What Are the Vegan Options at Back Yard Burgers? (Updated Guide)

  • By: Daniel B.
  • Date: February 1, 2023
  • Time to read: 6 min.

Following a vegan-friendly diet is not a piece of cake, especially if you eat food prepared outside your home. However, luckily, many food chain restaurants have included vegan-friendly dishes in their menus in recent years, including Back Yard Burgers. 

Without further ado, let’s jump in!

The prominent vegan options at Back Yard Burgers include Impossible Burger without mayo or cheese, potato fries, waffle fries, and seasoned fries. In addition, Back Yard Burgers also offers vegan-friendly salads, beverages, and toppings that you can enjoy without guilt.

Keep reading to learn more about the vegan options at Back Yard Burgers: 

Back Yard Burgers – A Brief Description

Back Yard Burgers is an American chain of quick-serve restaurants. The headquarters of Back Yard Burgers are positioned in Nashville, Tennessee. According to their website, this company has more than 46 restaurants in the Midwestern and Southern United States.

Lattimore Michael, the founder of Back Yard Burgers, opened his 1st branch in 1987. His vision was to connect people through great conversation and fresh-grilled burgers. From the beginning, the franchise tries to distinguish itself from other food chains by using 100% Black Angus beef.

The Back Yard Burgers also offers baked potatoes, salads, vegetarian garden burgers, and other side dishes, besides delicious and mouth-watering fresh-grilled burgers. 

Top Vegan Options at Back Yard Burgers

Now that you know a little history about Back Yard Burgers, it’s time to learn about different vegan options at this food chain restaurant. It’s worth noting that the menu of this restaurant varies by location. So, if one franchise offers vegan dishes, others might not have them.

Below, we have compiled a list of some of the most delicious vegan options at Back Yard Burgers. We hope the list will be of some help to you!

Garden Veggie Sandwich

Let’s start with the veggie burger offered by Back Yard Burgers. Originally, veggie burger or Gardenburger was a product of Gardenhouse – a vegetarian restaurant in Gresham, Oregon.

However, Burger King also offers a veggie burger. This burger is known as Garden Veggie Sandwich and contains regular Gardenburger, pickles, mustard, ketchup, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce.

Back Yard Burgers does not use dairy or animal products in this sandwich, making it a perfect choice for vegans. 

Impossible Burger

Many BYB locations are now selling this burger. So, you should definitely ask about it.

If you are one of those people who don’t know much about Impossible Burger, it is the newest and most realistic vegetarian burger available in the market. As mayo and cheese are dairy products, you should order this burger without these ingredients.

However, if you are a Lacto-vegetarian, you don’t have to modify this burger.

Fried Pickles

Back Yard Burgers offers fried pickles entirely free from milk and eggs. Yes, this is quite unusual because fried pickles bread is generally non-vegan at other restaurants. However, the Back Yard Burgers allergen menu indicates that this dish is free from dairy and only contains wheat.

Usually, fried pickles come with ranch dressing. As this dressing is not vegan-friendly, we recommend finding a vegan alternative. The best vegan alternatives to ranch dressing include:

  • Mustard
  • Ketchup
  • BBQ Sauce

Salad

No vegan food list can be completed without salads. Salads are both delicious and healthy. Back Yard Burgers offers a side salad that contains red onions, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce blend, croutons, and cheese.

This dish is modifiable, meaning you can modify it to make it vegan. We recommend removing croutons and cheese and adding some extra veggies to make it a vegan salad. 

The salad options at Back Yard Burgers all contain animal products, including meat. So, you indeed have to customize them a little bit.

Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are like the king of potatoes. Along with its delicious taste, this food is healthy and rich in nutrients. Indeed all franchise of Back Yard Burgers sells baked potatoes. While ordering this filling food, make sure to ask for no sour cream and no butter.

Sweet Potato Fries

Fortunately, all Back Yard Burgers locations offer sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes are considered a healthier alternative to white potatoes. But still, they are not the healthiest food in the world. Regardless of nutritional values, sweet potato fries are delicious and completely vegan.

Waffle Fries

Several Back Yard Burgers franchises offer waffle fries. We prefer waffle fries over sweet potato fries thanks to their consistency and texture. Back Yard Burgers uses different fryers for both animal products and vegetables. So you don’t have to worry about cross-contact. 

Seasoned Fries

Other fries that deserve a spot on our list are Back Yard Burger’s special seasoned fries. They also use different fryers for these fries, so you don’t have to worry about cross-contact. In addition, the seasoning used in this food is also vegan, so enjoy it without any guilt.

