Answer: yes — Applebee’s publishes its own Vegetarian and Vegan Menu Guide, and that guide names 17 vegan menu items, not one. But the only copy we could obtain is an archived one, so read the dating note below before you rely on it.
A correction, up front
An earlier version of this page told readers that the Impossible Burger was the only vegan option at Applebee’s, that the brioche bun and the breadsticks should be avoided, and that a dish called “Crispy Red Potatoes” was advertised by Applebee’s as dairy-free. All four of those statements were wrong against Applebee’s own published guide. We have removed them and explained each one below rather than quietly deleting them.
We also removed roughly 250 words about a PETA petition, a paraphrased “Applebee’s spokesperson” quote, a claim about Applebee’s switching from animal lard to soybean oil, and a description of how the Impossible patty is manufactured. None of that came from Applebee’s, and this site only publishes what a restaurant publishes about its own food.
Where this information comes from — and why it carries a date warning
Applebee’s publishes a six-page PDF called the Vegetarian and Vegan Menu Guide at applebees.com/-/media/applebees2/files/applebees-vegan-and-vegetarian-guide-mm4111825.pdf. Every page of it is footed with the line “This information is applicable as of 11/12/2025.”
We could not reach applebees.com. The site returns Cloudflare Error 1009 — a country-level block — from every route available to us, including a direct request, a request from a different server, a challenge-solving proxy and a rendering crawler. The document quoted on this page is therefore an archived copy, captured by the Internet Archive on 2026-03-12, of a guide Applebee’s itself dates 11/12/2025.
That means two dates matter here, and neither of them is today. Nothing below has been confirmed against a live Applebee’s page. Treat it as what Applebee’s said in late 2025, not as a guarantee about what is on the menu in front of you.
Applebee’s own definition of vegan
This is the most useful thing Applebee’s publishes, and the previous version of this page never quoted it. From the Vegan Menu Guide, verbatim:
“Applebee’s defines vegan as a menu item that does not contain beef, poultry, pork, seafood, dairy, eggs, and honey. In addition, Applebee’s vegan menu items do not contain animal sourced gelatin, flavors, colors, or enzymes. Because we have multiple sources of animal products in our shared cooking and prep areas, including common fryer oil, we are unable to guarantee that any menu item be completely free of animal products. Limited time offers, regional items, test items, or temporary substitutions may not be included.”
Applebee’s keeps a separate, weaker vegetarian definition — and the difference is the whole point of this page:
“Applebee’s defines vegetarian as a menu item that may contain dairy, eggs, and honey but does not contain beef, poultry, pork, or seafood.”
So an item on Applebee’s vegetarian list is not automatically on its vegan list. Onion rings, coleslaw, plain fries, garlic mashed potatoes, tomato basil soup, spinach artichoke dip and all four desserts appear on the vegetarian list and not on the vegan one.
The 17 items Applebee’s lists as vegan
Counted from the “Menu Items” column of the Vegan Menu Guide: 12 adult items and 5 kids’ items. Ten of the 17 carry a required modification, which Applebee’s writes into the item name itself.
- Appetizers: Brew Pub Pretzels & Beer Cheese Dip (no beer cheese dip or honey mustard, add marinara); White Queso Dip & Chips (no white queso, add guacamole)
- Salads: Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad (no chicken)
- Pasta: Breadsticks with Alfredo Sauce (no alfredo and garlic butter, substitute marinara)
- Bowls: Southwest Chicken Bowl (no chicken); Tex-Mex Lime Shrimp Bowl (no shrimp)
- Handcrafted Burgers: Impossible Cheeseburger (no cheese); Bourbon Street Burger (substitute Impossible patty, no mayonnaise and cheese)
- Sides: Baked Potato (no butter or sour cream); Waffle Fries; Steamed Broccoli (no butter)
- Soups & Side Salads: House Salad (no cheese)
- Kid’s Menu: Kid’s Hamburger (substitute Impossible patty); Broccoli Trees; Mott’s Applesauce Cup; 100% Apple Juice; Mango or Blue Tropical Smoothie
Two sections are blank. Under Sandwiches & More and under Desserts, Applebee’s writes: “No options available at this time.” That is a brand telling you plainly that it has nothing for you, and it is worth more than a guess.
