Looking for Taziki’s vegetarian options? The scratch-made hummus, the baked falafel gyro, and the Greek salad are your best bets, and with a little tweaking you can go fully vegan too. This guide walks through the whole menu at What’s Vegetarian, what to order, what to skip, and what to ask about before you order.
A Quick Look at Taziki’s
Keith and Amy Richards opened the first Taziki’s in March 1998 at Colonnade Office Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The name came from a photo Amy took of a menu board reading “tzatziki” on a trip to Greece the year before. They simplified the spelling and built the concept around scratch-made, healthy Greek and Mediterranean dishes served fast-casual style, from homemade dips to salads and daily feasts.
The chain stayed a small regional favorite through the 2000s, then started franchising in 2013 and pushed out of the Southeast into Texas, Colorado, and Florida. Dan Simpson took over as CEO in 2018 and kept the growth going. Taziki’s is still privately owned, with more than 100 locations across 17 states as of late 2025. Restaurant Business’ Top 500 ranking put the chain at #220 for 2025, with system-wide US sales of nearly $198 million, up more than 10% from the year before.
Taziki’s Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Taziki’s is one of the easier fast-casual chains to eat vegetarian at. The dips, the falafel, and most of the salads, bowls, and sides skip meat entirely, and quite a few of the vegan options need no changes at all, while others take just one small swap like holding the feta or the standard dressing on the side. Here’s the rundown of Taziki’s vegetarian options and where the vegan line actually falls.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Hummus (regular or Spicy Harissa) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Taziki Dip (Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Whipped Feta (feta, honey, parsley) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy, honey) |
| Falafel Appetizer (with Taziki sauce) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Sub hummus for the sauce |
| Greek Salad (with feta) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Ask for no feta |
| Mediterranean Salad (with feta) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Ask for no feta |
| Caesar Salad | ⚠️ Dressing may contain anchovy | ❌ No (dairy, egg) |
| Baked Falafel Gyro (as built) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ No feta, sub the sauce |
| Grilled Veggie Pita (as built) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ No cheese or aioli, sub hummus |
| Rice, Pasta & Quinoa Kýpelos Bowls (with feta) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Ask for no feta |
| Roasted New Potatoes, Basmati Rice, Quinoa | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Grilled Vegetables (squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, asparagus) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Ask for no butter on the asparagus |
| Fresh Cut Fruit, Chips, Baked or Soft Pita | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes* |
| Pasta Salad, Tomato-Cucumber Salad | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check for feta |
| Baklava (phyllo, honey, walnuts) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (honey) |
| Baklava Cheesecake | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy, egg) |
*Pita bread is usually dairy-free, but recipes can change by location. Ask before you order if you’re strict about it.
Dips and Appetizers
Start here if you want the easiest vegan wins on the menu. The hummus is a straightforward puree of chickpeas, tahini, cumin, and lemon juice, no dairy involved, and the Spicy Harissa version adds paprika, crushed red pepper, za’atar, and harissa without changing that. Both are served with baked pita chips or soft pita, and you can ask for fresh vegetables on the side instead.
The Taziki Dip itself, the one the restaurant is named for, is Greek yogurt with cucumber and dill, so it’s vegetarian but not vegan. Same story with the Whipped Feta, which is feta blended smooth and topped with honey and parsley. The Falafel Appetizer, baked rather than fried, comes with Taziki sauce by default. Ask for a side of hummus instead and it’s vegan too.
Salads and Bowls
The Greek Salad and Mediterranean Salad are the two to know, and both start with the same base of mixed lettuces, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. The Greek Salad adds cucumbers, red onions, pepperoncini, and Kalamata olives, with feta and Greek dressing on top by default. The Mediterranean Salad swaps in garbanzo beans, more red onion, and candied pecans, finished with balsamic vinaigrette and feta. Order either one without the feta and you’ve got a fully vegan salad with real substance, not just lettuce. The Caesar Salad is vegetarian as served, but Caesar dressings typically get their depth from anchovy, so ask your location before ordering if that matters to you.
