Looking for Carrabba’s vegetarian options? Start with the tomato pastas, the warm bread with herbed oil, and three plain vegetable sides. You’ll eat well at this wood-grill Italian chain. Soups and salads take a question or two, and a few dishes hide chicken or fish. We sorted the whole menu into vegetarian and vegan below, with what to ask your server. (We’re the people who keep asking what about the vegetarians.)
A Quick Look at Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Johnny Carrabba and his uncle, Damian Mandola, opened the first Carrabba’s in Houston in December 1986. In 1993 they formed a joint venture with Outback Steakhouse, Inc. Two years later, Outback bought the rights to grow the chain nationwide, according to Wikipedia.
Bloomin’ Brands, which also runs Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill, owns Carrabba’s today. In 2021 Bloomin’ Brands bought out the founders’ remaining interests in the wider chain. The founders kept the two original Houston restaurants. The chain had 203 locations in 2026, according to Wikipedia.
Carrabba’s Vegetarian Options: What to Order
The best vegetarian options at Carrabba’s are Linguine Positano, the Pomodoro pastas, the bread, the three vegetable sides, and Eggplant Parmesan. You won’t find a vegetarian menu, so ask about soups and salads before you order. We checked every row below against Carrabba’s May 2026 allergen chart and its September 2026 nutrition menu. Carrabba’s marks allergens, not meat. So we also read each dish’s menu description and put a ⚠️ on every gap we couldn’t close.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Table Boule Bread with herbs and oil | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (chart marks wheat only) |
| Tomato Caprese with Fresh Burrata | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk) |
| Mozzarella Marinara (fried) | ⚠️ Check (fish mark on the chart) | ❌ No (egg, milk, fish) |
| Zucchini Fritte (fried) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (egg, milk) |
| Side House Salad | ⚠️ Check (fish mark on the chart) | ⚠️ Check (egg, milk, fish marks) |
| Side Italian Salad | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (egg, milk marks) |
| Side Caesar Salad | ⚠️ Check (fish mark, ingredient not named) | ❌ No (egg, milk, fish) |
| Minestrone Soup | ⚠️ Check (stock not published) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Tomato Basil Soup | ⚠️ Check (stock not published) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Linguine Positano | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (soy, wheat marks only) |
| Spaghetti or Penne Pomodoro | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (wheat only) |
| Rigatoni Al Forno (lunch) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk, cheese) |
| Garlic Lemon Herb Linguine (lunch) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (lemon butter sauce) |
| Eggplant Parmesan | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (mozzarella, romano) |
| Fettuccine Alfredo, side | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (egg, milk) |
| Margherita Flatbread (lunch combo) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk, cheese) |
| Sauteed Broccoli | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (no allergen marks) |
| Grilled Asparagus | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (no allergen marks) |
| Sauteed Spinach | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (no allergen marks) |
| Garlic Mashed Potatoes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk) |
| Rosemary Parmesan Fries | ⚠️ Check (Parmesan rennet) | ❌ No (egg, milk, garlic aioli) |
| Tiramisu | ⚠️ Check (recipe not published) | ❌ No (egg, milk) |
| Cannoli Cake for Two | ⚠️ Check (recipe not published) | ❌ No (egg, milk) |
| John Cole | ⚠️ Check (recipe not published) | ❌ No (milk) |
Appetizers, Bread, and Salads
Start with the bread. Carrabba’s serves Table Boule Bread with herbs and oil, and wheat is the only allergen the chain marks. We used to warn about a butter brush, but Carrabba’s now marks no milk on the bread. Veggl agrees and gives the bread a yes.
Order the Tomato Caprese with Fresh Burrata for an easy vegetarian starter, since milk is its only mark. Fried starters take more care. The chain fries every deep-fried item in a shared fryer, calamari included, and calls the cross-contact risk high. You’ll get the Zucchini Fritte and the Mozzarella Marinara from that same fryer. On the Mozzarella Marinara, the chain also marks fish without naming the ingredient, so ask before you order the dish.
Ask about the salads too. Carrabba’s marks egg and milk on the Side Italian Salad and nothing else, so it’s the safe vegetarian pick. The chain adds a fish mark to the Side House Salad and the Side Caesar Salad without naming the ingredient. Classic Caesar dressing uses anchovy. Treat the Caesar as a no unless your server confirms the dressing has no fish. According to Veggl, both the House and Italian salads go vegan when you swap in the light balsamic or oil and vinegar.
