Looking for BJ’s vegetarian options? You can eat well here, once you know where the meat-free wins are. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is a big casual-dining chain. It’s built around deep-dish pizza, craft beer, and the famous Pizookie, and the menu runs long. That works in your favor. There are vegetarian appetizers, several meatless pizzas, hearty salads, a genuinely vegan soup, and a row of plant-based sides. This guide walks through every vegetarian pick and flags the dairy. It also points out the few traps. It’s part of our wider work helping vegetarians and vegans eat well anywhere.
A Quick Look at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
BJ’s started in 1978 in Santa Ana, California, as a deep-dish pizza spot. The first restaurants traded as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria. The Chicago-style deep-dish pie is still the dish the chain is known for. Over the years it grew into a full casual-dining company with its own breweries. It opened its first on-site microbrewery in Brea in 1996.
Today BJ’s is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. It trades publicly on the Nasdaq under the ticker BJRI. As of late 2022 it ran about 215 restaurants across 29 states. It booked roughly $1.35 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024. That lands it inside the Technomic Top 500’s top 50 largest U.S. chains. The menu has grown right along with the company, which is good news if you don’t eat meat. Beyond the deep-dish pizza and the warm, ice-cream-topped Pizookie, you’ll find a long appetizer list, a salad lineup, brewhouse mains, and a deep bench of sides.
BJ’s Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Here’s the short version. The strongest BJ’s vegetarian options are the pizzas, the shareable appetizers, and the sides. The selection is wide for a beer-and-comfort-food chain. You can order a cheese, Margherita, or Mediterranean pizza straight off the menu. Share avocado egg rolls or spinach and artichoke dip to start. Then round things out with fries, roasted vegetables, or a salad. None of these are dedicated vegetarian entrées, but they add up to a satisfying meal. One thing to know going in: BJ’s doesn’t carry a veggie burger or a plant-based patty. So the build-your-own protein move that works at a lot of chains isn’t an option here. Lean on the pizza and the sides instead.
BJ’s Vegetarian and Vegan Options at a Glance
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Chips, Housemade Guacamole & Salsa | ✅ | ✅ |
| Avocado Egg Rolls | ✅ | ❌ (cream cheese) |
| Spinach & Artichoke Dip | ✅ | ❌ (dairy) |
| Mozzarella Sticks, Cheese Curds, Crispy Zucchini Strings | ✅ | ❌ (dairy, shared fryer) |
| Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts | ✅ | ❌ (honey; ask about butter) |
| Cheese, Margherita Fresca & Mediterranean pizzas | ✅ | ❌ (cheese) |
| Cheeseless tavern-cut pizza with vegetables | ✅ | ✅ |
| House Salad (no cheese, no croutons) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Salad | ✅ | ❌ (cheese) |
| Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains soup | ✅ | ✅ |
| Broccoli Cheddar & Tuscan Tomato Bisque soups | ✅ | ❌ (dairy) |
| Fries, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, garlic-roasted vegetables, rice pilaf | ✅ | ✅ |
| Pasta with marinara (no butter, no Parmesan) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Pizookie (all flavors) | ✅ | ❌ (dairy, egg) |
| Burgers, chicken, ribs, steaks, chili | ❌ | ❌ |
Vegetarian Appetizers at BJ’s
The appetizer menu is where BJ’s gets fun for a table of vegetarians. The avocado egg rolls are the signature pick. They mix avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, chipotle peppers, cilantro, and cream cheese, rolled and fried, with a tangy dipping sauce. The spinach and artichoke dip is the other crowd-pleaser. It’s creamy and meat-free, scooped up with chips or bread. Both contain dairy, so they’re vegetarian but not vegan.
Want to keep it plant-based? The housemade guacamole with chips and salsa is your safest start. No dairy, no meat. The fried cheese dishes are all vegetarian but loaded with cheese: mozzarella sticks, Wisconsin cheese curds, crispy zucchini strings, and garlic Parmesan knots. Pair them with marinara or ranch dressings for dipping. They also share a fryer with meat items. The honey sriracha Brussels sprouts read healthy and taste great. But the honey glaze makes them not vegan. It’s also worth asking whether butter goes into the prep.
Vegetarian Pizzas at BJ’s
Pizza is BJ’s whole origin story, so this is the heart of the menu for vegetarians. You can order a straightforward cheese pizza. There’s also the Margherita Fresca, with fresh mozzarella and tomato. The Mediterranean layers sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, and pepperoncinis, with no meat. Prefer to build your own? The customization is generous: load up on vegetable toppings like mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions, black olives, and fire-roasted tomatoes, all bound by olive oil and cheese.
