You know from its name alone that Buffalo Wild Wings isn’t exactly designed for vegan dining. It’s a restaurant mainly focused on chicken wings and, unfortunately, the restaurant’s fried food is cooked in beef shortening.
Still, if you find yourself at this meat-loving sports bar, there are several ways to eat plant-based—from the avocado smash on a challah bun to plenty of crunchy veggies. Plus, if you’re willing to get a little crafty, you can find some flavor in the joint’s vegan sauces, of which there are quite a few.
Build Your Own Vegan Meal
While options are limited, you can still get creative and build a substantial vegan dish at Buffalo Wild Wings. You’ll need to choose items from different sections of the menu. Here are two of our favorite crafty combinations:
- Order the Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich without chicken, cheese, bacon, and bacon aioli and swap fries for carrots and celery. You may be wondering what’s left; this sandwich comes with an avocado smash, lettuce, and tomato on a challah bun. Dress everything up with a vegan sauce — try the Hot Jammin’ Jalapeño for an extra kick.
- Order the Garden Salad, with White Wine Vinaigrette without the cheese. Add a side of slaw and an avocado smash, then mix it all together.
Vegan Appetizers
There’s not much within the appetizer category that qualifies as vegan, since everything from the chips to the onion rings is fried in beef shortening.
Buffalo Wild Wings offers guacamole as an addition to its Ultimate Nachos in some locations. The guacamole is vegan, so you can enjoy that with a serving with vegetables instead of chips.
Vegan Burgers
The Southwestern Black Bean Burger is not vegan, as it’s made with milk and eggs. That said, some locations offer a black bean burger patty as an add-on, and that alone is vegan. You can get this option on a challah bun.
For vegan burger toppings, go for:
- Sauteed white onion
- Avocado smash
- Ketchup
- Mustard
Vegan Sandwiches and Wraps
It’s possible to order some wraps on this menu as vegan, but you’ll need to ask the server if the tortilla contains egg (the wraps and tortillas at certain locations are egg-free). The breads for the sandwiches are vegan, so you can order with vegan fillings. Just make sure to specify no meat, cheese, or other dairy additives to your server (for example, the Grilled Chicken Buffalitos comes with crema, which should be avoided).
Treehugger Tip
Buffalo Wild Wings states that no items are certified gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan and that cross-contamination is possible. So if you order some of the breads and tortillas, you might want to ask the server to keep the carbs off the grill.
Vegan Signature Sauces and Dry Seasonings
Choosing the right vegan sauce is your secret weapon for adding flavor. Dry seasonings might help, too. Fortunately, there are many options here:
Sauces
- Asian Zing
- Blazin’ Carolina Reaper
- Caribbean Jerk
- Hot Jammin’ Jalapeño
- Mango Habanero
- Smoky Adobo
- Sweet BBQ
- Teriyaki
Dry Seasonings
- Chipotle BBQ Seasoning
- Desert Heat Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Salt and Vinegar Seasoning
Vegan Sides and Substitutions
Here’s the menu section where you’ll find the most vegan options. Your picks include:
- Carrots and celery (order without ranch dressing)
- Garden Salad, with White Wine Vinaigrette (order without cheese)
- White rice (available in only some locations)
- Slaw (this is made with Napa cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, and white wine vinaigrette)
- Mandarin oranges
Vegan Greens and Dressings
You’ll need to ask for a few omissions when it comes to the Buffalo Wild Wings salad section, but getting a vegan salad is entirely possible.
- Chopped Cobb Salad (order without chicken, bacon, hard-boiled egg, bleu cheese, or buffalo seasoning)
- White Wine Vinaigrette (this is the only vegan-friendly dressing on the menu)
Vegan Beverages
Buffalo Wild Wings may be best for vegan diners looking to wet their whistle. We’re happy to report that all of the drinks, from the sodas to the mocktails to the mixed drinks, are vegan (aside from the milk). This includes:
Spirit-Free
- Strawberry Fizz
- Hibiscus Spritz
- Passionfruit Nojito
- Strawberry Lemonade
Sodas and More
- Diet Pepsi
- Dr Pepper
- Mountain Dew
- MugRoot Beer
- Pepsi
- Sierra Mist
- Tropicana Lemonade
- Unsweetened Iced Tea
- Sweet Tea
- Lipton Brisk Iced Tea
- Tropicana Pink Lemonade
- Coffee
- Izze Sparkling Juice, Blackberry
- Izze Sparkling Juice, Clementine
- Aquafina Bottled Water
Mixers
- Q Ginger Beer
- Q Ginger Ale
- Q Tonic
- Q Club Soda
- Red Bull
- Red Bull SugarFree
Cocktails, Wine, and Beer
- B-Dubs Bloody Mary
- B-Dubs Make It Wild Bloody Mary
- Berry Bash
- Blue Hawaiian
- Coconut Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned
- Classic Mojito
- Deep Eddy Crush
- Hendrick’s G+T
- Henny Habanero
- House Margarita
- Hundo ‘Rita
- Longbranch Cream Soda
- Lucky Goose
- Mezcal Margarita
- Old Fashioned
- Old No. 7 Lemonade
- Pineapple Mojito
- Platinum Margarita
- Ranch Water
- Red Bull Sunrise
- Red Sangria
- Spicy Passionfruit
- Margarita Tito’s Mule
- Top Shelf Long Island Ice Tea
- Chateau St. Michelle, Chardonnay
- Darkhorse, Rose
- Ecco Domani, Pinot Grigio
- Josh Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon
- La Marca, Prosecco
- Mark West, Pinot Noir
- Pasmosa, Sangria
- Beer
- Cider
FAQ
Are the cauliflower wings at Buffalo Wild Wings vegan?
The cauliflower wings at Buffalo Wild Wings are not considered vegan because they are fried in beef shortening. Unfortunately, all of the fried food at the restaurant is fried in beef shortening, so none of it is vegan.
Is the black bean burger vegan at Buffalo Wild Wings?
Because the Southwestern Black Bean Burger at Buffalo Wild Wings contains eggs, it is not vegan. Some Buffalo Wild Wings locations may offer a black bean burger patty that is vegan, so be sure to check at your local restaurant.
Are fried pickles at Buffalo Wild Wings vegan?
The fried pickles at Buffalo Wild Wings are not vegan because they are fried in beef shortening. They are also paired with ranch dressing, which contains eggs and milk. You might be able to request plain, unfried pickles from your server.