Updated March 2023! Buffalo Wild Wings is a favorite among many dairy-free diners. It’s an energetic casual restaurant chain with multiple TVs broadcasting sports, numerous beers on tap, and of course, every kind of chicken wing imaginable. Most of their wings are made without milk, but like most restaurants, they do have a high risk for cross contact with milk or other allergens. Below is a quick menu guide to their dairy-free options, custom order tips, and allergen notes.
Buffalo Wild Wings Dairy-Free Menu Guide with Custom Order & Vegan Options
You won’t believe the non-dairy selection at Buffalo Wild Wings. We referenced their main menu, allergen menu, and customer service to create this extensive dairy-free guide. 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. Please note that this guide is for the U.S. locations. Options may vary in other countries.
Fryer Note: Buffalo Wild Wings uses beef shortening for frying. They reportedly do not use separate fryers for their wings and fries, and they do have some fried items that contain milk. If concerned about potential cross-contamination in the fryers, speak with the staff at your location.
Other Allergen & Dietary Notes: At last check, all items as listed below are made without egg, peanut, and tree nuts, unless otherwise noted. The wings listed here are also made without soy (check for highly refined soy oil, if needed), and they do have several allergy-friendly sauce and seasoning options. The traditional wings have a “may contain” for gluten, but the grilled naked tenders are listed as gluten-free. See the notes in this post for high cross-contamination concerns. For vegan options, see the Vegan Menu Guide at the bottom of this post.
Wings
- Boneless Wings
- Traditional Wings
- Cauliflower Wings
Heads Up! As mentioned, all fried foods at Buffalo Wild Wings are reportedly cooked in shared fryers. They do fry their wings without seasoning, but then sauce or season them in “the same bowls.” This can cause an even higher cross-contamination concern. To mitigate, you can request a clean, dedicated sauce or seasoning bowl for your order.
Chicken Tenders
- Naked Tenders (grilled)
Heads Up! Their Hand-Breaded Tenders do contain milk. Tenders are sauced or seasoned in “the same bowls.” You can request a clean, dedicated sauce or seasoning bowl for your order.
Wing Accompaniments
- Carrots / Celery Sticks
Heads Up! The ranch and buffalo dips served with their wings contain dairy. You can request more dairy-free sauce on the side for dipping. Also, the Fortune Cookies served with their orange chicken wings contain milk.
Signature Sauces
- Asian Zing
- Blazin’ Carolina Reaper
- Caribbean Jerk
- Honey BBQ
- Honey Garlic
- Hot
- Jammin’ Jalapeño
- Lemon Pepper (contains egg)
- Mango Habanero
- Medium (contains egg)
- Mild (contains egg)
- Nashville Hot
- Orange Chicken (no fortune cookie)
- Sauce Gardner / ‘Sauce Sauce’
- Spicy Garlic (contains egg)
- Sweet BBQ
- Teriyaki
- Wild
Heads Up! The Buffalo Ranch, Original Buffalo, Parmesan Garlic, Thai Curry, and Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho Sauces at Buffalo Wild Wings contain milk.
Dry Seasoning
- Chipotle BBQ Seasoning
- Desert Heat Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Salt and Vinegar Seasoning
Heads Up! The Buffalo Seasoning at Buffalo Wild Wings contain milk.
Bar Food
- Chips and House-made Guacamole
- Chips and Salsa
- Asian Zing Cauliflower Wings (no ranch) (contains egg)
- Dirty Dubs Tots (no cheeses)
Heads Up! Many outlets are reporting that the Everything Pretzel Knots are vegan when ordered without the dips and with no butter. But the “everything” might not stick without the butter. Ask at your location if interested in ordering.
Burgers & Sandwiches
- All-American Burger (no cheese) (contains egg in mayo)
- Bacon Burger (no cheese curds, no cheese) (contains egg in mayo)
- Bacon Smashed Hatch Chile Burger (no cheese) (contains egg in aioli)
- Guacamole Bacon Burger (no cheese, no aioli or sub another sauce) (limited offer)
- Smoked Brisket Burger (no cheese, no aioli or sub another sauce)
- Southwestern Black Bean Burger (no cheese, no ranch or sub another sauce)
- Grilled Chicken Club (no cheese, no aioli or sub another sauce)
- Smoked Brisket Sandwich
Heads Up! Their dairy-free challah buns are used on all of the above items. They reportedly do not butter the buns as a standard at Buffalo Wild Wings. But verify the buns and if they are buttered at your location. Franchise owners can take liberties on sourcing and processes. The Bird Dawgs cannot be made dairy-free as their Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders do contain milk.
