Black Bear Diner is a restaurant chain in the Western US serving numerous old-fashioned and home-style comfort foods. However, when it comes to vegan foods, Black Bear Diner contains limited options.
Here’s everything you need to know about Black Bear Diner’s menu:
Black Bear Diner has up to eleven vegan options to choose from. The most delicious and popular vegan options at Black Bear Diner include Avocado Toast, Bob’s Steel Cut Red Mill Oatmeal, and Fruit Bowl.
However, to give you a more detailed perspective, below, we have compiled a list of all vegan options at Black Bear Diner.
Table of Contents
What Do We Know About Black Bear Diner?
In 1995, Bob & Laurie Manley and Bruce Dean opened their first restaurant in Mount Shasta, California. Currently, the company has more than 143 restaurants in fourteen states.
The uniqueness of these restaurants lies in their decoration. Every franchise is decorated with a 12ft tall black bear carved in wood by Ray Schulz. Besides black bear, these restaurants also contain numerous additional artworks created by Colleen Mitchell-Veyna, Gary Fitzgerald, and Steve.
The Menu of Black Bear Diner copies an old newspaper labeled “The Black Bear Gazette.” With the same format, the children’s menu at Black Bear Diner is titled “The Beary Tale Times,” which includes shakes, salads, burgers, and breakfast.
Vegan Options at Black Bear Diner
Black Bear Diner contains several vegan options on its menu. However, this restaurant is still not ideal for you as the vegan options are limited. If you are a foodie, you can check this one out for flavor, but it won’t be a go-to place.
Here are some of the most delicious vegan options at Black Bear Diner:
Burger
Let’s start our list with burgers. Like all other restaurants, Black Bear Diner does not offer many options for vegan burgers. The only burger that falls into the vegan category is Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burger.
Praeger’s Veggie Burger
Dr. Praeger’s is a California-based restaurant. Black Bear Diner and Dr. Praeger join forces to create this delicious and mouth-watering burger. This plant-based veggie burger is safe for vegans and worth every penny.
Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burger combines spinach, broccoli, peas, carrots, onion, zucchini, and more. It is free from soy, GMOs, and gluten. However, there is a chance of cross-contamination with animal-based foods. Therefore, we suggest asking the chef to use vegan-friendly equipment.
Beary Lite
Black Bear Diner has a category known as “Beary Lite.” The restaurant offers four delicious meals in this category, including Fruit Bowl, Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oatmeal, Avocado Toast, and Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sausage Scramble.
Of all these options, only Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sausage Scramble is not vegan-friendly as it is loaded with dairy and animal products.
Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oatmeal
Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oatmeal is one of the best vegan options at Black Bear Diner. This dish is made from pure, whole, high-protein oat groats cut into tiny pieces with a steel burr mill.
By default, Black Bear Diner serves this meal with raisins, cinnamon, nut medley, brown sugar, and 2% milk. As dairy is not suitable for vegans, you should order Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oatmeal without milk.
Avocado Toast
In the Beary Lite category, Black Bear Diner also offers avocado toast. This toast contains up to 550 calories and is served with eggs and fresh fruit. However, it is completely modifiable, so you should avoid eggs to follow your vegan diet.
Black Bear Diner’s avocado toast contains whole wheat and fresh avocado. You must try out this toast whenever you visit Black Bear Diner because it is worth every penny.
Fruit Bowl
Fruits and vegetables are the best friends of a vegan. Therefore, whenever a vegan goes to a restaurant, they order a veggie salad or a fruit bowl. The fruit bowl is undoubtedly the healthiest food you can get from a restaurant.
Black Bear Diner also offers a fruit bowl. It contains delicious grapes, freshly cut watermelon, and sliced strawberries. This bowl usually has up to 230 calories and is rich in healthy nutrients.
Breakfast Extras
As mentioned earlier, Black Bear Diner is famous for its “old-fashioned” and “homemade” food options. This restaurant chain generally covers all appetites, from breakfast to dinner.
When it comes to breakfast, Black Bear Diner features a category known as “Breakfast Extras.” Although there are several dishes in this category, only three are suitable for non-meat-eating customers, including:
Toast or English Muffin
Black Bear Diner offers both English Muffin and Toast. Remember that this restaurant serves these foods with a European butter blend. As European butter blend is a by-product of dairy, you should order their Toast or English Muffin without butter blend.
