Updated February 2023! Chick-fil-A is an American fast food chain that specializes in chicken sandwiches, but oddly enough, their most popular menu item is waffle fries. And they just happen to be dairy free! They actually have a good handful of other dairy-free menu items, and are more allergy-friendly than similar chains. We have the details below. Please note that for religious reasons, all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays and on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Alert: As of October 28 2022, Chick-fil-A Grilled Chicken and Grilled Chicken Nuggets will once again be dairy-free by ingredients. The formula was accidentally changed in August to contain milk, but the company has resolved the issue nationwide.
Chick-fil-A Dairy-Free Menu Guide with Allergen Notes & Vegan Options
This menu guide includes dairy-free menu options, followed by custom order components. Be aware of special order requirements in parentheses () next to the menu items, and see the Heads Up notes to help fill in the blanks.
Fryer Note: According to Samantha, a Chick-fil-A corporate employee, “the fryers used for chicken are only used for chicken meaning that the fries and hashbrowns are cooked separately from dairy containing products.” But dedicated fryers don’t seem to be the case at every Chick-fil-A location. Check at your restaurant if this is a concern for you. Chick-fil-A uses peanut oil for frying their chicken, and canola oil for the fries, when separate fryers are used.
Butter Note: According to Chick-fil-A, the “butter,” including the “butter oil” and “natural butter type flavor,” used to cook the eggs and butter the buns are dairy-free. They stated that the natural flavors in each do not contain milk.
Other Allergen & Dietary Notes: Chick-fil-A does not currently use peanuts in any menu items, but see the fryer note above. All non-dairy items listed below are made without egg, tree nuts, soy, or wheat unless otherwise noted. The items that do not contain wheat are listed as gluten-free by Chick-fil-A. Please note that items made with highly refined soy are not always called out by the company, as it is not considered an allergen by the FDA. For vegan options, see the Vegan Menu Guide at the bottom of this post.
Breakfast
- English Muffin (contains wheat)
- Fruit Cup
- Grilled Breakfast Fillet (not the spicy fillet)
- Hashbrowns
- Egg White Grill (no cheese) (contains egg, soy, wheat)
- Bacon Egg Muffin (no cheese) (contains egg, soy, wheat)
- Sausage Egg Muffin (no cheese) (contains (contains wheat)
- Hash Brown Scramble Bowl with Grilled Filet or Sausage (no cheese) (contains egg, soy)
- Hash Brown Scramble Burrito with Grilled Filet or Sausage (no cheese) (contains egg, soy, wheat)
Heads Up! The Chick-n-Minis cannot be ordered dairy-free. The Biscuits and Breaded Chicken at Chick-fil-A do contain milk. The Burritos often default to the breaded nuggets when ordering, so make sure you select the grilled filet or sausage option. The Grilled Breakfast Fillet is made without milk, but the Spicy Breakfast Fillet does contain milk.
Chicken
- Grilled Nuggets
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich (contains egg, wheat)
- Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich (no cheese) (contains egg, wheat)
- Grilled Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich (no cheese) (contains wheat) (seasonal)
- Grilled Cool Wrap (no cheese; sub dairy-free sauce) (contains egg, soy, wheat)
Heads Up! All Breaded Chicken at Chick-fil-A contains milk, including the classic Filet, Spicy Filet, Nuggets, Chick-n-Strips, and vegetarian Cauliflower Sandwich (which they are test marketing). The Spicy Grilled Fillet also contains milk.
Make it Egg-Free: The items that contain egg in this section can be made egg-free if you substitute a no egg sauce from the dairy-free sauce list below.
Grilled Chicken Update from Chick-fil-A: This is an official statement sent to us from the company management for us to formally announce: “We can now confirm that the dairy ingredient will be fully removed from both the Grilled Filets and the Grilled Nuggets starting Friday, October 28th [2022]. Food safety and quality are our top priorities, and we take great care in adhering to stringent food safety procedures. The supplier has implemented corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again. We take seriously the trust our Guests place in us to make sure their food is how they expect it, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”
Salads
- Cobb Salad with Grilled Filet or Grilled Nuggets (no cheese; sub dairy-free dressing) (contains egg)
- Market Salad with Grilled Filet or Grilled Nuggets (no cheese) (contains nuts)
- Spicy Southwest Salad with Grilled Filet or Grilled Nuggets (no cheese, no tortilla strips)
- Side Salad (no cheese; sub dairy-free dressing)
Dairy-Free Salad Dressings (all gluten-free): Creamy Salsa (contains egg), Fat Free Honey Mustard, Light Balsamic Vinaigrette, Light Italian, Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Heads Up! The salads often default to the Spicy Grilled Chicken Filet when ordering, which contains milk. Be sure to select the non-spicy grilled chicken options. To clarify, the Seasoned Tortilla Chips contain lactose (milk), but the Harvest Nut Granola, Roasted Nut Blend, Crispy Bell Peppers (contains wheat), and Chili-Lime Pepitas are reportedly made without milk.
