As someone with dietary restrictions like dairy allergies or lactose intolerance, finding quick service restaurants that offer dairy free menu items can be challenging. Bojangles is a popular chicken and biscuits fast food chain based in the American South, best known for their cajun-seasoned fried chicken and scratch-made buttermilk biscuits. With such an emphasis on biscuits and other dairy-containing ingredients, you may be wondering – does Bojangles have any dairy free options?
Quick Answer
Yes, Bojangles does offer some dairy free menu items, but the options are limited. Most menu items contain dairy ingredients like cheese, milk, butter, and cream. However, it is possible to customize some existing menu items to be made dairy free by requesting no cheese, no butter, etc. Bojangles also has some sides like french fries, mashed potatoes, and dirty rice which are naturally dairy free. Overall, those with dairy restrictions can dine at Bojangles, but will have a restricted menu.
Examining the Bojangles Menu for Dairy Ingredients
To determine what dairy free options may be available at Bojangles, we need to carefully examine their menu and look for items that either contain no dairy ingredients naturally, or could potentially be customized to omit dairy. Here is a breakdown of menu categories and dairy free options:
Boneless Chicken and Chicken Sandwiches
This section of the menu features breaded and fried boneless chicken pieces and chicken sandwiches. Most items in this section are tossed in buttermilk breading and served with a side of ranch dressing, both of which contain dairy. However, Bojangles states that their boneless chicken can be ordered grilled instead of fried. Grilled chicken contains no dairy, so this presents a dairy free option. The chicken sandwiches also contain cheese and butter or mayo, but you could likely customize it to grilled chicken and no cheese or sauce.
Biscuits
As you probably guessed, Bojangles signature buttermilk biscuits are not dairy free. Biscuits at Bojangles are made with buttermilk and butter, so they contain dairy ingredients. Ordering a biscuit sandwich without cheese or butter spread could omit some dairy, but the biscuit itself still contains buttermilk. This is one menu section without good dairy free options.
Bone-In Fried Chicken
The bone-in fried chicken at Bojangles is another tricky menu item for dairy free diets. Their chicken on the bone is soaked in buttermilk then breaded and fried, similar to the boneless chicken. Ordering it grilled instead of fried could work, but you’d have to be clear with the restaurant that you need it prepared without the buttermilk marinade. This may depend on location and cooks.
Salads
Bojangles offers several salad options on the menu, including garden salads, Caesar salad, and chicken salad. The garden salads appear to be dairy free without any cheese, creamy dressings, or croutons. However, the Caesar salad and chicken salad both contain dairy ingredients. Overall the salad selection has at least one good dairy free choice in the garden salad.
Sides
The sides menu at Bojangles features options like mashed potatoes, french fries, fried okra, and more. Sides like cajun pintos, mashed potatoes, fries, dirty rice, green beans, and okra fries appear to be dairy free without butter or cream additions. Mac & cheese would not be dairy free. But the sides present some of the best dairy free options at Bojangles.
Kids Meals
Bojangles offers kid sized versions of their chicken tenders, biscuits, and boneless chicken. These items face the same challenges for dairy free as the regular menu versions. Kids meals come with a choice of side and milk or juice. The juice and dairy free sides like fries would work for a dairy free kid’s meal, but avoid tenders with buttermilk breading or biscuits.
Breakfast
Bojangles serves breakfast featuring biscuit breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and meat. They also have sides like hashbrowns, grits, and gravy. Being a biscuit-centric menu, dairy free choices are very limited for breakfast. Potential options could be customized sandwiches on biscuits without cheese or butter. Hashbrowns and grits may be able to be ordered without butter as well.
Drinks
Beverages at Bojangles include fountain sodas, iced tea, coffee drinks, and milk-based shakes. Fountain drinks like soda, sweet tea, and unsweet tea are dairy free. Coffee can be customized to dairy free by ordering it black. Milkshakes contain dairy, so avoid those. Overall drinks offer some good dairy free choices.
How to Order Dairy Free at Bojangles
If you need to avoid dairy at Bojangles, your best strategy is to customize existing menu items to omit ingredients like cheese, ranch dressing, buttermilk breading, and butter spreads. Here are some tips for ordering dairy free:
- Request grilled chicken instead of fried chicken to avoid buttermilk marinade
- Order chicken sandwiches without cheese
- Request biscuit sandwiches without butter
- Order hashbrowns and grits without butter
- Ask for sandwiches with no mayo or ranch dressing
- Stick to sides like fries, mashed potatoes, rice, beans
- Order salads without cheese, creamy dressings, or croutons
- Get coffee and fountain drinks instead of milkshakes
Keep in mind that many Bojangles locations cook and prepare all their menu items in the same fryers and on shared grills, so there is a risk of cross-contamination with dairy ingredients. If you have severe dairy allergies, you may want to avoid Bojangles. But for lactose intolerance and less severe dairy issues, custom ordering should allow you to eat dairy free at Bojangles.