Country Red Potatoes
With delicious taste, the country red potatoes are pretty good for your health. Black Bear Diner’s country red potatoes are high in potassium and low in sodium. As a result, this dish is a significant contributor to maintaining healthy blood pressure.
If one of your family or friend member is non-vegan, we suggest trying these potatoes out with diced bacon or cheddar cheese. A combination of red country potatoes and cheddar cheese is also suitable for Lacto-vegetarians.
Strip-Cut Hash Browns
Next, we have strip-cut Hash Browns. This dish offers a larger surface for more crispy goodness. Black Bear Diner offers delicious Hash Browns that are not overdone. They are crisp and delicious. If you are a Lacto-vegetarian, you can try this dish out with cheddar cheese.
Sides
Like all other restaurants, Black Bear Diner also offers some side dishes. These are delicious and not so heavy on the stomach. These side dishes include:
French Fries
No menu is completed without French fries as a side dish. Whether you are a vegan or meat-eating customer, you’ll love the French fries at Black Bear Diner. These fries are crispy and delicious. To enjoy their full-bodied flavor, we recommend using ketchup or mustard as a topping.
Sweet Potato Fries
Black Bear Diner also offers sweet potato fries. Even though these are not the healthiest option, they are still delicious and vegan.
Baked Potatoes
Another side dish that you’ll love at Black Bear Diner is baked potatoes. This dish is delicious as well as healthy. You can get vegan-friendly seasonings to enjoy your baked potatoes.
House Salad
In the dinner category, Black Bear Diner also offers house salad. This one is the only salad at this restaurant that is entirely vegan. You don’t need to modify it as it contains only plant-based ingredients.
However, try avoiding ranch dressing as it is not vegan-friendly, and order vegan-friendly dressing to enjoy your salad without guilt.
Beverages
There are lots of vegan options when it comes to beverages at Black Bear Diner. These options include:
- Lemonade
- Pepsi
- Dr. Pepper
- Sierra Mist
- Mountain Dew
- Mug Root Beer
- Iced Tea
- Assorted Juices
- Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
- Arnold Palmer
Vegan Alternatives to Black Bear Diner
When it comes to unique decoration, there is no better place than Black Bear Diner. However, as you can see, this restaurant chain offers a limited number of vegan foods. So, it’s rational to ask what vegan alternatives to Black Bear Diner are.
Well, we have done some research and found the following restaurants as the best alternative to Black Bear Diner:
Chili’s
Chili’s offers a detailed menu for vegans. It offers tostada chips with salsa as an appetizer and numerous other dishes, including:
- Steamed Broccoli
- Fried Pickles
- Caribbean Salad
- Corn Tortilla
- Mexican Rice And Beans
Applebee’s
We have included Applebee’s in this list just because of their Impossible Burger. Applebee’s added this burger to their menu just because of PETA’s petition. After PETA’s petition, Applebee’s added the first veggie burger to its menu.
Other than Impossible Burger, vegan options at Applebee’s include:
- Steamed Broccoli
- Crispy Red Potatoes
- Salads
- Baked Potatoes
- Sauces and Dressings
Red Robin
Red Robin is a popular casual-dining restaurant loved in the United States. This restaurant has more than 500 branches nationwide. For vegans, Red Robin offers the following dishes:
- Veggie Burger
- Impossible Gourmet Burger
- Buns
- Burger Patty
- Toppings
- Sauces
- Steak Fries
- Chips, Salsa and Guacamole
Jamba Juice
The vegan options at Jamba Juice are relatively simple. Most items on their menu are free from dairy and animal products. This restaurant is famous for its Oatly – vegan-friendly oat milk.
The vegan options are Jamba juice, including:
- Vegan Pumpkin Smash Smoothie
- Strawberry Whirl
- Pomegranate Paradise
- Peach Perfection
- Vanilla Blue Sky
- Strawberry Gone Bananas
- Toppings
Wrapping Up
When it comes to vegan options at Black Bear Diner, the menu is simple. There are eleven vegan options at this restaurant chain other than beverages. Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oatmeal is our favorite out of eleven.
However, some dishes do require modification. So, it would be best if you read your dish’s ingredients before making a selection.