Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago
Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago
Chicago is home to more than just The Bean, Michele Obama, and the Bulls. Chicago is also home to the infamous deep dish pizza, which can easily be made vegan. It’s comprised of a thick hull of dough filled with a dense layer of cheese topped with a coat of tomato sauce. It’s basically New York-style pizza’s polar opposite, but Detroit-style pizza’s lil’ cousin.
I’m sure that most of you are here to find out where to throw down on a vegan deep dish pizza. However, I’m not going to leave you hanging if deep dish pizza isn’t your style. There are plenty of spots in Chicago that serve vegan versions of other pizza styles ranging from Sicilian to South Side Tavern style. Therefore, I sprinkled on a little extra love at the end to include places serving up other styles of vegan pizza in Chicago.
Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago: Vegan Restaurants
Kitchen 17
Location
Lake View East – 3132 N Broadway Chicago, IL 60657
Kitchen 17 is an all-vegan restaurant that calls itself the home of the original vegan Chicago deep dish pizza. What better place to grub than somewhere that has a whole menu of vegan options!? The pizza here is so good that I also had to include it on my 13 Best Vegan Restaurants in Chicago list. Go check it out if you’re looking for more than just vegan pizza in Chicago!
Since we’re already out here doing Chicago things you might as well throw some spicy giardiniera on your pie too. The Fully Loaded deep dish pizza includes soy sausage, spinach, onion, black olive, their house-made cheese, and yup… spicy giardiniera.
If you aren’t able to try a pie while you’re in Chicago or just feel like having Kitchen 17 shipped to you, you’re in luck because they ship nationwide. It’s going to cost you a pretty penny, but it’s well worth it in my opinion!
Chicago Style Vegan
Location
Back of the Yards – 1400 West 46th St Chicago, IL 60609 @ The Plant for Chicago Vegan Test Kitchen
Chicago Style Vegan is an all-vegan Black-owned pop-up operating out of Chicago Vegan Test Kitchen. They have a personal-sized supreme filled with peppers, onions, mushrooms, vegan ground beef, fresh vegan mozzarella, and homemade marinara. They also offer a gluten-free option as well.
Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago: Vegan-Friendly Restaurants
Gino’s East
Locations
South Loop – 521 South Dearborn St Chicago, IL 60665
Magnificent Mile – 162 E Superior St Chicago, IL 60611
Gino’s East is one of the OG deep dish pizza players in the game. They even created a house-made vegan cheese to give us the opportunity to indulge in one of their legendary pies.
It’s rumored that Chicago’s famed deep dish pizza was actually created and perfected by a Black woman by the name of Alice Mae Redmond! It’s a straight up fact though that she made the pizza at Gino’s East what it is today.
Gino’s makes it abundantly clear that Alice Mae Redmond was the mastermind behind the creation and perfection of their recipe, and even dedicates a large chunk of their History page to explaining her impact.
Now let’s wash that healthy serving of Black excellence down with a vegan deep dish pizza featuring house-made vegan cheese and your choice of veggie toppings. They even have 6 out-of-state locations and offer nationwide shipping. So if you are fiendin’ for their pizza outside of Chicago, you’ve got options.
My Pi Pizza
Location
Bucktown – 2010 N Damen Avenue Unit E Chicago, IL 60647
My Pi Pizza is a family-owned restaurant that started its rich history in the deep dish pizza game back in 1971 with its first restaurant. They offer an entirely vegan menu of salads, sandwiches, garlic bread, and pizzas. From their made from scratch dough to their special recipe tomato sauce, their pies are jam-packed with flavorful ingredients
Build your own pie or order one of their signature vegan Spinach Special or vegan Sausage Special pizzas! If you want to try another Chicago classic, check out their thin crust (South Side tavern-style) pizza too!
It’s not Chicago-style deep dish, but it’s pizza: Vegan-Friendly Restaurants
If you’re just looking for bomb vegan pizza in general throughout Chicago, there are some amazing vegan-friendly pizza spots that offer some impressive and intentional vegan pizzas. We’ve all been to a few spots that boast about their vegan options, but don’t even have the essential ingredients. So yes, all of these spots have vegan cheese and then some for you to pile onto your mouthwatering pizzas!
Pizza Friendly Pizza
Location
Ukrainian Village – 1039 N Western Ave Chicago, IL 60622
Pizza Friendly Pizza is a vegan-friendly pizza spot that specializes in square Sicilian pizzas, which is similar to Detroit-style. The crust at Pizza Friendly Pizza reminds me a lot of thick and hearty focaccia.
They have some pizzas, like their Sunny Tomato or Miso Mushroom, that can be “veganized” by swapping in vegan cheese. They even sell pizza by the slice and have some dirt cheap deals like The Combo, which includes a slice, a shot, and a beer for only $10!
Be sure to check out their menu to see what seasonal options are available.
