In August 2022, Pizza Hut made vegan cheese available as a topping at its United Kingdom stores. The company partnered with alternative dairy brand Violife to offer vegan cheese to customers who order delivery.
Pizza Hut’s dine-in restaurants have served dairy-free cheese since 2017, making it one of the United Kingdom’s first fast-food restaurants to offer vegan cheese. However, the chain initially didn’t feel comfortable serving alternative dairy at its delivery locations. The company worried about cross-contamination due to the compact cooking area in the delivery kitchens.
Recently, they changed their mind after a successful trial run earlier this summer. United Kingdom customers can enjoy Violife plant-based cheese on their pies at both dine-in and delivery locations.
“The partnership gives everyone who enjoys the taste of Pizza Hut the opportunity to have a positive impact on the planet by just simply switching out their dairy cheese,” said Victoria Slater, Head of Violife UK & Ireland, in an interview.
their customers can now enjoy 100% plant-based options at Pizza Hut United Kingdom locations if they choose vegan cheese. In 2021, the company became the first United Kingdom pizza restaurant to offer Beyond Meat as a plant-based meat alternative. Since 2019, the company has seen a 19% increase in sales of meatless pies.
Pizza Hut United Kindgom Offers Vegan Cheese and Meats at Select Locations
The fully veggie pies available at Pizza Hut include:
- Beyond Italian Style Sausage Supreme
- Beyond Three-Meat Three Cheese, featuring Italian Style Sausage, Beef Crumble, and Pork Crumble
- Beyond Beef Sizzler, a spicy offering complete with jalapeños and green chilies
Pizza Hut also added more meat-free pies to its menus in other countries. For example, they launched Beyond Pepperoni Pizza at nearly 70 US locations in five cities. However, the pizza chain does not offer vegan cheese in the United States.
Pizza Hut began offering three fully vegan pizzas in Germany following a PETA petition. These include Smokey BBQ Vegan, Tuscany Spicy Vegan, and Vegan Chik’N’Cheeze. They also added a plant-based pasta dish — Creamy Cheeze Pasta Vegan.
“We know meat-eaters and vegetarians alike are increasingly looking for more plant-based alternatives to our pizza menus, so we are continuously searching to bring delicious innovations to the table,” said Neil Manhas, MD & CFO of Pizza Hut UK & Ireland, in an interview. “With this new vegan cheese alternative rollout, we’re excited to now be able to offer more flexitarian and meat-free options while maintaining our signature branding and delicious flavour.”
Meatless diets have exploded in popularity recently, and it seems that trend will continue well into the future. A March 2022 survey by Ipsos found that 46% of Brits aged 16-75 considered reducing their animal product intake. Their research also revealed that 48% of British adults used plant milk — 58% of adults consumed at least one plant-based meat alternative.
Thankfully, vegans have plenty of options in the modern world. Aside from Pizza Hut, other pie chains have also started offering vegan cheese and meat alternatives.
Other Pizza Restaurants With Vegan Cheese and Other Plant-Based Options
According to PETA, these pizza eateries offer delicious dairy-free, meatless options.
1 – Papa Murphy’s
Famous for its Take ‘N’ Bake pies, Papa Murphy’s offers Violife vegan cheese on any pie. You can either build a pie or choose the Dairy-Free Cheese Garden Veggie, an entirely plant-based offering.
2 – MOD Pizza
MOD Pizza began serving plant-based Italian sausage crumbles from Plantly in 2021. They also offer Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese and have many dairy-free sauces and glazes for an extra kick.
3 – Little Caesars
Little Caesars now offers the Planteroni Pizza, served with Field Roast vegan pepperoni. They don’t offer vegan cheese, so order it without cheese or add your own at home. Only select Little Caesars restaurants offer the Planteroni Pizza, including locations in Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon.
4 – Toppers Pizza
Toppers Pizza is a well-known establishment for vegan options, including the Vegan Buffalo Chicken-Less Topper. They also serve the Vegan Tuscano Topper and the Vegan Korean BBQ Chicken-Less Topper. Vegans can enjoy hand-tossed, Tall Boy and thin crusts in addition to various sauces. Other plant-based options include vegan crispy chicken, roasted garlic, and tater tots.
5 – UNO Pizzeria & Grill
UNO Pizzeria & Grill offers various pies that you can modify to your liking. Vegan options include Daiya mozzarella cheese, Beyond Burger Crumbles, the Beyond Burger, and low-carb Zoodles (zucchini noodles) Primavera.
6 – Blaze Pizza
Blaze Pizza recently started serving plant-based options after PETA talked with them. They now have vegan Spicy Chorizo as a topping, Daiya cheese for no extra charge, and vegan crusts. In addition, the red sauces, BBQ drizzle, and olive oil drizzle have no animal products.
7 – Mellow Mushroom
Mellow Mushroom catered to vegans and vegetarians long before the diets became popular. In 2014, they added several items to the menu free of animal products, such as tofu and tempeh. In recent years, the restaurant also made vegan cheese available to customers.
8 – Pizza Pizza
Anyone living in Canada can also enjoy vegan options. The chain partnered with Field Roast and Yves Veggie Cuisine to make two new toppings available. These include plant-based chorizo crumbles and veggie-friendly pepperoni. They also offer dairy-free cheese from Violife and several plant-based pizza crusts.
Final Thoughts on Pizza Hut in the UK Offering Vegan Cheese
As interest in meat-free diets grows, restaurants worldwide have updated their menus. For instance, Pizza Hut in the United Kingdom now serves vegan cheese at both dine-in and delivery locations. In 2021, they also started offering plant-based meats, making them an excellent choice for anyone on a vegan diet.
Specific Pizza Hut locations in the US and Germany also carry veggie-friendly meats and dairy-free cheeses. However, many other eateries have vegan choices if you don’t have a Pizza Hut near you. Do any of your favorite local restaurants have vegan options?
