This article looks into one of the most frequently asked questions regarding major pizza chains that are vegan friendly: Does Pizza Hut have Vegan Options?
The Short Answer: Yes, Pizza Hut has some great vegan options where ever you reside. However, Pizza Hut restaurants in the United Kingdom feature a dedicated vegan menu, while Pizza Hut stores stateside require a little more effort to navigate. Read on for full details on the vegan options available at US and UK based Pizza Hut locations.
Please Note: Selections may vary from store to store. Call your local store for details
Does Pizza Hut have Vegan Cheese?
United Kingdom
Yes! As of January 2019, all 265 Pizza Hut stores in UK feature a dedicated vegan menu which includes Violife’s 100% vegan cheese. Pizza Hut UK first introduced Violife vegan cheese to its menu back in 2017. A £1 upgrade fee applies when using the Violife cheese on any pizza.
United States
Unfortunately, Pizza Hut locations in the United States do not have any vegan cheese options at the time of this writing.
It should be noted that in April 2019, reports made the rounds that Pizza Hut was bringing its Violife vegan cheese stateside in August 2019. However, the claims were quickly denied by a Pizza Hut representative. The representative stated, “While we’re proud of our dedicated vegan menu in the UK, the report is inaccurate and we have no plans at this time to carry vegan cheese at our US locations.“
Does Pizza Hut have Vegan Pizza?
United Kingdom
Yes! Featured on Pizza Hut UK’s dedicated vegan menu are five vegan ready pizzas including a Jackfruit pizza. These five pizzas are the following:
- Vegan Veggie – Tomato sauce, Violife Vegan Ch**se, spinach, sweetcorn, peppers, red onions & mushrooms
- Vegan Margherita – Tomato sauce & Violife Vegan Ch**se
- Vegan Hot ‘N’ Spicy Veg – Tomato sauce, Violife Vegan Ch**se, roasted peppers & onions, Hut House seasoning, peppers, jalapenos, & red onions
- Vegan BBQ Back ‘N’ Ch**se – Tomato sauce, Violife Vegan Ch**se, BBQ Jackfruit, peppers, red onions, sweetcorn & BBQ drizzle
- Vegan Virtuous Veg (Flatbread) – Tomato sauce, Violife Vegan Ch**se, spinach, peppers, red onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes & rocket
In addition to the vegan ready pizza options, creating your own vegan pizza is also another great option. Make sure to start with a pan, all american thin, or gluten free crust and then load it up with your favorite toppings. A full list of Pizza Hut UK vegan ingredients can be found on page 2 of this document.
United States
Unfortunately, Pizza Hut locations in the United States do not have any vegan ready pizza options on their menu at the time of this writing. They list two “veggie” pizzas on their website (Veggie Lover and Ultimate Cheese Lover’s), but both include animal-based cheese as a topping. However, it is possible to make the Veggie Lover pizza vegan by removing both the cheese and Garlic Buttery Blend.
That being said, there are also lots of great vegan pizza opportunities available through the “Create Your Own” pizza option. A full breakdown of vegan pizza options for US locations is in the following sections.
Create-Your-Own Vegan Pizza (US Locations)
Below is a breakdown of all ingredients that are vegan at Pizza Hut.
Crust
- Original Pan
- Hand Tossed
- Thin ‘N’ Crispy
- Gluten Free
*Note: Original Stuffed Crust and Cheesy Bites both contain milk.
Crust Flavors
- Buttery Blend (Soybean Oil Based)
- *Note: Garlic Buttery Blend, Hut Favorite, and Toasted Parmesan all contain milk.
Drizzles
- Buffalo
- *Note: Barbeque contains honey.
Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
- Classic Marinara
- Pizza Sauce (Robust Inspired Tomato Sauce)
*Note: Barbeque Sauce contains honey. Creamy Garlic Parmesan sauce contains milk.
Cheese
- No cheeses are vegan at US Pizza Huts at this time.
