Looking for Schlotzsky’s vegetarian options? This Austin, Texas sandwich chain built its whole identity around a toasted sourdough bun, and it backs that up with an actual vegetarian menu, 11 items the company flags as meat-free. That’s more effort than most sandwich shops put in. The catch isn’t the fillings. It’s the bread, the cheese, and the soup, all of which hide dairy in places you wouldn’t expect. This guide walks through the sandwiches, salads, soups, sides, and desserts worth ordering, and what to skip or modify for a meatless meal. If you’ve ever wondered what about the vegetarians at a sandwich chain built on deli meat, Schlotzsky’s is a better answer than it looks at first.
A Quick Look at Schlotzsky’s
Don and Dolores Dissman opened the first Schlotzsky’s in 1971 in a small storefront in Austin, Texas. The original menu had exactly one sandwich, “The Original,” a muffuletta-style stack of mixed meats, cheeses, and black olives on a toasted, made-from-scratch sourdough bun. The bun turned out to be the whole business. In 1981, John and Jeff Wooley and Gary Bradley bought the company for under $3 million and started franchising it hard. Schlotzsky’s went public in 1995 under the ticker BUNZ and hit its peak in 2001 with 759 stores and more than $400 million in sales.
Falling same-store sales pushed the chain into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 with $71.3 million in liabilities. Bobby Cox Companies bought the assets out of bankruptcy in 2005, and Focus Brands acquired the chain in 2006. Focus Brands, which also owns McAlister’s Deli, Carvel, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, and Moe’s Southwest Grill, renamed itself GoTo Foods in February 2024. Today Schlotzsky’s runs more than 310 locations across the United States, heavily concentrated in Texas but expanding into new markets including Detroit and the Northeast. Headquarters sits in Atlanta, Georgia.
Schlotzsky’s Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Here’s the full rundown of Schlotzsky’s vegetarian options and where the vegan lines actually fall. Cheese rennet sourcing isn’t published for any of the varieties Schlotzsky’s uses, so strict lacto-ovo vegetarians who only eat vegetarian-rennet cheese should ask at your location.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Veggie Sandwich (cheddar, cucumber, olives, lettuce, onion, tomato, ranch) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (ask no cheese/ranch, swap bread) |
| Veggie Pizza (mozzarella & parmesan, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, olives, tomato, marinara) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cheese and crust) |
| Cheese Pizza (mozzarella & parmesan, marinara, artisan flatbread) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cheese) |
| Garden Salad (with a plant-based dressing, no croutons) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes* |
| Side Greek Salad (remove feta) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check |
| Garden Vegetable Soup (tomato broth, kidney beans, mixed vegetables) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (sources conflict, see below) |
| All other soups | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (contain milk, even without visible cheese) |
| Fresh Fruit Cup | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Lay’s Baked Regular or jalapeño chips | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Baked BBQ Lay’s chips | ❌ No (chicken-derived flavoring) | ❌ No |
| Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion, or Cracked Pepper chips | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Saltine crackers | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (limited availability) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes* |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie / Sugar Cookie | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (butter and egg) |
| Cinnabon Cookie Treats (cream cheese frosting) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Sourdough or Dark Rye Bun (standard bread) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (contains milk) |
| Udi’s Gluten-Free Bun | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Sandwiches and the Bread Problem
The Fresh Veggie Sandwich is the one dedicated vegetarian sandwich on the menu: cheddar cheese, cucumber, black olives, lettuce, onion, and tomato with ranch dressing, built on the signature sourdough bun. Every other sandwich on the board is built around meat, from The Original’s mixed deli meats to the Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, Pastrami, Chicken Fiesta, Turkey Bacon Club, Beef Bacon Smoke, Albuquerque Turkey, and Avocado Turkey. Those are all off the table for vegetarians.
Going vegan takes more work. The standard sourdough and dark rye buns both contain milk, so the Fresh Veggie Sandwich isn’t vegan as served. Ask for the Udi’s Gluten-Free Bun instead, which is dairy-free, or the whole wheat tortilla if your location carries it (availability varies by store). Either way, drop the cheddar cheese and ranch dressing, both dairy, and you’ve got a genuinely vegan sandwich built around vegetables instead of a substitute meat, since Schlotzsky’s doesn’t carry one.
Pizzas and Flatbreads
Schlotzsky’s bakes its pizzas fresh on either an artisan flatbread or a house-made sourdough crust. The Cheese Pizza keeps it simple with mozzarella and parmesan over marinara. The Veggie Pizza builds on that base with mushrooms, green bell pepper, onion, black olives, and tomato. Both are solid vegetarian picks and both work for a shared table where not everyone eats meat.
