Looking for Culvers vegetarian options? You’ve got exactly one meatless burger, plus a short list of sides, salads, and frozen custard. Dairy and egg show up in almost every dish here, so a strict vegan diet is tough to pull off. This guide walks through which menu items work, which ones to skip, and the cross-contact gotchas worth knowing before you pull up to the window. Browse the rest of What’s Vegetarian for more meat-free guides like this one.
A Quick Look at Culvers
Culver’s started in Sauk City, Wisconsin, where Craig Culver opened the first restaurant on July 18, 1984, alongside his parents George and Ruth and his then-wife Lea. Two things built the original concept: ButterBurgers and frozen custard. That Midwestern, dairy-forward identity still shapes the menu today, and it matters a lot once you start eating meat-free here.
Culver Franchising System, LLC runs the business. Craig Culver’s family still holds majority ownership and operational control. Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta private-equity firm, bought a minority stake in October 2017, though the family kept the reins. By 2025, Culver’s had crossed 1,000 restaurants. More than 1,000 locations now operate across roughly 26 states, so there’s a decent chance you’ll pass one on a road trip through the Midwest.
Culver’s announced a broader 2026 menu refresh in February. New frozen custard Flavors of the Day, seasonal pumpkin desserts, and several beef-forward Pub Burgers are rolling out through the year. None of that touches the Harvest Veggie Burger or the core vegetarian sides, so the menu items covered below are current.
Culvers Vegetarian Options: What to Order
The table below sorts the main meat-free picks. A checkmark means yes, an X means no, and the warning sign means it depends or it’s unconfirmed. Only items whose ingredient list clearly backs it up earn a vegan checkmark, since that column stays conservative. Fries are the special case here. They’re vegan by recipe, but they share a fryer with meat, so they carry a warning even though their own ingredients are clean.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Veggie Burger | ✅ | ❌ |
| Crinkle Cut Fries | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Fried Cheese Curds | ✅ | ❌ |
| Onion Rings | ✅ | ❌ |
| Dinner Roll | ✅ | ✅ |
| Side Salad / Garden Fresco Salad | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Steamed Broccoli (plain) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mott’s Applesauce | ✅ | ✅ |
| Apple Slices | ✅ | ✅ |
| Frozen Custard (all forms) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Lemon Ice | ✅ | ✅ |
| Pretzel Bites (no cheese sauce) | ✅ | ⚠️ |
The One Meatless Burger: Harvest Veggie Burger
Culver’s sells a single meatless patty, called the Harvest Veggie Burger. It’s vegetarian, not vegan, and that’s by design. Per Culver’s official Quality Ingredient Guide, the patty is built from vegetables and grains: portabella mushrooms, roasted corn, chickpeas, spinach, roasted red and green bell peppers, barley, and wheatberries. Dairy and egg cooked right into the recipe are what keep it off the vegan list. Pasteurized milk, cheese culture, and eggs all show up on the ingredient list, and the allergen label reads “CONTAINS WHEAT, GLUTEN, MILK, EGGS.”
A couple of things to flag. Both milk and egg show up in the patty, so it’s a lacto-ovo item, not a dairy-only one. This burger isn’t for you if you skip egg along with meat. Cheese culture and “Enzymes” also appear on the ingredient list without specifying whether the rennet is microbial or animal-derived, so strict vegetarians who avoid animal rennet can’t confirm the cheese here. Because the patty already carries dairy and egg, it’s off the table for dairy-free and egg-free diners no matter which bun you choose. Note that recipes change, so check Culver’s official nutrition and allergen guide online, or ask at your location, before you order.
Sides, Curds, and Fries
The sides are where you’ll fill out a meat-free order, and they split cleanly into two groups. Cheese curds and onion rings are vegetarian crowd-pleasers, fried, but never vegan, since they’re breaded in wheat and, in the curds’ case, made of cheese. Broccoli, applesauce, apple slices, and the dinner roll are the fresh and plain sides, and that’s where vegans actually find something to eat. Here’s how the popular ones break down:
- Crinkle Cut Fries: no animal ingredients in the potato itself. Per Culver’s Quality Ingredient Guide, the fries are potatoes, vegetable oil, modified food starch, rice flour, and seasonings, cooked in canola oil with no beef tallow. The catch is the shared fryer, covered below.
- Fried Cheese Curds: a Wisconsin staple made from cheddar cheese curds in a wheat-based batter, vegetarian, but breaded and dairy-heavy, so they’re not vegan and they carry milk and wheat allergens.
- Onion Rings: onions battered in bleached wheat flour and corn flour, then fried. They’re vegetarian, but the wheat batter and shared fryer keep them off the vegan list.
- Steamed Broccoli: order it plain with no butter and it’s vegan. Some stores add butter by default, so specify.
- Dinner Roll: the standout vegan bread. Its label lists only “WHEAT, GLUTEN” with soybean oil, yeast, and high-fructose corn syrup. No butter, milk, or egg. Request no butter brushed on top when you order it.
