Veganism has become increasingly popular in the United States and the world in recent years.
It has influenced numerous businesses, especially in the food industry such as pizzerias.
However, despite its growing popularity, finding vegan options at pizzerias can still be challenging.
Some pizza places in the US have already adapted to the vegan market by adding vegan menu options.
For instance, you can find vegan-friendly pizzas from one of Birmingham’s 13 must-try pizza joints and Toledo’s 11 best pizzerias.
The question is – are there vegan options at Domino’s Pizza US?
You are about to find out!
So if you are a vegan looking for vegan options at Domino’s or a curious foodie wanting to try plant-based meals, this article is for you.
Continue reading this article whether you are already vegan or someone who wants to learn more about vegan food.
In summary, the article explores the following:
- What is Vegan Food?
- Is Domino’s Crust Vegan?
- Which Dominos Crust Is Vegan?
- Does Domino’s Have Vegan Pizza?
- Does Domino’s Have Vegan Cheese?
- What Vegan Options at Domino’s Pizza Can I Have?
- How to Know If an Item Is Vegan?
Contents
What is Vegan Food?
Before diving into the vegan options at Domino’s, it is best to understand what being a vegan means.
Veganism follows a lifestyle where you should not consume animal products and by-products to avoid animal cruelty, suffering, and exploitation.
With this in mind, a vegan diet only contains fruits and vegetables, including legumes, soy, tofu, and grains, among other things.
It is important to note that vegans are different from vegetarians since dairy products, eggs, honey, and other animal-derived products are also avoided.
So does Domino’s have vegan-friendly pizzas, crusts, toppings, and sides?
This question is answered below.
Is Domino’s Crust Vegan?
When you look at Domino’s Ingredients page, you will see the ingredients and allergens per Domino’s crust.
Since Brooklyn, handmade pan, and hand tossed crusts have milk ingredients, these are not considered vegan-friendly.
As for gluten free crust, it is also not vegan since it contains honey.
Although crunchy thin crust does not contain milk and honey, it has a questionable ingredient, L-cysteine.
L-cysteine is usually an animal-derived amino acid used for baking that is made from duck and chicken feathers.
However, there are also plant-derived L-cysteine.
So, does Domino’s use animal or plant-derived L-cysteine?
According to Spencer Breidinger’s statement from The VRG Blog, the L-cysteine in all Domino’s doughs and crusts is microbial “and/or” vegetable sourced.
Some sources also say that thin crust is not animal based and that L-cysteine is microbial.
However, the problem with microbial-based is that this process involves using whey from cow’s milk.
Thus, crusts with L-cysteine are not considered vegan since the microbial process uses whey from cows.
It is more likely that “vegetarian” or microbial L-cysteine is technically vegetarian and not vegan.
Which Dominos Crust Is Vegan?
The Verdict: There are no vegan crusts at Domino’s if we rely on information that says Domino’s L-cysteine ingredient is microbial and/or vegetable sourced.
There is no clear information on vegetable sourced L-cysteine and what process it uses.
So, it is best to call your local store number and ask about L-cysteine being microbial or vegetable sourced.
Does Domino’s Have Vegan Pizza?
No, there are no pizzas labeled “vegan” on Domino’s Pizza Menu.
In addition, since it uses microbial L-cysteine, the pizza crust itself is not vegan-friendly.
Does Domino’s Have Vegan Cheese?
No, there is no vegan cheese alternative available on the menu.
What Vegan Options at Domino’s Pizza Can I Have?
Although Domino’s pizzas are not vegan, there are still some vegan options that you can order with a little tweaking.
You can have pasta, a sandwich, and salad.
Here’s how you can customize these options to make it vegan.
Pasta Primavera or Build Your Own Pasta
To veganize your pasta, you will have to order by phone or in-store.
This customization method requires you to ask for robust inspired tomato sauce as the substitute sauce, which is unavailable when you create an online order.
You can order either Pasta Primavera or Build Your Own Pasta from the menu and ask them to substitute the sauce for robust inspired tomato sauce instead.
Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich Without the Cheese
Order the Mediterranean veggie sandwich without the cheese.
This sandwich is made with roasted red peppers, banana peppers, diced tomatoes, fresh baby spinach, and fresh onions.
The bread has the following ingredients: unbleached flour (wheat, malted barley), water, yeast, salt, and contains less than 2% of each of vinegar, ascorbic acid, wheat gluten, guar gum, enzymes and calcium propionate (preservative).
You can choose to make the vegetables in light or normal portions.
Classic Garden Salad Without Cheese and Croutons
The classic garden salad is another vegan option that you can request without the cheese and brioche garlic croutons.
The salad consists of grape tomatoes, red onion, carrots, red cabbage, and a blend of romaine and iceberg lettuce.
Select balsamic vinegar as your light dressing.
However, you will have to call them or order in-store to make this special request.
How to Know If an Item Is Vegan?
If you are unsure about an item on the menu, simply visit Domino’s Nutrition page.
From there, you will learn about the ingredients used to make each item.
You can also refer to the allergen information to know which items have milk, egg, fish, and shellfish.
As a last resort, contact Domino’s through online customer support to ask your questions about vegan options.
Final Thoughts
As a final note, Domino’s has no vegan pizzas because of the L-cysteine ingredient in the crusts.
Even though it was mentioned that it is either or both microbial or vegetable sourced, it still needs to be more clear which one is really used.
Moreover, microbial L-cysteine is still derived from animals, making it not vegan-friendly.
Contacting your local Domino’s is better to get more straightforward answers.
Fortunately, you can still have vegan meals at Domino’s with Pasta Primavera or Build Your Own Pasta, Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich without the cheese, and Classic Garden Salad without cheese and croutons.
However, another thing to note is that even though you can still have vegan options, these meals are prepared in the same kitchen as meat and non-vegan options.
So if you have allergies to some ingredients like milk or don’t want the risk of cross-contamination, it is best to avoid Domino’s altogether.
Do you want Domino’s to have vegan options in the future?
Sign PETA’s petition: Domino’s–We Want Vegan Pizza! to encourage Domino’s to offer vegan cheese and vegan meat toppings on the menu.
Hopefully, we can expect Domino’s to offer more vegan meals in the near future.
