9 Items That Disappeared From Texas Roadhouse's Menu

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Texas Roadhouse's unique levels of success in the casual dining chain restaurant game can be linked to a few factors. For one, it can actually be relied upon for quality, tasty steaks, and manages to keep its food affordable. But, more than that, it can be relied upon for a comfortably predictable menu, ever since it opened its doors in 1993.

You go, you get warm buttery rolls, a perfectly cooked steak, and a margarita the size of your head, and you leave happy. Some very limited seasonal items may come and go, and fans have thunk up some creative secret menu items, but for the most part, that menu stays the same. So, when an item gets removed from the Texas Roadhouse menu, it makes waves, and there are usually more than a few people stung by the loss. From popular chicken entrées and mouthwatering side dishes to entire menu sections, here are some items that have disappeared from the Texas Roadhouse Menu, seemingly for good.

Today, those glorious cinnamon-butter rolls are the hallmark of the Texas Roadhouse experience. Back in the day, though, its most identifiable trait was arguably the peanuts. Dubbed "floor peanuts" thanks to the tradition of crushing the shells underfoot, these snacks used to come by the bucketful. You'd sit down at a table and there would be a bucket of nuts waiting for you, which is an experience you probably won't find elsewhere. No matter how long you'd wait for your server or your meal, your hunger was staved off both by the nuts and the fun of smashing them on the ground — something mom would never let you do at home.

It isn't hard to see why this tradition was eventually halted. First of all ... what a mess. Cleaning up all those shells meant lots of extra work for the staff that just feels unnecessary. Peanuts are also one of the most common allergens, and when they're in open air and scattered all over the place, it becomes a health nightmare for anyone with allergies, and a legal pitfall for the company. Actually, Texas Roadhouse even faced a lawsuit from a customer who slipped on the shells and got hurt. Then COVID arrived and the peanut plug was pulled for good. Depending on the location you visit now, peanuts might come bagged or upon request only, but the all-you-can-eat nuts are gone for good.

While steaks are a main draw at Texas Roadhouse, they have robust options for folks looking to avoid red meat. The menu includes dishes like barbecue chicken, country fried chicken, and mushroom-smothered chicken, all made with boneless chicken breast. One item, the oven-roasted half chicken, stood out from that pack.

A boneless chicken breast is like the affordable blank slate of proteins; it gets the job done, but it's a little underwhelming by nature. A bone-in cut of chicken is a different experience entirely. The bone adds juiciness and depth of flavor, and the skin does the same. At Texas Roadhouse, the oven-roasted half chicken was served BBQ style or plain, and typically came alongside veggies and rice. It felt elevated, lighter than a steak-and-potatoes meal, and genuinely satisfying.

But, there's a reason chicken breast is the go-to at Texas Roadhouse. The chain runs on a model built around kitchen efficiency. A chicken breast that needs some basting in a pan and toppings is doable. An entire bone-in, half chicken that needs to be fully roasted and cooked through is a chain restaurant line cook's nightmare. Texas Roadhouse hasn't released an official statement, but Redditors have pointed to the prep demands as the likely culprit for why this item is no longer offered. While no announcement was formally made, the dish was last seen advertised around 2018, while guests started to lament its loss about a year later.

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At Texas Roadhouse, the sides are a big part of the story. There are classic steakhouse sides, like mashed potatoes and steak fries, on the menu, and then there are the Southern-inspired accompaniments that pair perfectly with a rack of ribs, including corn, green beans, and Texas red chili. But, baked beans are consistently ranked among the barbecue sides people can't go without. For years, Texas Roadhouse had them available to order, but, today, they're nowhere to be found.

No one actually knows exactly when the baked beans disappeared from the Texas Roadhouse menu. However, homestyle baked beans appeared in the chain's Annual Report for stockholders every year up until 2012, so it's likely that was the year the beans were no more. Beans are generally an inexpensive side to supply, but some former employees have pointed to cost as a potential motivation for the chain's decision to nix the dish.

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Have you ever stopped to wonder why, of all cocktails, the margarita is Texas Roadhouse's signature drink? For a steakhouse, you might expect wines to be more at the forefront, or at least martinis and old fashioned cocktails. But, as every Texas Roadhouse fan knows, those huge, flavor-packed margs are front and center on every drink menu. They are hard to miss, and even harder to say no to.

There's no concrete reason behind the choice, but it could possibly be because, originally, Texas Roadhouse planned to serve not just steaks, but an entire Mexican menu alongside its regular one. Wouldn't it have been awesome to nosh on chips and salsa before your steaks? Alas, the Mexican offerings didn't last long. In fact, the menu was only served for two weeks after the chain officially opened in Indiana in 1993. Texas Roadhouse owner Kent Taylor glosses over the short-lived, Mexican-inspired stint in his book "Made From Scratch," noting that the staff just couldn't do the menu justice, and customers deserved better than that. For now, our Tex-Mex cravings will have to be satisfied by salty margaritas and Smothered Chicken.

The Chicken Specialties section on the Texas Roadhouse menu is emblematic of that go-big Texas attitude. It's a safe space for indulgent diners, tossing around descriptors like "smothered," "golden-fried," and "caramelized." The most popular chicken dish at Texas Roadhouse is hearty, savory, and doused in a cheesy, mushroomy mixture. It's classic, Texas-style comfort food.

