At first glance, Chuck E. Cheese’s looks horrible for vegans. Pizza… Wings… Cake… But when you look closer, there are a surprising number of vegan options—including desserts! As a vegan with 13 years of dining experience, I can help guide you through it all.
Vegan options at Chuck E. Cheese’s:
- Build Your Own Vegan Pizza
- French Fries
- Pretzel Bites (No Cheese Sauce)
- Garden Salad
- Veggie Platter (No Dip)
- Custom Veggie Sandwich
- Mandarin Oranges
- Red, White & Blue Bomb Pop
- Strawberry Fruit Bar
- Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots
- Cotton Candy
- Dipping Sauces and Condiments
Below, I’ll share more details on how to order these items vegan. I’ll answer some common questions, and then I’ll end with a look at the whole-food plant-based options, too!
The following vegan menu was compiled with the help of the ingredients and allergen information on the Chuck E. Cheese’s website. Due to the full ingredient lists available, I feel a high degree of confidence in the following recommendations.
That said, restaurant menus change and vary by location. I recommend double checking any important information with staff at your location!
1. Build Your Own Vegan Pizza
I was pleasantly surprised to find out you can order a dairy-free pizza at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Of course, there’s no vegan cheese—and there’s only one crust and sauce option—but still!
Here’s how to make your pizza vegan…
Choose Your Crust:
- Smart Flour Gluten-Free Crust
Choose Your Sauce:
- Red Pizza Sauce
Choose Your Toppings:
- Black Olives
- Green Peppers
- Jalapenos
- Mushrooms
- Pineapple
- Red Onions
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
2. French Fries
Chuck E. Cheese’s fries are vegan. Just make sure they don’t give you the Lite Ranch Dressing with your fries. You can ask for ketchup, BBQ sauce, red pizza sauce, or no dip.
As with most restaurant chains, it’s very likely the fries are cooked in a shared fryer with fried chicken or other animal products. Ask the staff at your location if this concerns you.
3. Pretzel Bites (No Cheese Sauce)
Another nice side option! These are also quite cute. They are soft pretzels, but just bite-sized pieces—not a big pretzel twist or anything.
Just be sure to order these with “No Cheese.” You can ask for red pizza sauce or BBQ sauce instead of cheese. Here’s the full ingredients of the Bites themselves:
Pretzel Bites Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Yeast, Corn Syrup, Bicarbonates and Carbonates Of Soda. Seasoning Spray (Canola Oil, Natural Flavor, Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Annatto And Propellant). Pretzel Salt (Salt).
4. Garden Salad
I was surprised that Chuck E. Cheese’s even had a salad. But they do! The Garden Salad looks to be very simplistic: Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and your choice of dressing.
There are two vegan salad dressings:
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar
And if the salad bar is open when you visit, you’d also have the option to add the following to your salad:
- Beets
- Black Olives
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Crackers
- Cucumbers
- Fruit (Cantaloupe, Grapes, Honeydew, Oranges, Strawberries, Watermelon)
- Garlic Sesame Sticks
- Grape Tomatoes
- Green Peppers
- Jalapenos
- Lettuce Mix
- Mushrooms
- Red Onion
- Romaine Lettuce
- Spinach
- Sunflower Seeds
- Yellow Squash
- Zucchini
5. Veggie Platter (No Dip)
Some Chuck E. Cheese locations have a “Veggie Platter.” Typically this contains celery sticks, carrot sticks, raw broccoli, and grape tomatoes. But the usual dips they offer for it are not vegan (ranch and bleu cheese dressing).
So you can potentially ask for a salad dressing instead, like the balsamic vinaigrette, if that sounds appealing to you. Personally, I’d just get the plain veggies.
Some locations won’t have the veggie platter, but they may still have celery sticks or carrot sticks. So check for those if you’re not seeing the Platter. Again, be wary of the dips.
6. Custom Veggie Sandwich
You won’t find this listed on the menu. Chuck E. Cheese’s doesn’t offer any sandwiches that come vegan. However, the French Hoagie Roll they use for their sandwiches is vegan.