Toppings
- Banana Peppers
- Black Olives
- Green Bell Peppers
- Green Chile Peppers
- Green Olives
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Pineapple
- Roasted Spinach
- Roma Tomatoes
- Red Onion
Allergies and sensitivities for all Pizza Hut’s ingredients can be found here.
Are Pizza Hut Breadsticks Vegan? (US)
One of the most frequently asked questions about vegan products at Pizza Hut is if the breadsticks are vegan. From the information on Pizza Hut’s nutrition page for the breadsticks, these are the ingredients:
Dough: Enriched Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Yeast, Salt, Soybean Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Datem, Vital Wheat Gluten, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate.
Pan Oil: Soybean Oil, Tbhq Added To Protect Freshness.
Buttery Blend: Soybean Oil, Water, Salt, Vegetable Mono & Diglycerides, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Sodium Benzoate And Potassium Sorbate (As Preservatives), Soy Lecithin, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Calcium Disodium Edta Added To Protect Flavor, Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin A Palmitate Added.
Seasoning: Parmesan, Romano, And Hard Grating Cheeses ([Cultured Part-Skim Cow’s Milk, Salt, Enzymes], Cellulose Powder (Anticaking Agent), Potassium Sorbate [Preservative]), Salt, Rice Flour, Whey, Spices, Garlic Powder, Modified Butter Oil And Dehydrated Butter, Maltodextrin, Guar Gum, Natural Flavors, Color (Extractives Of Annatto And Turmeric), And Less Than 2% Sodium Silicoaluminate Added As An Anticaking Agent.
According to Pizza Hut, the breadstick ingredients are broken down into four parts: dough, pan oil, buttery blend, and seasoning. Based on the ingredients above, the first three (dough, pan oil, and buttery blend) are all vegan. Even though the Buttery Blend has “butter” in the name, no animal derived ingredients appear to be present. The fourth component, seasoning, contains multiple types of cheese.
Therefore, as Pizza Hut’s US breadsticks are traditionally made they are not vegan due to the cheese in the seasoning. However, if the seasoning is removed upon ordering then the breadsticks would be vegan friendly.
Pizza Hut breadsticks in the UK are not vegan as they contain milk as an ingredient.
Is Pizza Hut Garlic Bread Vegan? (UK)
Pizza Hut’s UK menu features two versions of Garlic Bread: Regular and with Mozzarella. Obviously the latter (Garlic Bread with Mozzarella) would not be considered vegan due to the Mozzarella cheese uesd as a topping.
Whether or not Pizza Hut’s regular Garlic Bread is vegan is a tougher question. According to the Pizza Hut UK’s “Dietary Information Booklet“, the regular garlic bread is listed as “not suitable fore vegans” but is “suitable for vegetarians” even though no animal products are listed in the ingredients.
The garlic bread is listed as “not suitable for vegans” by Pizza Hut because it is listed as a “C” in milk allergen category. According to the legend, “The ‘C’ means that this allergen is present in the manufacturing site/factory/supply chain, therefore our suppliers believe there is a risk that this allergen could cross-contaminate the food.” Therefore, the garlic bread is vegan friendly in that it contains no animal-based ingredients, but is at risk of milk or cheese cross-contamination in the supply chain. With that said, each vegan should make the decision on their own if the garlic bread is vegan based on this information and their reasoning for being vegan (health, ethics, etc).
Vegan Friendly Sides and Desserts
Two other notable items at Pizza Hut’s in the US and UK are also vegan. These are the fries and cinnamon sticks/bites.
Fries
Cinnamon Sticks/Bites
Summary
While all Pizza Hut locations feature some great vegan options, the UK-based locations far exceed the vegan friendly options of US-based locations. The UK-based locations feature both vegan ready pizza options as well as Violife 100% vegan cheese. Hopefully some of the UK-based vegan options will show up at US-based Pizza Hut locations in the near future!
