Chili’s, an American restaurant chain, serves one of the best Mexican cuisine and burgers. They have more than sixteen hundred locations around the world. Even though they serve a wide variety, they especially welcome vegans with a separately listed menu.
Chili’s keeps a detailed menu for vegans. It starts with appetizers such as Tostada chips with salsa that is dairy-free. Other vegan options at Chili’s are Mexican rice and beans, corn tortilla, Caribbean salad, fried pickles, and steamed broccoli.
If you wish to try the vegan or vegetarian-friendly options at Chili’s, make sure to give the mentioned food items a try!
Table of Contents
Tostada Chips and Salsa
Tostada Chips and Salsa stay clear of any dairy products. All kinds of chips served here at Chili’s are fit for vegan diets. They are extra thin and are made fresh every day.
They fry these chips in soy oil. However, the restaurant fries non-vegetarian crisps and vegan crisps in the same oil. Therefore, if you are not up for sharing a fryer with any non-vegetarian dish, do inform the restaurant.
If they don’t approve your request, try not ordering chips at Chili’s.
In any case, Tostada Chips and Salsa are popular snacks in the US for vegans. Not just vegans but even non-vegetarian customers at Chili’s enjoy these crispy tostada chips that complement well with their vegan salsa.
Mexican Rice and Beans
This is one of the best vegan options at Chili’s. It is the heaviest option they serve, but it tastes good. Make sure not to order their black beans and veggie fajitas because they have a high milk concentration.
On the other hand, Mexican rice here is purely vegan. To create your own vegetarian or vegan diet, pair it up with any beans you like, along with some yummy veggies. This makes up for meals you had to miss during the day and leaves you satisfied to the core.
Black beans go well with boiled vegetables such as broccoli or grilled asparagus.
Corn Tortilla
One of the most popular vegan options at Chili’s to try, corn tortillas are free from any meat or dairy product. It is a famous snack all over the United States and is now getting popular worldwide. It is a type of flatbread that is crispy and very delicious.
You can also pair it up with beans and rice or just beans too. You can customize your food depending on the combo you are looking for.
Caribbean Salad
Caribbean salad contains no traces of meat. The restaurant adds no substitute dressing that could affect your vegan or vegetarian diet. The salad consists of all vegetarian options such as pineapples, cranberries after they have dried, bell peppers, mandarin oranges, and one dressing of your choice.
They give you a total of two options when it comes to dressing. The first is honey-lime dressing, which is not vegan-friendly, and the second is citrus balsamic vinaigrette. The second option is safe for vegans and goes well with the salad.
Fried Pickles
Fried pickles at Chili’s make up a great side dish for vegans. They are slightly tangy in taste and are made crispy as a bonus. They are full-filling for a snack, and you can order them before you start your meal. Fried pickles are made especially for vegans and vegetarians.
Steamed Broccoli
Steamed broccoli is a good option for a vegan diet at Chili’s. Pair it up with different sauces or eaten as a side dish. Order it with Mexican rice or black beans to add to its taste. Steamed broccoli at Chili’s also combines well with a vegan dressing.
Citrus balsamic vinaigrette is a popular vegan dressing at Chili’s.
Vegan Sauces
To ensure you get a delicious meal at Chili’s, they even serve you sauces that are great for vegan diets. These sauces contain no traces of meat or dairy products and are thus safe. Check out the list below:b
- Home-made barbeque sauce
- Regular barbeque sauce
- Salsa
- Guacamole
Vegan Dressings
Besides vegan sauces and sides, Chili’s also serves dressings that taste good and complement almost every dish you order.
- Pico de gallo
- Citrus balsamic vinaigrette
Are There Vegan Options at Chili’s for Burgers and Soups?
Chili’s has no burger or soup option that could be used for a vegan diet. There are veggie burgers that serve well to vegetarians but not vegans. These burgers contain a patty made of black beans. This patty also includes dairy products along with eggs.
You can replace the egg patty with a pure veg patty as well.
You may also order several vegan drink options at Chili’s. Here, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are present. However, as their menu changes regularly, asking for options at the restaurant works best.
Should Chili’s Improve the Vegan Game?
As per its sales statistics and average profit-earning, Chili’s has started to witness a heavy downfall in its fans and regular customers. As the world is more inclined towards animal rights, restaurants like Chili’s have to think fresh and develop strategies to improve their image.
The restaurant’s name has come up in various chicken cruelty news flashes, and as a result, it struggles to this day. As far as its market presence goes, several competitors have joined with animal welfare associations and pledged to improve the situation. As a result, Chili’s popularity went down at a high rate.
This global partnership works to rescue chickens from slaughterhouses that chain them. As per One Green Planet, chickens are dragged in electrified water to lose consciousness before getting their throat cut off.
Which Restaurants Have Signed This Partnership?
- BJ’s Restaurants
- Panera bread
- TGI Fridays
- Red Robin
- Chipotle
Vegan Menu
According to Peta, Chili’s has less than an acceptable number of vegan options to choose from.
Despite being in the market for more than forty-five years, Chili has only a handful of vegetarian and vegan options. For the main course, it has only one option. All its burgers either contain meat or eggs.
Peta’s website states that Chili’s has several competitors that have started serving vegan burgers for a long time. Some of these competitors are Jonny Rockets, The Cheesecake Factory, Denny’s, White Castle, Red Robin, Yard house, and many more.
Many vegans and vegetarians have come up to sign a plethora of petitions that could improve their menu to help this situation.
Steps Vegans Can Take
Even though Chili’s is a privately owned restaurant chain, as the public, we hold power over the food they serve. Being a world-renowned food chain makes it responsible for all its actions to make its menu vegan-friendly.
As the public, we can take steps such as signing petitions, sending animal-friendly posts and mails, and making more and more people aware of the same. As the restaurant’s reputation had already been degraded, losing more support can get intolerable for Chili’s.
To End
Even though Chili’s does not match up with animal welfare associations’ expectations, it offers several options for vegan and vegetarian customers. As the world is growing more aware of animal rights, the number of vegans compared to vegetarians has increased.
According to Google Trends, for every vegetarian in the world, there are two vegans now. This has made the availability of vegan foods a high priority for customers now.