A vegan going to a steakhouse for food is intentionally signing up for a bad food experience. You can’t expect a restaurant that is so clearly not vegan-friendly to offer good plant-based food options. The same goes for Texas Roadhouse.
Texas Roadhouse is known for giant and juicy hand-cut steaks. You can’t (and shouldn’t) go there hoping to get good vegan food. However, if you’re still heading to the restaurant, perhaps with your friends or family, be ready to put together your own little meal with just a few sides and quite a lot of special preparation instructions.
Interested to know what those few vegan sides are and how you should go about ordering them? Keep reading to learn all about Texas Roadhouse vegan options!
What are the Vegan Options at Texas Roadhouse?
Texas Roadhouse doesn’t provide a list of ingredients for most of their foods, which makes it very difficult to find out what each item contains and if they can be made vegan or not.
This leaves us with two options to figure out what can vegans eat at Texas Roadhouse – use the restaurant’s allergen guide or rely on online sources. I used both to come up with a Texas Roadhouse vegan menu, which is exactly what we’re going to discuss in this article.
There are very limited vegan food options at Texas Roadhouse. And those few options are just sides; the restaurant does not offer any vegan entrée.
Here’s the list of all the foods you can eat at Texas Roadhouse as a vegan:
- House Salad – requires modification
- Fresh Vegetables – requires modification
- Sautéed Vegetables – requires confirmation
- Buttered Corn (the name says it all) – requires modification
- Country Vegetable Plate
- House Peanuts
- A couple of vegan sauces
- Drinks
Texas Roadhouse Menu Items That May Be Ordered Vegan
Following are some of the items that you may try requesting them to make vegan for you:
- Plain Baked Potato
- Plain Sweet Potato
Keep reading to learn what instructions you need to give to make some of the above listed items vegan-friendly and get answers to the common questions people ask about vegan food at Texas Roadhouse. I will also discuss what is it that makes plain baked potato and sweet potato non-vegan at the steakhouse and why you may not necessarily be able to get them made vegan.
Texas Roadhouse Vegan Options – A Detailed Breakdown
▪ House Salad
This is standard house salad, just like you get at any other restaurant, with salad greens, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and croutons. The only difference at Texas Roadhouse is that it comes topped with a hard-boiled egg.
You also get a house-made dressing on the side with the salad. The options for the dressing include Ranch Honey Mustard, Ranch Low-Fat, Italian Bleu Cheese, and Thousand Island, all of which are non-vegan.
Ordering this house salad vegan style will require you to skip the cheese, croutons, egg, and dressing, which will leave you with a bland and boring mix of just salad greens and tomatoes. You surely don’t want to eat that at a restaurant. So, here’s a little hack for you…
Order other vegetable sides of your choice and a vegan salad dressing along with the house salad to make it more interesting and flavorful.
▪ Fresh Vegetables
Since Texas Roadhouse doesn’t provide ingredients lists for most food items on its menu, we aren’t sure what this fresh vegetable side consists of and how it’s prepared. However, some unofficial sources say that it includes steamed broccoli and carrots sautéed in butter, which seems true because the restaurant’s allergen guide also highlights that this side contains milk.
This means you’ll have to ask them to hold the butter when eating vegan at Texas Roadhouse. However, it will leave you with a bland side of just plain steamed veggies. You can ask for some seasoning (salt and pepper) or order a vegan salad dressing to add some flavor to it.
It won’t still be something you look forward to eating at a restaurant, but this is the kind of vegan food you get when you eat at a steakhouse.
▪ Sautéed Vegetables
If you find steamed vegetables a little too boring, you can get the sautéed ones. Or perhaps order both to add more variety and nutrition to your plant-based meal at Texas Roadhouse. Don’t get your hopes up too high, though, because only two sautéed vegetable options are available – onions and mushrooms.
It’s important to note that while several online sources classify sautéed vegetables from Texas Roadhouse as vegan-friendly, the restaurant’s allergen guide highlights that they contain milk.
The only logical explanation of it is that the veggies are sautéed in butter. Therefore, when ordering vegan at Texas Roadhouse, make sure to specify your dietary restrictions and tell the server to make these vegetables without butter.
▪ Buttered Corn
The name of this side dish clearly tells what the non-vegan culprit here is – butter! But, the good thing is that you don’t have to make an effort to get it without butter. They will do it for you.
However, remember that it will just be a bowl of plain corn kernels.
▪ Country Vegetable Plate
Country Vegetable Plate isn’t a separate menu item. It’s just an option that allows you to get four side dishes. You can choose any four side dishes from the restaurant’s sides menu.
Since you have to rely on sides when eating vegan at Texas Roadhouse, getting a Country Vegetable Plate is your best bet.
