Free Indian restaurant menu template
Updated October 20, 2026
Open our free Indian restaurant menu template, add your dishes and dollar prices, and download a print-ready PDF: it's the Ledger design in saffron with a serif heading, a side stripe and dotted price leaders, and sections for starters, curries, and breads and rice, with veg and non-veg marks you can switch on. No sign-up, no email and no watermark. Below: how to use veg marks on a US menu, the allergens hidden in Indian sauces and breads, and what this year's rice and dairy prices did to your curry costs.
In short
- The template: Ledger layout, saffron, side stripe, dotted leaders; Starters, Curries, Breads and rice.
- Veg marks (green square for veg, brown triangle for non-veg) switch on in the maker; they start off for US visitors, so add a key if you use them.
- Allergens: milk (ghee, paneer, cream) and tree nuts (cashew, almond) are in many curries; wheat in naan; sesame and peanuts in some chutneys. All are FDA major allergens.
- Costs moved: rice, pasta and cornmeal +4.3%, milk +2.3%, chicken −0.6% (12 months to September 2026, BLS).
What's in the Indian menu template
It opens as "Spice Route, home-style curries and tandoor".
| Section | Example dishes | Veg mark |
|---|---|---|
| Starters | Paneer tikka, Vegetable samosa, Chicken 65 | Veg, veg, non-veg |
| Curries | Butter chicken, Dal makhani, Lamb rogan josh, Palak paneer | Non-veg, veg, non-veg, veg |
| Breads and rice | Butter naan, Chicken biryani | Veg, non-veg |
For a festive set menu, see our Diwali menu templates.
Veg marks on a US menu
The green-square and brown-triangle marks are familiar to guests from India, but many US guests don't know them. If you use them:
- Add a key to the foot line: "Green square = vegetarian · Brown triangle = contains meat, fish or egg."
- Or use letters: "(V)" for vegetarian and "(VG)" for vegan in the dish name, and leave the marks off.
- Vegan isn't vegetarian. Paneer, ghee, cream and yogurt make a vegetarian dish non-vegan.
On a Menuthere online menu, every plan can tag dishes as veg or non-veg, halal, with 14 allergen tags and calories.
Allergens in common Indian dishes
The FDA's 9 major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Food codes based on the FDA Food Code ask for written notice of them in unpackaged food (§ 3-602.12). In Indian cooking they often hide in sauces:
| Dish (template) | Often contains | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Butter chicken | Milk, often tree nuts | Butter and cream; many recipes thicken with cashew paste |
| Dal makhani | Milk | Butter and cream |
| Palak paneer, paneer tikka | Milk | Paneer is cheese; marinade has yogurt |
| Butter naan | Wheat, milk, sometimes eggs | Flour, butter, some doughs use egg or yogurt |
| Vegetable samosa | Wheat | The pastry; some fillings add cashews |
| Kormas and some biryanis | Tree nuts | Almond or cashew paste, nut garnish |
| Chutneys | Sesame or peanuts (some) | Check your recipes |
Your recipes decide the list. Put the allergens under each dish or keep a chart for staff and guests; make one with the allergen chart maker.
Worked example: costing a curry
Take the template's butter chicken at $15, served with rice.
| Ingredient | Example cost | After this year's moves |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken thigh, 7 oz | $1.40 | $1.39 (chicken −0.6%) |
| Butter, cream, cashew, spices | $1.10 | $1.13 (milk +2.3% on the dairy) |
| Basmati rice, 6 oz cooked | $0.35 | $0.37 (rice +4.3%) |
| Plate cost | $2.85 | $2.89 |
| Food cost at $15 | 19.0% | 19.3% |
A small move per plate, but rice goes on almost every order. The costs are examples; cost your own recipes in the recipe cost calculator.
Copy-ready Indian menu (Word or Google Docs)
[RESTAURANT NAME] · [Tagline] [Address] · [Phone] · Lunch [hours] · Dinner [hours]
STARTERS [Dish] (V) .......... $[ ] [one line: how it's cooked] · Contains: [milk, wheat]
CURRIES · served with basmati rice · Mild / Medium / Hot [Dish] .......... $[ ] · Contains: [milk, tree nuts (cashew)]
BREADS & RICE · [Naan] $[ ] · [Biryani] $[ ]
(V) vegetarian · (VG) vegan · Please tell us about any food allergy before you order.
Take Indian takeout orders direct
Curry is a big delivery category. Create your free ordering page for pickup and delivery at 0% commission (Free: 50 orders a month), with spice levels as options on each dish. Or put this menu online with the free digital menu creator.
FAQs
Is this Indian menu template free?
Yes. Edit it and download it as a PDF or an image for free, with no sign-up and no watermark. Prices show in US dollars for US visitors.
Can I show veg and non-veg marks?
Yes. Switch on veg and non-veg marks in the menu maker and set each dish. Many US guests don't know the marks, so add a key or use V and VG next to dish names.
Which allergens are common in Indian food?
Milk is in ghee, paneer, cream and yogurt; tree nuts such as cashew and almond thicken many curries; naan contains wheat; some chutneys use sesame or peanuts. All are among the FDA's 9 major food allergens.
Should I show spice levels on the menu?
It helps guests order. Print a mild, medium and hot scale, or chili marks next to dish names, and say whether you can adjust the heat.
Is there an Indian menu template for Word?
The menu maker downloads PDFs and images, not Word files. Use the copy-ready layout on this page in Word or Google Docs.
Sources (2)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Food Allergies (9 major allergens). https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-food-labeling-and-critical-foods/food-allergies (accessed 20 Oct 2026); Food Code 2026 § 3-602.12(C). https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026 (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Table 2, September 2026: rice, pasta, cornmeal +4.3%; milk +2.3%; chicken −0.6%. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm (accessed 20 Oct 2026)