Neither pizza is vegan. The cheese blend carries dairy, and the crust options aren’t confirmed dairy-free either, since Schlotzsky’s standard breads all contain milk. There’s no dairy-free cheese swap offered on the pizza menu right now, so if you’re vegan, skip the pizzas and build a plate from the salad and sandwich side instead.
Salads and the Vegetable Soup
The Garden Salad is the easiest vegan order on the whole menu once you swap the dressing. Schlotzsky’s offers several dairy-free dressings, including Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil, Fat-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette, and Red Wine Vinaigrette. Skip the ranch, the Honey Dijon Mustard (it has honey), and the Thousand Island (it’s mayo-based), and leave off the croutons, which contain dairy. The chicken-based salads, the Chicken Greek Salad, the Strawberry-Chicken Salad, and the Chicken Avocado Cobb, can all be built vegetarian or vegan by swapping the chicken for extra avocado and dropping the feta, bacon, egg, croutons, candied pecans, and breadsticks that come standard.
The soup situation needs a flag. One plant-based guide lists the Garden Vegetable Soup, a tomato broth with kidney beans and mixed vegetables, as vegan. But Schlotzsky’s own dairy-free dining guide states that all soups on the menu contain milk, even the ones without visible cheese. Those two sources conflict, and the soup also isn’t available at every location. Ask before you order it if you’re avoiding dairy.
What’s Vegan at Schlotzsky’s?
The vegan options at Schlotzsky’s are real but thin, and it takes some modifying to get there. Your best picks: a Garden Salad with a plant-based dressing and no croutons, a Fresh Veggie Sandwich rebuilt on the Udi’s Gluten-Free Bun or a whole wheat tortilla with no cheese or ranch, a Fresh Fruit Cup, regular or jalapeño baked Lay’s chips, Saltine crackers, and the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie when your location carries it. There’s no vegan cheese, no plant-based meat, and no vegan pizza crust confirmed, so don’t expect a full vegan sandwich or pizza built the way the regular menu shows it. Every one of the vegan options here comes from stripping a vegetarian item down, not from a dedicated vegan menu or section.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
- Cheese rennet sourcing (mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, feta) isn’t published. Strict vegetarians who only eat vegetarian-rennet cheese should ask at your location.
- Chip flavors matter more than you’d think. The regular baked Lay’s and jalapeño chips are vegan, but the Baked BBQ flavor isn’t even vegetarian, since its “natural flavors” include chicken derivatives. Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cracked Pepper are vegetarian but not vegan (dairy).
- All standard breads, the sourdough and dark rye buns, contain milk. The Udi’s Gluten-Free Bun is the confirmed dairy-free bread option, and a whole wheat tortilla is available at some locations.
- Sources conflict on the Garden Vegetable Soup. Ask before ordering if you’re avoiding dairy, and know that every other soup on the menu contains milk.
- Croutons, candied pecans, and breadsticks are vegetarian but not vegan (dairy).
- Cobb and Greek salads come with bacon, egg, or feta by default. Order them without to keep them vegetarian.
- As at any made-to-order sandwich shop, expect shared prep surfaces and toasters between meat and vegetarian items. Ask your location about prep practices if cross-contact is a concern.
Tips for Vegetarians at Schlotzsky’s
- Order the Fresh Veggie Sandwich for a straightforward vegetarian meal. It’s the only sandwich built without meat.
- For a vegan version, ask for the Udi’s Gluten-Free Bun or a whole wheat tortilla instead of the standard sourdough, and skip the cheese and ranch.
- The Veggie Pizza and Cheese Pizza both work for vegetarians, but not vegans. There’s no dairy-free cheese on the menu right now.
- Beyond the sandwiches, look at the sides and desserts too. Fresh fruit, chips, and the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie round out a meatless meal without much effort.
- Build a vegan Garden Salad with a plant-based dressing like the Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil or Red Wine Vinaigrette, and leave off the croutons.
- Ask before ordering the Garden Vegetable Soup. Sources disagree on whether it contains dairy at your location.
- If you eat vegetarian-rennet cheese only, ask about sourcing before ordering anything with mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, or feta.
- On the chicken-based salads, ask for extra avocado in place of the chicken, and drop the feta, bacon, egg, and croutons to make it vegan.
Conclusion
Schlotzsky’s vegetarian options are real and clearly marked, which puts it ahead of a lot of sandwich chains. The Fresh Veggie Sandwich and the Veggie Pizza cover vegetarians easily. Vegans have to work harder, swapping the bread, dropping the cheese, and double-checking the soup, but there’s a genuine path through the menu if you know what to ask for. For more on eating out without meat, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, or browse our full library of restaurant guides. For other sandwich chains, check out our guides to McAlister’s Deli, Jersey Mike’s, and Potbelly.
