Looking for Uno Pizzeria vegetarian options? The chain that popularized Chicago deep dish pizza back in 1943 still bakes three classic vegetarian pies. It also sells two fully vegan pizzas and a Beyond Meat burger, options most people don’t expect from a legacy pizza chain. What’s Vegetarian breaks down exactly what to order and what to skip at Uno Pizzeria & Grill.
A Quick Look at Uno Pizzeria & Grill
Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo opened the first Pizzeria Uno in 1943 on Chicago’s Near North Side. Sewell was a former University of Texas football player who originally wanted to open a Mexican restaurant. He and Riccardo, a World War II veteran, landed on something different instead: a deep, cheese-loaded pizza baked in a cast-iron pan. Uno is widely credited with inventing Chicago-style deep dish pizza. The original Ohio Street location still bakes pizzas today, a block from its sister restaurant, Due.
The chain has had a rockier last two decades than its famous pizza suggests. Uno Restaurant Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2010 under owner Centre Partners Management. It closed 16 restaurants and emerged that July after cutting its debt from $176 million to $40 million.
Newport Global Advisors bought the company in 2017, when it ran 115 locations. Erik Frederick took over as CEO in 2020 and pushed franchise deals inside hotel chains. By late 2023, Uno reported its first net unit growth since the mid-2000s, running 77 restaurants across 20-plus states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, and India. The footprint has shrunk further since then. Today Uno runs 36 US locations, concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, out of a Norwood, Massachusetts headquarters.
Uno Pizzeria Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Uno’s menu still leans heavily on meat: deep dish and thin crust pizzas, burgers, and pasta dominate it. But the vegetarian list here is real, not an afterthought. Three of the eight classic deep dish pizzas skip meat entirely. Two more are fully vegan. A plant-based Beyond Burger sits right on the regular menu next to the beef patties.
The table below covers Uno Pizzeria vegetarian options using the chain’s own published nutrition and ingredient data. A “Check” rating means the item depends on dressing, shared fryer oil, or a recipe Uno doesn’t spell out in full. Ask before you order if avoiding animal products matters to you.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese & Tomato (deep dish) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Four Cheese & Pesto (deep dish) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Farmer’s Market (deep dish: onions, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant, pesto, cheese) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Vegan Cheese Pizza (deep dish) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Vegan Garden Pizza (deep dish) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Vegan Cheeseburger Deep Dish | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Numero Uno, Chicago Meat Market, Chicago Classic, Prima Pepperoni, Steak & Cheese (deep dish) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Margherita (thin crust) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Cheese Please! (thin crust) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Wild Mushroom & White Cheddar (thin crust) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Veggie Extravaganza (thin crust) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Windy City Works, Super Roni, Spicy Hawaiian, BBQ Chicken (thin crust) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Classic Beyond Burger | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (confirm bun and toppings) |
| Uno Burger, Bacon Cheddar Burger, Cheddar Mushroom Burger, Bacon Blue Burger | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Caprese Sandwich | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Deep Dish Mac & Cheese | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Manicotti | ⚠️ Check (sauce not confirmed meat-free) | ❌ No |
| Chicken Broccoli Alfredo | ❌ No (chicken) | ❌ No |
| House Salad | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (dressing) |
| Berry Goat Cheese Salad or Side | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Caesar Salad or Caesar Side | ⚠️ Check (dressing may contain anchovy) | ❌ No |
| Wedge Side | ❌ No (bacon) | ❌ No |
| Cobb Salad | ❌ No (bacon, chicken) | ❌ No |
| Cheesy Garlic Bread, plain or with pesto | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Mozzarella Sticks | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Burrata | ⚠️ Check (confirm no meat garnish) | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Buffalo Cauliflower | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (shared fryer, sauce) |
| Fried Pickle Fries | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (shared fryer) |
| Pizza Skins, Pepperoni Roll Up, Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla, Shrimp & Crab Dip, Calamari, Wings, Bites | ❌ No | ❌ No |
Chicago Deep Dish and Thin Crust Pizza
Pizza is still the reason to go to Uno, and it’s where the vegetarian options are strongest. Cheese & Tomato is exactly what it sounds like. Four Cheese & Pesto layers mozzarella, feta, cheddar, and romano under basil pesto and diced tomatoes. Farmer’s Market piles on caramelized onions, fresh spinach, sun-dried and plum tomatoes, roasted eggplant, and pesto. All three come loaded with real dairy, so none of them are vegan.
For a fully plant-based deep dish pizza, order the dedicated Vegan Cheese Pizza or Vegan Garden Pizza. Uno also sells a Vegan Cheeseburger Deep Dish, built with a plant-based patty and dairy-free cheese instead of ground beef. A gluten-free crust is available on the Cheese and Veggie deep dish pizzas too, if that’s the dietary need you’re solving for.
Thin crust adds four more vegetarian options. Margherita keeps things simple with fresh mozzarella, basil, and housemade pizza sauce. Cheese Please! uses a three-cheese blend of mozzarella, aged cheddar, and pecorino romano. Wild Mushroom & White Cheddar tops roasted portobello, shiitake, and button mushrooms with white cheddar and shaved parmesan. Veggie Extravaganza loads on roasted peppers, red onions, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, and mushrooms, a genuinely full vegetable pizza rather than a plain cheese pie with a garnish. A cauliflower crust is available on any 10-inch thin crust order too, for anyone cutting carbs rather than meat.
