Looking for Yard House vegetarian options? You have more than you’d guess. Yard House builds a real chunk of its menu around Gardein plant-based protein, so you can order “wings,” tenders, orange “chicken,” and a couple of veggie burgers that actually satisfy. Add cheese pizzas, a giant soft pretzel, edamame, and loaded fries, and a vegetarian eats well here. This guide breaks down what’s safe, what to skip, and what to ask your server. We’re the people who keep asking, what about the vegetarians?
A Quick Look at Yard House
Yard House opened in 1996 in Long Beach, California, founded by Steele Platt and his partners. The name comes from the yard of beer, the three-foot glass tube the chain became known for, and the draft list still runs to a hundred-plus taps at most locations. The food is scratch-made American with a global streak, served loud, with TVs everywhere and classic rock on the speakers.
Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, bought Yard House in 2012 for $585 million. At the time the chain had 39 restaurants and about $262 million in sales, according to Darden’s announcement. Today Yard House runs 88 locations across the United States, per Wikipedia as of January 2024. The Darden connection matters for one good reason: a corporate kitchen this size publishes a detailed allergen and vegetarian guide, so you can check items before you go.
Yard House Vegetarian Options: What to Order
The headline is the Gardein menu. Yard House carries a full lineup of plant-based “chicken” that most chains don’t touch, plus two veggie burgers, cheese pizzas, and a stack of sides. The table below sorts the regulars into vegetarian and vegan, with the catch named for each. When an item is fried, assume a shared fryer unless your server says otherwise.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Gardein “Chicken” Tenders & Wings | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (shared fryer, skip ranch) |
| California or Mediterranean Veggie Burger | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (no cheese, no mayo) |
| Margherita, Three Cheese, Truffled Mushroom Pizza | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy crust and cheese) |
| Edamame (steamed or hot & spicy) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy in dough, beer cheese) |
| Truffle Fries | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (parmesan) |
| Guacamole & Chips | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (shared fryer) |
| Avocado Toast | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (feta spread) |
| House Salad | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (cheese, croutons) |
| Spicy Rice & Steamed Vegetables | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (ask for no butter) |
Appetizers and Shareables
This is the easiest part of the menu for a table. Steamed edamame and the hot & spicy edamame are both plant-based and salty enough to keep everyone happy. Guacamole and chips works for vegetarians and vegans alike, though the chips share a fryer with non-vegetarian food. The jumbo Bavarian pretzel is a vegetarian classic, served with beer cheese you can leave on or push aside.
Truffle fries are the move if you eat dairy. They come tossed with parmesan and truffle oil, so they’re vegetarian but not vegan, and they ride the shared fryer. Avocado toast is vegetarian with its feta spread, easy to make vegan by dropping the feta. Hummus with pita rounds out the lighter starters. Skip the Caesar salad unless you confirm the dressing, since most Caesar dressings carry anchovy.
Gardein and Plant-Based Mains
Here’s where Yard House pulls ahead of nearly every casual chain. The kitchen cooks a dedicated Gardein lineup, so a vegetarian gets actual entrees instead of a sad side plate. Order the Gardein “chicken” tenders, or the wings in Buffalo, BBQ, whiskey black pepper, or lemon pepper. The Gardein orange “chicken” is a standout, and you can swap the buttered jasmine rice for spicy rice to keep it dairy-free.
There’s more. The Gardein grilled “chicken” and avocado sandwich, the Gardein BBQ “chicken” salad, and a Gardein “chicken” bowl all start plant-based, and the Gardein Nashville hot “chicken” brings the heat. These menu items still hit the shared fryer and arrive with ranch dressing or cheese by default, so request your swaps when ordering. Ask for the gluten-free bun on the sandwich if that matters. None of it is health food, but it’s real food off the grill that tastes like the thing it’s imitating, which is the whole point.
Pizzas, Burgers and Salads
Yard House makes thin-crust pizzas, and the meatless ones are solidly vegetarian. The Margherita layers fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, and basil. The Three Cheese and the Truffled Mushroom are both meat-free too. None of them are vegan, because the pizza crust contains milk and the toppings lean on cheese, so this is a lacto-vegetarian win, not a vegan one.
