Red Robin now has not one, but two, vegan-friendly burger patties on their menu–a quinoa-based Veggie Patty and the Impossible burger. With this windfall of vegan burger options, it begs the question…
Are the Fries at Red Robin Vegan?
We set out to find the answer and took a deep dive into Red Robin’s fries.
After doing a lot of research and ultimately speaking to Red Robin directly, it appears Red Robin’s fries are vegan, BUT you’ll need to specify to your server that you want your fries fried in a dedicated fryer. Otherwise, they may end up being fried in a fryer that is shared with animal products.
For whatever reason, the answer here seems to be way more complicated than it needs to be.
Red Robin’s Allergen Menu
Red Robin’s Allergen Menu is one of those interactive menus where you select what allergens you’re trying to avoid and then they give you options that meet those filters.
One of the filters is simply ‘vegan’.
When you select vegan, steak fries do not show up. Bummer. However, when you change the filters to something else, say tree nuts, you can go back in and look at the Bottomless Steak Fries as entry. For ingredients, Red Robin lists Steak Fries and Seasoning, that’s it.
They also include a statement, that once we started putting the pieces together started to make more sense.
NOTE: Fries Are Fried In A Designated Fryer Upon Request To Avoid Gluten Cross-Contact
We needed more info.
Speaking With Red Robin
Red Robin responded to our initial request on whether their steak fries are vegan with the following:
Upon ordering please inform the restaurant you are ordering from that you would like your Steak Fries to be fried in our designated fryer to avoid any cross contamination with animal products. While our Steak Fries do not contain animal products they are still fried in the same fryer as other items that contain animal products unless requested that they are fried in our designated fryer.
Here’s what we took away from this – first, the fries do not contain animal products. Perfect.
Second, they have a designated fryer (the designated fryer they mention to avoid gluten cross-contact) that you can request to avoid cross-contamination.
Third, their fries are generally fried in a fryer that includes animal products unless you request them to be fried separate.
So, Red Robin’s fries are vegan by the standards that we use here at VeggL. But, if you are thinking to yourself, “Why don’t they just always use that ‘dedicated’ fryer for fries?”, then we’re on the same page. You just have to remember to ask if you do not want the cross-contamination.
We tried to follow up and ask this exact question, but our attempts were ignored.
What Else is Vegan at Red Robin?
The fries are vegan. Cool. So what other vegan options can you get?
We’re listing a few of the options that you can order at Red Robin. But for a complete list of everything vegan, make sure to check out our Red Robin Vegan Guide.
- The Impossible Gourmet Cheeseburger. Order with NO cheese or mayo … comes with an impossible patty, red pickle relish, onions, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes.
- The Veggie Burger. Order with NO cheese or aoli … comes with an ancient grain and quinoa veggie patty with house-made salsa, fresh avocado slices and lettuce.
- Vegan Burger. A lettuce wrapped version of The Veggie Burger … comes with an ancient grain and quinoa veggie patty with house-made salsa, fresh avocado slices, and lettuce on a lettuce bun. Served with steamed broccoli.
Final Thoughts
This whole journey to find out whether the fries at Red Robin are vegan felt unnecessarily complicated.
Why don’t they use a dedicated fryer for fries that will avoid any cross-contact? Other chains like Jack in the Box do exactly this. Is it a capacity issue? Frustrating we couldn’t get an answer on that.
At the end of the day though, Red Robin’s fries do appear to be vegan, but make sure to request they be cooked in the separate, designated fryer.
*As with any restaurant that is not 100% vegan or does not offer a designated cooking space for their vegan options, cross contamination can occur and fryers/grills may be shared with animal products. You can choose what your level of comfort is with these potential issues
**Featured Image Property of Red Robin
