A couple of weeks ago (February 2023), I received an email from a person who had discovered VeggL, asking if Texas Roadhouse’s Baked Potatoes were vegan or not.
She had just visited a location and was told by her server that the baked potato was in fact vegan. She chose to eat it, as a lot of us would, with the hope that the server was correct in their statement.
Unfortunately, after she got home she looked it up and found answers telling her that Texas Roadhouse’s baked potatoes are not vegan. She reached out to us right away to get clarification.
Having been about a year since I had contacted Texas Roadhouse or had even had someone reach out asking questions about their guide, I thought maybe they had changed the way it used to be done.
So I reached out and asked.
Is Texas Roadhouse’s Baked Potato Vegan?
As of February 2023, Texas Roadhouse does NOT claim their Baked Potato to be vegan. I was given other options (which we already have on our Texas Roadhouse Vegan Guide) but was told, even after I reconfirmed and asked additional questions,
The baked potato would not be an option for (a) vegan.
To back it up a bit if you’re new to this information, we had received conflicting answers for many years that Texas Roadhouse preps their baked potatoes in bacon fat prior to cooking. If this is true, as a vegan, we would not be able to modify this.
The frustrating part–
I mean, really there are multiple things that are frustrating with this, but let’s start with their ingredient list.
Their ingredient list says, “Baked Potato”. That’s it.
If you are someone who just looks at the ingredient list, you would automatically assume it contains nothing animal related in or on it.
Yet, when you look at the nutrition facts, the cholesterol says it contains, “10mg.” As we all know, plants do not contain cholesterol, which means the baked potato should say zero (0mg). Is their nutritional information incorrect or are they not listing an ingredient on the ingredient list that is animal-based?
And then to top it off in the department of frustration is how inconsistent the information is when you ask them questions in the restaurant.
For a while we had their baked potato on the guide and asked you to confirm the prep method with your server prior to ordering to confirm they do not use animal (bacon) fat during prep; however, after the inconsistencies, we chose to remove it and add it as an FAQ on their guide.
But now we have even more information along with their rep specifically saying, it is NOT a vegan option.
Do we know for sure they are prepping the baked potato in animal fat?
As of 2023, I did not get a confirmed answer. The reply I received scooted around that question but after my investigations, there’s only one logical explanation why not one of the allergy boxes is checked on their allergen page for the baked potato but we’re being told it is not a vegan option.
I’ll let you fill in the rest.
And to make this even more confusing, the person that originally contacted me a couple of weeks ago, called her location and they told her they do not prep their baked potatoes in animal fat.
Does Texas Roadhouse have any vegan options?
If you happen to be heading to a Texas Roadhouse, you do have a few items you could get to fill out your plate.
What I would choose is their Country Vegetable Plate. You can choose 4 side items to create a dish:
- Applesauce
- House Side Salad. Order with NO egg, cheese or croutons. Oil & Vinegar appears to be your only vegan dressing option.
- Sweet Potato … you can order with brown sugar, cinnamon or both. Verify no animal products are used on the outside (like the baked potato) or as a topping.
- Fresh Vegetables. Order with NO lemon pepper butter.
- Steamed Broccoli. Order with NO lemon pepper butter.
- Corn. Verify you can order the corn with NO butter prior to ordering.
- Steak Fries*
* Be aware that the fries do share a fryer with Texas Roadhouse’s catfish.
If you have questions regarding their other vegetables, you can check our FAQ on their vegan guide on VeggL. We may have answered them.
And to see a full guide of Texas Roadhouse’s vegan options, you can also visit their guide but for the most part, we have all of them listed here.
In Conclusion,
It is unfortunate that the Texas Roadhouse baked potato continues to be a mystery in regards to what is used on it but we know for sure they do not claim it to be vegan and so I would rather believe that information.
You can use your best judgment when visiting a location if they tell you theirs is vegan but I would ask for a manager to confirm that.
While I have received emails from Texas Roadhouse employees in the past, if there is anyone who reads this and can give me more insight, please reach out.
