Here’s Every Vegan Option at Tijuana Flats

Tijuana Flats doesn’t currently have any vegan meat or vegan cheese. But they actually have a ton of vegan options. This is because they’re very flexible about how you can modify dishes and switch around the vegan ingredients they do have.

Tijuana Flats vegan options:

• Chips and Salsa (or Guacamole)
• Salad (Customized)
• Vegan Burrito
• Vegan Chimichanga
• Vegan Dos Tacos
• Vegan Enchilada
• Vegan Refried-Bean Quesadilla
• Vegan Flautas
• Vegan Tostadas
• Vegan Bowl
• Vegan Nachos (No Cheese or Sour Cream)
• Black Beans (Side – No Cheese)
• Refried Beans (Side – No Cheese)
• Mexican Rice (Side)
• Apple Sauce
• Beverages

Below, I’ll explain how to order each of these items vegan. I’ll also answer some common questions about the refried beans, churros, and more! And I’ll end with a look at how to order a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) meal at Tijuana Flats.

Tijuana Flats Vegan Menu

This vegan menu was compiled with the help of the normal menu, allergen menu, and FAQ on the Tijuana Flats website.

Restaurant menus change and often vary by location. I recommend double checking any important information with staff at your local Tijuana Flats!

1. Chips and Salsa (or Guacamole)

Tortilla chips—you gotta love ’em! At Tijuana Flats, you’ve got a few vegan options for dips: Red Salsa, Spicy Chipotle Salsa, or Guacamole.

However, if you’re getting the “loaded guacamole,” I would just ask to make sure there’s no cheese or sour cream added.

If you want to get fancier yet, look at some of the options down below for “Vegan Nachos.” They don’t have vegan cheese, but you can still put together something pretty cool.

2. Salad (Customized)

I’m not actually sure whether the standard salad at Tijuana Flats comes in an edible tortilla shell bowl or not. But be aware that the promo picture does show that.

It seems like you can “build your own salad” by selecting from the ingredients below to combine with “Salad Mix”—but I’d ask for No Cheese and No Sour Cream to be sure, as well.

For a vegan salad dressing, choose the Southwest Citrus Vinaigrette. (In general, vinaigrettes are your safest bet when looking at salad dressings.)

Salad topping/extra options to choose from:

• Guacamole Topping
• Diced Onions
• Diced Tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Black Beans
• Refried Beans

3. Vegan Burrito

To my knowledge, there is no “veggie burrito” that comes close to being vegan or anything like that. However, you can build your own burrito from scratch with the options below.

Keep in mind, most of these same ingredients can be used to make burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, flautas, or other similar dishes. Really, a lot of the Tijuana Flats vegan menu is just different ways of arranging these same ingredients!

Tortilla Choices:

• Flour Tortilla
• Whole Wheat Tortilla

Fillings:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans
• Mexican Rice
• Veggies

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Onions
• Diced Tomatoes
• Fresh Jalapenos

Sauce:

• Verde Sauce

Your burrito should also come with a side of chips. You can get the “Chips & Guac” or “Chips & Salsa.” Either one is vegan.

4. Vegan Chimichanga

If you’re not familiar with chimichangas, they are basically deep-fried burritos. So you can get pretty much the same options as for the burrito (above) in a chimichanga instead.

Beans and veggies in a tortilla (white or whole wheat), deep-fried—love it!

5. Vegan Dos Tacos

This is basically two tacos. You’ve got the same filling and topping options as with the burrito (above), but just different shells.

Tortillas and Shells:

• Soft Flour Taco Shell
• Hard Taco Shell
• Soft Whole Wheat Taco Shell

Filling:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Onions
• Diced Tomatoes
• Fresh Jalapenos

Again, you’ll get a side of chips with either guac or salsa.

6. Vegan Enchilada

Again, this will be pretty similar to the burrito above, but you’re getting the same kind of fillings and toppings in enchilada form.

For the shell, you cna just get the normal “enchilada shell” they have.

Filling:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Fresh Jalapenos
• Pico Topping
• Verde Sauce

And again, you’ll get chips with salsa or guac as a side.

7. Vegan Refried-Bean Quesadilla

Tijuana Flats doesn’t have vegan cheese. So how do you have a vegan quesadilla without vegan cheese? Well, just smear vegan refried beans in there.

Along with the refried beans, you’ve got the following options.

Tortilla Choices:

• Flour Tortilla
• Whole Wheat Tortilla

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Onions
• Diced Tomatoes
• Fresh Jalapenos

And again—choose chips and guac or chips and salsa as your side.

