When your mouth is watering for a juicy steak, but you don’t want to break the bank, then Texas Roadhouse is the place to go. This casual dining option provides a wide array of budget-friendly menu options from steak and seafood to pork, chicken, and burgers. And as far as side dishes, Texas Roadhouse offers many choices. However, for someone on a special eating regimen like the low FODMAP diet, not all options are necessarily safe to eat. And since there is no detailed ingredient statement at this establishment online, these tips should only be used as a reference for making your meal picks. You may still have to ask your waiter some questions, but you can use the following advice to find low FODMAP options at Texas Roadhouse.
Entrees
When it comes to your main meal entrée, stick to just the protein with no seasonings added. These seasonings and marinades likely contain garlic and onion powder, and according to the Texas Roadhouse gluten-free menu, they may contain wheat flour as well. Here is a list of safe entrees to choose at Texas Roadhouse:
- Steak with no seasoning or butter
- Grilled chicken with no marinade
- Pork chops with no Texas Roadhouse seasoning or peppercorn sauce
- Salmon ordered as-is
- Steak kabob with baked potato instead of the rice choice
Sides
After you choose your entrée, it is time to pick a side. Since fries may be fried in oil that is likely swimming with fragments of batter and seasonings from other fried choices, it is not low FODMAP safe. However, choose one of these sides to be low FODMAP safe.
- House salad with just oil and vinegar dressing, no croutons
- Fresh vegetables with just salt and pepper for seasoning
- Baked potato with just salt and pepper for seasoning
- Sweet potato with just salt and pepper for seasoning
- Green beans with no seasoning except salt and pepper
- Buttered corn (up to one cup of canned corn is considered low FODMAP)
It would also be ok to add a bit of butter to your vegetables since one tablespoon of butter is considered low FODMAP. Just be sure the butter is real butter and not a seasoned blend.
Dinner Salads
If you’re just craving a salad for your dinner choice, then you have a few choices. It will just be important to follow the instructions advised in the following tips to stay clear of wheat flour and commonly used high FODMAP seasonings like onion and garlic powder.
- Grilled Chicken Salad with no chicken marinade or croutons; oil and vinegar only for dressing
- Steakhouse Filet Salad with no Texas Roadhouse seasoning and limit dressing to oil and vinegar
Other menu options
Besides the choices listed, there may be a few other menu choices that could be low FODMAP safe with a few requests to the chef. For example, there is grilled shrimp that is offered as an appetizer at some locations. Just ask for the shrimp to be grilled with a bit of salt and pepper instead of other seasonings that may contain garlic and/or onion powder. Also, peanuts that are served as a starter at some Texas Roadhouse locations are low FODMAP safe in a 32 peanut piece serving.
Take home message
Although the low FODMAP choices may be limited at Texas Roadhouse, there are enough delicious choices to create a tasty and healthy meal. Therefore, just use these tips and ask your waiter to let the chef know how you need your meal prepared. The staff is there to help make the customer happy and to make sure that your meal is tasty and safe to eat.
