Looking for Firebirds vegetarian options? You can build a full meatless dinner here, but you’ll do it from the sides list, because Firebirds has no dedicated vegetarian entrée on its lunch or dinner menu. Add a meatless salad, a cheesecake, and a few specific swaps, and the steakhouse still works for a mixed group. New to ordering meatless at a steakhouse? The What’s Vegetarian homepage covers the basics.
Everything below comes from the Firebirds dinner menu, its lunch, brunch, and kids menus, and the October 14, 2026 allergen chart. Firebirds publishes no ingredient lists and no vegetarian or vegan labels, so every ✅ below means no meat appears on the menu or the chart, and every ⚠️ means you should ask your server.
A Quick Look at Firebirds
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is a polished-casual steakhouse based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founder Dennis Thompson started the chain, and Firebirds marked its 15th anniversary on December 6, 2015, according to FSR Magazine. So Firebirds opened its first restaurant around December 2000. Marketing vice president Stephen Loftis called it “one of the very first restaurants in the polished-casual niche” in the same piece.
J.H. Whitney Capital Partners bought the chain in January 2019. Garnett Station Partners announced its acquisition and recapitalization of the chain on March 27, 2023, when Firebirds ran 56 restaurants in 20 states, per Restaurant Dive. By April 2026, WhatNow reported 69 restaurants in 21 states, with more openings planned for 2026 and 2027.
Technomic’s 2026 Top 500 report, published by Restaurant Business, ranks Firebirds 137th in the country with $358 million in 2025 U.S. sales across 69 units. Firebirds cooks its 21-day-aged steaks over hardwood and also wood-grills salmon, shrimp, and chicken. That matters for vegetarians, as the allergen section below explains.
Firebirds Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Firebirds vegetarian options live in the sides, one salad, a few swaps, and dessert. Firebirds doesn’t label anything vegetarian, so we rated each row by what its menu and allergen chart show. The chain doesn’t say what rennet its cheeses use or how the kitchen keeps meat and seafood apart.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed Greens Salad (tomatoes, candied spiced pecans, jicama) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (milk listed) |
| Caesar Salad (Parmesan, croutons) | ❌ No (Caesar dressing lists fish) | ❌ No |
| BLT Salad (applewood-smoked bacon) | ❌ No (bacon) | ❌ No |
| Killer Mac & Cheese | ⚠️ Check (no ingredients listed) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Parmesan Mashed Potatoes | ✅ Yes (rennet not disclosed) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Southwest Au Gratin Potatoes | ✅ Yes (rennet not disclosed) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Loaded Baked Potato | ⚠️ Check (toppings not listed) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Broccoli | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (milk listed) |
| Fresh Vegetables | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (milk listed) |
| Port Mushrooms | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (milk and soy listed) |
| Seasonal Ancient Grains | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (milk listed) |
| Fresh Fruit | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Charred Carrots | ⚠️ Check (fish listed) | ❌ No (milk and fish) |
| Seasoned Steak Fries and Tater Tots | ⚠️ Check (fish and shellfish listed) | ❌ No (milk and egg) |
| Steak Sandwich with portabella mushrooms in place of steak (lunch) | ✅ Yes (swap required) | ❌ No (egg and milk) |
| Shrimp Pasta with portabella mushrooms in place of shrimp (dinner) | ✅ Yes (swap required, rennet not disclosed) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Veggie Power Bowl (weekend brunch only) | ⚠️ Check (fish and shellfish listed) | ❌ No (eggs) |
| Creme Brulée Cheesecake | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (egg and milk) |
| Chili (cup or bowl) | ⚠️ Check (no ingredients listed) | ❌ No (milk) |
A missing meat word in a dish name doesn’t prove the dish is meatless. When Firebirds publishes no ingredients, you ask.
How to Build a Vegetarian Dinner at Firebirds
The cleanest route is the Sides Entrée. Both the lunch and dinner menus offer a “Sides Entrée” where you choose any three sides. Pick from Fresh Vegetables, Broccoli, Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, Southwest Au Gratin Potatoes, Port Mushrooms, Seasonal Ancient Grains, and Fresh Fruit. You end up with a plate of items Firebirds already sells, and none of them names meat.
Steak entrées come with a choice of side, so a group dinner works too. Your friends order the filet, and you order a Mixed Greens Salad and a sides plate. Add a Creme Brulée Cheesecake for the table. Firebirds describes it as a dessert for sharing, serving two to three.
Salads
The Mixed Greens Salad is the one salad with no meat in its description: tomatoes, candied spiced pecans, and jicama. Firebirds suggests the cilantro lime vinaigrette. Firebirds marks no allergens at all on the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette and the Avocado Lime Vinaigrette, so those are the easiest dressings to pick. It marks egg and milk on both the Balsamic Vinaigrette and the Roasted Garlic Ranch.
Pass on the Caesar Salad, because Firebirds lists fish on its Caesar Dressing and you should treat that as anchovy. The BLT Salad is out too, with its applewood-smoked bacon. All five Signature Salads on the dinner menu carry chicken, steak, or seafood, from the Colorado Chicken Salad to the Grilled Shrimp & Strawberry Salad.
Sides
Firebirds sells twelve sides. On its allergen chart, Firebirds marks milk and nothing else on the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and the Southwest Au Gratin Potatoes. It marks milk and soy on the Port Mushrooms and milk and gluten on the Seasonal Ancient Grains. Fresh Fruit gets no marks at all.
