Looking for Freebirds vegetarian options? You have plenty. Freebirds runs a build-your-own line and lists a vegetarian protein beside its steak, ground beef, chicken, and carnitas. Order the pre-built Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl or any Veggie & Guac build, skip the cheese and queso if you eat vegan, and ask about the cheese rennet before you pay. Want to know what’s vegetarian at other chains? Our homepage lists every guide.
A Quick Look at Freebirds World Burrito
Mark Orfalea and Pierre Dube founded Freebirds in 1987 in Santa Barbara, California, according to Franchise Times. The company moved its home base to Austin, Texas, in 2016. Orlando-based Travistock Restaurants bought the chain in 2007 and grew it to more than 100 Texas locations at one point. Travistock then closed a number of units after the pandemic.
In August 2024, Sun Holdings bought Freebirds and its 64 Texas locations. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that Technomic Ignite put 2023 sales at $119.7 million. Sun Holdings also owns Taco Bueno and runs Applebee’s, Arby’s, Burger King, Golden Corral, IHOP, McAlister’s, and Popeyes restaurants as a franchisee. Freebirds still calls itself “Texas’ No. 1 Burrito” on its own site.
Freebirds Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Freebirds works like Chipotle with a Texas accent. You pick a format (burrito, bowl, tacos, salad, nachos, or quesadilla), a protein, a rice, a bean, and your toppings and sauces. Freebirds lists “Vegetarian (incl. guac)” as one of six proteins on its menu PDF and offers a Veggie & Guac version of every build-your-own format online. On the same PDF, Freebirds lists a pre-built Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl with cauliflower rice, Veggie & Guac, black beans, house roasted salsa, corn salsa, and guacamole. You can’t make substitutions on the pre-built bowls. Use the table below to sort the pieces of your build.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl (cauliflower rice, Veggie & Guac, black beans, house roasted salsa, corn salsa, guacamole) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (Freebirds labels it vegan) |
| Veggie & Guac Burrito, Bowl, Tacos, Salad, or Nachos | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (cheese, queso, and sauces) |
| Veggie & Guac Quesarito (grilled with Monterey Jack) | ⚠️ Check (animal rennet in 2015) | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Guacamole and diced avocado | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Cilantro-lime rice and Spanish rice | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (2015 source only) |
| Cauliflower rice | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check |
| Black beans, whole pinto beans, refried beans | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (2015 source only) |
| Sautéed peppers and onions | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (vegan-only pot in 2015) |
| Grilled corn salsa, pico de gallo, house roasted salsa | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Roasted Tomatillo, Spicy Tomatillo, Fiery Habanero, Death Sauce | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (2015 source only) |
| Legendary queso | ⚠️ Check (animal rennet in 2015) | ❌ No (cheese dip) |
| Shredded Monterey Jack and extra cheese | ⚠️ Check (animal rennet in 2015) | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Sour cream and Freebirds Ranch | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Creamy jalapeño | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (no dairy in 2015) |
| BBQ sauce | ❌ No (anchovies in 2015) | ❌ No |
| Chips and house roasted salsa | ⚠️ Check (fryer not disclosed) | ⚠️ Check |
| Magic Mallow | ⚠️ Check (marshmallow, gelatin not disclosed) | ⚠️ Check |
Order the Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl if you want Freebirds to make the choices, or a Veggie & Guac Bowl or Burrito if you want to build your own. Pick the salad, which Freebirds describes as spring mix topped with sautéed veggies and a scoop of guacamole, when you want to skip the tortilla.
Burritos, Bowls, and Quesaritos
The burrito comes in HalfBird, Freebird, Monster, and Super Monster sizes, and you can pick a flour or spicy cayenne tortilla. Freebirds invites you to “try it toasted,” and a toasted flour tortilla with Veggie & Guac, black beans, cilantro-lime rice, corn salsa, and pico de gallo makes a solid meal.
With a bowl, you skip the tortilla and get spring mix. The Veggie & Guac Bowl suits anyone who wants to cut carbs, too, since Freebirds offers cauliflower rice as a rice choice.
