Last Updated on October 28, 2022 by Jim Edwards
Papa John’s is a pizza chain restaurant that originated in the United States. Their sauce and dough have always been plant-based, so Papa John’s vegan menu is not entirely new. Vegans always had the option to grab breadsticks with sauce and enjoy a scrumptious meal, but now they can have more!
We are glad that Papa John’s serves vegan options to attract a new customer base. They were successful in this endeavor as the restaurant saw an 81% rise in sales in 2021.
Let’s take a quick look at Papa John’s vegan menu and find out about the vegan-friendly options they have available!
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Papa John’s Vegan Menu: Items to Try
Original Breadsticks
Papa John’s menu has a few breadstick options. Not all are suitable for a vegan-friendly meal. While some would opt for Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks and Cheese Sticks, you’d be better off with Papa John’s Original Breadsticks which are among the best in the pizza chain industry.
From taste to texture and originality, these breadsticks are perfect for a meal.
Despite that, the breadsticks alone would not hit the spot. You may feel as if you are eating Papa John’s pizza dough sans the toppings. It can be dry for some people. They may not enjoy the breadsticks without feeling that there is something missing. That’s where the sauces come in!
Papa John’s sauces are vegan, just like the dough. They are also delectable with enticing flavors. You can go for an original sauce and pair it with the breadsticks to make a delicious meal out of it.
This pizza franchise uses six ingredients to make the breadsticks.
- Wheat flour
- Water
- Yeast
- Soybean oil
- Salt
- Sugar
Garden Fresh Pizza (No Cheese)
If there’s one item on Papa John’s vegan menu you should try, it’s the Garden Fresh Pizza! It is the only meatless pizza that the menu offers. While you have the option to create your own pizza with Papa John’s, we’d recommend trying this one.
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Garden Fresh Pizza is healthy and nutritious with fresh vegetables. The pizza contains assorted veggies that any vegan or vegetarian would love!
- Peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Black olives
- Tomatoes
The only problem is that the pizza contains Mozzarella cheese. Still, it’s not something to worry about. You can ask them to hold the cheese when ordering your Garden Fresh Pizza from Papa John’s. With the sauce, dough, and veggies, it will be a vegan pizza.
Create Your Own Pizza!
Someone who does not know about Papa John’s vegan dough and sauces would be disappointed. They would scroll through the menu and find only breadsticks and Garden Fresh Pizza for vegan options. This is why everyone should know about Papa John’s dough and sauces.
Knowing that the dough and sauces are vegan-friendly is a considerable benefit. It offers various topping choices for meatless and cheeseless pizzas. You can pick your dough, sauces, and toppings to create your Papa John’s vegan pizza.
Crust of Your Choice
Not all pizza crusts are vegan at Papa John’s. You can opt for the original hand-tossed crust for a vegan pizza. Unfortunately, the rest are not meant for you. The original hand-tossed crust is made of unbleached wheat flour.
They mix it with sugar, salt, yeast, soybean oil, and water to create the soft and yummy dough we love. The same ingredients make up the breadsticks you can enjoy when you only want to eat dough with rich sauces.
The unbleached enriched wheat flour is what makes the difference. While one would associate “wheat” with whole wheat, this flour is different. It is the fine-grain version that keeps the dough soft and lump-free.
“Unbleached” refers to the omission of chemicals during the refining process. Enriched is the stage where nutrients are added to the flour to make it nourishing. Unbleached enriched wheat flour is, for this reason, a healthy option for vegans.
Papa John’s Vegan Sauces
Papa John’s vegan menu has plant-based pizza sauces and dippings. There are non-vegan options, too, so make sure you know which sauces are vegan before taking your pick. By default, the pizza sauce and BBQ sauce are vegan.
Other than that, there are no pizza sauces that are plant-based. As for dippings, you have the following options:
- Signature garlic sauce
- Buffalo dipping sauce
- Pizza dipping sauce
- BBQ dipping sauce
Pizza Sauce
The pizza sauce is prepared using vine-ripened tomatoes. They are mixed with sunflower oil, sugar, salt, spices, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and citric acid. Papa John’s prepares fresh sauce with tomatoes packaged from vine to can on the same day.