Burgers, Sandwiches, and Pasta
Every standard Uno burger is beef, except one. The Classic Beyond Burger swaps in a Beyond Meat patty, and it sits right on the regular menu instead of a separate plant-based section. Ask your server to confirm the bun and any added cheese or sauce if you’re eating strictly vegan, since those aren’t automatically meat-free.
On the sandwich side, the Caprese Sandwich, built on mozzarella, tomato, and basil, is the one clearly vegetarian pick. Turkey Avocado BLT, Italian Sausage, Sierra Chicken, and Tuscan Chicken sandwiches are all built around meat. Pasta is thinner ground for vegetarians. The Deep Dish Mac & Cheese is a safe cheese-only order. Don’t confuse it with the Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese or the Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, two similarly comforting dishes that both add chicken. Ask before ordering the Manicotti too, since Uno doesn’t publish whether its version comes with a meat sauce.
Salads, Sides, and Appetizers
A House Salad and a Berry Goat Cheese Salad both work for vegetarians, the second topped with goat cheese and berries over greens. Skip the Cobb Salad. It comes with bacon and chicken by default. Go in with questions on the Caesar Salad and Caesar Side too, since a traditional Caesar dressing is usually built on anchovy paste and Uno doesn’t confirm its version is anchovy-free. The Wedge Side follows the classic recipe of bacon and blue cheese over iceberg, so treat it as off-limits unless your location can build it without the bacon.
Appetizers hold a few easy wins. Cheesy Garlic Bread, plain or with pesto, and Mozzarella Sticks are both straightforward vegetarian picks. Buffalo Cauliflower and Fried Pickle Fries are plant-based on paper, but they’re fried in the same oil as breaded chicken and wings. Ask about fryer separation if cross-contact is a concern for you. Confirm the Burrata plate doesn’t come with a meat garnish before you order it as well.
What’s Vegan at Uno Pizzeria & Grill?
Uno’s vegan options put it ahead of most legacy pizza chains, which usually stop at a hold-the-cheese workaround. Both the Vegan Cheese Pizza and Vegan Garden Pizza use a dairy-free cheese. Uno doesn’t publish the Garden pizza’s exact topping list, but its Farmer’s Market and Veggie Extravaganza pies show the chain already builds around real roasted vegetables like eggplant, peppers, and onions elsewhere on the menu. The Vegan Cheeseburger Deep Dish pairs that same vegan cheese with a plant-based crumble instead of ground beef.
The Classic Beyond Burger covers similar ground on the burger side. Confirm the bun and any default toppings at your location, though, since those details vary. Beyond the mains, a Side Garden Salad without dressing and the Buffalo Cauliflower, fryer caveats aside, round out a vegan plate of vegetables and plant-based protein. No dessert or standard salad dressing at Uno is confirmed vegan right now.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Uno publishes item-level nutrition data online, with ingredient and allergen details behind a detailed-ingredients link for most menu items. That’s more transparency than plenty of casual dining chains offer. A few recurring traps still apply here like everywhere else. Traditional Caesar dressing usually contains anchovy paste, so don’t assume the Caesar Salad or Caesar Side is vegetarian without asking.
Wedge salads, fried sides, and shared appetizer fryers often carry over flavor and residue from breaded chicken, wings, and calamari cooked in the same oil. That matters if you’re avoiding any trace of meat rather than just skipping it as a listed ingredient. Pizza dough and pasta can contain eggs or dairy even when a topping list looks meat-free. When in doubt, ask your server to check the item’s allergen sheet instead of guessing from the menu description alone.
Tips for Vegetarians at Uno Pizzeria & Grill
- Order the Vegan Cheese Pizza or Vegan Garden Pizza for a fully plant-based deep dish, no substitutions needed.
- Try the Veggie Extravaganza or Wild Mushroom & White Cheddar for a vegetable-forward thin crust instead of deep dish.
- Ask for the Classic Beyond Burger without cheese or mayo if you’re avoiding dairy and egg.
- Skip the Wedge Side and Cobb Salad. Both come with bacon by default.
- Confirm the Caesar dressing is anchovy-free before ordering the Caesar Salad or Caesar Side.
- Ask whether the fryer used for Buffalo Cauliflower and Fried Pickle Fries is shared with breaded chicken or wings if cross-contact worries you.
- Call ahead before you travel to a specific Uno. The chain is down to 36 US locations, concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest.
Conclusion
Uno Pizzeria vegetarian options add up to more than an afterthought here. Between three classic vegetarian pizzas, two dedicated vegan pizzas, a Beyond Burger, and a handful of solid sides, there’s a real meal to build. Skip the wedge salad, ask a few questions about the Caesar dressing, and you’re set. It’s a smaller chain than it used to be, so check that a location is still open near you before you go.
For more on eating meat-free at restaurants generally, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, browse more chains in our restaurant guides, or check out what’s vegetarian at Blaze Pizza, Fox’s Pizza Den, and Donatos Pizza.
