Heyyyyyyyyyy, it’s your birthday! And there are tons of restaurants and food companies that want to make sure you celebrate (and eat) with free birthday food. Most of these establishments do want something from you in exchange, though: your email address. While it’s great to get free food one day a year, it’s a pain to get promotional emails the other 364. A good solution is setting up a special email specifically dedicated to freebie email promotions so they don’t clog up your regular inbox.
Here’s the deal: some of these programs will kick in the day you sign up. However, most of them are going to require you to sign up a week or two, maybe even a month, in advance. So your free birthday feast is achievable, but it will require a little preplanning.
We’re going to cover places you can get free birthday appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks, but first make sure you’ve downloaded The Krazy Coupon Lady app. That way you’ll get access to the best deals every time you dine away from home.
Free Birthday Appetizers
Surprisingly, there are very few restaurants that give you a complimentary appetizer as your free birthday food. That might be a good thing, though, because it means more restaurants tend to offer higher ticket items.
One of the few places where you’ll be able to kick off your meal for free is Texas Roadhouse.
1. Free appetizer or sidekick of ribs at Texas Roadhouse
To claim this birthday freebie, sign up for the VIP Club.
Free Birthday Entrees
A surprising number of restaurants offer you the main dish as your birthday freebie. There are even a couple that will give you your entire meal for free!
2. Free egg sandwich at Einstein Bros Bagels
As a member of the Shmear Society, you get a free egg sandwich on your birthday.
3. Free waffle at Waffle House
You can get a free birthday waffle when you join The Regulars Club.
4. Free pancakes at IHOP
Join IHOP’s reward program to get a free full-stack of pancakes on your birthday.
5. Free subs at Jersey Mike’s
You’ll get a free sub on your birthday every year when you sign up for Jersey Mike’s email club.
6. Free burrito at Moe’s Southwest Grill
Sign up for Moe’s Reward and you’ll get a free burrito on your birthday.
7. Free pita from Pita Pit
On your birthday, you’ll get a free pita from Pita Pit if you’re a member of the Pita Pit Rewards Club.
8. Free burger at Red Robin
Join Red Robin Royalty to get a free burger on your big day!
There is one hoop to jump through: You need to make sure you’ve spent at least $4.99 at Red Robin during your birthday month before claiming your free burger.
Related: There’s more than just free food available on your birthday. Check out these 102 birthday freebies. They range from clothing to makeup to experiences, like Dave & Buster’s.
9. Free dessert at Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday’s rewards program is called Ruby Rewards. Join and you’ll get your choice of either a free dessert or a free add-on garden bar for your birthday.
10. Free $30-worth of food at Benihana
During your birthday month, Benihana will send you a $30 gift certificate if you’re signed up for the Chef’s Table.
Not gonna lie, that $30 may or may not be enough to make your meal completely free, depending on what you order. But it makes a serious dent.
11. Free wings at Buffalo Wild Wings
You’ll get six free wings during your birthday month as a member of the Blazin’ Rewards program.
I know, I know. Whether or not six wings is enough to constitute an entire entree is questionable. You can order wings in much larger numbers at Buffalo Wild Wings. But it’s absolutely more than an appetizer! Perhaps you pre-party with your freebies at Buffalo Wild Wings before moving on to more free birthday food elsewhere.
12. Free almost-anything-you-want at CAVA
To earn the CAVA birthday freebie, you’ll have to be a regular. Because it doesn’t kick in until you’ve spent at least $100 with your rewards account.
But once you have, you’ll be issued a $9 gift certificate to use within 30 days of your birthday. It might not seem like a lot, but $9 will cover almost any item on the menu with a few select ultra meaty exceptions.
13. Free pizza at Sbarro
When you’re a member of The Slice Society, Sbarro will give you a free slice of XL NY style pizza on your birthday.
14. Get a whole meal free at Spaghetti Warehouse
That’s right, Spaghetti Warehouse will give you an entire meal for free on your birthday. That is, as long as you’re signed up for The Warehouse Club.
15. Free birthday meal at Tucanos
Another restaurant that gives you a whole free meal on your birthday is Tucanos Brazilian Grill. You’ll need to sign up for ClubTucanos to qualify for this offer.
