Italian restaurants are not too bad as a vegan. Typically, you’ve at least got bread and pasta with marinara sauce, so you can fill up. Macaroni Grill is even a bit better than that, with some great soup and sides, too!
Macaroni Grill vegan options:
- Rosemary Peasant Bread
- Salad (Fresh Greens w/ Vinaigrette Dressing)
- Crispy Brussel Sprouts
- Bruschetta (Without Cheese)
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Grilled Asparagus
- Side Broccolini
- Create Your Own Pasta
Below, I’ll share all the details for assembling your custom vegan pasta dish. I’ll also share a few menu items at Macaroni Grill that are surprisingly NOT vegan. And I’ll end with a look at the whole-food plant-based options!
Macaroni Grill Vegan Menu
This vegan menu was compiled with the help of the allergen menu on the Romano’s Macaroni Grill website. I also consulted various posts by vegan bloggers.
Restaurant menus change and often vary by location. I recommend double checking any important information with staff at your local Macaronic Grill.
1. Rosemary Peasant Bread
This is the typical bread they should have at the table at most Macaroni Grill locations. Yes, it’s vegan! You can dip it in the oil and seasonings and eat your fill. You can also get some extra marinara sauce for dipping purposes, if you prefer that.
Note: You can also get the Breadsticks as a “Take and Bake” (Dough Ball), so you can make their breadsticks at home!
2. Salad
For the salad, I would just ask for the Fresh Greens with a vinaigrette dressing. It doesn’t look like the any salad entrees are really close to being vegan. But if you want to try to make them vegan, be sure to ask for no croutons, no cheese, and no meat.
3. Crispy Brussel Sprouts
This is an antipasto (appetizer or first course). It has halved brussel sprouts with a balsamic glaze. I love brussel sprouts, so this is an obvious choice for me!
4. Bruschetta (Without Cheese)
You should be able to order the bruschetta without the whipped ricotta cheese, and then it should be vegan. It comes with grilled rosemary bread, roma tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
5. Tomato Basil Soup
The tomato basil soup does not contain any dairy! This simple vegan soup includes tomatoes, fresh basil, and herbs.
6. Veggie Sides
You’ve got a few veggie sides to choose from. These ones come vegan in the standard preparation:
- Grilled Asparagus
- Side Broccolini
You may also be able to order the Sautéed Spinach made vegan—but it comes with dairy in the normal preparation, so be careful about that.
7. Create Your Own Pasta
I didn’t see any convenient ready-to-our vegan pasta dishes on the menu. But you can assemble your own pasta dish—and this actually gives you quite a few options.
First, choose any of these vegan noodles:
- Spaghetti
- Capellini
- Penne
- Fettucine
- Rigatoni
Note: The Gluten-Free Tagliatelle contains eggs and milk.
Second, choose a vegan pasta sauce:
- Imported Pomodorina
- Garlic Olive Oil
Third, add up to three extra veggies:
- Roasted Peppers
- Fresh Spinach
- Roasted Tomatoes
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Roasted Garlic
- Broccolini
- Roasted Mushrooms
- Fresh Mushrooms
- Mediterranean Olives
- Asparagus
And then, simply don’t add a “protein” option—they’re all animal products.
But What About…
You might assume that some of the following items would also be vegan—but surprisingly, none of them are:
- The Stuffed Mushrooms contain dairy.
- The Spinach and Artichoke Dip contains dairy.
- The Mashed Potatoes contain dairy.
- The Basil Pesto Pasta Salad contains dairy.
- The Sautéed Spinach contains dairy in its standard preparation.
- The Chocolate Chip Cookie contains egg and dairy.
Now let’s answer a few common questions on how to eat vegan at Macaroni Grill.
Is the Bread at Macaroni Grill Vegan?
The Rosemary Peasant Bread at Macaroni Grill is vegan. Based on my understanding, this is the typical table bread they serve.
What Sauces Are Vegan at Macaroni Grill?
The two vegan sauces at Macaroni Grill are the Imported Pomodorina and the Garlic Olive Oil. If you see another generic-sounding marinara sauce or “tomato basil sauce,” I would also expect that to be vegan, but you may want to double check.
Whole-Food Plant-Based Options
What if you’re not just vegan but also trying to avoid processed foods? Can you get a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) meal at Macaroni Grill? Let’s see.
The only clearly WFPB option at Macaroni Grill is to get a big salad (or two). All the other vegan options seem to contain soybean oil or refined white flour.
Of course, the veggie sides are pretty healthy dishes—grilled asparagus, broccolini, and crispy brussel sprouts. But they seem to contain soybean oil according to the Macaroni Grill allergen menu. That said, you may be able to ask for them to be prepared with no oil.
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