Dairy Queen is an American fast-food chain that has been around since 1940. They serve many different food items such as burgers, fries, chicken baskets, chili dogs, ice cream, cakes, shakes, and malts. They are known for their iconic Blizzards where candy, cookies or brownies are mixed into ice cream for a delicious, sweet treat. Hence the name, Dairy Queen does not cater to people who follow a vegan lifestyle so ordering a vegan meal can pose a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, with a little creativity and some simple modifications, you can enjoy a vegan meal at Dairy Queen.
Dairy Queen has a handful of vegan menu options. For a vegan breakfast, you can order a coffee or orange juice, hash browns, and applesauce or a banana. For a light meal, order a side salad with light Italian dressing, pretzel sticks with BBQ dipping sauce, and a Misty Slushy. Other vegan items include fries and a non-dairy Dilly Bar.
If you are vegan and plan to visit Dairy Queen, keep reading to find out tips and tricks for ordering vegan, which items on their menu to avoid and which to choose instead, as well as how to modify different menu items to make them vegan-friendly.
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Tips & Tricks for Ordering Vegan at Dairy Queen
Many restaurants these days are more than eager to accommodate vegan lifestyles. Use these handy tips and tricks for ordering vegan next time you visit a Dairy Queen.
- Skip the fried foods altogether if you are concerned about cross-contamination. Even though the fries are vegan-friendly, they are cooked in the same oil as the onion rings, which are not vegan-friendly.
- Ask for light Italian dressing with your side salad. That is the only salad dressing that is vegan-friendly. All the others contain eggs, milk, or honey, even though the nutrition information on the Dairy Queen website does not list these ingredients.
- Ask for BBQ or Wild Buffalo dipping sauces for your fries. They are the only vegan-friendly dipping sauces available at Dairy Queen.
- Ask for no butter and no queso sauce when ordering the pretzel sticks. The pretzel sticks are rubbed with butter.
- Coffee, hash browns, and orange juice are your best options for a vegan breakfast. Keep in mind though, breakfast items may not be available at all locations.
Non-Vegan Foods to Avoid at Dairy Queen
Before we get to the vegan options at Dairy Queen, here is a list of menu items to avoid, as they cannot be easily modified to make them vegan-friendly. All these menu items contain either meat, eggs, milk, or honey.
- All the salad dressings, except the Light Italian (watch out for balsamic vinaigrette, California French style, Honey French – the ingredients in these are not vegan-friendly even though the nutrition information on the Dairy Queen website states they are)
- All the sauces, except for BBQ dipping sauce and Wild Buffalo dipping sauce
- All the breakfast items, except the hash browns
- All the burgers and sandwiches with beef, bacon, and chicken
- All the hot dogs – regular and chili cheese
- All the chicken strip baskets
- Rotisserie chicken bites
- Onion rings
- Cheese curds
- All the blizzards
- All the shakes and malts
- All the frozen blended coffee MooLattes
- All the frozen fruit smoothies
- All the Orange Julius drinks
- Misty Freeze
- All the ice cream cakes
- All the ice cream cones – vanilla and chocolate dipped
- All the ice cream sundaes – hot fudge, strawberry, chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, pineapple
- All the royal treats – peanut buster parfait, banana split, brownie and Oreo cupfection, triple chocolate brownie
- Dilly Bars – chocolate, cherry, butterscotch (these are not the diary-free variety)
- Buster Bar Treats
- Milk
Vegan Options at Dairy Queen
Even though the vegan options are limited at Dairy Queen, you can still create a delicious vegan meal. Here is a list of menu items that you can try next time you visit Dairy Queen. Some are already vegan and some just need a few minor modifications.
Salads
1. Side Salad (ask for light Italian dressing)
Ingredients:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Carrot
- Red cabbage
Main Dishes
Unfortunately, Dairy Queen does not offer any plant-based patties. The next best thing to do is to order a custom burger. Ask for no meat, cheese, or mayonnaise; and instead ask for extra vegetables such as lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions. You can also add ketchup, mustard, BBQ dipping sauce, or Wild Buffalo dipping sauce.