For a handheld, the California Veggie Burger and the Mediterranean Veggie Burger both use a plant-based patty with tomato, onion, and arugula. Order either without cheese and mayo and you’re close to vegan, and you can request a gluten-free bun. On the salad side, the house salad is an easy vegetarian pick, built on mixed greens with tomato and onion. Ask for a balsamic vinaigrette and drop the croutons if you want it lighter. Tell the server “vegetarian” up front when ordering, because default toppings and dressings can sneak in bacon, parmesan, or chicken.
Sides and Lighter Bites
The sides do a lot of work at Yard House. Spicy rice is vegan and a better partner for the Gardein dishes than the buttered jasmine rice. Steamed vegetables go vegan if you ask the kitchen to hold the butter. Pinto beans work once you skip the cheese, and fresh fruit is a clean, no-fuss option. French fries and sweet potato fries are both vegan by recipe, but they share a fryer with breaded animal products, so weigh that if you’re strict.
A Note on Drinks
Yard House is a beer hall first, with a hundred-plus taps and a long cocktail list. Most beer is vegetarian, and the bulk of it is vegan too. The exceptions are traditional cask ales and a handful of wines that use animal-derived fining agents like isinglass, gelatin, or egg whites to clarify. If you’re a strict vegan, the free Barnivore database lists which specific beers and wines are clear. For most vegetarians, the draft list is wide open.
What’s Vegan at Yard House?
Vegan diners can still build a full meal, just with more questions. Yard House doesn’t print a separate vegan menu, so you build your vegan options from the vegetarian list with a few swaps. The safest vegan Yard House vegetarian options are edamame, guacamole and chips, spicy rice, pinto beans without cheese, fresh fruit, and steamed vegetables with no butter. The Gardein “chicken” items are plant-based at their core, so order them without ranch dressing, cheese, or mayo and over spicy rice. The veggie burgers go vegan minus the cheese and mayo.
Two firm no’s: the pizzas and the Bavarian pretzel both contain dairy, and the truffle fries carry parmesan. Yard House also states plainly that it is not a vegan environment and can’t guarantee against cross-contact, since animal products move through the same kitchen. Treat “vegan here” as “vegan with modifications and a careful order,” not a sealed promise.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
A few catches decide most of the menu here. The biggest is the shared fryer: fries, sweet potato fries, chips, and every breaded Gardein item drop into oil that also cooks animal products, so they’re vegetarian-friendly but not cross-contact-free. The pizza crust contains milk, which rules out vegan pizza entirely. Caesar dressing typically carries anchovy, parmesan shows up on the truffle fries, and feta sits in the avocado toast.
Yard House publishes an allergen guide and a vegetarian menu sheet on its site, and the staff are used to dietary questions. Ingredients and menu items can vary by location, so confirm at your table. If you have a real allergy rather than a preference, tell the manager, not just the server. The kitchen runs shared grills and surfaces, so genuine separation isn’t something the chain promises. Read the official guide before you go and you’ll skip the guesswork.
Tips for Vegetarians at Yard House
- Lead with the Gardein menu. It’s the reason to choose Yard House over a burger chain, and it gives you real entrees.
- Say “vegetarian” or “vegan” when you order, then name your swaps: no ranch, no cheese, no mayo, spicy rice instead of buttered.
- If you’re strict about cross-contact, skip the fryer items. Edamame, guacamole, spicy rice, and steamed vegetables stay clear of it.
- Remember the pizza crust has milk. Cheese pizzas are vegetarian, never vegan.
- Pull up the official allergen and vegetarian guides on yardhouse.com before you arrive.
- For a vegan plate, pair Gardein “chicken” with spicy rice and a side of guacamole, and confirm the prep with your server.
Conclusion
Yard House is one of the better casual chains for a vegetarian, full stop. The Gardein menu does the heavy lifting, the cheese pizzas and truffle fries cover the dairy crowd, and the sides keep vegans fed with a few smart swaps. Order off the plant-based list, name your modifications, and check the official guide for the fine print. For the wider playbook, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants and browse more restaurant guides. If you like this kind of casual spot, check what’s vegetarian at BJ’s Restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory, and Buffalo Wild Wings next.