BBQ Sauce
BBQ pizza sauce is used as a base for Papa John’s pizzas. It is a regular sauce for the BBQ range of pizzas, such as BBQ Chicken Bacon Pizza and Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza. You can use this sauce for your vegan pizza too.
Signature Garlic Sauce
Signature garlic sauce is vegan as it’s prepared using soybean oil. They do not use butter to prepare the garlic sauce.
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Buffalo Dipping Sauce
The Buffalo dipping sauce is a rich flavor that will add taste to your breadsticks or vegan pizza. It contains hot sauce prepared using an aged red pepper, salt, garlic, and vinegar. They combine the hot sauce with water, sugar, soybean oil, salt, vinegar, paprika, xanthan gum, and spices.
Pizza Dipping Sauce
It is the same sauce as the one used for the pizza base. You can ask for this sauce as an extra for your pizza if you are getting BBQ sauce as the base.
BBQ Dipping Sauce
The BBQ dipping sauce is the product of tomato paste mixed with water, sugar, molasses, salt, vinegar, natural smoke flavor, spices, garlic, onion, and food starch.
Toppings for Your Pizza
A Papa John’s pizza without toppings is simply breadsticks with sauce. When you add fresh vegetables to the mix, you get a flavorful and nutritious meal. Some of the best toppings for your pizza are:
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Fresh spinach
- Pineapples
- Green bell pepper
- Banana peppers
- Green olives
- Jalapeños
If you love all the veggies, you can add them to your pizza. Otherwise, you have the option to choose your favorite ones and add only those!
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Vegan Seasonings and Sides
The seasoning packets that come with your pizza can add an extra flavor to your pizza. You can add crushed red pepper flakes or add one of the special seasoning packets that contain:
- Salt
- Garlic
- Wheat starch
- Soybean oil
- Dried onion
- Paprika extract
- Natural flavor
Domino’s vs. Papa John’s: Vegan Pizza Showdown
Here’s a quick review of the best vegan pizzas in town! Domino’s vs. Papa John’s: Let’s see which pizza is better.
Summary
Papa John’s vegan menu may not have many options. Nevertheless, the ‘‘create your own pizza” option is enough to keep your pizza cravings at bay with various combinations of sauces and toppings. There’s no need to eat the same type of pizza every day. With Papa John’s, you can try a new pizza flavor every night!
Papa John’s Vegan Menu – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does Papa John’s Have Vegan Cheese?
Unfortunately, Papa John’s does not have vegan cheese yet. You can order a pizza without cheese if you want Papa John’s vegan pizza. Their crust and some sauces are plant-based, so you can enjoy a pizza without a problem.
Does Papa John’s Have a Vegan Crust?
The only vegan crust that Papa John’s has on the menu is the original hand-tossed crust. It is made using soybean oil and unbleached enriched flour (wheat). They also have gluten-free and thin-crust pizza options, but they are not vegan either.
Is Papa John’s Garlic Sauce Vegan?
Yes, Papa John’s Garlic sauce is vegan. It comes as a dipping sauce that you can order with breadsticks or vegan pizza. They do not have many pizza sauces or dippings that are plant-based. Besides the Garlic sauce, there are Pizza, BBQ, and Buffalo sauces for vegans.
Is Papa John’s BBQ Drizzle Vegan?
BBQ Sauce is one of the vegan sauces available at Papa John’s. You can have it as a pizza base or order it separately as a dipping sauce to enjoy with your pizza with veggies and pizza sauce.
Are Papa John’s Cinnamon Pull Aparts Vegan?
No. The desserts served in the United States branches of Papa John’s are not vegan. Other countries have some vegan dessert options, like vegan Cinnamon Knots in the UK. In the US, the only cinnamon dessert available at Papa John’s is Cinnamon Pull Aparts, and they are prepared using milk and eggs.
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“Papa John’s Peru” by Arturo de Albornoz is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
I’m Jim Edwards and I started this website to share my love of Junk Food. We cover new junk food, desserts, snack foods, fast food secret menus, candy (of course!) and other related news. We love trying “secret menus” at restaurants. And we love trying new products too. So, we are trying to have some fun with our hobby and share some useful information with you, our community. Please feel to send us your suggestions and feedback through the contact form. And if you have products you would like us to try, let us know…!