Dairy Free Side Dishes and Customizations
Focusing on the sides and custom ordering dairy free preparation of items opens up more possibilities at Bojangles. Here is a quick look at some of the easiest dairy free options:
Dairy Free Sides
- French fries
- Mashed potatoes
- Dirty rice
- Cajun pintos
- Green beans
- Okra fries
Custom Dairy Free Items
- Grilled chicken sandwiches without cheese or sauce
- Biscuit sandwiches without butter
- Hashbrowns ordered without butter
- Grits without butter
- Garden salads with oil & vinegar dressing
- Black coffee
Dairy-Free Dressings and Sauces
Finding a salad dressing or sauce for your meal can be tricky when avoiding dairy at fast food chains. Here are some tips for Bojangles:
- Oil & vinegar are your best bet for salad dressing
- Avoid ranch, honey mustard, blue cheese, Caesar, and other creamy dressings
- Ketchup, barbecue sauce, honey mustard contain no dairy
- Mayo likely contains dairy, request no mayo
- Sweet & sour sauce traditionally contains no dairy
Again, the kitchen preparation at Bojangles likely involves some cross-contamination risk with dairy ingredients. But oil & vinegar dressing and tomato/vinegar based sauces are your best dairy free sauce choices.
What About Desserts and Shakes?
Those with dairy restrictions will need to avoid milkshakes and most dessert options at Bojangles unfortunately. Possible alternatives include:
- Bringing your own dairy free dessert from home
- Sticking to drinks like soda, tea, or coffee for dessert
- Requesting fruit or fruit cups if available
- Asking for sorbet if offered (unlikely at Bojangles)
Getting satisfying dairy free sweets and shakes from a fried chicken chain like Bojangles will be difficult. Planning ahead and bringing a safe dessert from home is your best option.
Should You Avoid Bojangles with Dairy Allergies?
For those with severe dairy allergies, it’s worth considering avoiding Bojangles altogether. While custom ordering does present some dairy free options, the risk of cross contamination from dairy ingredients is high:
- Most menu items contain dairy
- Fryers likely used for dairy batters
- Grills probably also cook dairy items
- Biscuits with buttermilk baked in restaurant
- Staff may not understand allergy risks
Those who are highly sensitive or allergic to dairy may want to avoid Bojangles. For others with slight lactose intolerance, custom ordering dairy free should be possible by taking precautions.
Are Bojangles Biscuits Dairy Free?
No, unfortunately Bojangles signature buttermilk biscuits are not dairy free. Here’s why:
- Biscuits contain buttermilk, which contains dairy
- Buttermilk gives biscuits their tangy flavor
- Bojangles biscuits also contain butter
- Most biscuit sandwiches also contain cheese and butter spreads
- Biscuits are baked in-house with dairy ingredients
There is no way to easily modify biscuits at Bojangles to be dairy free. Biscuits are the most non-dairy friendly menu item. Those with dairy issues will need to avoid biscuits and opt for other sides.
Does Bojangles Have Vegan or Dairy Free Biscuits?
No, there are currently no vegan or dairy free biscuit options at Bojangles. The classic buttermilk biscuits contain dairy ingredients. Some potential alternatives include:
- Ordering a biscuit without butter spread
- Custom ordering an egg biscuit without cheese or butter
- Sticking to non-biscuit sides and entrées
But there are no biscuits that are guaranteed dairy or vegan. Your best bet is ordering items biscuit-free.
Can You Order Bojangles Fries Dairy Free?
Yes, the french fries at Bojangles are dairy free by default. According to Bojangles nutrition info, their fries contain:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil
- Salt
So the standard french fries appear to contain no dairy ingredients. However, those with dairy allergies should still check with their location in case fryers are shared with dairy-containing items.
Does Bojangles Have Any Vegan Options?
There are limited vegan options at Bojangles, but some menu items may be able to be modified for a vegan diet. Potential options include:
- French fries
- Mashed potatoes
- Green beans
- Fried okra
- Grits, if confirm no dairy
- Garden salads with oil & vinegar dressing
- Custom salad with grilled chicken, no cheese
Double check preparation methods and shared equipment with staff for any allergy risks. But with some customization, vegans can likely find some menu picks at Bojangles.
Conclusion
In summary, those following dairy free or vegan diets can dine at Bojangles but menu options are somewhat limited. Most menu items contain dairy, especially buttermilk and cheese ingredients. But by customizing orders, such as getting grilled chicken sandwiches without cheese or biscuit sandwiches without butter, some dairy free options are possible. Sides like fries, mashed potatoes, and salads are simpler dairy free choices. However, the risk of cross contamination from shared fryers is high. Individuals with severe dairy allergies may want to avoid eating at Bojangles altogether, especially if biscuit-heavy menu items. But with some modifications and precautions, dairy restrictions can be accommodated at Bojangles.