- Mott’s Applesauce and Apple Slices: both vegan, sweet, and the easiest grab-and-go picks.
Salads and Frozen Custard
The Side Salad and Garden Fresco Salad both start vegetarian-friendly with mixed lettuce greens, cucumbers, and tomato. Drop the chicken, the cheese, and the croutons to make either one vegan, since the croutons contain whey. Order the Garden Fresco Salad without chicken and it’s a solid base for vegans to build on with craisins, apple slices, strawberries, or red onion. On dressing, Culver’s Vinaigrette, the raspberry vinaigrette, and the French dressings are vegan-friendly. Availability varies by location. Skip the Signature Sauce and ranch dressing, since both contain egg and dairy.
Frozen custard is the heart of the Culver’s menu, and it’s all dairy. Cones, dishes, sundaes, Concrete Mixers, shakes, and malts are vegetarian but never vegan, since the custard is sweet, dense, and built on dairy and egg yolk. Most fruit and candy toppings on these desserts are fine for vegetarians, but the custard base itself rules out vegans. There’s no plant-based custard and no oat or soy milk option for it. Vegans do get one frozen dessert: the Lemon Ice, sometimes sold as Lemon Ice Cooler, with a base of just sugar, corn syrup, water, gums, and lemonade. It shows up seasonally, so don’t count on it year-round.
What’s Vegan at Culvers?
Vegan options at Culver’s are thin, and it’s fair to set that expectation up front. There’s no vegan entree, no Beyond or Impossible patty, and no plant-based custard. Vegan picks are limited but real. You can reliably order crinkle cut fries (with the shared-fryer caveat), the dinner roll, plain steamed broccoli, applesauce, apple slices, a Garden Fresco Salad without chicken or cheese, and seasonal Lemon Ice. Pretzel Bites without the cheese sauce are widely listed as accidentally vegan, though the enzyme source isn’t verifiable, so call them “likely vegan.” On drinks, fountain sodas, root beer, lemonade, apple juice, Powerade, and brewed coffee or tea are all suitable.
What to avoid as a vegan: the veggie burger (dairy and egg in the patty), cheese curds, onion rings, all custard and shake drinks, croutons (whey), the Signature Sauce (egg and dairy), and any ranch or cheese sauce. Want a real meal instead of a snack assembly? Culver’s is a tough stop for vegans, and you’re better off treating it as a fries-and-a-side situation.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
The single biggest allergen issue at Culver’s is the shared fryer. Fries are vegan by recipe, but they cook in the same oil as cheese curds, onion rings, chicken tenders, shrimp, and pork tenderloin. That means high cross-contact risk with dairy, egg, fish, and shellfish. Have a serious allergy, or are you strict about cross-contamination? Treat the fries as contaminated rather than clean.
Gluten is another watch point. Wheat and gluten show up in the veggie burger, cheese curds, onion rings, dinner roll, croutons, and most breaded items. Naturally gluten-free meat-free picks are limited to plain steamed broccoli, applesauce, apple slices, and salad greens without croutons. Buns, butter brushing, and seasonal items vary by store. Your safest move is Culver’s official nutrition and allergen guide, or asking the staff at your specific location before you order. Recipes and regional offerings change, so what’s listed online isn’t a guarantee at every restaurant.
Tips for Vegetarians at Culvers
- Order the Harvest Veggie Burger only if your diet includes both dairy and egg, since the patty contains both. Ask whether the cheese rennet is microbial if that matters to you.
- Ask for the dinner roll if you want a vegan bread option, and request it without butter brushed on top.
- Skip the Signature Sauce and any ranch or cheese sauce, since those contain egg and dairy. Stick to ketchup, mustard, marinara, malt vinegar, Frank’s RedHot, or BBQ.
- Build a vegan side salad by dropping the cheese, chicken, and croutons, then loading up on craisins, apple slices, strawberries, and red onion.
- Treat the fries as cross-contaminated if you have a dairy, egg, fish, or shellfish allergy, because they share oil with meat and cheese items.
- Grab applesauce, apple slices, or plain steamed broccoli when you want a side with no surprises.
- Pull up Culver’s official nutrition and allergen guide on your phone, or ask the crew before ordering, since buns, butter, and seasonal items vary by location.
Culvers vegetarian options: frequently asked questions
Conclusion
Culver’s gives vegetarians a workable, if short, menu: one cheese-laden veggie burger, fried curds, fries, salads, sides, and all the frozen custard you want. Vegans get a much thinner spread and no real entree. Set expectations before you go, and lean on the fries, dinner roll, and a modified Garden Fresco Salad. Check Culver’s nutrition and allergen guide when in doubt, and ask your location too, since buns and seasonal items shift around. For more on ordering meat-free at chains like this, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants and browse all our restaurant guides. You might also like our breakdowns of In-N-Out vegetarian options and Five Guys vegetarian options.
