Why Did Texas Roadhouse Get Rid Of Its Iconic Peanuts?

If you remember peanut shells covering the floor at Texas Roadhouse restaurants, it’s not the Mandela Effect — this really did happen. Many of us remember shuffling through peanut shells while waiting for our meal or being encouraged to toss our shells on the floor by smiling servers. But nowadays, there are no peanut shells on the floor or buckets of loose peanuts on the table. While you can still request peanuts at the restaurant, they come in little packets — and the eatery prefers you not throw the wrapper on the floor when you’re finished. But why the change?

One thing you should know about Texas Roadhouse is that peanut shells are a thing of the past. Although the steakhouse chain never offered an official statement about why it removed the unique restaurant tradition, it’s possible that it was due to a safety issue. After all, the Des Moines Register reported in 2016 that an Iowa man sued the establishment after he slipped on peanut shells and shattered his knee. Of course, he wasn’t the only one to sue the chain for a peanut-related injury over the years, as two other similar lawsuits occurred in 2008 and 2013.

Despite that, the tradition of bringing a bucket of peanuts to the table continued until the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Taste of Country. So, it’s possible that other health concerns, including spreading germs and peanut allergies, may have also contributed to the end of this practice.

While peanuts are losing popularity at Texas Roadhouse, their famous rolls with cinnamon butter certainly are not. The added benefit to eating all the rolls is that there’s nothing that servers will have to sweep off the floor after you leave, unless you drop a few crumbs. These days, Texas Roadhouse can serve up a pretty good steak (we’ve tasted and ranked them all), but it’s the rolls that keep many coming back. The rolls are definitely a fan favorite food item, and one of the things that makes them special is that they are always made from scratch.

While there have been questions over the years about whether Texas Roadhouse has been getting cheap with its rolls, that’s not at all the case. After accusations about “shrinkflation,” with customers claiming the chain was serving up smaller rolls on purpose to make up for rising food prices, the record was corrected as to the actual reason that the rolls seem to be shrinking. It turns out, it has more to do with who is making them than anything else. At least the chain’s rolls won’t be getting the same treatment as the peanuts. Though servers offer the popular rolls, if you still want a bag of peanuts at Texas Roadhouse, you simply have to ask for them.