The Only Vegan-Friendly Menu Items At Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse is an iconic American steakhouse chain known for its tender steaks, honey cinnamon rolls, and fall-off-the-bone ribs. What they're not known for, however, is having a vegan-friendly menu, as the vast majority of the company's offerings contain meat or other animal products. For those eating vegan, there are only a handful of menu items that are purely composed of plants. Interestingly, they are all side dishes.

To order a fully vegan meal at Texas Roadhouse, order the Country Vegetable Plate, a combination of four of the company's "legendary sides." Out of those sides, only two are completely vegan on their own — applesauce and the chain's iconic steak fries (one of the best menu items at Texas Roadhouse). If you're ordering steak fries, please note that there is no dedicated vegan-friendly fryer.

Five additional sides are vegan-friendly after some modifications. The first is the baked potato, which you'll need to order without any toppings or melted butter on the outside skins. Similarly, you can order a plain baked sweet potato without butter, but thankfully, the brown sugar and cinnamon toppings are vegan. Steamed broccoli and steamed vegetables are vegan, as well, so long as you order them without lemon pepper butter. You can also order a house salad, which you will need to order without meat, cheese, egg, or croutons. While Texas Roadhouse makes its salad dressings from scratch, the only vegan-friendly offering is the classic oil and vinegar.

Several side dishes at Texas Roadhouse can be modified to be vegan, but there are some that cannot, despite appearing to be plant-based at first glance. The first is the green beans, which, on the surface, sounds vegan, but actually contains bacon. This is to add that signature rich, smoky flavor the chain is known for. Seasoned rice is also non-vegan, as the rice contains dairy and is cooked in chicken broth. Last, but certainly not least, the sauteed mushrooms contain dairy, which is probably due to being cooked in butter, like most other dishes at the steakhouse.

These menu items, which have been cooked in animal-based fats, can likely be made vegan if you ask your server nicely. The steakhouse chain is dedicated to providing excellent customer service, which could be why dine-in traffic has greatly improved post-pandemic, putting Texas Roadhouse on the road to dining dominance. It's important to note, though, that this is not a guarantee, as depending on your location, they may not be able to make special requests like this. Also, if your Texas Roadhouse is busy, such as at peak lunch or dinner hours, the kitchen might not be able to fulfill your request.