Looking for Andy’s Frozen Custard vegetarian options? Good news: nearly the whole menu qualifies. Andy’s is a dessert-only chain. There’s no meat anywhere on the board, from the custard base to every concrete, sundae, and shake built on top of it. The custard runs on eggs and dairy, so it’s vegetarian but not vegan. If you’re figuring out what’s vegetarian at your next stop, this one’s about as low-stress as it gets. Eggs and dairy are baked into almost everything here, so vegan diners need to look harder than vegetarians do. Here’s exactly what to order, what to skip, and what to ask about before you get in line.
A Quick Look at Andy’s Frozen Custard
John and Carol Kuntz opened the first Andy’s Frozen Custard in Osage Beach, Missouri, on March 19, 1986. They’d tried frozen custard on a trip to Wisconsin. Leon and Doris Schneider, who’d run Milwaukee’s Leon’s Frozen Custard since 1942, taught them how it’s made. The Kuntzes named the business after their son, Andy. He took over daily operations with his wife, Dana, as the chain grew. John passed away in 2008. Andy now runs the company as CEO from its headquarters in Springfield, Missouri.
Andy’s calls itself the largest frozen custard-only chain in the country, and the count backs that up. As of May 2026, it operates 192 locations across 15 states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. A 2015 multi-unit franchise deal added 20 new stores across Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. It reflects a steady Midwest-to-Southeast growth push that’s kept the chain family-run for almost four decades. Readers of 417 Magazine, which covers the Springfield area, voted Andy’s a local favorite back in 2009. The chain has stayed close to its roots even while growing into a $124 million-plus business, according to Wikipedia’s revenue estimate.
How Andy’s Serves Its Custard
Every Andy’s location makes vanilla and chocolate frozen custard fresh, on site, every day. That’s the same routine the original Osage Beach store used back in 1986. Those two flavors anchor the entire menu. Everything else, concretes, sundaes, shakes, and take-home pints, starts from a scoop of vanilla or chocolate frozen custard. Cups and cones are on the menu too. You can order the plain custard on its own if you’d rather skip the mix-ins altogether. That matters if you’re vegetarian and just want a simple dessert without cross-checking a dozen candy toppings. Plain vanilla or chocolate frozen custard in a cup is about as easy as ordering gets here.
Andy’s own nutritional guide breaks down calories and ingredients for every item. Check it if you’re tracking more than vegetarian or vegan status. Prices vary by location, so ask in-store or check the app before you order.
Andy’s Frozen Custard Vegetarian Options: What to Order
The table below covers the core menu. It doubles as a quick-reference guide to Andy’s Frozen Custard vegetarian options. There’s no meat item on the menu at all, so most of the work here is separating vegetarian (fine with eggs and dairy) from vegan (needs both out of the picture).
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla or Chocolate Custard | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (eggs, dairy) |
| Concretes (Boot Daddy, Triple Chocolate, etc.) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy custard base) |
| Zarlengo’s Italian Ice (select locations) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (dairy-free, confirm gelatin-free locally) |
| Hot Fudge Topping | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (contains dairy) |
| Marshmallow Topping | ⚠️ Check (gelatin sourcing not published) | ❌ No |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mix-in | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (eggs, dairy, gluten) |
| Banana Split | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy custard base) |
| Fresh-Brewed Unsweetened Tea | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Sprecher Root Beer or Cream Soda (bottled or on tap) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Concretes, Sundaes, and Splits
This is where Andy’s spends most of its menu real estate. Concretes blend vanilla or chocolate frozen custard with mix-ins at high speed until it’s thick enough to hold upside down. Signature builds include the Boot Daddy Concrete (Oreo, creme caramel, hot fudge), Triple Chocolate Concrete, Ooey Gooey Concrete (Heath Bar, creme caramel, almonds), Snowmonster Concrete (strawberries, chocolate chip), Butter Pecan Concrete, Mint Chip Concrete, Jitterbug Concrete (espresso, Heath Bar, almonds), Strawberry and Oreo Concrete, Choc-O-Rocko Concrete, and Cherry Bash Concrete. Every chocolate concrete and every butter pecan concrete on that list starts from the same vegetarian custard base.
Jackhammers work the same way, but with a bigger topping payload packed into the center. Named builds include the James Brownie Funky Jackhammer and the Rico Suave Jackhammer, plus a fully customizable Jackhammer if you’d rather build your own. Sundae options include the Ozark Turtle Sundae, Tin Roof Sundae, Original Straw-Ana Sundae, Hot Fudge Sundae with Pecans, and Stolen Brownie Sundae. Splits run to the Banana Split and Turtle Split. Every one of these sits on the same egg-and-dairy custard base. All of them are vegetarian. None of them are vegan.
