Red Lobster is a renowned American dining restaurant operating in about 719 worldwide locations. Known for surf & turf and seafood options, it is surprising to see numerous vegan options at red lobsters.
Red Lobster serves garden salad, French fries, baked potato, and wild rice pilaf. They do include some interesting vegan drinks to spice up the meal. The restaurant is not mainly known for serving vegan-friendly dishes, but you can find a handful of vegan options to order and eat.
If you’re looking for vegan options at Red Lobsters, you can try out the following delicious and appealing dishes.
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Vegan Options At Red Lobster
While most of the ingredients are not mentioned on the menu, you might have to ask one of the workers to provide you with vegan-friendly options. Though many restaurants are going vegan-friendly, you aren’t familiar with every ingredient in the vegan dish.
Don’t worry, as we have listed the vegan-friendly options at Red Lobsters. So, next time you visit the restaurant, you can order from the dishes mentioned below.
Dragon Broccoli
One of the most appealing vegan options at Red Lobster you can find is Dragon Broccoli. Recommended by PETA, the Dragon Broccoli is described as golden-fried flowers crowned with green onions and dabbed in a spicy soy-ginger sauce. For people enjoying spicy food, Dragon Broccoli is a satisfying dish.
Keep in mind; Dragon Broccoli is cooked along with seafood products and products containing milk in the shared fryer.
Marinara Pasta
You will not find marinara pasta on their vegan menu; however, they can readily make the dish from available ingredients. The marinara sauce is purely vegan, and you can pair it with any side to enhance your meal’s taste.
French Fries
French fries are the savior at any restaurant if you aren’t sure about their vegan-friendly options. Thus, you can find French Fries under the vegan options at Red Lobster. The ketchup at Red Lobster is also vegan-friendly.
Unlike other restaurants, Red Lobsters doesn’t use animal fat or lard in French fries.
Baked Potato
Though an unappetizing vegan option, you can pair the baked potato with some side dishes or toppings such as pico de gallo. At Red Lobsters, if you want to eat baked potato without sour cream or butter, you can request it.
Garden Salad
The dish is a minimal and simple salad, including fresh veggies. Most of the vegan options at Red Lobsters are fried. However, you can request them to remove the cheese to make the dish entirely vegan-friendly.
Red Lobster offers a salad dressing called champagne vinaigrette. Don’t worry; it’s also entirely vegan-friendly.
Rice Pilaf
If you want to pair some dishes with Dragon Broccoli, it should be rice pilaf. However, it’s just plain rice, but it makes an excellent filling for a meal.
Seasoned Fresh Broccoli
You have another vegan option under broccoli. If you cannot handle spicy food, you can opt for seasoned fresh broccoli. Pair it with potato and pasta to have a more fulfilling dish.
Kids Menu – Orange Wedges
Orange wedges are a great addition to vegan-friendly options, especially for kids. Not just the taste, vitamin C helps increase iron absorption in your body.
Red Lobster sometimes includes fruit cups in the kids’ menu, which is another excellent vegan-friendly option.
Seasonal Veggies
For vegans, veggies are a fulfilling and healthy option. The menu items will vary as per the location and season; you may find the following veggies at Red Lobster:
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Brussels sprouts
Sauces, Dressings, and Toppings
Now, you have composed your vegan diet, but where is the dressing? The dressing can enrich the taste and flavor of your dish.
You must make sure that there are no dairy products used in the dressing of a vegan dish. Fortunately, Red Lobsters serves several vegan-friendly sauces, dressings, and toppings.
- Soy-ginger glaze
- Pineapple relish topping
- Pico de gallo
- Olive oil
- Mustard
- Marinara sauce
- Ketchup
- Cocktail sauce
- Champagne vinaigrette
Drinks – Non-Alcoholic and Alcoholic
No dish is complete without a drink. Red Lobsters offers a wide range of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
First, let us list the non-alcoholic and soft drinks at Red Lobster:
- Sprite
- Iced tea
- Hot tea
- Dr Pepper
- Diet Coke
- Coke
- Lemonade
- Iced tea
- Root beer
The alcoholic drinks at Red Lobster include:
- Wine
- Sangria
- Pina colada
- Mojito
- Martini
- Daiquiri
- Margarita
- Bloody Mary
- Beer
Whole Food Plant-Based Vegan Options at Red Lobsters
Does Red Lobster serve whole-food plant-based options in their restaurants? What if you’re not just avoiding animal products but also processed food? Can you find your perfect meal at the restaurant?