Freebirds builds the Quesarito on a tortilla grilled with melted Monterey Jack. Back in 2015, the chain told the Vegetarian Resource Group that its cheeses used animal rennet, and the chain hasn’t published a newer answer. Strict vegetarians should pick a plain burrito instead.
Tacos, Nachos, and Salads
The Veggie & Guac Tacos come on flour, spicy cayenne, or soft corn tortillas (corn is a taco-only option), and Freebirds sums them up as “no meat, no problem.” For the Veggie & Guac Nachos, Freebirds piles housemade guacamole on tortilla chips and adds queso, toppings, and sauces. Ask whether your location can serve the queso on the side.
Freebirds also sells a Dippin’ Trio of large chips with guacamole, queso, and salsa. You can share it as a vegetarian snack, or order the chips with house roasted salsa or corn salsa instead. Kids can order a Veggie & Guac Taco or a Veggie & Guac Quesadilla.
On Taco Tuesday you get two tacos, regular chips and dip, and a drink for $9.99, and Freebirds offers the deal in-store, online, and in its app.
What’s Vegan at Freebirds World Burrito?
Freebirds names vegan among the diets it covers on its story page, and its FAQ promises “a variety of vegetarian and vegan-friendly ingredients.” The chain publishes no ingredient list, but you can order the pre-built Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl from its menu PDF, with cauliflower rice, Veggie & Guac, black beans, house roasted salsa, corn salsa, and guacamole. For a build of your own, start with a Veggie & Guac Bowl, take the rice and beans, add salsa and guacamole, and leave off the cheese, queso, sour cream, and ranch.
The Vegetarian Resource Group asked Freebirds about its ingredients in 2015, and the chain told the group that its beans had no lard or animal-based flavorings, that the cilantro-lime and Spanish rice had no animal products, and that the tortillas were free of lard and L-cysteine. Freebirds also told the group that its BBQ sauce had anchovies and that its creamy jalapeño got its texture from oil, not dairy. Recipes change in 11 years, so treat those answers as a starting point and confirm them at the counter.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
- Cheese: Freebirds told the Vegetarian Resource Group in 2015 that its cheeses used animal rennet, and the chain hasn’t published a newer answer for the Monterey Jack or the queso.
- BBQ sauce: Freebirds told the VRG in 2015 that its BBQ sauce contained anchovies. Freebirds puts BBQ sauce on the Spicy BBQ Freebird Chicken Burrito and Bowl, so leave the sauce off a build of your own.
- Shared surfaces: Freebirds told the VRG in 2015 that it used color-coded utensils, kept separate pots for vegan and animal food, and saved the grill for meat. We found no current statement about the grill, the fryer, or the chips, so ask your location.
- Sautéed vegetables: in 2015, Freebirds cooked its peppers and onions in canola oil in a vegan-only pot. The chain hasn’t said whether that still holds, so ask whether your location cooks them apart from the meat.
- Allergens: Freebirds publishes no allergen chart and names ingredients only in its item descriptions, so ask staff before you order if you have a dairy, egg, soy, or wheat allergy.
Tips for Vegetarians at Freebirds
- Take the Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl as Freebirds lists it, since the chain allows no substitutions on its pre-built bowls.
- Order the Veggie & Guac version of any format and say “no meat” out loud, so the line cook starts from the right protein.
- Pick black beans or whole pinto beans, and ask what goes into the refried beans first.
- Say “no cheese” at the start of the line if you want a vegan plate, and skip the queso, sour cream, and ranch.
- Skip the BBQ sauce, and use the Roasted Tomatillo, Spicy Tomatillo, Fiery Habanero, or Death Sauce for heat. Ask staff to confirm each one.
- Add avocado, roasted garlic, potatoes, or tortilla strips if you want a bigger meal.
Conclusion
Freebirds suits vegetarians because you control the build. You can get a full meat-free meal from the Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl or a Veggie & Guac Bowl. The catch is the missing allergen chart, so ask about cheese, sauces, and shared cooking surfaces before you order. You’ll find the questions to ask at any counter in our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, and you can browse every chain we’ve checked in our restaurant guides.
Comparing burrito chains? Read what’s vegetarian at Chipotle, Qdoba, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Freebirds’ sister brand Taco Bueno.
