Looking for Farmer Boys vegetarian options? Order the veggie burger. It’s the only entree on the menu built from vegetables instead of meat, and it holds its own against the chain’s beef burgers. Past that, you’ll have to work for it. Every named omelet, salad, and wrap comes standard with chicken, bacon, or ham. A vegetarian visit here usually means building a plate out of sides. This guide breaks down exactly what to get and what to pass on. Curious what about the vegetarians can eat at other chains? We’ve got that covered too.
A Quick Look at Farmer Boys
Farmer Boys traces back to 1981, when a family of five brothers, the Havadjias, converted a diner called McCoy’s Restaurant in Perris, California into the first Farmer Boys. They were Cypriot immigrants who’d already run Astro Burger in Torrance since 1979 and Theodore’s Restaurant in Hollywood. Their new concept centered on farm-fresh ingredients and made-to-order cooking, a pitch the chain still leans on today (“Farm Food Ain’t Fast Food”). Growth was steady rather than fast. Eight restaurants existed by the mid-1990s, franchising started in 1996, and headquarters now sit in Riverside, California.
Farmer Boys is still independently owned, with no parent company. The founding family’s next generation now helps run it alongside President and COO Joseph Ortiz. Technomic’s 2026 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report puts the chain at $234 million in 2025 U.S. sales across 104 units in California, Nevada, and Arizona. One franchisee, Geddo Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in March 2026 after merchant cash advance loans strained its cash flow. That filing covered only its 12 locations, not the chain itself. Growth continued elsewhere: a first Coachella Valley location opened in Cathedral City that April, and a sixth Arizona restaurant followed in Mesa that August.
Farmer Boys Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Here’s how the Farmer Boys menu breaks down for vegetarians, based on the chain’s own allergen chart and menu descriptions. Be conservative with anything marked “check”, since Farmer Boys fries several sides in shared equipment.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Veggie Burger | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (1000 island dressing has egg) |
| Colossal Onion Rings™ | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (batter has milk and egg) |
| Crispy Zucchini Sticks | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (batter has milk and egg) |
| Always Crispy Fries® | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (batter has milk and egg) |
| Side Salad | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (ask for dressing on the side) |
| Fresh Fruit | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Real Ice Cream Shakes (Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Cookies & Cream) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Hash Browns | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (fried alongside meat items) |
| Toast & English Muffin | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (usually buttered, ask for it dry) |
| Chili Cheese Fries | ❌ No (beef chili) | ❌ No |
| Farmer’s Chopped Cobb, BBQ Chicken Ranch, Southwest Chicken, Grilled Chicken Salads/Wraps | ❌ No (chicken and/or bacon) | ❌ No |
| Farmer’s, Denver, California & Ham and Cheese Omelets | ❌ No (standard with bacon or ham) | ❌ No |
The Veggie Burger: The Only Vegetarian Entree on the Menu
The Veggie Burger (490 calories) is built on a patty made from sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions, celery, spinach, and sunflower seeds. That’s a real vegetable patty, not a soy or pea-protein stand-in. It comes on a brioche bun with lettuce, sliced tomato, dill pickles, diced onion, and a house-made 1000 island dressing. Farmer Boys’ own allergen chart lists soy, egg, and wheat for this item, with no milk flagged. So the egg comes from the dressing, not the bun or patty, and that’s also why it isn’t vegan as served. Ask for it without the 1000 island dressing and swap in mustard if you’re avoiding animal products. Confirm the bun ingredients with staff too, since Farmer Boys doesn’t publish a full breakdown for it.
Sides and Shakes You Can Order Without Asking
Farmer Boys’ sides menu is friendlier than its entrees. Always Crispy Fries, Colossal Onion Rings, and Crispy Zucchini Sticks are all hand-battered and vegetarian. That batter contains milk and egg, though, so none of them are vegan. Two items are vegan by default: the Side Salad (25 calories) and the Fresh Fruit bowl, since Farmer Boys’ allergen chart flags nothing on either one. Get the salad with dressing on the side. Most of the chain’s dressings, including ranch and blue cheese, contain egg or dairy. Dessert is easier. All four Real Ice Cream Shake flavors, Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Cookies & Cream, are vegetarian, just not vegan, since they’re made with dairy.