BJ’s serves three crust styles. There’s the deep-dish it’s famous for, a thin tavern-cut sliced into squares, and a 10-inch gluten-free crust. Vegans have a path here too. Order a tavern-cut pizza with no cheese, pile on the vegetables, and you’ve got a vegan pie. The deep-dish and gluten-free crusts are best confirmed with your server if you’re strict about dairy or eggs. Recipes vary by item.
Salads, Soups, and Sides
BJ’s salad list has a few meat-free anchors. The House Salad is vegetarian. Order it without cheese and croutons to make it vegan-friendly. The Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Salad is a vegetarian standout with arugula, basil, and a balsamic dressing. Keep the cheese for vegetarian, drop it for vegan. BJ’s also runs an “Enlightened” menu of lighter dishes. The Enlightened Strawberry Fields salad works well with a few modifications. Ask for no chicken, cheese, or candied pecans, and it’s suitable for vegans. Skip the Caesar unless you ask about the dressing, since classic Caesar is made with anchovy.
The soup list hides a real gem. BJ’s Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains soup is fully plant-based, with a vegetable broth and no animal products. That’s rare at a brewhouse-style chain. The Broccoli Cheddar and Tuscan Tomato Bisque are both vegetarian but made with dairy. The chili is made with beef, so leave that one off. The sides are an easy win. Vegan-friendly choices include fries, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, garlic-roasted vegetables, and rice pilaf. A plain baked potato works too, once you skip the butter and sour cream. These sides turn a few shared dishes into a full meal.
What’s Vegan at BJ’s?
Vegan diners have fewer ready-made picks than vegetarians, but a real meal is doable. Start with the housemade guacamole, chips, and salsa. Add the Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains soup for something warm and filling. A cheeseless tavern-cut pizza loaded with vegetables is your best entrée. From there, build a side plate from fries, roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, garlic-roasted vegetables, and rice pilaf.
Want something heartier? Ask the kitchen for pasta: fettuccine, spaghetti, or penne with marinara, no butter and no Parmesan. It’s an off-menu move, but BJ’s stocks the ingredients and the staff can usually put it together. Just remember there’s no vegan dessert. Every Pizookie on the dessert menu contains dairy and egg, so save room for something at home if you’re avoiding both.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
BJ’s publishes a full nutritional and allergen guide, and the kitchen can answer questions. A few things are still worth knowing before you order.
- Dairy: Most appetizers, the cheese pizzas, two of the soups, and every Pizookie contain milk. For a dairy-free meal, lean on guacamole, the vegan lentil soup, a cheeseless pizza, and the plain vegetable sides.
- Shared fryers: The fries and the fried appetizers cook in oil shared with meat items. Ask the staff if cross-contact matters for your diet.
- Hidden animal ingredients: Caesar dressing is made with anchovy, the chili is beef-based, and the Brussels sprouts use honey. None of these are vegetarian or vegan as listed.
- Gluten: BJ’s offers a 10-inch gluten-free pizza crust, and many vegetable sides are naturally gluten-free. Confirm prep with your server, since shared surfaces are a factor.
Tips for Vegetarians at BJ’s
- Make pizza the center of your order. The cheese, Margherita Fresca, and Mediterranean pies are vegetarian straight off the menu.
- Order the avocado egg rolls and spinach and artichoke dip for the table. They’re the best meat-free shareables on the list.
- Going vegan? Build a cheeseless tavern-cut pizza with vegetables and pair it with the Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains soup.
- Ask for off-menu pasta with marinara, no butter or Parmesan, when you want a warm vegan entrée.
- Don’t expect a veggie burger. BJ’s doesn’t carry one, so don’t plan your meal around a plant-based patty.
- Save the Pizookie for dessert if you eat dairy. It’s the signature treat among BJ’s desserts, and it’s vegetarian, just not vegan.
- Menus change by location. Glance at the allergen guide or ask the staff if you’re avoiding dairy, egg, or gluten.
BJ’s vegetarian options: frequently asked questions
Conclusion: Eating Vegetarian at BJ’s
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse rewards vegetarians who know the menu. Make a pizza the center of your order, whether that’s cheese, Margherita Fresca, or Mediterranean. Add avocado egg rolls, spinach and artichoke dip, or a salad. Finish with a Pizookie if you eat dairy. Vegans have a real path too. Lean on the guacamole, the vegan lentil soup, a cheeseless veggie pizza, and the plant-based sides. Just steer clear of the chili, the Caesar dressing, and the honey on the Brussels sprouts. For more chain-by-chain breakdowns, see our master guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants. You can also browse the full Restaurants archive. Like BJ’s pizza-and-beer setup? Our guides for Blaze Pizza, MOD Pizza, and The Cheesecake Factory cover similar territory.