Kids
- Grilled Nuggets Kids Meal with dairy-free sides and drink
Heads Up! The breaded nuggets and strips at Chick-fil-A do contain milk. When ordering, the menu defaults to milk for the beverage. Make sure to edit it and select a dairy-free drink. Their surprises and sides do include a couple dairy options. Use the lists below for selecting sauces and sides.
Sides
- Buddy’s Apple Sauce
- Fruit Cup
- Kale Crunch Side (contains nuts)
- Side Salad (no cheese)
- Waffle Potato Chips
- Waffle Potato Fries
Heads Up! The Chicken Noodle and Chicken Tortilla Soups at Chick-fil-A do contain milk.
Dipping Sauces
- Barbeque Sauce
- Chick-fil-A Sauce (contains egg)
- Honey Mustard Sauce
- Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce (contains egg)
- Polynesian Sauce
- Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce (contains soy, wheat)
Heads Up! The Zesty Buffalo Sauce and all Ranch Sauces and Dressings at Chick-fil-A contain milk.
Bread
- English Muffin (contains wheat)
- Flaxseed Flatbread (contains wheat)
- Flour Tortilla (contains wheat)
- Gluten-Free Bun (contains egg – see note below)
- Multigrain Brioche Bun (contains wheat)
- White Bun (contains wheat)
Heads Up! The Biscuit at Chick-fil-A does contain milk. The “butter” used on some of the buns does not contain dairy, but it does contain soy. The gluten-free bun at Chick-fil-A is sometimes sourced regionally or locally, so be sure to confirm the ingredients and allergens before ordering. It might not be dairy-free or allergy-friendly at some locations.
Proteins
- Bacon
- Grilled Breakfast Filet
- Grilled Filet
- Sausage
Heads Up! All fried filets at Chick-Fil-A contain milk.
Treats
Heads Up! All sweets at Chick-fil-A contain milk, including the Frosted Lemonade, Frosted Coffee, and baked goods.
Chick-fil-A Vegan Menu Guide
- Cool Wrap (no chicken, no cheese; sub vegan dressing and request vegetable/bean filling)
- Market Salad (no chicken, no cheese, no granola; sub vegan dressing)
- Southwest Salad (no chicken, no cheese, no tortilla strips; sub vegan dressing)
- Side Salad (no cheese)
- Buddy’s Apple Sauce
- English Muffin
- Fruit Cup
- Hashbrowns
- Kale Crunch Side
- Waffle Potato Chips
- Waffle Potato Fries
Vegan Sauces & Dressings
- Barbecue Dipping Sauce
- Light Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Light Italian Dressomg
- Polynesian Dipping Sauce
- Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Dipping Sauce
Vegan Breads
- English Muffin
- Flaxseed Flatbread
- Flour Tortilla
- Multigrain Brioche Bun
- White Bun
Heads Up! The vegan menu suggestions on the Chick-fil-A website are a little dated. The Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette and the Harvest Nut Granola on the Market Salad contain honey. The stripped down vegan version (as listed above) has lettuce, fruits, and almonds.
This Post is for Informational Purposes Only
Menus, ingredients, kitchen procedures, management, food sourcing, and restaurant protocols are subject to change at any time. Always read the menu and discuss your dietary needs with the staff before ordering. Make sure they can accommodate your situation. This post is for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as advice.
There is always a risk for potential cross-contamination of allergens in any commercial kitchen. If cross-contamination is an issue for you, always speak with the manager to ensure that your meal can be safely prepared. Listings here do not guarantee that a restaurant is safe enough for your individual needs. Only you can make that decision.
Each location of a chain restaurant has different management and staff, and some might have different owners. This means differences in processes, ingredients used, menu options, and food sourcing can occur. Always verify the safety of your order for your needs at your current location.
Where to Find Chick-fil-A
There are over 2500 Chick-fil-A locations in the U.S. See their website below for addresses, hours, and online ordering.
Website: www.chick-fil-a.com
Average Reader Review
Rate Your Dairy-Free Experience with this Restaurant
What Others Are Saying ...
Dairy free =Stress free
My son is severely allergic to milk. The fact that we can depend on a fast food restaurant to give dairy free options has been a game changer when on the go or traveling! Thank you Chick fila for recognizing this allergy and providing so many dairy free options!