Shakes, Malts, and Floats
Andy’s calls its drinks menu Malts and More, and it covers malts, shakes, old-fashioned freezes, floats, and the Yummy Latte. These are built on the custard base too, so they’re vegetarian but not vegan. Want something lighter than a full concrete? A shake or malt is the easiest order to customize. Just ask which flavor mix-ins are vegetarian-friendly if you’re picky about specific candy or cookie pieces. Soda-and-custard floats still carry the dairy and egg base, so don’t assume the soda half makes it lighter on the vegan front. Steamed milk and espresso go into the Yummy Latte along with the custard, making it the least vegan-friendly drink on the board even though it reads as coffee first.
For plain drinks, Andy’s carries Bottled Sprecher Soda and Old-Fashioned Sprecher Soda on tap, both in Root Beer and Cream Soda. Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and fresh brewed iced tea round out the list. Sprecher root beer and Sprecher cream soda are cane-sugar sodas with no dairy or eggs in the recipe. So they’re the easiest vegan-friendly drinks on the menu alongside the unsweetened tea, though cross-contact rules still apply if that’s a concern for you.
Italian Ice and Take-Home Pints
At select locations, Andy’s offers Zarlengo’s Italian Ice. Per the company’s own allergen page, it’s dairy-free, peanut-free, tree-nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and free of artificial colors or flavors. It’s the closest thing to a vegan pick on the menu, though it isn’t marketed as vegan outright, so confirm the ingredient list with your local store before you count on it.
For dessert at home, Andy’s sells Pick 6 FreezCrete cups, quarts, pints, and rotating specialty pint flavors. All of it is made from the same custard, so the same rule applies: vegetarian yes, vegan no.
What’s Vegan at Andy’s Frozen Custard?
There’s no dedicated vegan menu, and vegan diners have thin pickings among Andy’s Frozen Custard vegetarian options. Zarlengo’s Italian Ice is dairy-free per Andy’s own allergen information, which makes it the strongest candidate. It’s only sold at select locations, and the company hasn’t labeled it vegan, so ask before you order if you’re strict about it. Fresh-brewed unsweetened tea and Sprecher Root Beer or Cream Soda, bottled or on tap, are the drinks on the menu that are guaranteed vegan. Everything else, custard, concretes, sundaes, shakes, and take-home pints, runs through eggs and dairy. This isn’t a vegan custard stand, but it’s a solid stop for the vegetarians in your group while a vegan diner sticks to iced tea, Sprecher soda, or hunts down the Italian ice.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Milk, eggs, gluten, peanuts, soy, and tree nuts show up in every Andy’s store, according to the chain’s own allergen page. Cross-contact can’t be fully prevented, even though the chain works to limit it. Custard production is straightforward: egg yolks get pasteurized first, then the full mix goes through a second pasteurization at 178 degrees. This two-step process also gives Andy’s custard its denser texture compared to regular soft serve. Vanilla and chocolate custard are both gluten-free on their own. Toppings can undo that fast, since cookie dough, wafer pieces, and some candy mix-ins bring gluten back in, so ask before you build a concrete if that matters to you.
Avoiding gelatin? Ask specifically about the marshmallow topping, since Andy’s doesn’t publish its sourcing on the general allergen page. Sugar-free diners have exactly one option: unsweetened tea. Anyone with a severe allergy should call ahead, since Andy’s is upfront that no location can guarantee a fully allergen-free environment. Several toppings carry kosher certification too, including hot fudge, creme caramel, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie dough, and marshmallow. That can help if you’re keeping kosher, but kosher certification alone doesn’t confirm vegan or gelatin-free status. Treat the two as separate questions.
Tips for Vegetarians at Andy’s Frozen Custard
- Stick with plain vanilla or chocolate custard for the simplest vegetarian order, both are gluten-free too.
- Ask if your location carries Zarlengo’s Italian Ice if you’re vegan or avoiding dairy, it’s not on every store’s menu.
- Check the marshmallow topping with staff if you avoid gelatin, the source isn’t listed on Andy’s general allergen page.
- Order any concrete or sundae without worrying about meat, Andy’s is a dessert-only chain with no shared fryer or grill.
- Call ahead if you have a severe allergy, Andy’s says it can’t guarantee zero cross-contact in any store.
- Skip the Yummy Latte if you’re vegan, it’s built on the same dairy base as the shakes.
- Reach for Sprecher Root Beer or Cream Soda if you want a guaranteed vegan drink besides plain tea.
Conclusion
Andy’s Frozen Custard makes vegetarian ordering close to a non-issue. It’s a dessert-only chain, so there’s no meat anywhere on the menu. Vegetarian is easy here. Vegan is harder, since the custard runs on eggs and dairy. For ordering strategies that work at any restaurant, not just dessert chains, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants. Browse our full lineup of restaurant guides for more chains like this one. If dessert is what you’re after, check out what we found at Crumbl Cookies and Cold Stone Creamery. Or see how a chain with a full food menu handles it in our Dairy Queen guide.
