Looking for Del Frisco’s vegetarian options? You’ll find more than a lonely side salad. This Dallas-born fine-dining steakhouse added a genuine vegan entree to its menu back in 2019. Between that dish, the salads, and the sides, plant-based diners can put together a real meal instead of picking around a plate of beef. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse is one of the biggest names in modern American steak, but what about the vegetarians? This 2026 guide covers what’s vegetarian at Del Frisco’s, what’s actually vegan, and the allergen details worth knowing before you sit down.
A Quick Look at Del Frisco’s
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse traces back to 1981, when a former meat cutter named Dale Wamstad, who went by “Del Frisco,” opened the first restaurant in Dallas, Texas, with business partner Dee Lincoln. The steakhouse built its name on aged USDA Prime beef, a serious wine program, and a big-city fine-dining room meant for expense-account dinners and celebrations.
The printed menu leans hard on classic steakhouse fare. Think Filet Mignon, Prime Ribeye, and Prime Strip cuts, Del’s Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Ahi Tuna, and a Wagyu Beef French Dip sandwich. None of that helps a vegetarian guest at the dining room table, which is exactly why the plant-based additions below stand out on a menu built for steak.
- Founded: 1981, opened in Dallas, Texas, by Dale “Del Frisco” Wamstad and Dee Lincoln.
- Went public: 2012, on Nasdaq under the ticker DFRG.
- Ownership: Private equity firm L Catterton bought the public company for about $650 million in September 2019. That same month, Landry’s agreed to buy the Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s Grille brands from L Catterton. Landry’s is the Houston-based hospitality company led by Tilman Fertitta. Landry’s also owns Morton’s The Steakhouse and Rainforest Cafe, among dozens of other restaurant and hotel brands.
- Locations: 14 restaurants across the United States, in cities including Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Houston, New York, Las Vegas, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Indianapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C.
- Signature focus: Hand-cut, aged USDA Prime steaks, a raw bar, and an award-winning wine list managed by trained sommeliers.
Del Frisco’s Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Del Frisco’s isn’t a vegetarian-friendly restaurant by design. It’s a steakhouse first. But the current menu, published on delfriscos.com, covers real ground. Salads, sides, and one standout entree add up to the full range of Del Frisco’s vegetarian options and a real meal without meat. The table below covers what’s commonly available. Recipes and regional menus can shift, so always double-check with your server, especially since several items that sound plant-based actually come with bacon by default.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak (maitake mushrooms, farro, asparagus, chimichurri) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Greek Chopped Grain Salad (haloumi, farro, olives, artichoke hearts) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (haloumi cheese) |
| Del’s Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, shaved carrots, bacon) | ⚠️ Check (ask no bacon) | ⚠️ Check (ask no bacon, no cheese if added) |
| Blue Cheese Lettuce Wedge (iceberg, blue cheese, bacon) | ⚠️ Check (ask no bacon) | ❌ No (cheese and bacon) |
| Asian Crunch Salad (cabbage, cashews, soba noodles, edamame, wasabi peas) | ⚠️ Check (confirm no chicken or shrimp added, ask sauce ingredients) | ⚠️ Check |
| Château Mashed Potatoes (scallions, butter) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (butter, dairy) |
| Baked Potato (chive butter on the side) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (order without the butter) |
| Fresh Sautéed Spinach | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (often finished with butter) |
| Seasonal Asparagus (pistachios, lemon confit butter) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (butter) |
| Sautéed Wild Mushrooms & Pearl Onions | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (often cooked in butter) |
| Heirloom Carrots (maple, candied pecans) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (glaze may contain butter) |
| Creamed Corn (shishito peppers) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cream) |
| French Fries | ⚠️ Check (confirm dedicated fryer) | ⚠️ Check |
| Lobster Bisque | ❌ No (seafood, cream) | ❌ No |
| Lobster Macaroni & Cheese | ❌ No (seafood, dairy) | ❌ No |
The Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak
This is the dish to know. After talking with animal-rights group PETA, Del Frisco’s added a full vegan entree to both the lunch and dinner menus starting October 2, 2019. It’s a roasted slab of cauliflower served with ginger-soy maitake mushrooms, farro, charred asparagus, cilantro chimichurri, and tomato vinaigrette. It’s a real center-of-plate dish built to stand next to the steaks, not an afterthought pulled from the side list. It’s still on the menu today, and it’s the easiest order for anyone eating vegetarian or vegan at a Del Frisco’s table.