8. Vegan Flautas

You can also get the same fillings and toppings in flautas (a.k.a. taquitos). So you’ll get a rolled up tortilla with filling, which is then deep fried!

Filling:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Fresh Jalapenos
• Pico Topping
• Guacamole

And as with the other dishes, you’ll get chips & salsa or chips & guac as a side.

9. Vegan Tostadas

With tostadas, you’re getting your bean and veggie fillings and toppings on a toasted tortilla. For the shell, you can just get the normal “tostada shells” they have. Then add:

Filling:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans

Toppings:

• Shredded Lettuce
• Fresh Jalapenos
• Pico Topping
• Salsa

And yet again, you’ll get chips with salsa or guac as a side.

10. Vegan Bowl

If you don’t want any of the tortillas or shells, you can also get the same kinds of fillings and toppings in a Bowl meal, along with Mexican Rice.

Filling:

• Black Beans
• Refried Beans
• Mexican Rice

Toppings:

• Guacamole Topping
• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Tomatoes
• Diced Onions
• Fresh Jalapenos

11. Vegan Nachos (No Cheese or Sour Cream)

Again, there’s no vegan cheese at Tijuana Flats. So how do you get vegan nachos? Well, it’s basically chips with a bunch of bean and veggie toppings.

Ingredients to Choose From:

• Tortilla Chips
• Black Beans
• Refried Beans
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Tomatoes
• Diced Onions
• Fresh Jalapenos

12. Black Beans (Side – No Cheese)

I would ask for “No Cheese” specifically on this. The Tijuana Flats website doesn’t really acknowledge the presence of cheese in the nutrition facts, but the promo photo has cheese on top of the beans. So I would definitely ask, to know what to expect and to get it vegan.

13. Refried Beans (Side – No Cheese)

These are confirmed lard-free. But as with the black beans, I’d ask for “No Cheese” specifically.

The Tijuana Flats website doesn’t acknowledge any cheese in the nutrition facts, but the photo has cheese on top of the beans. So I’d ask, just so you know what to expect and make sure you get it vegan.

14. Mexican Rice (Side)

Just a side of rice. Can help you fill out any meal that seems to be lacking.

15. Apple Sauce

You’re probably going to have to order off of the kids menu to get this, but hey, apple sauce is a nice little sweet potential addition to your meal.

16. Beverages

Most of the drinks are vegan, of course:

• Coke
• Diet Coke
• Sprite
• Luzianne Tea
• Dasani
• Corona Extra

But What About…

Now let’s address some common questions about how to eat vegan at Tijuana Flats…

Are Tijuana Flats Churros Vegan?

Tijuana Flats Churros are not vegan, as they contain egg and milk ingredients. Unfortunately, there are no vegan desserts at Tijuana Flats (unless you count apple sauce!).

Are Tijuana Flats Refried Beans Vegan?

Tijuana Flats Refried Beans are confirmed vegan. The company’s website explicitly states that both their refried beans and their black beans are lard-free.

I would just be sure to say that you want “No Cheese” when ordering a side of either of these beans (or any dish, really).

Is Tijuana Flats Rice Vegan?

Tijuana Flats rice appears to be vegan. It is listed as dairy-free in the allergen menu, and It is listed among the vegan options in the menu on the Tijuana Flats website. It is shown there as “Mexican Rice.”

Are Tijuana Flats Chips Vegan?

Tijuana Flats chips appear to be vegan. They are listed among the vegan options in the menu on the Tijuana Flats website.

After reviewing the vegan options at over 75 chain restaurants, I can also say that tortilla chips are almost always vegan. It’s rare for a restaurant to still cook them in lard or some other kind of animal fat.

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 Tijuana Flats? Yes, actually!

To eat WFPB at Tijuana Flats, I would start with a “Salad” or a “Bowl.” You’re going to get most of the same ingredients either way, but maybe calling it a “Salad” will result in more greens and potentially a salad dressing added to it.

Here’s the thing: With the “Bowl” option and the “Salad” option, you’ve got choices for “Fillings” and “Toppings” you can include. So, basically you’re going to tell them to give you a bowl of veggies and black beans.

If you choose the “Salad” option, just be careful that they don’t give you an edible tortilla bowl that was deep-fried or anything.

If you prefer, you can also get your beans and veggies in a whole wheat tortilla as a burrito. But I’ve found that if you look into the actual ingredients of “whole wheat tortillas,” they sometimes only contain a bit more whole grain flour than white tortillas, and it’s still quite processed, potentially containing oil, too. So that’s up to you.

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