Updated in 2021! 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 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.
More Allergen Notes: Buffalo Wild Wings does not serve any items that contain peanuts or tree nuts (in our most recent review; a couple items do contain coconut). The wings listed here are also made without eggs and 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.
Wings
- Boneless Wings
- Traditional Wings
- Cauliflower Wings
Heads Up! Buffalo Wild Wings fries their wings in beef shortening. They do not use separate fryers, and they do have some fried “bar food” items that contain milk. They fry their wings without seasoning and 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
- Hot
- Jammin’ Jalapeño
- Lemon Pepper
- Mango Habanero
- Medium
- Orange Chicken (no fortune cookie)
- Mild
- Nashville Hot
- Spicy Garlic
- Sweet BBQ
- Teriyaki
- Wild
Heads Up! The Original Buffalo , Parmesan Garlic, and Thai Curry 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
- Dirty Dubs Tots (no cheeses)
- Asian Zing Cauliflower Wings (no ranch)
Burgers & Sandwiches
- All-American Burger (no cheese)
- Bacon Burger (no cheese curds, no cheese)
- Bacon Smashed Hatch Chile Burger (no cheese)
- Smoked Brisket Burger (no cheese, no aioli or sub another sauce)
- Guacamole Bacon 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.
Protein, Buns, and Toppings
- Black Bean Burger Patty (vegan)
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Hamburger Patty
- Smoked Brisket
- Challah Bun
- Sautéed / Grilled White Onions
- Bacon
- Chili
- Hatch Chile Aioli
- Guacamole
- Mayo, Mustard, and Ketchup
Heads Up! Their Hand-Breaded Chicken and Bacon Aioli each contain milk.
Tacos & Wraps
- Brisket Street Tacos (no cheese)
Salads
- Garden Side Salad (no cheese)
Dairy-Free Dressing: White Wine Vinaigrette
Lunch Entrée: You can order their House Salad with no cheese and dairy-free dressing, and add-on grilled chicken and/or avocado.
Sides
- Carrots / Celery Sticks (no ranch)
- Chili (optional fry topping)
- French Fries
- Rice (Hawaii only)
- Tots
Heads Up! The Onion Rings and Potato Wedges do contain dairy.
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.
This Post is for Informational Purposes Only
Menus, ingredients, kitchen procedures, management, and restaurants are subject to change at any time. Always read the menu and discuss your dietary needs with the staff before ordering. Make sure that 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.
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
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.