Sauces, dressings and breads Applebee’s names as vegan
- Dips and sauces: Marinara, Guacamole, Chipotle Lime Salsa, Pico de Gallo
- Dressings: Italian Dressing, Lemon Olive Oil Vinaigrette
- Breads: Potato Bread and Brioche Bun — listed in the guide’s Tips column under both Handcrafted Burgers and Sandwiches & More
- Applebee’s also suggests asking for a side of black bean corn salsa
- Marinara is named twice: as a vegan dip and as the vegan pasta sauce. Applebee’s also states flatly that “Pasta noodles are vegan.”
The previous version of this page listed ten dressings, seven of which do not exist under those names on Applebee’s menu — “champagne vinaigrette”, “fat-free Italian” and “chunky red pepper relish” among them. Those have been removed. The claim that the add-ons are “usually free” was also unsourced and is gone.
What Applebee’s tells you to avoid, and why
Applebee’s names its own reasons, which are better than ours:
- Oriental Dressing — Applebee’s says it “contains chicken”. The old version of this page said it “may have honey”. That was invented; the real reason is chicken.
- Caesar Dressing — Applebee’s says it “contains anchovies”.
- Beer Cheese Dip, White Queso, Ranch Dressing, Mozzarella Sticks, Parmesan Cream Sauce, Alfredo Sauce — Applebee’s says these “may contain rennet or animal enzymes”.
- Soups — the guide’s instruction is broader than the old page’s two examples. It reads: “Avoid All Soups.”
The shared fryer — Applebee’s says the opposite of what this page used to say
The previous version told readers to “check with your server that the fryer for vegan dishes is separate.” Applebee’s states in print, twice, that it is not:
“Because we have multiple sources of animal products in our shared cooking and prep areas, including common fryer oil, we are unable to guarantee that any menu item be completely free of animal products.”
There is no separate fryer to ask for. If shared fryer oil is a dealbreaker for you, the fried items are out regardless of what the guide lists.
Specific things this page got wrong before
- “Crispy Red Potatoes” — the phrase “Crispy Red”, “Red Potato” and “red potato” appear zero times in the six-page guide, and the item is absent from the 188 item names on Applebee’s national menu page as archived on 2026-07-26. The old page attributed the claim to Applebee’s (“The Applebee’s website says so itself”). Applebee’s never said it. Removed.
- Brioche bun listed under “avoid” — Applebee’s lists the Brioche Bun as a vegan bread. Removed from the avoid list.
- Breadsticks listed under “avoid”, “premade with butter” — Applebee’s lists Breadsticks with Alfredo Sauce as a vegan option once the alfredo and garlic butter are left off. The “premade with butter” claim had no source. Removed.
- “The only vegan option is the Impossible Burger” — Applebee’s guide lists 17 vegan items plus six vegan sauces and dressings.
- “Only available in select locations… if you live in New York” — Applebee’s guide applies no geographic restriction to the Impossible items.
- “Southwest Steak Salad” — not on the current menu. The guide’s item is the Southwest Chicken Bowl (no chicken).
- “Wildberry” and “Bananaberry” smoothies — neither exists. The guide’s vegan smoothies are Mango and Blue Tropical, on the kids’ menu.
- French fries as the vegan potato side — Applebee’s vegan side is Waffle Fries. Plain Fries sit on the vegetarian list only.
- A list of drinks including ginger ale, root beer, Sobe Life Water and Perrier — none of those appear on Applebee’s current menu, and none is on the vegan list. Removed. The only drink Applebee’s puts on the vegan list is 100% Apple Juice, on the kids’ menu.
One open question we could not close
Applebee’s vegan guide is built around the Impossible patty — the phrases “Impossible Cheeseburger” and “substitute an Impossible patty” appear eight times — and around a Baked Potato. On Applebee’s own national menu page, as archived on 2026-07-26, the words “Impossible” and “Baked Potato” appear zero times across all 188 item names.
That page is location-agnostic and availability genuinely varies by restaurant, so this is not proof that either item has been withdrawn. But it is a live risk that the guide’s flagship vegan option no longer matches the menu, and we cannot resolve it because Applebee’s blocks us. Do not assume the Impossible burger is available. Ask before you go.
Wrap Up
Applebee’s is better documented than most casual chains: it writes down what it means by vegan, it separates that from vegetarian, it names the required modifications item by item, and it tells you outright when a section has nothing to offer. That is genuinely useful.
The catch is currency. The guide is dated November 2025, we read it from a March 2026 archive, and Applebee’s blocks the region we work from, so we cannot check it against today’s menu. Use the guide as a shopping list of questions to ask, not as a promise, and confirm the item is on the menu at your location before you build a meal around it.