The Kýpelos bowls (rice, pasta with parmesan, or quinoa) come with grilled vegetables, feta, and a drizzle of harissa. Skip the feta and you’ve got a vegan bowl with real texture from the grilled squash, zucchini, red peppers, and onions. The vegan-friendly dressings across the menu are the balsamic vinaigrette, the Greek dressing, olive oil and balsamic, chili oil, and salsa, so you’ve got options beyond just holding the cheese and skipping the salad dressing that comes standard.
Falafel, Pitas, and Gyros
The Baked Falafel Gyro and Baked Falafel Feast are the closest thing Taziki’s has to a signature vegetarian entree. The falafel is baked, not fried, and wrapped in warm pita with tomatoes, lettuce, and grilled onions. As built, it comes with feta and Taziki sauce, both dairy. Taziki’s own “Make It Vegan” guide spells out the fix: order it with tomato-cucumber salad instead of a dairy side, hold the feta, and sub the sauce for hummus or Spicy Harissa Hummus. Do that and the falafel gyro and feast are both vegan.
The Grilled Veggie Pita is the other vegetarian sandwich, built with grilled zucchini and squash, fresh tomatoes, and pesto aioli. The aioli and the feta on top both need to go for a vegan order, and Taziki’s suggests subbing in hummus for moisture instead. Every other gyro and pita on the menu (chicken, beef, lamb, the Street Gyro, the Turkish meatball) is built around meat, so those are off the table.
What’s Vegan at Taziki’s?
Taziki’s built an actual “Make It Vegan” guide on its website, which tells you a chain this Greek-yogurt-and-feta-heavy still takes its vegan options seriously. The straight-up vegan picks with no changes needed are the regular and Spicy Harissa Hummus, roasted new potatoes as a side, basmati rice, quinoa, fresh cut fruit, chips, and most grilled vegetables with their roasted red peppers and onions. For a full plate, order the Baked Falafel Feast or the Grilled Veggies Feast with a roasted new potatoes side and a Mediterranean or Greek Salad, hold the feta and the Taziki sauce on everything, and ask for no butter on the asparagus if you get grilled veggies. That combination gets you an actual meal, not just a side of hummus.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Taziki’s doesn’t publish the rennet source for its feta cheese, so strict vegetarians who avoid animal rennet should call ahead and ask. The same goes for the Caesar dressing and any recipe containing parmesan. Honey shows up in the Whipped Feta and the Baklava, which keeps both out of vegan territory even though they’re meat-free. Butter turns up on the grilled asparagus by default, so mention it if you’re ordering vegan grilled vegetables.
Grills and prep stations are shared between meat and vegetarian items, including the falafel and grilled vegetables, so cross-contact is possible if that matters for your diet. The Greek Lemon Chicken Soup and other soups on the menu are chicken-based, so they’re not an option for vegetarians even paired with a salad. Taziki’s offers gluten-free vegetables prepared separately from the standard grilled vegetables, worth asking about if you’re also avoiding gluten. As always, confirm specifics with your local restaurant since prep can vary slightly by location.
Tips for Vegetarians at Taziki’s
- Order the Baked Falafel Feast or Gyro and you get a real entree, not just sides.
- Say “no feta” out loud. It’s the default topping on both signature salads and the Kýpelos bowls.
- Sub hummus or Spicy Harissa Hummus for Taziki sauce any time you want a vegan version of a falafel dish.
- Build a full vegan plate from the Feast menu: falafel or grilled veggies, roasted new potatoes, and a salad without feta.
- Ask about the feta’s rennet source if you avoid animal rennet specifically.
- Skip the Whipped Feta and Baklava if you’re strict vegan. Both have honey.
- Mention any cross-contact concerns when you order. The grills and prep areas handle meat and vegetarian items together.
Conclusion
Taziki’s is one of the friendlier Mediterranean chains for vegetarians, with baked falafel, scratch hummus, and salads that don’t need much reworking to go vegan. Ask for no feta, swap the Taziki sauce for hummus, and you’ve got a filling meal either way. For more on eating meat-free at restaurants generally, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, or browse our full library of restaurant guides. If you liked this one, check out what’s vegetarian at CAVA, The Halal Guys, and Pita Pit next.