Why the Omelets, Salads, and Sandwiches Are Off the Table
This is the real gap in the menu. Four omelets are named on the menu: Farmer’s, Denver, California, and Ham and Cheese. Every one comes standard with bacon or ham built into the recipe, not as an optional add-on. The California Omelet, for example, is three eggs with hickory-smoked bacon, cheddar, and avocado. Salads and wraps follow the same pattern. The Farmer’s Chopped Cobb Salad comes with grilled chicken, bacon, and cheddar. The BBQ Chicken Ranch, Southwest Chicken, and Grilled Chicken options are all built around a chicken breast, and none of them have a vegetarian version. Sandwiches are no different. Farmer’s Club, Bacon Turkey Melt, Patty Melt, California BLT, Sourdough Chicken Avocado, Pastrami, the fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, and the fish platters are entirely meat or fish-based.
Building a Vegetarian Breakfast at Farmer Boys
Farmer Boys’ breakfast platters, the 3-Egg Breakfast, Hot Cakes Platter, and French Toast Platter, all come with a mandatory meat choice of sausage, ham, or bacon built into the base order. None of them are vegetarian as listed. Skip the platters and go a la carte instead. Eggs any style, hash browns, toast or an English muffin, and tomato slices or fresh fruit are all vegetarian sides, and you can combine them into your own plate. It takes more effort than ordering straight off the printed breakfast menu. Still, it’s the only reliable way to eat meat-free here before noon.
What’s Vegan at Farmer Boys?
Vegan options are thin here. Only two menu items come out vegan by default: the Side Salad without dressing and the Fresh Fruit bowl. There’s no vegan burger, since the Veggie Burger’s dressing contains egg, and there’s no dairy-free shake or dessert anywhere on the menu. Plan on a salad or fruit bowl if Farmer Boys is your only option nearby. Or call ahead and ask the kitchen to build a Veggie Burger without the 1000 island dressing.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Farmer Boys publishes an allergen chart compiled with Healthy Dining. It flags milk, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish, and gluten by item, and it’s worth checking before you order if you have a real allergy, not just a preference. A few things to watch for: the Colossal Onion Rings, Crispy Zucchini Sticks, and Always Crispy Fries share a hand-battered coating with milk and egg in it. There’s no dedicated allergen-free fryer, so cross-contact with the chain’s fish platters is possible even on a vegetarian side. Several dressings, including ranch, blue cheese, and tartar sauce, contain egg. That means a vegan side salad only stays vegan if you order the dressing on the side or skip it. A gluten-free bun isn’t offered for the Veggie Burger either, since the standard bun and the patty itself both carry a wheat/gluten flag.
Tips for Vegetarians at Farmer Boys
- Order the Veggie Burger. It’s the only vegetarian entree on the menu, and it’s a real vegetable patty, not a fake-meat swap.
- Skip the printed breakfast platters. They all come with sausage, ham, or bacon built in, so build your own plate from eggs, hash browns, toast, and fruit instead.
- Don’t assume a salad or wrap is safe just because it looks vegetable-forward. Every one on the menu is built around a chicken breast, plus bacon on the Cobb.
- Ask for dressing on the side. Ranch, blue cheese, and tartar sauce all contain egg, which can turn an otherwise vegan Side Salad into a vegetarian-only order.
- If you’re vegan, stick to the Side Salad without dressing or the Fresh Fruit bowl, since the Veggie Burger’s default dressing has egg in it.
- Call your local Farmer Boys ahead of time if you have a real allergy. The fryer is shared across battered sides and the fish platters.
Conclusion
Farmer Boys vegetarian options come down to one real entree, the Veggie Burger, plus a short list of sides and a shake for dessert. It’s not a chain built for vegetarians, since every omelet, salad, wrap, and sandwich on the printed menu defaults to meat, but the Veggie Burger and a build-your-own breakfast plate are enough to get a real meal. For the bigger picture on eating meat-free at chain restaurants, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, browse our full restaurant guide directory, or check what’s vegetarian at other West Coast burger and breakfast chains like In-N-Out, Carl’s Jr, and Denny’s.
