Looking for Blimpie vegetarian options? You get two meat-free subs, the Veggie & Cheese and the Veggie Patty, plus a few sides and a build-your-own route. Blimpie is a small chain now, so phone your store first. We built this site to answer one question, what about the vegetarians.
Blimpie puts meat or fish in nearly every sub it sells, so the vegetarian list stays short. Learn it once and you’re done.
A Quick Look at Blimpie
Blimpie opened on May 16, 1964, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Wikipedia credits Angelo Baldassare, Tony Conza, and Peter DeCarlo, three high school friends. On its own timeline, Blimpie says Conza and two school friends borrowed $2,000 to open the first shop.
The chain grew fast. In 1984 it created its top seller, the Blimpie Best, and in 1995 it opened its 1,000th location. Food Republic puts its peak at about 2,000 locations. In October 2001, Conza agreed to sell the company for $25.7 million to Jeffrey Endervelt’s investor group. The deal closed in January 2002. Kahala bought Blimpie in 2006, and Canada’s MTY Food Group agreed in 2016 to buy Kahala Brands, Blimpie’s parent, in a deal worth more than $300 million.
Then came the shrink. Food Republic reports that Blimpie closed more than 1,000 locations between 2001 and 2011 as Subway, Jimmy John’s, Jersey Mike’s, and Quiznos gained ground. ScrapeHero counted 95 US locations in June 2025 and 91 in August 2026, about 20 of them in New Jersey. Those are third-party counts, not Blimpie’s own. MTY still owns Blimpie, and Kahala runs it from Scottsdale, Arizona.
Blimpie Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Blimpie lists two meat-free subs in its allergen chart and ingredient statement. Start with the Veggie & Cheese sub, which stacks American and provolone cheese with lettuce, tomato, yellow onions, roasted red peppers, and banana peppers on white bread, finished with red wine vinegar, canola oil, and oregano. Next is the Veggie Patty sub, built on a patty made from carrots, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, brown rice, oats, soy protein, and wheat gluten, with provolone, lettuce, tomato, and Creamy Italian dressing on white bread.
Blimpie files the Veggie & Cheese under both Value Subs and Local Favorites on its chart, and the Veggie Patty under Local Favorites only. Neither sub shows up on the chain’s online menu pages. Call ahead before you count on either one.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Veggie & Cheese sub (American, provolone, vegetables, on white bread) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cheese) |
| Veggie Patty sub (patty, provolone, lettuce, tomato, Creamy Italian) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (ask for no provolone and no dressing) |
| Salad Lettuce base (build your own veggie salad) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (depends on toppings and dressing) |
| Avocado and Avocado Spread | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Macaroni and Cheese | ✅ Yes (cheese enzymes unnamed) | ❌ No (cheese, cream, butter, egg whites) |
| Mediterranean (with ciabatta) | ❌ No (turkey breast) | ❌ No |
| Tuna sub | ❌ No (fish) | ❌ No |
| Breakfast Egg & Cheese biscuit, croissant, Bluffin, or burrito | ⚠️ Check (egg and cheese, no meat when you skip the add-ons) | ❌ No (egg, cheese) |
| Cookies and brownie | ✅ Yes (egg and dairy, no gelatin listed) | ❌ No (egg and dairy) |
| Lay’s Classic or Fritos chips | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (potatoes or corn, oil, and salt) |
| Lay’s Baked BBQ chips | ❌ No (chicken in the natural flavors) | ❌ No |
| Cheese or Veggie pizza (some stores) | ⚠️ Check (no ingredients published) | ❌ No (milk) |
| Tomato Basil, Cream of Broccoli with Cheese, or Wisconsin Cheese soup (varies by store) | ⚠️ Check (no broth listed) | ❌ No (milk) |
This guide counts egg and dairy as vegetarian, which is why the cheese subs and mayo pass. Blimpie’s cheeses list only "enzymes," so if you avoid animal rennet, you can’t confirm the source from Blimpie’s documents.
Subs: The Veggie Patty and the Veggie and Cheese
Of the two, the Veggie Patty makes the better meal. You get protein from the soy and wheat gluten in the patty, and you can swap the Creamy Italian for a drizzle of oil and vinegar if you want. Blimpie lists no egg or dairy in the patty itself and marks it for soy and wheat.
For a lighter pick, go with the Veggie & Cheese. You get two cheeses and a pile of vegetables, a cold sub that tastes like a deli sandwich without the deli meat. Ask your server to add avocado, since Blimpie sells it as a topping and as a spread.
Pass on any sub named for a meat, and pass on the premium list entirely. The Italiano, The Blimp, Trio Supreme, and Hoboken Hero all lead with cold cuts. Hot subs lean on meatballs, steak, chicken, bacon, and turkey.
Build Your Own and Salads
At the counter, you pick bread, cheese, toppings, and dressing, and Blimpie lists each one separately on its allergen chart. Cheeses include American, cheddar, Parmesan, pepper jack, provolone, and Swiss. Toppings include avocado, cucumbers, olives, onions, pickles, sauerkraut, spinach, tomato, spicy giardiniera, and five kinds of pepper. Breads include white, wheat, honey oat, poppy seed, sesame, everything, ciabatta, pretzel roll, cheddar jalapeno, and zesty Parmesan, plus flour, salsa, spinach, and wheat wraps.
A built salad over lettuce works for anyone who wants to skip bread. Stack cucumbers, olives, peppers, tomato, spinach, and avocado, then pick red wine vinegar, oil, or a dressing. Blimpie’s Buttermilk Ranch contains egg yolk, buttermilk, whey, and cream, so it’s vegetarian but never vegan.