Salads and Starters (Ask to Hold the Bacon)
The Greek Chopped Grain Salad is the safest vegetarian starter as printed, built on farro, haloumi cheese, olives, artichoke hearts, and a tarragon vinaigrette. Del’s Salad and the Blue Cheese Lettuce Wedge both look vegetarian at a glance. Both come with crisp bacon by default, so ask for it left off. The Asian Crunch Salad is trickier. Its printed ingredients (napa cabbage, cashews, soba noodles, edamame, wasabi peas) read vegetarian. But crunch salads like this one often come with an optional or default protein at steakhouses, so confirm with your server.
Sides You Can Build a Meal From
This is where Del Frisco’s vegetarian options really come together. The sides menu covers mashed potatoes, a baked potato, sauteed spinach, asparagus, wild mushrooms, heirloom carrots, and creamed corn. All of them are vegetarian as prepared. Order two or three alongside the Greek Chopped Grain Salad or the cauliflower steak and you’ve got a full, satisfying dinner. Just know that nearly every side leans on butter or cream for richness. If you’re avoiding dairy, ask the kitchen to hold it or use olive oil instead.
What’s Vegan at Del Frisco’s?
The Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak is the one confirmed vegan entree among Del Frisco’s vegetarian options, and it’s a real one, not a modified side dish. Beyond that, vegan options take some customizing:
- Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak (confirmed vegan, added to the menu after talks with PETA)
- Greek Chopped Grain Salad, without the haloumi cheese
- Fresh Sauteed Spinach or Seasonal Asparagus, ordered without butter
- A plain Baked Potato, without the chive butter
- Del’s Salad, without bacon and without cheese if it’s added at your location
Del Frisco’s doesn’t publish a dedicated vegan menu, so plan on asking your server to modify a couple of these rather than expecting a printed vegan section. Most wine and cocktail options are vegan too, aside from a few cream-based cocktails, so the drink list isn’t a problem.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Del Frisco’s menu marks select dishes with gluten-sensitive and vegetarian icons, including the mashed potatoes and one of the mushroom preparations, which is a good sign the kitchen tracks Del Frisco’s vegetarian options carefully. Still, a few things are worth flagging before you order:
- Butter is everywhere. Asparagus, baked potatoes, spinach, and mashed potatoes are all finished with butter by default, so ask for it on the side or left off if you’re avoiding dairy.
- Bacon shows up in unexpected places. Both Del’s Salad and the Blue Cheese Lettuce Wedge include bacon as a standard ingredient, not a garnish you can easily spot on the menu description alone.
- Cheese is often unlabeled for rennet. Del Frisco’s doesn’t publish rennet sourcing for the haloumi or blue cheese, so strict vegetarians who avoid animal rennet should ask.
- Shared fryer risk. Del Frisco’s hasn’t published a public allergen PDF confirming whether the fries use a dedicated fryer. Ask before ordering if cross-contact with seafood or meat is a concern.
- No official allergen matrix online. Unlike some chains, Del Frisco’s doesn’t post a full downloadable allergen guide. For tree nut, soy, or gluten concerns beyond the marked items, ask your server to check with the kitchen directly.
Tips for Vegetarians at Del Frisco’s
A little planning makes Del Frisco’s vegetarian options go further. Keep these in mind before you sit down:
- Start with the Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak. It’s the one dish built specifically as a vegan center-of-plate entree, not a modified side.
- Order two or three sides family-style. Mashed potatoes, asparagus, sauteed spinach, and wild mushrooms all work and are easy to share at a steakhouse table.
- Say “no bacon” out loud. Del’s Salad and the Blue Cheese Lettuce Wedge both include it by default, and it’s easy to miss on a quick menu read.
- Ask about butter if you’re avoiding dairy. Nearly every side is finished with it, and the kitchen can leave it off or swap in olive oil.
- Call ahead for a group dinner. Fine-dining steakhouses like this one are used to building an off-menu vegetarian or vegan plate for guests who ask in advance.
- Skip the French onion-style items and bisques. The Lobster Bisque and any stock-based soup are built on seafood or meat bases, not vegetable stock.
- Save room for dessert. Steakhouse dessert menus are usually egg-and-dairy-based rather than meat-based, so they’re typically vegetarian, though check for gelatin in anything mousse-like.
Del Frisco’s Vegetarian Options: Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Del Frisco’s will always be a steakhouse first, but Del Frisco’s vegetarian options are more serious than most fine-dining beef restaurants offer. The Roasted Heirloom Cauliflower Steak gives you a real entree. The Greek Chopped Grain Salad and a handful of sides fill out the table, and the kitchen handles requests like holding the bacon or skipping the butter without a fuss. Ask before you order, since a few dishes that look meat-free by name actually aren’t. For more steakhouse guides, see the master guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, browse the full restaurants archive, or compare notes with fellow steakhouses The Capital Grille and Outback Steakhouse.
