Looking for Pieology vegetarian options? You’re in luck, because Pieology is built around a build-your-own pizza line, so you pick every topping yourself and a meat-free pie is one of the easiest orders in fast-casual pizza. Start with a crust, add red sauce and cheese, then pile on as many vegetables as you want for one flat price. This guide covers the vegetarian and vegan picks, the crust and cheese catches, and exactly what to skip. If you’ve ever wondered what about the vegetarians at a build-your-own counter, this is the chain that gets it right.
A Quick Look at Pieology
Pieology opened its first store in March 2011 in Fullerton, California. Carl Chang, brother of tennis pro Michael Chang, started it with James Markham, and the assembly-line model caught on fast. You walk the counter, call out your crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings, and a cook fires the pizza in a high-heat open-flame oven in a few minutes.
In 2016 the chain took a strategic investment from Andrew and Peggy Cherng, the founders of Panda Restaurant Group, and bought rival Project Pie the same year. Pieology peaked at more than 200 units before the pandemic. The chain has shrunk hard since. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2025 and now runs around 45 locations, mostly in California, with fiscal 2024 sales near $101.8 million. So it’s smaller than it once was, but the stores that remain still serve the full custom menu.
Pieology Vegetarian Options: What to Order
The best of the Pieology vegetarian options is a build-your-own pizza, because you control every layer. Pick a crust, choose a meat-free sauce, add regular or vegan cheese, and load up on vegetables at no extra charge. The table below sorts the menu into vegetarian and vegan, with the catches called out. When an item depends on the location or the prep, it’s marked Check, so ask the staff before you order.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Build-your-own pizza (vegetables + cheese) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes* (gluten-free crust + Daiya, no dairy cheese) |
| Margherita Pizza (red sauce, mozzarella, basil) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy cheese, whey in crust) |
| Veggie Pesto Pizza | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (pesto contains milk) |
| Original Thin & PieRise crusts | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (whey dough conditioner) |
| Cauliflower crust | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (bound with cheese) |
| Gluten-free crust | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Regular mozzarella & cheeses | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Daiya mozzarella (vegan cheese) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (no upcharge) |
| House-Made Red, BBQ, Fiery Buffalo, Sunflower-Olive Oil sauces | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Alfredo, Ranch, Nut-Free Pesto sauces | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk) |
| Vegetable toppings (all) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Plant-based meatballs & spicy sausage rounds | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (vegan, but availability varies by location) |
| Gardein diced chicken | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes ($1 upgrade) |
| Garlic Cheese Bread | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cheese) |
| David’s Cookies & brownies | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy, egg) |
Build Your Own Pizza
This is the move. One price gets you a crust, a sauce, cheese, and unlimited vegetables, so a loaded vegetarian pizza costs the same as a plain cheese one. The vegetable lineup is long: black olives, mushrooms, red onions, green peppers, artichokes, garlic, pineapple, jalapeños, fresh cilantro, spinach, banana peppers, fresh basil, grape tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Stack on whatever you like.
A solid order is the original thin crust, house-made red sauce, mozzarella, then mushrooms, spinach, roasted red peppers, red onion, and basil. Want protein without the meat? Add the plant-based “beef” meatballs or spicy Italian sausage rounds where they’re stocked. Skip the plant-based proteins only if you’re avoiding soy, and double-check they’re in that day.
Signature Pizzas Worth a Look
Two of Pieology’s named pizzas are meat-free. The Margherita keeps it simple with red sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil. The Veggie Pesto leans on pesto and vegetables and is vegetarian, though the pesto contains milk so it isn’t vegan. The rest of the signature list, including the Mega Meat, the chicken pies, and the Combination, all carry meat, so build your own instead if you want anything beyond those two.
Crusts, Cheese, and Sauces
Every crust at Pieology is vegetarian, but only one is vegan. The original thin and PieRise thick crusts both contain a small amount of whey dough conditioner, which is dairy. The cauliflower crust is bound with cheese, so it’s vegetarian and gluten-free but not vegan. The gluten-free crust is the only fully vegan base, made from rice flour with no dairy.
For cheese, the regular mozzarella and blends are vegetarian. Pieology also stocks Daiya dairy-free mozzarella, and it’s vegan and costs nothing extra, which is rare. On sauces, the House-Made Red, the BBQ sauce, the Fiery Buffalo sauce, and the Sunflower-Olive Oil blend are all vegan. The Alfredo, Ranch, and Nut-Free Pesto contain milk, so they’re vegetarian but not vegan.
Sides, Salads, and Sweets
The garlic cheese bread is vegetarian thanks to the cheese, but it’s not vegan. A side salad works as a meat-free option too. Build a salad from the vegetable toppings, and pick a dairy-free dressing if you’re vegan. For dessert, the House-Baked David’s Cookies and brownies are vegetarian, made with butter and eggs, so they’re off the menu for vegans. Fountain drinks are fine across the board.
What’s Vegan at Pieology?
Yes, the vegan options at Pieology are real, and the build-your-own line makes them straightforward. Start with the gluten-free crust, the only vegan base. Add House-Made Red, BBQ, Fiery Buffalo, or the Sunflower-Olive Oil blend, then Daiya mozzarella or no cheese, and any vegetables you want. The plant-based meatballs, spicy sausage rounds, and Gardein diced chicken are vegan where they’re carried, though some are regional, so confirm at the counter.
PETA points to a Buffalo Vegan build as a good template: gluten-free crust, red sauce, Daiya, spicy sausage rounds, diced chicken, roasted red peppers, green peppers, onions, and a buffalo sauce drizzle. Finish with an after-bake splash of olive oil for flavor.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
A few catches matter here. Three of the four standard crusts contain dairy, the whey in the wheat crusts and the cheese binding the cauliflower crust, so vegans need the gluten-free crust. The Alfredo, Ranch, and Nut-Free Pesto sauces all contain milk. The cheese is dairy unless you ask for Daiya. Pizzas bake in shared open-flame ovens, so cross-contact with meat and dairy is possible. If you have a strict allergy, tell the staff and ask how your pie is prepped, since procedures vary by location.
Tips for Vegetarians at Pieology
- Build your own pizza. One price covers a crust, sauce, cheese, and unlimited vegetables, so load it up.
- Ask for Daiya mozzarella if you want a vegan pie. It’s the only dairy-free cheese and there’s no upcharge.
- Choose the gluten-free crust for a vegan order. The wheat and cauliflower crusts both contain dairy.
- Stick to House-Made Red, BBQ, Fiery Buffalo, or Sunflower-Olive Oil sauces for a vegan pizza.
- Confirm the plant-based proteins are stocked that day, since some are regional and run out.
- Skip the Alfredo, Ranch, and Nut-Free Pesto if you’re vegan, since all three contain milk.
- For an allergy, ask the staff about shared ovens and prep before you order.
Conclusion
Pieology makes eating meat-free easy because you build the pizza yourself, and a loaded vegetable pie costs the same as a plain one. Use the gluten-free crust and Daiya cheese for a vegan order, and watch the whey in the wheat crusts and the milk in the Alfredo, Ranch, and Pesto sauces. For more on ordering out, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants and our full list of restaurant guides. If you like build-your-own pizza, check our guides to MOD Pizza, Blaze Pizza, and California Pizza Kitchen too.