1. Custom Burger (ask for no meat, cheese, or mayonnaise)
Plain Bun Ingredients:
- Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
- Water
- High fructose corn syrup and/or sugar
- Yeast
- Wheat gluten
- Contains 2% or less of the following: salt, soybean oil, monoglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium propionate (preservative), calcium, sulfate, ascorbic acid, enzymes, calcium peroxide, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, pea protein, wheat protein, potato protein, fava bean protein, sunflower oil and/or canola oil, dextrose, maltodextrins, cornstarch
Add:
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Pickles
- Onions
- Ketchup/mustard/BBQ dipping sauce/Wild Buffalo dipping sauce
Sides
1. Fries
Ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil (may contain one or more of the following: canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil)
- Modified food starch (potato, corn, tapioca)
- Rice flour
- Dextrin
- Salt
- Leavening (disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate)
- Dextrose
- Xanthan gum
- Cooked in soybean oil
2. Pretzel Sticks (ask for no butter and no queso sauce)
Ingredients:
- Enriched wheat flour (flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
- Water
- Fructose
- Vegetable shortening (palm)
- Sugar
- Yeast
- Natural flavor
- Barley malt (wheat flour, dextrose, malted barley)
- Salt
- Dough conditioner (wheat flour, calcium sulfate, salt, enzymes)
- Bicarbonates and carbonate of soda
3. Hash Browns
Ingredients:
- Ingredient list not available, but contains no animal products such as egg, fish, milk, or shellfish
4. Lays Potato Chips (Plain, BBQ, and oven baked)
Ingredients: Plain
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, and/or canola oil)
- Salt
Ingredients: BBQ flavor
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, and/or canola oil)
- Salt
- Barbecue seasoning: sugar, dextrose, salt, maltodextrin, molasses, torula yeast, onion powder, spices, tomato powder, paprika, natural flavors including natural smoke flavor, corn starch, caramel color, yeast extract, paprika extract, garlic powder, mustard seed oil
Ingredients: Oven Baked
- Dried potatoes
- Corn starch
- Corn oil
- Sugar
- Sea salt
- Soy lecithin
- Dextrose
- Annatto extracts
- Contains soy ingredients
5. Unsweetened Applesauce
Ingredients:
- Apples
- Ascorbic acid (to protect color)
6. Banana
Dipping Sauces and Dressings
1. BBQ Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
- Ingredient list not available, but contains no animal products such as egg, fish, milk, or shellfish
2. Wild Buffalo Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
- Ingredient list not available, but contains no animal products such as egg, fish, milk, or shellfish
3. Marzetti Light Italian Dressing
Ingredients:
- Water
- Soybean oil
- Distilled vinegar
- High fructose corn syrup
- Salt
- Garlic
- Onion
- Bell peppers
- Xanthan gum
- Lemon juice concentrate
- Spice
- Calcium disodium EDTA (added to protect flavor)
- Artificial color
- Natural flavor
- Dehydrated
Desserts
1. Non-Dairy Dilly Bar (available in single-serve or multipacks of 6)
Ingredients:
- Water
- Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Coconut oil
- Coconut cream
- Contains 2% or less of vanilla extract, xanthan gum, guar gum, carrageenan, carob bean gum, mono and diglycerides
- Coating (coconut oil, sugar, cocoa processes with alkali, corn starch, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor)
Drinks
1. Misty Slushies (available in cherry, mango, lemon lime, blue raspberry or strawberry kiwi flavors)
Ingredients:
- Misty Slush unflavored base water
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Citric acid
- Salt
- Sodium carboxymethylcellulose
- Water
- Misty flavors: ingredients may vary by supplier and flavor, confirm at location
2. Coffee
3. Orange Juice Bottle
Ingredients:
- Orange juice from concentrate (water, orange juice concentrate)
Dairy Queen Nutrition Information
Dairy Queen offers nutrition information for many of their menu items on their site including nutrition facts and allergen information. Click here for more information.
Find a Dairy Queen Near You
There are more than 7,000 Dairy Queen locations in the United States, Canada, and more than 20 other countries. Click here to find a Dairy Queen in your area.
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Related Questions
Does Dairy Queen offer any vegan blizzards?
No, Dairy Queen does not offer any vegan blizzards at this time. They all contain milk or eggs. The only vegan ice cream treats available at Dairy Queen are the non-dairy Dilly Bars, which can be purchased individually or in packs of 6. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based. They are made with a coconut cream protein and a crunchy chocolate coating, and they are served on a stick.
Are there vegan fries at Dairy Queen?
Yes, the fries at Dairy Queen are vegan. Their ingredient list does not contain any animal products. However, they are fried in the same oil as some non-vegan food items such as onion rings. If you are concerned about cross-contamination, you may want to avoid all the fried foods.
Are the buns at Dairy Queen vegan?
Yes, the buns at Dairy Queen are vegan. However, they do not make any vegan patties, so your best option for a vegan burger would be a custom burger with extra veggies and no meat, cheese, or mayonnaise. You can also add ketchup, mustard, BBQ or Wild Buffalo dipping sauces.