The answer is Yes. Let’s check out the whole-food plant-based options at Red Lobster:
- Pineapple relish topping
- Pico de gallo
- Orange wedges
- Broccoli
- Baked potato without sour cream or butter
- Garden salad without cheese
The inclusion of baked potato is a healthy option to satiate your hunger. The only drawback is that baked potato contains a high glycemic index. For insulin-resistant customers, it is better to avoid it.
Apart from that, add some greens and broccoli to make a proper meal. Also, add pico de gallo to enhance the flavor.
Does Red Lobster Have Fully Vegan Dishes?
Red Lobster is popularly known for its shrimp and seafood dishes. Nevertheless, they have incorporated vegan-friendly options for their vegan customers.
Though the list is not too huge, some menu items might seem vegan; unfortunately, they aren’t. Therefore, keep an eye on the following dishes:
- Pina colada dipping sauce: The sauce includes dairy.
- Loaded seaside fries: Though they are fries, they include dairy.
- Mashed potatoes: They also use dairy in the preparation.
- Whipped sweet potatoes: This is not a vegan option as the dish is served along with honey-roasted pecans and contains dairy.
- Petite Red Lobster rolls: The dish also contains dairy.
Can Red Lobster Modify Their Dishes to Make Them Vegan?
Red Lobster has a minimum but enough options to satisfy the taste and flavor requirements of vegan. Moreover, the restaurant can make their dishes more vegan-friendly at your request. You can make some modifications to their menu items.
Starters
The basic sourdough bread recipe at Red Lobster is a vegan-friendly option. The vegetables and crispy calamari come with fried bell peppers and fried broccoli; you can inquire about their frying method.
Entrees
For entrees, you can order a garden salad without croutons. There is a wide range of vegetable side dishes for entrees. Fresh seasonal asparagus and steamed broccoli make a good option; make sure it’s not served with butter.
Are the Cheddar Biscuits Vegan?
No, the cheddar biscuits are not vegan at Red Lobster. It contains milk and cheese. Even all the biscuits at Red Lobsters are not vegan-friendly.
Other Restaurant Chains With Vegan Options
Apart from Red Lobsters, numerous food chains followed and included vegan in their menu. Let’s name a few:
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins serves three different vegan ice creams, including coffee caramel chunks, chocolate chip cookie dough, and chocolate extreme. Additionally, there are two vegan sorbet flavors, which include watermelon splash ice and daiquiri Ice.
Chipotle
The vegan option available at Chipotle is sofritas. It is organic tofu topped with spices and peppers. The restaurant also offers a wide vegan toppings selection including, guacamole, lettuce, salsas, and fajita veggies.
Olive Garden
The breadsticks served at Olive Garden are vegan-friendly because it has soy topping instead of butter. There are plenty of pasta choices in vegan, including gluten-free rotini spaghetti, angel hair, and many more.
Quiznos
Quiznos serves a bowl filled with veggies such as mushrooms, red onions, black olives, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes. Make sure to order the dish without the cheese.
Starbucks
The lentils and brown rice in Vegetable Protein Bowl is a pure vegan options at Starbucks. Some other vegan options to try include blueberry oatmeal or the Seasonal Harvest Fruit Blend.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell Includes a variety of vegan-friendly options such as cilantro rice, cinnamon twists, Mexican rice, and many more. You can modify several dishes to make them vegan-friendly, such as a black bean burrito with no cheese.
Final Thoughts
Red Lobster isn’t one of the places where you can find multiple vegan-friendly options but enough to have a filling meal of the day. Also, Red Lobster can provide you with dishes to take care of allergies. Just specify your allergy, and they can recommend what dishes are best for you.
A vegan diet is not just related to a healthy diet but creating awareness among people to take care of the environment. Many restaurants have now included at least one vegan dish on their menus. So, it won’t take much time when vegan options are available at various popular restaurants.