Protein, Buns, and Toppings
- Black Bean Burger Patty (vegan)
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Hamburger Patty
- Pulled Chicken
- Smoked Brisket
- Challah Bun
- Bacon
- Chili
- Sautéed / Grilled White Onions
- Hatch Chile Aioli (contains egg)
- Guacamole
- Ketchup
- Mayo (contains egg)
- Mustard
Heads Up! Their Hand-Breaded Chicken and Bacon Aioli each contain milk.
Tacos & Wraps
- Brisket Street Tacos (no cheese) (contains egg)
- Street Tacos (no ranch, no parmesan garlic; sub dairy-free sauce)
- Classic Pulled Chicken Wrap (no cheese; order dairy-free sauces)
Heads Up! The Hand-Breaded Chicken at Buffalo Wild Wings does contain milk, but you can order Pulled Chicken on your wrap instead. It is an option on the menu.
Salads
- Chopped Cobb Salad (no cheese, no buffalo seasoning, sub dairy-free dressing)
- Garden Side Salad (no cheese)
Dairy-Free Dressing: Vidalia Onion Dressing
Lunch Entrée: You can order their House Salad with no cheese and dairy-free dressing, and add-on pulled or grilled chicken and avocado.
Sides
- Carrots / Celery Sticks (no ranch)
- Chili (optional fry topping)
- Chips & Salsa
- French Fries
- Rice (Hawaii only)
- Tots
Heads Up! The Onion Rings and Potato Wedges do contain dairy. The Fries and Tots may be cooked in shared fryers with these or other milk-containing items.
Dairy-Free Fry Topping Options: Chili, Bacon, and the Chipotle BBQ, Desert Heat, Lemon Pepper, and Salt & Vinegar Seasonings
Kids
- Boneless Wings
- Traditional Wings
- Burger (no cheese)
- Carrots
- French Fries
- Mandarin Oranges
Heads Up! Their kids meals come with milk. Be sure to request a substitute. Their Hand-Breaded Tenders do contain milk.
Buffalo Wild Wings Vegan Menu Guide
- Chips and House-made Guacamole
- Chips and Salsa
- Dirty Dubs Tots (no cheeses)
- Southwestern Black Bean Burger (no cheese, no ranch or sub an egg-free, honey-free sauce from the list above)
- Garden Side Salad (no cheese) with Vidalia Onion Dressing
- French Fries
- Tots
- Rice (Hawaii only)
- Carrots / Celery Sticks (no ranch)
- Mandarin Oranges
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 Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings has over 1200 locations throughout the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. See their website below for addresses, hours, and online ordering.
Website: www.buffalowildwings.com
For More Dairy-Free Guidance, Get Go Dairy Free!
8 Comments
Caribbean Jerk is dairy free! I haven’t eaten there for months because it says on here I can’t have Caribbean Jerk. ? it is in fact dairy free according to their allergen menu.
http://www.buffalowildwings.com/Global/BWW_Allergen-List.pdf
I found this on their website.
Thanks Abby!
Visited BWW with the family and asked for thier allergy menu which they brought out to me no problem. I was happy to see that the seasoning for the burgers is dairy free now so I had little issue ordering. I just had a build your own burger and fries and it was great.
Fantastic! Thanks for the update Kristine.
If you ask them to bake your food instead of frying, also telling them about your food allergy, you may be okay. I also have severe food problems.
-D
I have a severe Milk Allergy and am always having a hard time with finding dairy free restaurants. I greatly appreciate your site, as its given me some good places to try out, even though they may not all be perfectly safe for my level of sensitivity. I recently had a Buffalo Wild Wings open near my house and myself, like your husband, love my wings, when I can find sauce that’s dairy free. I was excited to find out that most of their sauces are dairy free, and their traditional wings are dairy free as well. I emailed them to verify the information that I had found myself and found that the information was completely correct in their Allergen Menu (which I have, if you would like a copy). HOWEVER, they do not separate any foods. For instance, their mozzarella sticks are cooked in the same fryer as their wings. There is no separation, so you likely are getting a trace amount of dairy, even in the wings that have no dairy ingredients. Probably not a concern for someone that is just attempting to get healthy, but still a risk for those of us with an allergy.
Just thought you would like that information to continue your list. Keep up the good work, I really appreciate the hope this side provides.
Thank you Dave, this is very useful feedback! I’m sure it will help a lot of readers.