Pasta and Main Dishes
Pasta is where Carrabba’s earns its keep. Linguine Positano comes with crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil, and soy and wheat are its only marks. On Spaghetti Pomodoro and Penne Pomodoro, the chain marks wheat alone. Hold the cheese and you’ve got a vegan plate. You can also ask for gluten-free pasta with Pomodoro sauce, which has no allergen marks at all.
For something richer, order the Eggplant Parmesan, layers of breaded eggplant with pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, and romano. A side of Fettuccine Alfredo works too, with egg, milk, soy, and wheat marks. At lunch you can get Rigatoni Al Forno, baked in tomato cream sauce with romano, parmesan, and goat cheese. Garlic Lemon Herb Linguine comes in the chain’s “Liquid Gold” sauce of garlic, lemon butter, Italian herbs, white wine, diced tomatoes, and basil. We found no meat in either lunch pasta’s menu description.
Skip the Mezzaluna. Its half-moon ravioli look like a cheese dish, but Carrabba’s fills them with chicken, ricotta, romano, and spinach. Lobster Ravioli is seafood, and Carrabba’s marks shellfish on the Fettuccine Weesie, so you can rule out both dishes. We also dropped the Vegetable Ravioli from this guide, because we couldn’t find it on the September 2026 menu.
Sides and Vegetables
Carrabba’s marks no allergens on the Sauteed Broccoli, Grilled Asparagus, or Sauteed Spinach. Cooks sauté the broccoli with red peppers, garlic, onion, and olive oil, and the spinach with garlic and olive oil. Pair two vegetables with the bread and you have a meal. Carrabba’s marks milk on the Garlic Mashed Potatoes, so vegans should pass. You get roasted garlic aioli with the Rosemary Parmesan Fries, which carry egg and milk marks. Parmesan can also use animal rennet, and the chain doesn’t say which kind it buys.
Desserts
Carrabba’s marks milk on every dessert on its chart: Tiramisu, Cannoli Cake for Two, Strawberry Cheesecake, Sogno di Cioccolata, and the John Cole. All but the John Cole carry an egg mark too, and the John Cole lists peanuts and tree nuts. Vegans get no dessert here. The chain doesn’t publish whether the cheesecake or the mascarpone uses gelatin or rennet. That’s why we mark the desserts ⚠️ for lacto-ovo vegetarians. We dropped the Cinnamon Apple Crostata, because we couldn’t find it on the September 2026 menu.
What’s Vegan at Carrabba’s?
You can eat vegan here if you stick to pasta and vegetables. Carrabba’s marks no milk or egg on Linguine Positano, Spaghetti or Penne Pomodoro, Sauteed Broccoli, Grilled Asparagus, Sauteed Spinach, or the bread. Veggl adds a side salad with oil and vinegar, but ask about the House Salad’s fish mark first. The chain marks milk on both meatless soups and on every dessert, so leave those off a vegan order.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Read Carrabba’s own warning before you order. The chain fries every deep-fried item in one shared fryer, calls the cross-contact risk high, and doesn’t recommend fried food for guests with allergies. Carrabba’s also cooks some pasta in a shared pot, so egg can reach pasta that has none. Carrabba’s asks guests to speak with the manager on duty about any allergy. For vegetarians, the open questions are the fish marks on the Caesar and House salads, the soup stocks, and the rennet in Parmesan and romano.
Tips for Vegetarians at Carrabba’s
- Build the meal around Linguine Positano or a Pomodoro pasta, the dishes with the fewest allergen marks.
- Add two vegetable sides, such as Sauteed Broccoli and Grilled Asparagus, for a full plate.
- Skip the Mezzaluna, since Carrabba’s fills the ravioli with chicken.
- Ask your server about the minestrone and tomato basil stock before you order either soup.
- Treat the Caesar as a no, and ask your server what causes the fish mark on the House Salad.
- Pass on fried starters if you avoid cross-contact, because Carrabba’s uses one shared fryer.
- Tell your server up front about strict rules, such as avoiding animal rennet.
Conclusion
Carrabba’s vegetarian options cover a full meal at a wood-grill chain, as long as you order from the pasta list and the vegetable sides. Lead with Linguine Positano or a Pomodoro, add a side or two, and ask about the soups and salads. For the full playbook on ordering meat-free anywhere, read our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, and browse more chains in our restaurant guides. If you like Italian, see what’s vegetarian at Olive Garden, Fazoli’s, and Villa Italian Kitchen next.
