Tyler McFarland on June 5, 2020
Updated on November 8, 2023 Reviewed and fact-checked Found a mistake? Let us know!
Steakhouses are just awesome places to eat as a vegan, aren’t they? Just kidding. But there are always a few vegan options you can scrape together. And this is true at the Australian-themed Outback Steakhouse, too.
Vegan options at Outback Steakhouse:
- House Salad (without cheese or croutons)
- Pecan Chopped Salad (without cheese)
- Baked Potato (Plain)
- Sweet Potato (Without Butter)
- Fresh Seasonal Veggies (Without Butter)
- Asparagus (Steamed, Without Butter)
- Fresh Fruit (Kids Menu)
- Drinks
Keep reading for details on how to order these items vegan, along with answers to questions like whether the fries and house bread at Outback are vegan. Also, I have suggested toppings you can bring to improve your meal significantly!
Although Outback Steakhouse doesn’t have many vegan options overall, they do have an official vegetarian and vegan menu they were able to send me, as of June 2020. So that document is what most of my recommendations here are based on.
Note: Outback’s official vegan menu excludes all of their fried foods as a rule. This is because the fryers at Outback are shared with meat, and many vegans find the cross-contamination objectionable.
1. House Salad (Without Cheese and Croutons)
A simple vegan side salad. Just ask for the House Salad without cheese and croutons. Here’s what you’re typically going to get:
- Mixed lettuce
- Napa cabbage
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Red onions
Here are the 3 vegan dressings they typically have:
- Tangy Tomato
- Light Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Mustard Vinaigrette
And here’s a tip from experience: If you’re reading this in advance, I’d recommend bringing a shaker of nutritional yeast to the restaurant. Then you can potentially add that to your salad, too!
2. Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad (Customized)
This salad can be made vegan, too. You need to ask for it without the cheese crumbles, and you need to substitute in a vegan dressing.
Again, here are the vegan dressings they usually have:
- Tangy Tomato
- Light Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Mustard Vinaigrette
3. Baked Potato (Plain)
Outback has a baked potato, but the standard version comes with butter, cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. So you’ll probably want to order it plain.
If you don’t want it totally plain, you can potentially have them still add the chives and kosher salt but keep the rest off. They’ve also got ketchup and other condiments you can use.
Or heck, you could bring your own vegan butter and nutritional yeast to add!
4. Sweet Potato (Without Butter)
The sweet potato typically comes with honey butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. You can still have them add the brown sugar and cinnamon if you like, but make sure to get it without butter.
Again, you can bring your own vegan butter if you want to add your own.
5. Fresh Seasonal Mixed Veggies (Without Butter)
Veggies! Just be sure to order them without butter.
Typically this dish will include things like broccoli, carrots, and snow peas. The exact mix will depend on the location and season.
For kids, the Joey Menu also has a “Plain Freshly Steamed Veggies” that you could order without butter, too. Looks like it’s the same thing, just in a kid version.
If you only want broccoli, they should be able to do that, too. The kids menu typically has a plain broccoli option.
6. Asparagus (Steamed, Without Butter)
Outback also has “Grilled Asparagus” that comes separate from the mixed veggies. To make sure it’s vegan, you can order it steamed instead of grilled, and ask to get it without butter.
If you’re not picky about surface contamination, you may be able to just get the grilled asparagus—but the Outback representative I talked to wasn’t able to tell me what the asparagus was roasted in (oil or animal fat). So you can ask your server about that or just order it steamed.
Another little healthy vegan option from the kids menu (Joey Menu). Usually they’ll allow adults to get it, too!
The nutrition facts on the Outback site list this is “Fresh Fruit (Oranges and Strawberries),” but the exact fruits might vary based on the season and location.
8. Drinks
Outback Steakhouse has Coca-Cola products and various other drinks, too. Here’s a typical selection of the vegan options they have:
- 100% apple juice
- 100% orange juice
- Cranberry juice
- Pineapple juice
- Coke
- Coke Zero
- Diet Coke
- Dr. Pepper
- Sprite
- Hi-C Fruit Punch
- Hi-C Lemonade
- Red Bull
- Gold Peak Coffee
- Gold Peak Tea
At least some Outback locations have alcoholic drinks, too—mainly beer. Most of these are vegan. Barnivore is the best resource for checking alcoholic drinks as a vegan.
Are Outback Fries Vegan?
Outback fries are not listed as vegan in their official vegan menu. Unfortunately, when I contacted a representative from Outback Steakhouse, they were not able to inform me on whether the fries are cooked in animal fat or if they are just cooked in the same fryer as meat, using vegetable oil.
Is the Outback House Bread Vegan?
The house bread is not listed as vegan on the official Outback vegan menu. I emailed Outback to ask why this is the case, but they never responded about it. You may want to ask your server if you can get some bread made vegan. Sometimes it’s as easy as not brushing on butter!
Whole-Food Plant-Based Options (WFPB)
At some restaurants, the main vegan options are french fries and other highly processed foods. But at Outback, most of the vegan options are actually pretty healthy.
If I was eating strictly whole-food plant-based at Outback, here’s what I’d get:
- Sweet potato (plain)
- Baked potato (plain)—or I’d get an extra sweet potato.
- Fresh mixed veggies (no butter)
- House salad (without cheese and croutons)
- Fresh fruit (kids menu)
- Water or club soda
You could add an order of asparagus if you want even more veggies! Or add a third potato if you want to really fill up. Potatoes are satiating and healthy, so why not? Go crazy!
Gluten-Free and Low-Calorie Options
If you’re looking for gluten-free options, Outback has this page on their site just for you.
They also have this guide to keeping your meal lower in calories. They’ve got a decent number of meals specifically designed to be under 600 calories!
Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey
1. This is the best free video training I’ve found on plant-based nutrition. You’ll learn how to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and obesity—all with plant-based food. Watch the free “Food for Health Masterclass” here.
2. This is the best vegan multivitamin I’ve found in my 14 years of being vegan. It has vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3—and nothing else. Translation: It only has the nutrients vegans are actually low in. Read my full review of Future Kind’s multivitamin here (with 10% discount).
I’m Tyler McFarland, the editor and main author here. When I first went vegan 13 years ago, convenience products like veggie burgers and soy milk were a lot harder to find. Now they’re everywhere!