Free Birthday Desserts
Who doesn’t love a classic free birthday dessert? You’ve got tons of options, whether you want anything from a baked good to a milkshake to chocolate-dipped fruit to ice cream.
16. Free brownie, cupcake, or cookie from Sprinkles
Join Sprinkles Perks and you’ll get a free cupcake, cookie, or brownie on your birthday from Sprinkles.
17. Free shake at Arby’s
Get a free medium shake at Arby’s on your birthday! You will need to sign up for Arby’s Rewards to be eligible.
18. Free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins
When you sign up for the Baskin Robbins email list, you’ll be able to opt in to the birthday club. This is one opt-in you actually want! On your birthday, this perk will give you a free, 4-ounce scoop of ice cream.
19. Free dessert from Chili’s
Join My Chili’s Rewards to get a free dessert offer on your birthday. Fortunately, you’ll be eligible for other rewards through the program, too.
20. Free Dippin’ Dots from … Dippin’ Dots
Sign up for the Dot Crazy! Email Club and get free Dippin’ Dots on your birthday.
21. Free sundae at Friendly’s
Sign up for the Friendly’s Fan Club and Sweet Rewards program. You’ll get a free medium sundae on your birthday.
22. Free dessert at TGIFridays
Join the Friday Rewards program to get a free dessert anytime during your birthday month.
23. Free Pizookie at BJ’s Restaurant
Join BJ’s Restaurant Rewards to get a free pizookie on your big day.
TIP: If you’re wondering what the heck a pizookie is, it’s a deep-dish cookie in a pie pan. Comes complete topped with ice cream!
24. Free chocolate-dipped fruit from Edible Arrangements
As long as you’ve spent at least $29 over the past year, you’re eligible for a 12-count box of chocolate-dipped fruit as a member of Edible Arrangements’ Sweet Perks rewards program. It’s one of our favorite perks of all the Edible Arrangements coupon hacks.
25. Free dessert at 99 Restaurant & Pub
When you sign up for the 99 Rewards program, you’ll get a free dessert on your birthday. Additionally, there’s a surprise reward every third visit.
26. Free dessert from Papa Johns
Papa Johns desserts typically cost somewhere around $7.99 – $8.99. Believe us when we say they can feed multiple people. With that said, this is a particularly sweet deal. Join Papa Rewards to claim your free dessert during your birthday month.
27. Free shake from Del Taco
As a member of Del Yeah! Rewards, you get a free regular-sized shake on your birthday. If you’ve spent $163 (or earned 1,500 points), your birthday gift is upgraded to any shake OR dessert you want.
28. Free dessert with no strings attached at Olive Garden
Don’t want to be giving your email to everyone under the sun? All you have to do is walk into an Olive Garden and tell them it’s your birthday to get a free dessert. No rewards program necessary! Now that’s the kind of free birthday food we’re talking about with no strings attached.
Free Birthday Drinks
Hot drinks. Cold drinks. Healthy drinks. Drinks that will spike your blood sugar. All of them are available to you for zero dollars on your birthday if you join the right rewards program.
29. Free coffee at Caribou Coffee
As a member of Caribou Perks, you get a free drink anytime during your birthday week! This can be whatever your favorite drink is, and it doesn’t have to be coffee. But it totally can be.
30. Free drink at Dutch Bros.
Whether it’s coffee or anything else, you get to pick your favorite drink at Dutch Bros. on your birthday, too. All you have to do is join Dutch Rewards.
31. Free smoothie at Jamba Juice
Sign up for Jamba Rewards and wrack up at least 15 points (or spend $15) to qualify for the birthday reward free smoothie.
32. Free smoothie from Smoothie King
As a member of Smoothie King’s Healthy Rewards program, you get a free birthday smoothie. Plus, you’ll be able to upgrade your 20-ounce smoothie to a 32-ounce smoothie each and every Friday.
33. Free Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze at Taco Bell
Orrrrr you could get super unhealthy and pick up your free Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze from Taco Bell on your birthday. No judgment here. Just make sure you join the rewards program at least two weeks before your big day.
34. Get a free drink or food item at Starbucks
Starbucks Rewards gives you a wide variety of choices for your birthday treat. You can pick (for free):
Drink of your choice
Food item
Bottled item
There are a few exclusions, like you can’t get a whole tray of snack bars. You only get the one. It also excludes items from Roastery and Princi locations.
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