6 Texas Roadhouse Items That Vanished From The Menu

If you're a Texas Roadhouse fan, chances are you have your favorite menu items that you order time and time again when you visit the steakhouse chain restaurant. Or perhaps you're the kind of diner who likes to try something new every time you go. Either way, you may have noticed small changes to the menu over time. Sure, the chain adds new items to its menu so customers don't get bored with the offerings. But to make room for those new items, they also have to cut some as well.

We're taking a closer look at some of the menu items that have vanished from the Texas Roadhouse menu in years past. The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected restaurants ranging from mom-and-pop spots to large multinational, may be responsible for some of these discontinuations. But it's not quite clear why some others are no longer available. Keep reading, and you might just notice some of your old favorites on this list. Who knows? Maybe they'll come back again someday ... just don't hold out too much hope. Until then, check out these Texas Roadhouse hidden gems.

Longtime Texas Roadhouse-goers know that one of the best parts of going to the restaurant was the floor peanuts. If you're not well-acquainted with the chain, that might sound disgusting, but hear us out: Once upon a time, Texas Roadhouse would give you peanuts that you would shell and eat while you waited for your order to come out. Once you had shelled your peanut, you'd throw the shell into a bucket, then empty the bucket on the floor (or just throw your shells directly onto the floor). There was something fun about being actively encouraged to litter — something that you'd probably never do in your own home since you'd have to clean it up yourself.

However, this practice ended with the pandemic. These days, you can still get the peanuts, although you may have to specifically ask for them at some locations. However, you're not going to be able to dump the shells on the floor anymore. This is great news for Texas Roadhouse employees tasked with sweeping at the end of the night and anyone with a peanut allergy and sad news for the rest of us.

Yes: Texas Roadhouse is a steakhouse, but it offers a variety of non-steak options as well, as is common with a lot of restaurant chains. After all, it's trying to appeal to a pretty wide swath of the population, so it only makes sense to include various other popular dishes on the menu. At one point, the chain's chicken critters — which are essentially just chicken tenders — were a favorite. Although you'll still find chicken critters on the menu, customers say that they don't taste the same as they once did, and they've taken to Reddit to complain about it. 

One poster said that they loved the chain's chicken critters around 2017, but they now taste worse than most chain restaurant chicken tenders — and that person isn't alone. There's a change.org petition that asks Texas Roadhouse to bring the original recipe back. At the time of writing, it had over 550 signatures, signaling that a large portion of the Texas Roadhouse fan base agrees that the old recipe is superior to the new one. This recipe was reportedly swapped for the new one in 2017, and it seems love true chicken critters lovers still haven't forgotten.

Just because you find yourself at a steakhouse doesn't necessarily mean that you actually want a steak. Maybe you're visiting with your family or you're there for a birthday celebration, but you're just not in the mood for a big hunk of meat. There was once a time when you could snag yourself a big plate of pasta from Texas Roadhouse, which provided a tasty alternative for those who were craving something more carb-heavy. This dish was called Sierra chicken pasta, and it was the only pasta dish on the menu.

These days, though, you'll have to go somewhere else to satisfy your pasta craving, since Texas Roadhouse discontinued this menu item at an unspecified time in the past. It was a pretty simple recipe, but that's probably why it appealed to so many diners. It was made with penne pasta and grilled chicken, served in a rich, creamy white sauce. The dish also contained roasted peppers, which provided just the right amount of freshness. Hopefully, though, you can find something similar at an Italian chain restaurant instead.

The United States has an extremely varied food culture, and one of the most recognizable American food subcultures is Tex-Mex. It only makes sense, then, that a Texas-themed restaurant would offer some Mexican-adjacent dishes on its menu. However, if you go to a Texas Roadhouse now, you won't see a single taco on the menu. At one point very early in Texas Roadhouse's existence, though, the chain had a Mexican portion of its menu. Ultimately, it didn't last long — it was only around for two weeks when the restaurant first opened back in 1993.

Since the Mexican menu was offered for such a short amount of time, we're not sure what was featured on it. Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor said that Mexican food just didn't really work because they didn't have the expertise to pull it off well. Plus, it apparently just didn't fit the Texas theme. Still, though, we can't help but wonder what Texas Roadhouse's menu would be like now if the Mexican portion of the menu stuck around for longer.

One of the main appeals of going to a steakhouse is the side dishes. It's always fun to mix and match different flavors and textures, and Texas Roadhouse offers a wide variety of sides to choose from. But the sides portion of the menu used to look a little different. In addition to the baked potato, the seasoned rice, and the Caesar salad, you could once snag yourself a serving of baked beans. It might not seem like the most typical pairing for a steak, but the beans did work particularly well with the ribs and other more BBQ-focused menu items.

Redditors reportedly miss the baked beans. Some say that the beans were delicious and say that they were disappointed when they were removed from the menu. However, it seems to have been a while since they were featured alongside Texas Roadhouse's other sides, so it doesn't appear as if they'll be coming back anytime soon. While it's not clear exactly when they were on the menu and when they made their exit, one Redditor said they hadn't seen them for nearly a decade, while another claims that they've been gone for an estimated 17 to 22 years.

You may not think of Texas Roadhouse as the first place you'd go when you're craving chicken, but some of the chain's chicken offerings are actually pretty solid. Unfortunately, you can no longer get one of the best chicken dishes that once graced Texas Roadhouse's menu: oven-roasted half chicken.

This now-discontinued item came in two different styles. You could get it plain, or opt for the BBQ variety if you wanted a little extra flavor and sweetness, and both were paired with veggies and rice. That generous serving size was perfect for those who came to the restaurant hungry but who weren't necessarily in the mood for red meat. Some Reddit users have taken to the forum to discuss how much they miss the chain's oven-roasted half chicken. One poster said it was their go-to meal whenever they went there, and another claims that they were very good.

It's not exactly clear why or when it was removed from the menu, but by 2019, a Facebook commenter claimed that it was no longer available. Alas, you can still order a chicken dish at Texas Roadhouse, though its chicken offerings as of this writing can't really compare to an entire roasted half chicken. You can, however, still find this dish at Texas Roadhouse in the Philippines.