Two sides need a question. Firebirds marks fish on the Charred Carrots, so ask your server what goes into them. It marks only milk on the Loaded Baked Potato but doesn’t name the toppings, and a loaded potato often comes with bacon. Check before you order.
You can order the Killer Mac & Cheese as a side, or as a first choice in the lunch Perfect Pair. Firebirds describes the kids’ version as noodles tossed with homemade cheese sauce. Firebirds marks milk, wheat, and gluten on it and no meat, but it publishes no recipe for the adult portion. Ask your server whether bacon or another meat product goes into it.
Sandwiches, Pasta, and Swaps
Two Firebirds entrées name a vegetarian swap right in the description. The lunch Steak Sandwich says “Substitute portabella mushrooms for steak,” and the Shrimp Pasta says “substitute grilled chimichurri portabella mushrooms for shrimp.” The Shrimp Pasta, a dinner dish, also comes with creamy asiago, cavatappi, Parmesan, spinach, and blistered tomatoes, so you still get a full plate of pasta.
Ask your server to confirm that the kitchen cooks the mushrooms on a clean grill and in a clean pan. Firebirds wood-grills steak, chicken, salmon, and shrimp, and it doesn’t say how it separates them from vegetables. Firebirds marks shellfish on the pasta, which comes with shrimp by default, so tell your server you want the swap with no shrimp.
Weekend Brunch
Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Veggie Power Bowl is the only dish on any Firebirds menu built around vegetables: poached eggs, grilled squash, zucchini, red peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, pickled red onions, and creamy horseradish sauce. Firebirds marks egg, fish, milk, shellfish, wheat, and gluten on it, the same set it marks on its fried potatoes, so ask how the kitchen cooks the potatoes.
Don’t assume the other brunch dishes work. The Baked French Toast comes with applewood-smoked bacon, and the Bacon, Egg & Avocado Toast carries bacon too. Every biscuit dish comes with bacon, sausage, chicken, or salmon.
Desserts
Firebirds lists five desserts: Creme Brulée Cheesecake, Big Daddy Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Brownie, Carrot Cake, and 5 Layer Lemon Cake. None names meat, and every one lists milk. Firebirds publishes no ingredient lists, so you can’t rule out gelatin from the menu alone, and Firebirds marks tree nuts on the Carrot Cake too. Ask about gelatin before you order.
What’s Vegan at Firebirds?
Firebirds has no vegan entrée, and very little on the menu is vegan without a swap. Firebirds marks no allergens on Fresh Fruit, the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, or the Avocado Lime Vinaigrette. A Mixed Greens Salad with one of those two dressings is the nearest thing to a vegan meal, but Firebirds marks milk and tree nuts on the salad itself, so ask where the milk comes from before you call it vegan.
Firebirds marks milk on the Broccoli, Fresh Vegetables, Port Mushrooms, and Seasonal Ancient Grains, which likely means butter or cheese. Ask whether the kitchen can cook them without it. If it can, a plate of those four sides makes a vegan dinner. Firebirds doesn’t promise any of this on paper, so treat every vegan order as a request.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Firebirds publishes one allergen chart that covers nine allergens and gluten. Firebirds doesn’t mark meat on it, so read it for what it does show. Four caveats matter most for vegetarians.
- Fish and shellfish on fried foods. Firebirds marks egg, fish, milk, shellfish, wheat, and gluten on its Seasoned Steak Fries, Tater Tots, Crispy Cauliflower, Ranch Rings, and Veggie Power Bowl. Firebirds doesn’t say why, so ask your server how the kitchen fries them.
- Fish in the Caesar Dressing. Firebirds marks fish on it, which points to anchovy. The Caesar Salad is out for vegetarians.
- Fish on the Charred Carrots. Firebirds marks fish, milk, and soy on them. Ask what seasoning or sauce they get.
- Cheese rennet. Parmesan, asiago, and pepper jack all appear on Firebirds dishes, and Firebirds doesn’t say what kind of rennet its cheese uses.
Firebirds also notes that it can prepare some items for gluten-sensitive guests and offers a gluten-free bun on its handhelds. Firebirds asks guests with food allergies or other dietary needs to see a manager. Take that advice if you eat strictly vegetarian or vegan.
Tips for Vegetarians at Firebirds
- Pick the Sides Entrée and choose three sides from the meatless list. It’s the most reliable Firebirds vegetarian option because every item is already on the menu.
- Request the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette or Avocado Lime Vinaigrette on your salad. Firebirds marks no allergens on either.
- Use the portabella swaps on the Steak Sandwich at lunch and the Shrimp Pasta at dinner, and tell your server you don’t eat meat or seafood.
- Check the Loaded Baked Potato and the Killer Mac & Cheese before you order, because Firebirds publishes no toppings or recipe for either.
- Swap the fries and tater tots for Fresh Fruit, Broccoli, or Seasonal Ancient Grains if you avoid fish and shellfish cross-contact.
- Book a weekend brunch table if you want the Veggie Power Bowl, and find out how the kitchen cooks the potatoes first.
- Share the Creme Brulée Cheesecake, and raise gelatin with your server before you order any dessert.
Conclusion
Firebirds vegetarian options exist, but you have to build the meal yourself. The Sides Entrée, the Mixed Greens Salad with a clean dressing, the portabella swaps, and the cheesecake give you a full dinner. The fish and shellfish listed on the fried foods and the Charred Carrots are the main things to ask about.
For more help, read our master guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, browse every chain in the restaurants category, or compare the steakhouses Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, and The Capital Grille.
