vegan-friendly on its own, we can’t overlook the disclaimer given by Outback Steakhouse itself that all their fried items are cooked in shared equipment and the possible use of animal fat for frying (as highlighted by numerous online sources).
Therefore, I would recommend confirming its vegan status before ordering the Pecan Chopped Salad at Outback Steakhouse or removing it as well.
▪ Fresh Vegetables
Outback Steakhouse offers two vegetable sides options under Classic Sides – Fresh Mixed Veggies and Fresh Seasonal Veggie.
As evident from the name of dishes, the mixed veggie side will have a combination of vegetables, whereas the seasonal veggie will be any fresh vegetable that is in season at that time. The exact combination of vegetables in the mixed veggies side may vary across different locations, but it typically consists of carrots, broccoli, and snow peas.
No matter which of these vegetable sides you choose to order, make sure to ask them to hold the butter when ordering vegan at Outback Steakhouse because they come standard with seasoned butter on top.
▪ Asparagus
This vegetable side appears as Grilled Asparagus on Outback Steakhouse’s menu, under the Premium Sides category. But you can’t have it grilled when you’re eating vegan at Outback Steakhouse. The reason is the same as that for fried items; they use the same griller for it that is used for meat products. Moreover, the animal fat concern is there as well.
Wondering why am I listing it in Outback Steakhouse vegan options, then?
Because you can order Steamed Asparagus instead of grilled (remember, I told you in the beginning that Outback Steakhouse staff is known to be highly considerate and cooperative).
▪ Broccoli
This comes standard as Broccoli & Cheese but can easily be ordered vegan. Simply order it without cheese to have a vegan vegetable side at Outback Steakhouse.
▪ Baked Potato
This comes with all the standard baked potato toppings, i.e., butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits, which obviously are not vegan-friendly. But, they can give it to you without toppings as well.
Order a plain baked potato and pair it up with salad, vegetable side, or a vegan sauce for some flavor.
▪ Sweet Potato
Outback Steakhouse also offers baked sweet potatoes. But, it comes topped with brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey butter. Hold the butter, and you’ll have a vegan baked sweet potato.
▪ Fresh Fruits
Like many other restaurants, this item appears on the kid’s menu (Joey Menu at Outback Steakhouse). But, hey, there’s no one stopping adults ordering it for themselves. Not only is this item healthy, it’s also the safest option on Outback Steakhouse’s menu (or any non-vegan-friendly restaurant’s menu per se) that even the strictest vegans can eat without any concern.
▪ Vegan Salad Dressings at Outback Steakhouse
You can top your salad and steamed vegetables with the following Outback Steakhouse vegan dressings:
- Mustard Vinaigrette
- Light Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Tangy Tomato Dressing
While the restaurant’s online menu doesn’t list any (vegan) sauces, I am sure there must be a few vegan-friendly sauces available too. Make sure to ask for them if you’re getting baked potato to spice up your food.
▪ Vegan Drinks at Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse offers an exciting drinks menu with everything from regular sodas and fruit juices to cocktails, beers, and wines.
The exact selection of drinks may slightly vary across different locations. But, you can find the following Outback Steakhouse vegan beverages at almost all outlets:
Standard Outback Steakhouse Vegan Drinks
- Coca-Cola
- Diet Coke
- Coke Zero
- Sprite
- Dr. Pepper
- Red Bull
- Red bull Sugar-Free
- Hi-C Lemonade
- Hi-C Fruit Punch
- Apple Juice
- Orange Juice
- Pineapple Juice
- Cranberry Juice
- Gold Peak Coffee
- Gold Peak Tea
Vegan Cocktails at Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse offers a variety of Signature Cocktail options. These include:
- The Wallaby Darned
- Aussie Rum Punch
- Ruby Mango Lemonade
- Naturally Skinny ‘Rita
- Blackberry Martini
- Castaway Cocktail
- Sauza Gold Coast ‘Rita
- Blackberry Sangria
- Black Barrel Irish Tea
There’s also a good variety of red and white wines and different types of beers available at Outback Steakhouse. Most of the alcoholic drinks at Outback Steakhouse are vegan-friendly. However, if you’re unsure of any item, ask the server or use this online tool to find out if your booze is vegan.
FAQs about Outback Steakhouse Vegan Items
▪ Does Outback Steakhouse have vegan desserts?
Unfortunately, Outback Steakhouse does not offer any vegan desserts. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll have to rely on fresh fruits when dining at this Aussie-themed steakhouse.
▪ Is Outback Steakhouse bread vegan?
Outback Steakhouse doesn’t classify its bread as vegan-friendly. Since the restaurant does not provide an allergen guide, I was unable to confirm what non-vegan ingredient it has. But, according to some unofficial sources, Outback Steakhouse’s signature bread has honey in it. The only way to confirm it is to ask a server at the restaurant.
▪ Does Outback Steakhouse have a vegan burger?
Outback Steakhouse hasn’t hopped on to the vegan meat trend yet, and it doesn’t seem they are planning to do it either. The ever-increasing popularity of veganism may make them revise their menu in the future, but nothing of that sort seems to be happening anytime soon.
Conclusion – Is Outback Steakhouse Vegan-Friendly?
Outback Steakhouse isn’t vegan friendly, which doesn’t come as a surprise because we’re not at that stage (yet) where we expect steakhouses to offer full vegan menus, too, along with the standard ones.
Let’s be honest. When vegans go to such clearly non-vegan-friendly restaurants, we know we wouldn’t find many vegan food options and are (sort of) mentally prepared to order a few sides and call it a meal. Therefore, the non-vegan-friendly menu of Outback Steakhouse isn’t surprising. The opposite would have been a pleasant surprise.
Ideally, vegans shouldn’t be going to steakhouses. But, we don’t live in an ideal world. In the practical world, vegans often find themselves at non-vegan-friendly restaurants with friends and family. So, it’s only wise to learn how to maneuver your way through a menu filled with animal-based foods to fill yourself up.
If you ever find yourself at Outback Steakhouse, use this guide as a reference to make sure you don’t just keep looking at others’ food and have something to survive until the next meal.
Did you find this article helpful? Interested to find out what vegan food options other popular restaurant chains offer? Check out my article P.F. Chang’s Vegan Options to know if the leading Asian food restaurant is any different from Outback Steakhouse.