However, Texas Roadhouse has tried out a few chicken options that didn't stick around, and one of those is the Southwest Chicken. Topped with pico de gallo, black beans, and sour cream, it veered more heavily than other dishes into Tex-Mex territory. While most of what Texas Roadhouse serves hangs onto the Tex side of that hyphen, the few items that leaned into the Mex corner seem to be gone for good, and the Southwest Chicken is the clearest example. It was spotted on one TripAdvisor review from North Carolina around 2019 and hasn't been seen since. 

At a Las Vegas location, and in the Philippines, a similar dish called California Chicken is available on the menu, topped with pico de gallo and avocado. It's likely that higher-traffic or tourist-heavy locations, like Las Vegas, have more flexibility to experiment with their menu variations, potentially catering to a more diverse, adventurous crowd than your local suburban spot might see.

Alongside various cuts of steak, chicken entrées, and fried foods, pasta never quite felt like it had a place on a Western-inspired, steakhouse menu. But, Texas Roadhouse did use to serve the Sierra Chicken Pasta, consisting of penne pasta tossed in a creamy Asiago cheese sauce, mixed with grilled chicken, and crispy bacon. As far as pasta dishes go, it's not exactly a dish you'd find at a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant, but Texas Roadhouse customers loved it before it was discontinued.

However, the disappearance of Sierra Chicken Pasta from the national menu isn't as clean-cut as some of the other items on this list. While it's gone from the global menu and widely reported as discontinued, individual franchised Texas Roadhouse locations have some flexibility over their offerings. 

Sure enough, a Tennessee location was still serving up the stuff as recently as 2024. Meanwhile, locations in Oklahoma have been spotted serving a Chicken Alfredo (consisting of penne, chicken, bacon, and a creamy white sauce), which is pretty close to the Sierra Chicken Pasta. At one Knoxville location, you can even find chicken parmesan served over penne. The global menu is cleared of all noodle-based dishes, but it might be worth checking your local spot's site to see if you're one of the lucky ones.

One thing diners are going to have strong opinions about? Chicken fingers. Across the internet, there are heavily debated rankings of the best fast food chicken fingers, frozen tenders, and restaurant chain offerings. A great chicken finger can be hard to find, and Texas Roadhouse's original Chicken Critters had a big, loyal fan base. However, in 2018, Texas Roadhouse decided to change the recipe for its Chicken Critters. The change certainly did not go unnoticed ... it was one of those times that Texas Roadhouse made headlines for the wrong reasons.

While fans took to social media to lament the loss of the original recipe, some even signed a petition urging the company to bring the old Critters back. Even now, nearly a decade later, commenters are still trying to find the perfect copycat recipe to get that unique bite back. 

What made the original so good? The batter was closer to a light tempura style one, leaving each piece fluffy, yet crisp, with a barbecue-tinged seasoning that fans seem to find is genuinely impossible to replicate. Today, the Critters are more like your everyday nugget — coated in breading and fried until golden-brown. It's hard to complain about a decently sized, juicy chicken finger, but, if you knew how much better they were before, it's easy to miss what you had.

Soup may not be the first thing on your mind when you step into a Texas Roadhouse. However, on a chilly day, a good hearty soup might be an ideal starter or side for your steakhouse dinner. Of Texas Roadhouse's 800-plus locations, a select few of them serve soup — namely a Baked Potato Soup that's a hearty, homemade blend of potato and cream, served with or without shredded cheddar and crispy bacon. It's not on the global menu and many fans have lamented online that their local spot doesn't serve the stuff.

But, locations in Kentucky and Colorado, for example, proudly list the baked potato soup under the "sides" section of their menu. For these locations, soup is a reliable and predictable offering. Other locations, according to a Reddit user from Pennsylvania, seem to have discontinued the offering, potentially due to a low influx of orders. Further, some locations may have never really sold soup at all. So, before you get excited for a heaping spoonful of creamy baked potato soup, check your local spot's menu online. And, even then, be prepared for the possibility that the location has nixed the dish without notice.

Good macaroni and cheese is a non-negotiable part of the steakhouse experience, no matter where you go or how old you are. Whether you're a picky kid or a nostalgic adult, the mac and cheese on a menu can make or break the whole dining experience ... just ask any exhausted parent of a mac-and-cheese-loving toddler.

For years, Texas Roadhouse served Kraft Mac and Cheese on its kids' menu, and it was listed proudly on the menu as "the cheesiest mac in town." Kraft macaroni is one of those foods that brings a certain nostalgic comfort to the masses. Seeing it on a restaurant menu meant familiarity and predictable, cheesy deliciousness. However, starting around 2023, locations began serving up a house-made macaroni and cheese that slowly began to replace Kraft across the country. Now, the homemade mixture is mostly standard, with a couple of straggler locations still using the boxed stuff. 

Kraft is usually a crowd-pleaser, so the reviews are mixed about the new, homemade macaroni. Some love it, while others miss their Kraft. If the new macaroni and cheese isn't quite your favorite yet, try asking for it topped with shredded cheese and bacon to elevate the whole experience.