This means, if you’re feeling bold, you could custom order a veggie sandwich with the hoagie roll. You could basically have them put the salad ingredients or pizza toppings into a sandwich roll.
I’ve never done this custom order at Chuck E. Cheese’s, but I’ve done similar things at other restaurants. Usually, they are willing to accommodate these kinds of requests!
7. Mandarin Oranges
Just a little fruit side. These are not the whole mandarins, but slices in some sugar water.
8. Red, White & Blue Bomb Pop
Vegan desserts? Yes! Chuck E. Cheese’s has a few. First off, we’ve got these red, white, and blue popsicles. You probably had them growing up. Very fun! No dairy or anything.
I’ll include the ingredients for the desserts, since they’re harder to believe!
Red, White & Blue Bomb Pop Ingredients: “Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains 1% Or Less Of Citric Acid, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Blue 1, Red 40.”
9. Strawberry Fruit Bar
These fruit bars actually contain real strawberries! Now, that doesn’t really mean they’re healthy. They still have plenty of sugar. But still… Not bad for Chuck E. Cheese’s.
Strawberry Fruit Bar Ingredients: “Water, Strawberries, Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains 1% Or Less Of Natural Flavors, Strawberry Essence, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Food Starch-Modified, Annatto Extract And Beet Juice For Color.”
10. Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots
Most of the Dippin’ Dots at Chuck E. Cheese’s are not vegan, as they are made from real dairy ice cream. However, there is one vegan flavor! Ask for the Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots. They’re fruity and magical. Here are the ingredients if you’re skeptical:
Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots Ingredients: “Water, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Blue #1, Red #40, Yellow #6, Yellow #5, Citric Acid, Cellulose Gum.”
11. Cotton Candy
If you never knew what cotton candy is made of, it’s basically just sugar and food coloring. You can choose from Blue, Green, or Pink. Here are the ingredients for the Blue flavor:
Blue Cotton Candy Ingredients: “Sugar, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Fd&C Blue #1.
12. Dipping Sauces and Condiments
- BBQ Sauce
- Red Pizza Sauce
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Garlic Butter (does not contain actual butter)
- Italian Seasoning
Note: The Buffalo Sauce and the Sweet Red Chili Sauce both contain milk.
But What About…
You might think some of the following items would be vegan, too—but unfortunately they’re not:
- The Churros are not vegan, as they contain milk and eggs.
- The Iced Cinnamon Sticks are not vegan, as they contain milk.
- The Buffalo Sauce and the Sweet Red Chili Sauce contain milk.
Now let’s answer some common questions about eating vegan at Chuck E. Cheese’s.
Is Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Crust Vegan?
The only vegan pizza crust at Chuck E. Cheese’s is the Smart Flour Gluten-Free Crust. All the other pizza crusts contain milk ingredients.
Here is a breakdown of the three non-vegan crusts:
- Thin & Crispy – Contains Milk (Whey)
- Traditional – Contains Milk (Whey)
- Stuffed Crust Pizza – Contains Milk (Whey and String Cheese)
Can the Breadsticks Be Made Vegan at Chuck E. Cheese’s?
Unfortunately, the breadsticks cannot be made vegan at Chuck E. Cheese’s. This is because they are made with the Pizza Dough Mix, which contains whey. So even if you ask for “No Cheese,” they will still contain milk in the bread itself.
There are plenty of other pizza places and Italian restaurants with breadsticks that you can order vegan. Take a look at the following for vegan breadsticks:
Whole-Food Plant-Based Options
What if you’re not just vegan but also trying to avoid processed foods? Can you get a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) meal at Chuck E. Cheese’s? That means no processed oil, sugar, or flour. Well, let’s see…
WFPB options at Chuck E. Cheese’s:
- Garden Salad
- Veggie Platter with No Dip (or just Celery and Carrot Sticks)
As you can see, there’s not much. But you can get some plain veggies, at least. The mandarin oranges come in sugar water, so that would not be strictly WFPB.
More Vegan Guides to Restaurants
I’ve made vegan guides to nearly 100 restaurant chains. Check out the vegan options at some of these other popular chains:
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