The grilled chicken is cooked on the same grill as breakfast sausage
I confirmed this thru Chick-fil-A contact form. 😩
Response from Go Dairy Free
As a heads up, there is no dairy in the breakfast sausage. We corresponded with Lisa, and her concerns are due to Alpha-gal syndrome, which causes an allergy to red meat, including pork.
Kept me alive through COVID!
Literally the chicken kept me fed when I was sick with COVID! My daughter stopped by after taking me to be tested… I got like a 15piece box. I limited myself to 3-4 per day.
Very Accomodating
Chick-fil-A has the capability to print out the ingredients of any menu item at the tap of a button on their registers upon your request. So easy to find hidden allergens if you forget. Never had anyone be rude or mean about anything nor felt unaccomadated.
Chick Fil a sandwich?
I thought the fried chick fil a sandwich was dairy free if you asked for no butter on the bun…have you/they recently updated this ?
Response from Go Dairy Free
Hi Michael, no it hasn’t changed. The fried filet has contained milk for quite some time and still does. The “butter” on bun is actually dairy-free margarine.
chick fil a
I LOVE CHICK FIL A
not the experience at the one I went to
I have a verified allergy and they let things touch. Not comfortable ordering food at the one near me. (they also don’t advertise as being an allergy friend location either, I assume its also a shared fryer.)
Salads were also not highlighted on the menu when I went last year, the only option I saw that looked safe were these grilled chicken nugget things. I think the menus may be regional, some staff get trained on food allergies here (like starbucks and applebees) and some are not (johnny rockets). I’m also in a area that’s denied me service (even when there’s salad on the menu) because they weren’t comfortable with dealing with even low level food allergies. (I did not wait in line at chick fil a to find this out, that was another local restaurant so they may have someone willing to make it special in the back) Its just easier and less scary and embarrassing to go to a place with an allergen menu. 🙁
So far so good
Great place to eat.
Favorite Fast Food Restaurant
Chick fil a is my family’s favorite fast food restaurant. They handle food allergies very well. We have never had a cross-contamination issue, and we have eaten at several Chick fil as across the country. We especially enjoy the grilled chicken nuggets. They are very flavorful and tender. And of course we love the waffle fries and fresh lemonade. Last time we went there, I tried their new kale crunch salad that replaced the superfood salad. It’s very good, kind of like a kale coleslaw, and it’s dairy free.
Helped me so much
saved me from ordering a few things
For More Dairy-Free Guidance, Get Go Dairy Free!
38 Comments
I noticed that CFA finally is offering a grilled chicken egg, cheese sand on a english muffin. Does anyone know if the english muffin has milk? I am just recently diagnosed with a death milk allergy and IBS. After eating like this and feeling like crap all my life, it is very hard to avoid everything that I like to eat…I usually just go hungry most days. I wonder if they would take off the cheese and egg I could enjoy a muffin with a tiny piece of chicken in the mornings…I wish that restaurants were more upfront about what brands they are using, or how substitutions can be done to better serve customers like me. I am getting tired of waitresses sighing when I have to order special or ask about the ingredients.
It looks like the English muffin might be made without dairy. But you state a “death allergy.” I’m not sure what that means, but keep in mind there can be a high risk of cross-contamination in restaurants, which even varies by location with chains. You need to speak with the manager about their processes to ensure safety.
Years ago had a breaded chicken sandwich at local Chick-fil-A. I had eaten this sandwich many other times, so thought nothing of it. I became extremely ill and in a lot of pain. I am lactose intolerant, so contacted the manager at the restaurant. He informed me that some, but not all Chick-Fil-A’s dip the chicken in milk, and then the breading. He apologized and offered me a free meal. I replied back, and suggested they post a sign next to the breaded chicken, to state it has milk as an ingredient. I doubt they ever did. I didn’t want their free meal, even though they have other items I could eat. After being that ill, I’ll never eat there again. I gave up eating out anyway, it’s just too much of a risk, plus I have IBS as well.
Can you ask for a chick fil a sandwich whereby the chicken is not soaked in milk???
The grilled chicken is their dairy-free option.
Is there any egg in the breading at chick fil-a?
See the allergen link for full details. They have egg listed too.
I used to work at a chick fil a and we had a customer who’s son had a dairy allergy and she would request the fried nuggets without the milk wash since that’s the part that contains dairy. Of course the same fryer would be used but no milk was used on the chicken. Just an option to try for some.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing this Shanna.
