Looking for BJ’s vegetarian options? You can eat well here once you know where the meat-free wins hide. This casual-dining chain built its comfort-food reputation on deep-dish pizza, craft beer, and the famous Pizookie, and the menu runs long. That length works in your favor. Vegetarian appetizers, several meatless pizzas, hearty salads, a genuinely vegan soup, and a row of plant-based sides all show up on the list. Every one of them gets covered below, along with where dairy hides and which items to skip. Helping vegetarians and vegans eat well anywhere is our whole job here.
A Quick Look at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
BJ’s started in 1978 in Santa Ana, California, as a deep-dish pizza spot trading under the name BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria. That Chicago-style deep-dish pie is still the dish the chain is best known for today. Years of growth turned it into a full casual-dining company with its own breweries, and its first on-site microbrewery opened in Brea in 1996.
Today BJ’s is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, and trades publicly on the Nasdaq under the ticker BJRI. By the end of fiscal 2025 it operated 219 restaurants across 31 states and booked $1.4 billion in revenue, good for a spot inside the Technomic Top 500’s top 50 largest U.S. chains. Its 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, expect 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, and the selection is wide for a beer-and-comfort-food chain. Order a cheese, Margherita, or Mediterranean pizza straight off the menu, then share avocado egg rolls or spinach and artichoke dip to start. Round things out with fries, roasted vegetables, or a salad. None of these count as a dedicated vegetarian entree, but they add up to a satisfying meal. One thing worth knowing going in: BJ’s skips the veggie burger and the plant-based patty entirely, so the build-your-own-protein move that works at plenty of other chains isn’t on the table here. Pizza and sides are your best bet instead.
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, check on 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
Appetizers are where things get fun for a table of vegetarians at BJ’s. Avocado egg rolls are the signature pick, mixing avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, chipotle peppers, cilantro, and cream cheese, rolled and fried, with a tangy dipping sauce. Spinach and artichoke dip is the other crowd-pleaser, 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? Housemade guacamole with chips and salsa is your safest start, no dairy, no meat. Fried cheese dishes come loaded with cheese but stay vegetarian: mozzarella sticks, Wisconsin cheese curds, crispy zucchini strings, and garlic Parmesan knots, best paired with marinara or ranch for dipping. They also share a fryer with meat items. Honey sriracha Brussels sprouts read healthy and taste great, but the honey glaze rules out vegans, and it’s worth asking whether butter goes into the prep too.
Vegetarian Pizzas at BJ’s
Pizza is BJ’s whole origin story, so this is the heart of the menu for vegetarians. Choose a straightforward cheese pizza, or go for the Margherita Fresca with fresh mozzarella and tomato. Mediterranean pizza layers on sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, and pepperoncinis, with no meat anywhere. Prefer to build your own? Customization runs generous here: load up on vegetable toppings like mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions, black olives, and fire-roasted tomatoes, all bound by olive oil and cheese.
Three crust styles are on the menu: the deep-dish BJ’s is 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. Confirm the deep-dish and gluten-free crusts with your server if you’re strict about dairy or eggs, since recipes vary by item.
Salads, Soups, and Sides
Salads bring a few meat-free anchors to the table. House Salad is vegetarian as ordered, and dropping the cheese and croutons makes it vegan-friendly. Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Salad is a vegetarian standout with arugula, basil, and a balsamic dressing, vegetarian with the cheese and vegan without it. An “Enlightened” menu of lighter dishes rounds things out, and the Strawberry Fields salad in that lineup works well with a few tweaks: skip the chicken, cheese, and candied pecans and it’s suitable for vegans. Other Enlightened dishes are worth a glance too if you’re watching calories along with watching for meat. Most dressings on the salad list are vegetarian, though it’s smart to ask before ordering since a few lean on fish or dairy. Skip the Caesar unless you check the dressing, since the classic version is made with anchovy.
Soup hides a real gem on this menu: the Vegan Lentil with Ancient Grains is fully plant-based, built on a vegetable broth with no animal products, which is rare at a brewhouse-style chain. Broccoli Cheddar and Tuscan Tomato Bisque are both vegetarian but made with dairy, and the chili is beef-based, so leave that one off. Sides are an easy win, with vegan-friendly choices like fries, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, garlic-roasted vegetables, and rice pilaf. One plain baked potato works too, once you skip the butter and sour cream, and 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. Cheeseless tavern-cut pizza loaded with vegetables makes the best entree. From there, build a side plate from fries, roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, garlic-roasted vegetables, and rice pilaf.
Want something heartier? Try asking 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 covering all menu items, 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: Fries and fried appetizers cook in oil shared with meat items. Cross-contact is worth asking about if that 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: a 10-inch gluten-free pizza crust is available, 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. 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.
- Try the off-menu pasta with marinara, no butter or Parmesan, when you want a warm vegan entree.
- Don’t expect a veggie burger here. There’s no plant-based patty on the menu, so don’t plan your meal around one.
- 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 and dressings can change by location. Glance at the allergen guide or check with staff if you’re avoiding dairy, egg, or gluten.
Frequently asked questions: BJ’s vegetarian options
Conclusion: Eating Vegetarian at BJ’s
Eating vegetarian at BJ’s rewards you once you 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.
