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 decade, the trailer grew to become one of the trademark places in Chicago and is spread across more than 60 different states.
Vegan Options at Portillo’s
Portillo’s has grown exceptionally and expanded its menu to incorporate more vegan options in it. The food brand that started as a trailer for Chicago-styled hot dogs has been trying its best to make people with different dietary preferences feel more welcome.
Since Portillo’s has various outlets, some vegan food items are available only at the selected outlets. We went through the menu provided by the Roseville outlet of Portillo’s and have created a list of some delicious vegan options that are most probably available in every other outlet.
Always check before ordering your meal to make sure the items are according to your requirements and taste. More often than not, these outlets, if requested, customize meals according to the customer’s preferences.
What Can I Order at Portillo’s as a Vegan?
Several vegan food options are provided at Portillo, depending on the particular outlet’s menu from where you’ll place the order. The following are some vegan options that are primarily available at every outlet.
Most importantly, even if any food options use a non-vegan ingredient such as cheese, you can customize it and make it completely vegan!
The Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal
While going through Portillo’s menu, you’ll come across their ‘Famous Five Meals.’ Out of the five meals, only one is vegan, and it’s a cheeseburger. Yes, the name of the meal has ‘cheese’ in it, but it also provides vegan options.
The Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal would provide you with four main options. Of the four options, only two are vegan: hamburger and double hamburger. In addition to the burgers, you can choose your sides and a drink.
Talking about the famous meal, you can also order all the food items. If you want a sizeable crinkle-cut fry or a double hamburger, you can order them with various other food items separately from their menu!
Let us now look at all the vegan items included in the Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal.
Hamburger/Double Hamburger
The hamburger and double hamburger provided at Portillo’s should eliminate the misconception that they don’t offer vegan options. The char-broiled hamburgers usually use mayonnaise, but you can remove it through customization.
The delicious hamburgers are made of fresh lettuce, pickles, thinly sliced tomatoes, grilled onions, ketchup, mustard, and juicy burgers, placed between the toasted buns to give them an authentic taste.
Moreover, you can conveniently customize every ingredient, from the bun’s exclusion to the amount of salt used to make your hamburger.
Veggie Hot Dog
Apart from the juicy hamburger and sides, Portillo’s has expanded its vegan food options by including a vegan sandwich in its menu in the form of a veggie hot dog. Just like the Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal and the food items included, you can customize all of their ingredients per your choice or preference.
The veggie hot dog is quite similar to the Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal when it comes to ironic naming. The veggie hot dog doesn’t include any hot dogs in it, not even its vegetarian version.
Instead, it’s made up of freshly sliced tomatoes and onions, kosher pickles, sport peppers, celery salt, relish, ketchup, and mustard, stacked together on a bun that includes poppy seeds.
It shares another similarity with the different hamburgers offered in the Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal. During the customization process, you can ask them to remove the bun and make it completely vegan.
We have not included the cold veggie croissant in the list because it uses butter in the croissant, and there is no option of excluding it because it’s the dish’s main component.
To provide their vegan customers with a complete meal, Portillo’s also offers various salad options that can be customized and made vegan easily.
Salads
Four different types of salads are provided by Portillo’s, out of which three can be customized into vegan. All of them make use of vegetables and offer various additional choices with them.
You can easily customize and select all ingredients you want in the salad, along with the sides and extras that come with it.
While ordering the salad, you’ll be provided with two additional options asking whether you would like a piece of bread and dressing with it or not. Of the two options, only the house bread is the confirmed vegan option.
The house bread provided by Portillo’s is made of wheat and doesn’t use any dairy product such as milk or egg in it. However, the various optional dressings, such as ranch dressing, Caesar dressing, and Greek vinaigrette, are not entirely vegan.
Therefore, while placing a vegan salad order, it’s suggested to avoid these dressings during the customization process. Moreover, similar to the Famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal, the bread and dressing options in the salad can also be bought individually. The house bread is available as a whole loaf and a half loaf.
Now that you’re aware of the various additional food items and the salad, let us look at the three types of customizable vegan salads provided by Portillo’s.
Garden Side Salad
The Garden Side Salad is one of the best salads on Portillo’s menu. The salad is made up of shredded red cabbage and chopped romaine lettuce, along with a topping of cucumber and diced tomato.
The non-vegan elements, such as cheese and croutons can be removed in the customization process. Moreover, you can take house dressing or lite Italian dressing, as they are vegan, along with the house bread.
Make sure to enquire beforehand because, in some of Portillo’s outlets, the salad might be available only at specific times.
Chopped Salad
The Chopped Salad provided by Portillo’s is one of the most customizable food items offered by them. The salad includes various options through which you can customize it and make it vegan.
For instance, it provides you with the option to substitute the mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix and the house dressing served along with the salad’s side. However, since house dressing is already vegan, it’s suggested that you should avoid its customization.
Apart from the ingredients mentioned above, the Chopped Salad by Portillo’s is made up of the following vegan toppings: iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, diced tomatoes, green onions, and most importantly, chopped romaine.
Unlike other salads, the Chopped Salad has no fixed serving time. If the salad is available at the Portillo’s outlet near your place, you should quickly order it anywhere, any time!
Greek Salad
You can find the Greek Salad on the menu with the name ‘Greek Salad with Chicken.’ Despite the ironic name, you can ask them to customize it and remove the non-vegan options: chicken, feta cheese, and Greek vinaigrette.
The vegan ingredients in the salad include sliced tomatoes, red onions, and Kalamata olives, along with cucumber. Besides, you can also choose if you’d like to have the house bread alongside it or not.
However, just like the Garden Side Salad served by Portillo’s, the Greek Salad might also be available only at specific fixed times.
Beverages
There are three vegan drinks provided at Portillo’s from which you can choose— beverages, soft drinks, and iced tea. Similar to French fries, they are also available in two sizes: small and large. However, iced tea, irrespective of size, is not available for delivery in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
Wrapping Up
Despite Portillo being a prominent brand for hot dogs, it provides several vegan options too. The vegan options offered are in the form of sandwiches, salads, and most importantly, its famous ‘Cheeseburger’ Meal.
Since they don’t explicitly provide vegan options, we created a list of all the food options offered by Portillo’s that can be customized and made into vegan food items.
The best part about Portillo’s is their transparency regarding the ingredients used by them in their nutritional chart. Moreover, the ironic names of the vegan food items add quite a bit of a surprise element as they can be easily customized.