Paulie Gee’s
Locations
Logan Square – 2373 N Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL 60647
Wicker Park – 1566 N Damen Ave Chicago, IL 60622
Paulie Gee’s is a Brooklyn-born pizzeria that made its way on out to Chicago. Being from Brooklyn, you know they have to serve New York-style pizzas, right? They also offer a few Detroit-style pizzas, but completely skipped over the Chicago part when it came to representing the different pizza styles. With a menu featuring so many intentional vegan options though, I’m not even mad at them for not having a Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
Although they serve animal products on their menu, they have 9 vegan delectable pizzas to choose from! Their list of vegan toppings at their Logan Square location includes vegan mozzarella, vegan cashew ricotta, vegan pepperoni, nutritional yeast, and house-made vegan fennel sausage. You can also grab some vegan vanilla ice cream to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Dimo’s Pizza
Locations
Wrigleyville – 3463 N Clark St Chicago, IL 60640
Wicker Park – 1615 N Damen Ave Chicago, IL 60657
Although Dimo’s Pizza doesn’t have a deep dish pizza, it has been my go-to spot when I want to grab a late-night slice or when I’m looking to get a pizza delivered.
Build your own pizza with toppings like vegan mozzarella teese, vegan burrata, vegan sausage, seitan chicken, house-made vegan ranch, and charred cauliflower. You can also go with one of their 10 signature vegan pies, including the ever-so-popular Vegan Mac (macaroni & cheese pizza), or Vegan Buff Chick (buffalo chicken pizza). Be sure to specify that you want the vegan versions!
They carry other vegan menu items like their Vegan Cheesy Bread and Baked Vegan Mac N Cheese, so you’ve got options!
Fiamme
Location
Naperville – 19 North Washington St Naperville, IL 60540
Fiamme has an incredible vegan menu starting from appetizers all the way down to desserts. They have house-made Vegan Meatballs which you can order stand alone as an appetizer or in the Vegan Spaghetti & Meatballs entree.
You’re probably thinking, “But what that pizza do?!”, right? They carry two signature vegan Neopolitan pies and two signature Detroit-style pies on their menu. These feature enticing ingredients such as vegan mozzarella, vegan pimento cheese spread, cashew ricotta, tofu fakin’ bacon, Beyond Meat, Beyond Chicken Tenders, seitan pepperoni, seitan sausage, vegan spinach & artichoke dip, and cashew ranch.
You can also finish off your meal with their delectable vegan dessert, the Choc Full of It, which includes Tiramisu, and chocolate & caramel Belgian raw cakes.
Dante’s Pizzeria
Locations
Ukrainian Village – 1938 W. Chicago Ave Chicago, IL 60622
Logan Square – 3028 W. Armitage Ave Chicago, IL 6064
Dante’s Pizzeria claims to have the best New York-style pizza in Chicago. Lucky for us, they have five signature vegan pizzas for us to put to the test! If you’re more of a build your own kind of person, craft your own masterpiece with their premium vegan toppings, including Palermo’s Unreal Sausage, Pepperoni, and Beef (all vegan). You can also just grab a vegan slice if you’re not in the mood for a whole pie!
Blaze Pizza
Locations
South Loop – 511 S State St Chicago, IL 60605
Lake View – 953 W Belmont Ave Chicago, IL 60657
West Loop – 24 S Clinton St Chicago, IL 60661
Loyola University – 6550 N Sheridan Rd Chicago, IL 60626
Blaze Pizza is a chain restaurant that stays keeping my belly full all over the US. One of the beauties of ordering at a place like Blaze is that even though they carry non-vegan ingredients, staff are trained to change their gloves, avoid cross-contamination, and use a clean/vegan cutter when a vegan order comes their way.
Their classic dough is vegan, but if you like a thicker crust, their High Rise dough is also vegan. Choose the build your own option to load up on toppings like Daiya vegan cheese, all of the veggies and fruits (yes, I put tomato and pineapple on my pizzas) that your heart desires, and their Spicy Vegan Chorizo!
True Food Kitchen
Location
River North – 1 W Erie St Chicago, IL 60654
True Food Kitchen is another chain restaurant located throughout the US. It’s known for its seasonal menus influenced by their consciously-sourced seasonal ingredients, which unfortunately means that some of my favorites hop on and off the menu frequently.
However, I’m not mad at the rotation of vegan pizzas they’ve been having. They currently offer a Spinach and Mushroom pizza, which includes a delicious combination of caramelized onions and mushrooms, sautéed spinach, and vegan ricotta.
Map of Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago
TL; DR: Vegan Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago… and some not so deep dish options as well
There are plenty of places to choose from if you want to experience a vegan version of the classic Chicago deep dish or if you’re just looking for vegan pizza in general.
Vegan Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Vegan restaurants: Kitchen 17 and Chicago Style Vegan
Vegan-friendly restaurants: Gino’s East and My Pi Pizza
More Vegan Pizza in Chicago
Vegan-friendly restaurants: Pizza Friendly Pizza, Paulie Gee’s, Dimo’s Pizza, Fiamme, Dante’s Pizzeria, Blaze Pizza, True Food Kitchen