Extras, Toppings, and Buns

Unlike other food chain restaurants, Back Yard Burgers is an excellent restaurant for vegans. They offer numerous dishes you can enjoy without consuming dairy or animal products.

Along with the dishes mentioned above, Back Yard Burgers also offers some extras, toppings, and buns for vegans, including:

Dressings, Condiments, and Sauces

  • Balsamic Vinaigrette
  • Mustard
  • Ketchup
  • BBQ Sauce

Toppings

  • Jalapeno Slices
  • Onion Rings
  • Lettuce Leaf
  • Sliced Tomatoes
  • Pickle Chips
  • Sauteed Mushrooms
  • Pineapple Slices

Bread Products

  • 12-Inch White Tortilla
  • White Bun

Back Yard Burgers also offers wheat tortillas and wheat bun. As the main ingredient of these bread products is honey, you should confirm if they are vegan before placing your order.

Beverages

You cannot eat at a restaurant without getting a drink. As many drinks out there contain artificial colors and flavors that are not vegan-friendly, it’s pretty hard to find vegan beverages at a restaurant.

However, that’s not the case at Back Yard Burgers. This restaurant offers several beverages that are vegan-friendly, including:

  • Sweetened Tea
  • Unsweetened Tea
  • Dr. Pepper
  • Tropicana Fruit Punch
  • Mug Root Beer
  • Mountain Dew
  • Sobe Lean Grapefruit
  • Sierra Mist
  • Diet Pepsi
  • Pepsi
  • Strawberry Lemonade
  • Lemonade

WFPB Options at Back Yard Burgers

WFPB, or Whole-Food Plant-Based, is not a diet but a lifestyle. In this lifestyle, a person consumes plant-based ingredients in their most natural form. So, what if you are not just vegan but also avoid processed food?

Well, you don’t have to worry; the Back Yard Burgers got you covered. There are numerous WFPB options at Back Yard Burgers that do not contain flour, added sugar, or processed oil. These dishes are:

  • Side Salad (Without Croutons and Cheese)
  • Baked Potatoes (Without Sour Cream or Butter)

Is Back Yard Burgers Healthy?

So, there are lots of vegan dishes available at Back Yard Burgers. But you might be wondering about the overall nutritional value of these options. You don’t have to worry because we have you covered. 

According to the official website of Back Yard Burgers, these vegan dishes are made of organic, local, and fresh ingredients. In addition, other than bread products that contain wheat, all dishes mentioned earlier are free from gluten and dairy.

Back Yard Burgers also offer a nutrition calculator that allows you to calculate the nutritional values even before ordering a dish. This calculator is accurate and also includes an interactive nutrition menu.

For non-meat-eating consumers, Back Yard Burgers uses a divided grill that separates vegan items from animal products. In addition, to eliminate the risk of cross-contact, Back Yard Burgers also uses separate fryers for both vegan and meat-eating customers.

In short, Back Yard Burgers offer delicious and healthier food options for vegans. They are pretty strict about their menu. The menu of Back Yard Burgers features no shellfish or fish, so this is an excellent option for those with allergies.

Vegan Alternatives to Back Yard Burgers

Back Yard Burgers has numerous vegan options. However, they are not enough if you are a foodie. You cannot just survive on Impossible Burger or veggie sandwich. Therefore, below we have mentioned two more vegan restaurants that have lots of vegan options.

Viva Chicken

Viva Chicken features an exciting menu when it comes to vegan dishes. They have several dishes loaded with vegan-friendly ingredients and the same amount of deliciousness. These dishes include:

  • Viva Salad
  • Limena Chopped
  • Andina Power Food
  • Sandwiches and Wraps
  • Ince Wrap
  • French Fries
  • Tacu Boal
  • Arroz Chaufa

Kung Fu Tea

If you like Chinese dishes, Kung Fu Tea is the place for you. This restaurant is suitable for all preferences and tastes. It offers the following vegan options:

  • Classic Series Flavor
  • Punch Series Flavor
  • Slush Series Flavor
  • Vegan Toppings

In a Nutshell

Back Yard Burgers has numerous vegan options that are free from dairy and animal products. If you have an empty stomach, the Impossible Burger and veggie sandwich is the best pick for you.

However, remember that you have to modify some dishes to make them vegan. So, be careful while ordering at Back Yard Burgers.

Happy eating!