▪ Peanuts
Texas Roadhouse is known for one more thing in addition to their steaks. Can you guess what that is? Free Peanuts!
The steakhouse serves complimentary (in-shell) peanuts to every customer. You can munch on them or even add some to your veggies for a little crunch.
▪ Texas Roadhouse Vegan Sauces and Dressings
Texas Roadhouse vegan food is pretty bland and boring. But, you can add some flavor to your food, which will pretty much consist of vegetables (sautéed, steamed, and/or raw), with vegan sauces and salad dressings. There aren’t too many options here as well, but you’ll have to make do with what you have.
Your options for vegan sauces and salad dressings at Texas Roadhouse include:
- Texas Roadhouse Barbecue Sauce
- Oil & Vinegar Dressing
- Applesauce
▪ Vegan Drinks at Texas Roadhouse
Texas Roadhouse’s drinks menu is quite interesting, and the best part is that many of them are vegan-friendly. So, one thing you can be assured of when eating vegan at Texas Roadhouse is that you will at least get to enjoy good vegan drinks.
Vegan beverages at Texas Roadhouse include both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. Here’s a complete list of Texas Roadhouse vegan drinks for your convenience:
- Coca-Cola
- Diet Coke
- Sprite
- Hi-C Orange
- Hi-C Fruit Punch
- Apple Juice
- Orange Juice
- Minute Maid Lemonade
- Red Raspberry Lemonade
- Blue Crush Lemonade
- Wild Strawberry Lemonade
- Original Iced Tea – Sweet and Unsweetened
- Raspberry Iced Tea – Sweet and Unsweetened
- Peach Iced Tea – Sweet and Unsweetened
- Coffee –Regular (black)
- Coffee – Decaffeinated (black)
Vegan Margaritas at Texas Roadhouse
- Original Margarita – Frozen
- Original Margarita – On the Rocks
- Hurricane Margarita – Frozen
- Hurricane Margarita- On the Rocks
- Mango Margarita – Frozen
- Mango Margarita – On the Rocks
- Raspberry Margarita – Frozen
- Raspberry Margarita – On the Rocks
- Strawberry Margarita – Frozen
- Strawberry Margarita – On the Rocks
- Jamaican Cowboy Margarita – Frozen
- Jamaican Cowboy Margarita – On the Rocks
- Sangria Margarita – Frozen
- Sangria Margarita – On the Rocks
- The Legend Margarita
- Patron Margarita Kicker
- 1800 Margarita Kicker
Vegan Cocktails at Texas Roadhouse
- Texas peach Fuzz
- Kenny’s Cooler
- Sangria Red
- Armadillo Punch
- Southern Whiskey Long Island Iced Tea
- Long Island Iced Tea
- Top Shelf Long Island Iced Tea
- Island Kicker
Texas Roadhouse Wine Menu
- Red Wine
- White Wine
- Blush Wine
According to Texas Roadhouse’s website, some cocktail drinks may not be available in all states, so you need to confirm availability while ordering.
What About Fries? Are the Fries at Texas Roadhouse Vegan?
Texas Roadhouse offers seasoned Steak Fries. Contrary to what the name may suggest, the restaurant’s allergen guide tells that Texas Roadhouse’s steak fries do not contain any non-vegan ingredients.
However, according to some online sources, the restaurant does not classify these fried potato snacks as vegan-friendly. The reason is they are cooked in the same fryer that is used for chicken and fish. While this is the most prevalent information, I also found a couple of sources that assert that Texas Roadhouse’s fries are cooked in animal fat.
I was unable to testify this information, so I strongly recommend confirming at your local Texas Roadhouse before ordering. If they are actually cooked in animal fat, they are confirmed non-vegan. However, if it’s only about shared equipment, then the decision to eat them or not comes down to every individual vegan.
Some vegans strictly avoid eating foods cooked in shared equipment. If you’re one of them, you’ll have to skip the only exciting option on Texas Roadhouse’s vegan menu and rely on just veggies (you’ll be eating healthy at least).
But, if you’re a vegan who doesn’t mind eating foods cooked in shared utensils, go ahead and stuff yourself with delicious steak fries at Texas Roadhouse.
What’s the Deal with Baked Potato and Sweet Potato?
Most online sources classify Texas Roadhouse’s baked potato and sweet potato as non-vegan. And they are right! However, as I mentioned at the article’s beginning, you might get them made vegan upon special request. Wondering, what’s the deal with these two items on the Texas Roadhouse menu? Here’s a quick explanation…
Texas Roadhouse offers baked potato and sweet potato in two varieties – plain and loaded. While the plain ones may seem vegan-friendly, they are actually not. As mentioned on the restaurant’s website, the potatoes and sweet potatoes are coated with bacon fat before they are placed in the oven. You can, however, try asking if they can make it for you without bacon fat.
