Schlotzsky’s has long been a go-to destination for those craving hearty sandwiches, pizzas, and more. Founded in Austin, TX, this chain has built its reputation on fresh ingredients and unique flavors.
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While the menu leans heavily on meat and dairy, there are ways to enjoy a plant-based meal at Schlotzsky’s with thoughtful customization and ingredient choices.
Whether you’re stopping by for a quick lunch or grabbing a bite on the go, use this guide to navigate the plant-based options on Schlotzsky’s menu.
What Is Schlotzsky’s?
Founded by Don and Dolores Dissman, Schlotzsky’s began as a single sandwich shop in 1971. The inspiration for the original sandwich was a muffuletta, a classic Italian-American sandwich known for its bold flavors and layers of meats, cheeses, and olives. The Dissmans reimagined the concept, focusing on freshly baked sourdough bread and quality ingredients, a move that quickly gained the shop a loyal following.
Schlotzsky’s | Facebook
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Over the years, the brand expanded its menu to include pizzas, salads, soups, and sides to appeal to a variety of consumers.
Today, Schlotzsky’s operates over 330 locations across the US, maintaining its roots in fresh-baked bread while adapting to modern dining trends. Despite its traditionally meat- and cheese-heavy offerings, the menu includes customizable options, making it possible to craft a plant-based meal.
For plant-based options at Schlotzsky’s, customization is key. The chain does offer a vegetarian menu but each item contains animal-derived ingredients. While Schlotzky’s does not offer dedicated vegan menu items, several options can be tailored to meet plant-based needs.
Schlotzsky’s
Schlotzsky’s is best known for its sandwiches, and while the default offerings are not vegan, you can create a plant-based option with some adjustments to its vegetarian option, The Fresh Veggie Sandwich.
This option features dairy cheese, cucumber, olives, lettuce, onion, tomato, and ranch on a sourdough bun. Order The Fresh Veggie Sandwich without ranch or cheese to start and then swap out the bread and add mustard as a condiment for moisture.
Schlotzsky’s signature sourdough breads and buns are not vegan, as they contain dairy. However, the whole wheat tortilla—available at select locations—is a safe option for those avoiding animal products.
Schlotzsky’s
Salads are one of the more customizable options at Schlotzsky’s, and customers can remove the meat from any salad and swap it with avocado, which is a solid starting point for plant-based eaters.
Plant-based salad dressings include Italian, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette, and Balsamic & EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Be sure to avoid croutons, candied pecans, and breadsticks, as these all contain animal-derived ingredients.
With that in mind, this is how to order the entrée salads plant-based:
Chicken Greek Salad (main and side): Swap chicken with avocado, remove feta and breadsticks, and choose a vegan dressing to replace the Greek dressing. The side salad version of this already omits the chicken.
Strawberry-Chicken Salad: Swap chicken with avocado, remove feta, candied pecans, croutons, and garlic breadsticks.
Chicken Avocado Cobb: Swap chicken with more avocado, remove bacon, feta, eggs, croutons, breadsticks, and replace ranch with vegan dressing. What’s left is tomatoes, cucumbers, and a lot of avocado over mixed field greens and romaine—which would benefit from a drizzle of Balsamic & EVOO.
Chicken Caesar Salad (main and side): Ordering this dish vegan leaves you with just romaine lettuce, so skip this salad.
Garden Salad (side): Remove the croutons and replace the ranch dressing for a vegan dressing. This leaves you with tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers on a bed of mixed field greens and romaine.
Pro tip: If your location has tortillas, you can make your customized salads into a wrap for a heartier meal.
Schlotzsky’s
Schlotzsky’s offers a few sides that are vegan-friendly that can be ordered together for a quick meal.
Chips: The deli chain offers Lay’s Baked Regular potato chips, which are free from animal products. Many of Schlotzsky’s brand name chips are vegan-friendly too, including jalapeño, and regular.
Soup: The Garden Vegetable soup features a tomato broth with kidney beans and mixed veggies and comes topped with diced tomatoes and green onions. While this soup is vegan-friendly, it is not widely available.
Saltine crackers are a vegan option, too.
Several menu items at Schlotzsky’s cannot be easily customized to be free from animal products. These include:
Soups: Aside from the Garden Vegetable soup, the rest of the soups offered at Schlotzsky’s are not vegan-friendly, as they contain dairy, meat, or other animal-derived ingredients.
Pizzas, calzones, and flatbreads: Schlotzsky’s pizza dough and flatbread bases contain dairy, and cheese is a significant component of the toppings. Even with modifications, these items cannot be made plant-based.
Schlotzsky’s
Chips: Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cracked Pepper chip flavors all contain dairy ingredients.
Desserts: All desserts, including cookies, brownies, and cinnamon rolls, are made with dairy and eggs.
Ordering vegan at a restaurant without dedicated plant-based options can feel daunting, but preparation and communication can make the process much easier. Here are some tips to keep in mind when ordering at Schlotzsky’s:
Ask questions: Always verify ingredients with the staff, as recipes and formulations may vary by location. Do not hesitate to ask for allergen information or ingredient lists to confirm whether an item is vegan.
Check regional menus: Some Schlotzsky’s locations may offer regional variations or limited-time menu items that differ from the standard offerings, including seasonal options.
Bring your own add-ons: With so many options when it comes to plant-based deli items, consider sneaking in your own vegan cheese slices, meatless deli cuts, and plant-based mayo, which will make your meal at Schlotzky’s a lot more enjoyable.
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
Schlotzsky’s | Facebook
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