Texas Roadhouse rolls are famous for a reason: Pillowy, buttery, and glazed with honey cinnamon sauce, there’s something that just sets them apart from the crowd as the perfect appetizer or side. Unfortunately for the lactose-intolerant, the thing that makes them so good is their dairy content.
The chain restaurant’s rolls are made with both milk and butter, meaning the base is a kind of enriched dough that draws on higher concentration of fats and dairy products to make it softer and richer than other breads. For anyone who doesn’t eat dairy, that also means these rolls are not safe for consumption. But hey, at least you can be disappointed in solidarity — anyone who’s gluten-free is also going to have to switch out their side for something different if they swing by the steak joint.
A guide to Texas Roadhouse for dairy-free diners
The good news is that Texas Roadhouse is committed to making sure diners don’t accidentally come in contact with allergens, so there is a detailed allergen menu online to help customers scout out their options. And there are quite a few dairy-free items available — just not the rolls. For a main course, there are freshly cut steaks and salads that you can request without butter or dressing, and baked potatoes, veggies, applesauce, and soups that you can also request for your roll-replacement side. There’s even a coconut-based frozen vanilla dessert that you can substitute for ice cream for a perfect end to your Texan evening.
Texas Roadhouse does have a disclaimer that cross-contamination with dairy or other allergens is possible. Accordingly, the restaurant asks that guests communicate very clearly with their server about dietary restrictions to avoid any Texas Roadhouse ordering mistakes.