Chick-fil-A is my daughter’s favorite restaurant. She was recently diagnosed with a red meat allergy. I would like to know if the bacon is cooked where the grilled chicken. I was told that it was cooked in the fryer with the breaded chicken in the past
I’m not sure Kimberly. You might want to ask them in store. It’s possible that the bacon is pre-cooked.
Would love to know if there is a very big risk of CC for the grilled chicken nuggets or sandwich. I know they will glove change for an allergy but I wasn’t sure if the grilled chicken was cooked on a surface that may have cheese or something else on it.
It sounds like the chicken nuggets are cooked in a shared fryer (see the allergen notes & employee quote above). I wish I could give you a firm answer Kat, but I really can’t comment on CC risk as not only does it vary by restaurant chain, but also by location. They are often franchised or at least managed individually, so there is no way for me to know what procedures they follow for cross-contamination prevention. It’s best to speak with the manager onsite to find out how they handle it.
My husband worked at a chickfila in a college eatery. They made their waffle fries in canola oil in one fryer and their breaded chicken in peanut oil in a separate fryer. So they are separated.
A tip shared by Ann W. on Facebook that I wanted to share here -> Just wanted you to know a little trick I found while traveling… Chick Fil A has dairy free options, has a new ONE app that let’s you order from your car if you have little ones, and they usually have a playground at free standing restaurants so your kids can get their wiggles out after they have been in the car for hours traveling. They even have a Mom Valet service now where you can order from the drive through and then go in and eat if you have little ones if that works better for you. We ordered Grilled Chicken Nuggets, Fruit, and Apple Juice for my dairy free little one! It made it so much easier when traveling to have this option!
I wonder if the wraps tortilla is made with milk, because if not and you get it made without cheese it’s really good. I’ve been trying to research it, if anyone knows please respond
Hi Tori, hard to find as Chick-fil-a doesn’t readily post their ingredients. It’s very, very rare for a tortilla to contain dairy, so odds are it is a go. They should have all of the ingredients at the restaurant (I would hope!) or at the least, should be able to look on the tortilla box they get in to verify for you.
Just as an fyi, the chicken is cooked in butter. Basically the only dairy free are the hash browns and oatmeal.
According to their allergen chart, the grilled chicken is not. Our list above is based on their allergen chart and does fortunately include much more! If you have direct information from them about using butter on all menu items, please do share! They will need to be reported then for their allergen misinformation.
Any update on the Superfood salad?
I’m reading the menu now and it says the butter flavored veg oil has partially hydrogenated soybean oil, palm kernel oil, lecithin, artificial flavor, TBHQ, and beta carotene
So all of the breaded chicken has dairy. Oh that breaks my heart. Spicy chicken is my favorite. ?
Yeah, this bums me out. I don’t like their grilled chicken at all, but their breaded chicken is sooo good.
The fries are made in their own fryer at most location. The manager assured me its dairy free. I’ve been enjoying them with no reaction.
Has anybody tried their “icedream” cones? I’m not completly sure if lactose is in milk solids. Newbie here.
Lactose would most likely be in milk solids. I would ask the company directly though if it is lactose-free.
I was on their website and they refer to it a dairy treat, so I just try to steer clear.
Thank you for this. I did notice the CF website lists the coleslaw as having dairy. I think it is listed here as DF. Happy eating!
The coleslaw is dairy free; I know because they released the recipe!
http://inside.chick-fil-a.com/coleslaw-recipe/
According to a press release, on January 18, 2016, they are taking coleslaw off the menu and replacing it with a SuperFood (kale) salad. We will post more information about the new salad’s ingredients as soon as we can. In the meantime, we can all make our own Chick-Fil-A coleslaw!
It seems the new grilled chicken sandwich is now listed as DF on their allergen page 🙂
As for the fries, these are the ingredients…
Potatoes (vegetable oil [canola oil, palm oil], disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate [to promote color retention], dextrose), fully refined high oleic canola oil (TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and Dimethylopolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent).
So it looks like I can enjoy Chickfila with my partner (his favorite fast food place) again!
Thanks Amanda! Enjoy!
Do their fries have milk in them Alisa?
I’m not sure Angie. I checked their updated allergen menu and fries aren’t even on it! I would contact them directly. I’ve updated our post with new links.
Breakfast burrito with sausage, no cheese is dairy free. I read the labels.on both the egg and sausage. They will also make it with grilled chicken instead of regular.
They also have grilled chicken nuggets on the kids menu now!!
Use caution with the grilled chicken…”butter flavor” is listed in the ingredients with no detail given as to what makes up the butter flavor. Just fyi = )