The reason why I haven’t listed these two items with the others (discussed above) is that these are not the items that are typically prepared upon request. Since baking a potato or sweet potato takes quite some time, most restaurants get them ready beforehand. This makes it highly less likely that you can get them made vegan unless you’re willing to wait for that long.
Texas Roadhouse Menu Items That May Look Vegan, But Are Not
While the majority of the non-vegan items on Texas Roadhouse’s menu are easy to identify, some may be mistaken as vegan-friendly. I am listing them down here, so you know that these are also off-limits for you as a vegan:
- Texas Red Chili – contains milk
- Cajun Horseradish Sauce – contains egg and milk
- Italian Dressing – It seems quite weird, but the restaurant’s allergen guide says that it contains fish (doesn’t make sense to me, but okay!)
- Thousand Island Dressing – contains egg
- Peppercorn Sauce – contains milk
- Portobello Mushroom Sauce – contains milk
- Green Chile Sauce – contains milk
- Hot Sauce – As per the restaurant’s allergen guide, it contains fish and milk.
- Mild Sauce – contains fish and milk, according to the allergen guide.
- Creole Mustard Sauce – contains egg.
- Green Beans – Texas Roadhouse’s website doesn’t provide any information on how these beans are prepared. But, according to online sources, they are cooked in ham broth, which makes them non-vegan (a classic example of how Texan restaurants can turn the most vegan-friendly foods no-vegan).
- Seasoned Rice – Just like with green beans, we don’t know about Texas Roadhouse’s seasoned rice ingredients. But, the restaurant’s allergen menu tells that they contain milk (perhaps in the seasoning). Moreover, according to online sources, these rice are cooked in chicken broth.
- Fried Pickles – The batter they are coated in contains egg and milk
- Cactus Blossom – Contains egg and milk in the batter
- Rolls – These aren’t spring rolls, but dinner rolls that are made fresh at every Texas Roadhouse location and are served to customers (with cinnamon butter) as they arrive to have something too much on until they get real food. Unfortunately, these bread rolls are not vegan.
According to Texas Roadhouse’s allergen guide, they contain milk, but online sources state that they also contain eggs. Whether the online sources’ assertion is true or not, it doesn’t change the vegan status of Texas Roadhouse’s rolls. These incredibly popular Texas Roadhouse starters are confirmed non-vegan.
Want to know what makes Texas Roadhouse’s rolls so utterly delicious that people rave about them? Check out the following video for a sneak peek into the steakhouse’s kitchen and find the secret behind these little dough balls…
Texas Roadhouse Vegan Options FAQs
▪ Are Texas Roadhouse mashed potatoes vegan?
Texas Roadhouse mashed potatoes are not vegan. According to the restaurant’s allergen guide, they contain milk, but some online sources state that they are also cooked in chicken stock. If that’s true, Texas Roadhouse mashed potatoes are not even suitable for vegetarians.
▪ Does Texas Roadhouse have a veggie burger?
No. Texas Roadhouse does not offer a veggie burger. And it doesn’t seem very likely that they will offer one (not anytime soon, at least).
▪ Does Texas Roadhouse have vegan desserts?
Texas Roadhouse offers only a very limited number of desserts. Unfortunately, none of them is vegan-friendly.
● Does Texas Roadhouse have non-dairy butter?
No. Texas Roadhouse doesn’t offer or use non-dairy butter on any of its food items. They use regular butter, which means any food item that contains butter is non-vegan, and you have to hold the butter to make them vegan-friendly.
Conclusion – Is Texas Roadhouse Vegan-Friendly?
Texas Roadhouse isn’t vegan friendly, and to be honest; you shouldn’t expect it to be. It’s a steakhouse, which makes it pretty obvious that their menu will primarily include meat options.
Having said that, Texas Roadhouse can definitely make its menu more inclusive with a few small changes. For example, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, seasoned rice, rolls can easily be made vegan-friendly without compromising on their taste and quality. Even the fried pickles and cactus blossom can be made vegan (Chili’s does vegan fried pickles).
Similarly, they can use a separate fryer and vegetable oil for French fries to clear the confusion regarding their vegan status.
Moreover, the restaurant can add a few completely plant-based salads and more vegan sauces and dressings to give plant-eaters more choice.
These are a few ways Texas Roadhouse’s menu can be made a little more inclusive for people committed to veganism. But, it’s not very vegan-friendly at present.
To sum up, Texas Roadhouse is not a place a vegan would willingly want to go. But, if you end up there with friends or family, you know your options.
Did you find this article helpful? Interested to learn about your options at other seemingly non-vegan-friendly restaurants as well? Check out my article Arby’s Vegan Menu to find out if this clearly non-vegan restaurant has anything in store for plant-eaters.
