On the Border is a quite popular Tex-Mex restaurant chain in the United States, and it also operates in South Korea. The first casual dining restaurant was founded in Texas in the 80s, and there are 150 On The Border now. The restaurant chain is famous for its fajitas, margaritas, and other typical Tex-Mex dishes. The question is, is there anything vegan on the menu at On The Border?
Sure, luckily, On the Border has some vegan items on the menu. However, none of them are dedicated plant-based, so cross-containment is a huge risk. Also, many times, you have to specify your order to exclude animal ingredients. Fortunately, On the Border has a very informative nutrition and allergen guide on its website.
While On the Border is not the best place for a vegan, you can still eat some decent meals. However, it is well known that it is not recommended if you are concerned about your health. On the Border has often been criticized for its unhealthy and calorie-dense dishes. So, if you are vegan, On the Border won’t be your best choice anyway.
What are the vegan options at On the Border?
While, as I mentioned above, there are no straightforward vegan options at On the Border, you can still have a quite decent plant-based meal there since many typical Tex-Mex dishes such as beans, guacamole, rice, corn, salsa, and so on are basically vegan. Let’s see the main vegan items:
- Chips & Salsa
- Guacamole Live!®
- Grilled Portobello (without cheese, and lime crema)
- Vegetable Taco (without cheese)
- Veggie quesadilla (without cheese)
- Fajita salad (substitute queso fresco, and meat with mushroom)
- Vegetable burrito (without cheese)
- Veggie Chimichanga (without cheese)
- House salad (no queso fresco)
- Portobello and vegetable fajitas (no cheese)
- Sides,
- some of the dressings, and
- drinks.
Let’s dive into the details!
What are the plant-based meal items at On the Border?
- Portobello and vegetable fajitas are pretty great vegan options, in my opinion. They feature grilled portobello mushrooms in a soft tortilla with pico de gallo. You can order without the cheese, and you can also add guacamole or black beans as extra.
- Grilled Portobello Border Bowl is also a great vegan option if you exclude cheese. It comes with grilled portobello, lime-cilantro rice, chimichurri, black beans, and many other vegetables such as avocado. Probably this is the healthiest option at On the Border.
- Vegetable burritos, tacos, and Chimichangas aren’t big deals; however, they are welcomed. If you order them without cheese, they’re nothing but sautéed vegetables with different tomato-based sauces in soft flour shells.
- House salad at On the Border isn’t a great deal either, however, it is vegan if you exclude cheese.
- Instead of house salad, you should go with fajita salad. Substitute the meat with portobello mushrooms and exclude queso fresco, and you will have a pretty good vegan option at On the Border.
Vegan sides
If you are really hungry, there are some vegan side options to choose from:
- avocado slices,
- corn & flour tortillas,
- cilantro lime rice,
- black beans,
- sautéed vegetables,
- guacamole,
- pica de gallo, and
- fries.
However, fries are a huge risk of cross-contamination. Beware, refried beans are not even vegetarian!
Sauces and dressings
There are all of the vegan dressings and sauces that come in handy when you have to substitute the non-vegan ones:
- House-made salsa
- Lime vinaigrette,
- Smoked jalapeno vinaigrette,
- Pico de gallo,
- Guacamole,
- Salsa verde, and
- Roasted Red Chile-Tomatillo Salsa.
That’s all.
Drinks
While there is no real vegan dessert at On the Border, at least some pretty good cocktails and drinks can be considered a dessert. Even for the youths. Here are just some of the great vegan drink options besides the basic soft drinks:
- More than 10 margaritas options like Barrel aged Rita’, and Skinny Manrita.
- Also, some frozen margaritas such as Blue Lagoon and mango Tango.
- There are many different draft and bottled beers, such as Blue Moon, Corona, Bud Light, and Leinenkugel Shandy-flavored cervezas.
- Hand-crafted cocktails
- Peach Vodka ‘Rita,
- Pineapple rum punch,
- Primo Long Island and,
- Red sangria.
Blue Raspberry, and Cherry Border Blast is a great non-alcoholic cocktail that can be considered a great dessert.
Vegan options at On the Border in a nutshell
While On the Border isn’t a vegan heaven, you can still have some pretty decent vegan meals. Luckily, many main dishes are built around grilled portobello, which is great. Just remember, always exclude cheese from the order! The only downside is that there is no real plant-based dessert at the Tex-Mex restaurant; however, you can have some pretty good cocktails instead. So, in a word, if you are craving vegan junk food and buzz, the Tex-Mex restaurant is a great choice!