Breads, Cheeses, and Sauces Worth Knowing
Pick your bread with care, because two loaves carry cheese and one carries honey. Blimpie marks no milk or egg on its white, wheat, poppy seed, sesame, everything, ciabatta, or pretzel breads, or on any of its four wraps. The Zesty Parmesan adds Parmesan cheese and the Cheddar Jalapeno adds cheese, so neither is vegan. Honey Oat starts with the wheat loaf and adds oats and honey, so vegans should pass on it too. Blimpie added Pretzel Bread in 2009 and lists wheat flour, brown sugar, and palm oil in the roll.
On sauces, Blimpie marks no egg or milk on red wine vinegar, oil, yellow mustard, zesty brown mustard, sriracha, Frank’s RedHot, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ, Teriyaki, or the light and fat-free Italian dressings. Mayo, chipotle mayo, Creamy Italian, Dijon honey mustard, ranch, peppercorn ranch, blue cheese, and thousand island all carry an egg or milk mark. Both honey mustards contain honey, so vegans should skip them. Au Jus is beef consomme, so nobody on a vegetarian diet should touch it.
Sides, Breakfast, and Sweets
Blimpie rounds out the menu with chips, whole pickles, cookies, and soup. Its site says the soup is a close second to its subs and tells you to contact your store for the day’s selections. The allergen chart names nine soups that vary by location. Tomato Basil, Cream of Broccoli with Cheese, and Wisconsin Cheese have no meat in their names. Blimpie publishes no soup ingredients, though. Ask your store what broth it uses. Skip the Chicken Noodle, Chicken with Wild Rice, Clam Chowder, Cream of Potato with Bacon, and Vegetable Beef with Barley.
Read the chip bag, too. Blimpie’s ingredient statement shows only potatoes or corn, oil, and salt in Lay’s Classic and Fritos, but Lay’s Baked BBQ lists natural flavors that contain chicken.
Some stores also run breakfast, pizza, soft pretzels, fries, and nachos, which Blimpie files under Optional Items. The chart includes a Cheese pizza and a Veggie pizza. Blimpie publishes no ingredients for either one, so ask about the cheese and the sauce. On breakfast, Blimpie’s allergen chart lists egg and cheese biscuits, croissants, Bluffins, and burritos next to the sausage and bacon versions. On paper the plain Egg & Cheese has no meat, but confirm that your store cooks it on its own surface.
What’s Vegan at Blimpie?
Vegan choices exist, but you have to build them. Start with the Veggie Patty on white bread, no provolone, add lettuce, tomato, onions, peppers, and avocado, and use oil, red wine vinegar, and oregano. Blimpie lists no egg or milk in the white bread, the patty, the oil, or the vinegar. For a side, Lay’s Classic and Fritos work. That’s as close to a vegan sub as Blimpie gets. The chain doesn’t label it vegan, so treat it as a ⚠️ Check and confirm at the counter.
Mayo, ranch, Caesar, and Thousand Island all contain egg or dairy, and both honey mustards and the Honey Oat bread contain honey. Au Jus is beef consomme with gelatin and beef tallow. Chipotle Mayo contains egg yolk. Blimpie marks egg on the Creamy Italian even though its ingredient statement shows none, so leave that dressing off too.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Blimpie publishes the top nine FDA allergens on its chart, and the file we read carries the label 092925. Read it before you order. Blimpie marks soy, egg, milk, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, fish, shellfish, and sesame, and it lists sub components separately so you can pick pieces.
- Caesar dressing lists anchovies and Romano cheese, so a Caesar salad or wrap is not vegetarian by strict rules.
- Au Jus lists beef consomme, gelatin, and beef tallow. Skip the French Dip and Italian Beef.
- Every cheese lists enzymes without naming a source, so strict vegetarians who avoid rennet can’t verify it.
- A Mediterranean sounds meatless, but Blimpie builds it with turkey breast, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and Parmesan.
- Cold subs share counters, slicers, and gloves with meat subs, so cross-contact is likely at a busy store.
- Lay’s Baked BBQ chips list natural flavors that contain chicken.
- Blimpie’s two documents disagree in spots. The chart marks egg on the Creamy Italian and milk on the brownie, and the ingredient statement shows neither.
- Blimpie says soups vary by location and not every store sells every item. Your store’s list can differ from the chart.
Tips for Vegetarians at Blimpie
- Call ahead and ask whether your store stocks the Veggie Patty. It sits under Local Favorites on the chart.
- Ask for wheat bread on either veggie sub if you want whole wheat flour. Skip honey oat if you’re vegan, because Blimpie tops it with honey.
- Ask your server to change gloves before they build your sub.
- Add avocado, spinach, and cucumbers. They turn a thin sub into a full lunch.
- Swap the Creamy Italian for oil and red wine vinegar to skip the egg Blimpie marks on it.
- Skip soup unless the store can show you the label.
- Find the nearest store with Blimpie’s locator before you go, because only about 91 remain.
Conclusion
Blimpie vegetarian options come down to the Veggie Patty, the Veggie & Cheese, and a salad you build yourself. Call your store first, because the chain is small. For a bigger menu, Subway, Jersey Mike’s, and Jimmy John’s run sub shops with more meat-free choices, and we cover each one. You can also read our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants or browse every restaurant guide.
Sources: Blimpie’s allergen chart and ingredient statement (version 092925), Blimpie’s timeline and menu pages, Wikipedia’s Blimpie article, Food Republic, and ScrapeHero’s location count.
