Portillo’s is one of the most famous food brands in Chicago, United States. The brand started as a small trailer in 1963 and was initially called ‘The Dog House’. Over the decades the trailer grew into one of the trademark places in Chicago and the chain has since expanded well beyond Illinois.
Vegan Options at Portillo’s
Portillo’s is unusually direct about this. It publishes a full nutrition and allergen guide, and its FAQ page answers the vegan question in plain language rather than leaving customers to guess. That makes this one of the easier chains to check — and it also means two things this article previously told you were simply wrong.
Here is what Portillo’s says on its own FAQ page: “While we don’t have a separate vegan menu, you can easily modify our salads to remove cheese or meat. We also offer our 100% plant-based Garden Dog®, and select locations offer vegetarian pasta dishes. Please note: Our French fries are not vegan, as they are cooked in a blend of vegetable oil and beef tallow.”
Everything below is checked against that FAQ and against Portillo’s Nutrition and Allergen Information guide (July 2026 edition), both accessed 28 July 2026. Portillo’s notes that this data is compiled from supplier information and is “intended to serve as a guide for personal use – it is not a guarantee”, so it is still worth confirming at the counter.
What Can I Order at Portillo’s as a Vegan?
One menu item is vegan by the brand’s own definition, and the salads can be modified. That is the whole list. Portillo’s is a beef-and-hot-dog restaurant and its menu reflects that.
The Garden Dog®
This is the item to order. Portillo’s describes the Garden Dog® as “our permanent, 100% plant-based hot dog crafted exclusively for Portillo’s by Field Roast. It gets its flavor from smoked, plant-based ingredients rather than artificial flavors. All ingredients in the Garden Dog itself are vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified, and soy-free. It is char-grilled inside our restaurants.”
Two caveats, both from Portillo’s directly. On cross-contact: “While cooked on a dedicated section of the grill, we cannot guarantee zero cross-contact with meat.” On allergens: “The Garden Dog® contains wheat and utilizes pea protein. Because of the concentrated pea protein, it may not be suitable for guests with a severe peanut allergy.”
The allergen guide lists the assembled Plant-Based Garden Dog with wheat, other gluten, sesame seeds and sulfites, and no cholesterol, no declared egg and no declared milk. The sesame comes from the poppy-and-sesame hot dog bun, which the guide lists separately with wheat, other gluten and sesame seeds and no declared milk or egg.
Portillo’s also confirms a catering version: “you can order a Fast Pack of Garden Dogs.”
The Fries Are Not Vegan — and Neither Are the Onion Rings
This is the correction that matters most. Portillo’s states outright that its French fries “are cooked in a blend of vegetable oil and beef tallow”. The allergen guide backs it up: a regular order of French fries is listed at 9 mg of cholesterol, a large at 13 mg and a jumbo at 65 mg. Dietary cholesterol only comes from animal sources.
Onion rings are out too, and for a second reason: the guide declares milk as well as wheat for all three sizes. Any earlier version of this guide that told you Portillo’s fries were a safe plant-based side was wrong, and we have removed it.
Burgers and the ‘Famous Five’ Meals
Nothing in this section is vegan. The hamburger and double hamburger are beef patties — the allergen guide lists them at 99 mg and 198 mg of cholesterol respectively, with 35 g and 62 g of protein, and declares egg. They are not a plant-based option under any customisation, and there is no meat-free burger patty on the menu.
The Pasta Is Vegetarian, Not Vegan
Portillo’s says “select locations offer vegetarian pasta dishes”, and vegetarian is the operative word. Every spaghetti and mostaccioli entry in the allergen guide — including the versions with marinara sauce and the versions with no sauce at all — declares milk. Skip these.
Salads
Portillo’s explicitly supports modifying salads: “you can easily modify our salads to remove cheese or meat”, and for catering, “you can also customize any catering salad to be vegan by removing the protein and dairy options.” That is a brand statement, not an assumption, which is why the salads stay on this page.
What you need to know before ordering is which salads declare what as they come out of the kitchen:
Side Garden Salad — the guide lists it, without dressing, as containing milk, wheat and other gluten, at 13 mg cholesterol. That is the cheese and the croutons. Ask for it without both.
Chopped Salad — without dressing it declares milk and wheat, at 135 mg cholesterol, which reflects the chicken, bacon and the mozzarella-cheddar mix. Ask for it without the meat and the cheese.
Greek Salad with Chicken — without dressing it declares milk and sulfites, at 80 mg cholesterol. Ask for it without the chicken and the feta. The tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and Kalamata olives are what remain.
Classic Caesar Salad — not worth attempting. Even without dressing it declares egg, milk, wheat and other gluten.
On dressings, the guide is clear about which ones to avoid. Caesar dressing declares egg, fish and milk. Buttermilk ranch declares egg and milk. Of the rest, House Dressing declares only sulfites and Lite Italian Dressing declares no allergens at all, and both are listed at zero cholesterol — so neither has declared milk or egg. Bear in mind that an allergen chart is not a vegan certification: it will not flag honey or other animal-derived ingredients that are not among the major allergens, and Portillo’s does not publish full ingredient lists for its dressings.
The Fresh Baked House Bread that comes alongside is listed with wheat and other gluten only, at zero cholesterol and with no declared milk or egg.
Beverages
The fountain soft drinks, iced tea, sweet tea, Minute Maid lemonade, apple juice and orange juice are all listed at zero cholesterol with no declared allergens. Shakes, malts and anything described as a cake shake all declare milk.
Wrapping Up
Portillo’s deserves credit for answering the question honestly rather than letting customers assume. The Garden Dog® is a genuine, permanent, brand-confirmed vegan item, and the salads can be modified with the brand’s blessing. But the fries — the thing most people would reach for — are cooked in beef tallow, and Portillo’s says so plainly.
If you want a fuller picture before you go, the nutrition and allergen guide is free to download and lists every item. And if you are looking at other chains, our guides to Red Lobster and On The Border use the same approach.
