Panago Pizza: Dairy-free Cheese, Vegan Pepperoni and More!

Have you heard? Panago Pizza now offers Daiya dairy-free cheese alternative along with a variety of vegan toppings, sauces, dips, and crusts!

This post is sponsored by Panago Pizza, but the opinions, text, and photos are all Leah.

This popular Canadian pizza chain recognized that more and more people are ditching dairy. And since they have locations throughout the country, including in my town, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to trial their expansive vegan menu. But deciding on what to order first wasn’t easy.

Ordering Vegan at Panago Pizza

For starters, the options include a choice of five crusts. If you’re not wary of gluten, you can choose from the Original Hand Tossed Crust, Italian Thin Crust, Multigrain Crust, and Multigrain Thin Crust. For gluten-free diners, they offer a vegan Gluten-Smart crust, which is strictly made with gluten-free ingredients. However, because Panago Pizza has open-style kitchens, they like guests to know that gluten cross-contamination is a possibility.

After finally deciding on the crust, Panago Pizza gives you a huge list of ways to top your dairy-free pizza. The vegan-friendly array includes six different sauces, classic toppings (peppers, spinach, onions, and more), plus unique flavorful add-ons. I certainly haven’t seen a Roasted Corn Medley and Meat-free Pepperoni on many menus before.

But if deciding on your own combination is just too overwhelming, they have a beloved Vegan Deluxe Pizza right on their main menu. It’s piled with their meat-free pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, red onions, and Daiya dairy-free cheese alternative.

I finally decided to order the Vegan Deluxe Pepperoni, Pepperoni, Pepperoni with pineapple and banana peppers, and a Veggie on the Gluten-Smart Crust. And I couldn’t resist getting side salads with their dairy-free Italian dressing.

Our Take on Panago’s Vegan Pizzas

My favorite of these Panago vegan pizzas was probably the Pepperoni with pineapple and banana peppers. Truthfully, meatless meats rarely grace my plate, but I was really intrigued by this version. The flavor and texture reminded me so much of what I remember pepperoni pizza tasting like that it was impossible to resist. Overall, the flavor combination was perfectly rich, sweet and spicy for amazing contrast on the soft hand tossed crust.

However, the Veggie pizza on the Gluten-Smart crust was a close second. I was beyond impressed with the pleasant flavor and thin, crispy texture of their gluten-free crust. It also held up unbelievably well with the generous load of toppings.

To really put Panago’s vegan offerings to the test, my omnivore family enjoyed these pizzas with me. I was really interested in their thoughts on both the meatless pepperoni and the Daiya dairy-free cheese alternative. They were all quite pleasantly surprised by the meat-free pepperoni. My mom said she never would have guessed it wasn’t the real thing! The dairy-free cheese alternative did receive mixed reviews. The taste was enjoyed by all, as they each happily devoured several slices. But it was noted that the consistency was a little “off” from what a couple of them were used to.

As someone who has delved into many dairy-free cheese alternatives before, I knew what to expect with Daiya. It is unique in texture, but still serves as a delicious salty, gooey, melty element that holds all of the pizza toppings in place. To note, Panago Pizza does use a generous hand with the Daiya. They want their dairy-free customers to get as much cheesy goodness as everyone else! But if you prefer to let the other toppings shine, just request that they go “light on the Daiya”.

Going Green at Panago Pizza

And lets not forget the salads. Panago goes above and beyond the call of pizza duty with truly fresh and healthful ingredients. Most fast food establishments simply serve a sad little cluster of iceberg lettuce with some cucumber slices. But Panago is not your ordinary fast food joint. The salads we received had bright green lettuce, spinach, olives, green peppers, tomatoes, and red onion. Even the Simple Italian vinaigrette had a wonderful light flavor.

It makes me so happy to see such a mainstream restaurant with an abundance of high-quality vegan menu items. Now there’s no need to miss out on pizza night!

Dairy-Free, Vegan & Allergen Guides for Panago Pizza

If you are “just dairy free”, you can enoy all of the goodies listed in the “Vegan-Friendly Options” above plus a few more selections. The Cilantro Sauce, meat toppings, and several of the chicken wing varieties at Panago Pizza are also made without milk-based ingredients.

For more details on the ingredients, you can view the Panago Pizza Allergen Chart. Please note that the Sauteed Mushrooms are now vegan and made without dairy!

And for a full FAQ on ordering vegan at Panago Pizza, see their Vegans Rejoice Post.

To keep up with the latest at this Canadian pizza chain, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Where to Find Panago Pizza

At last count, Panago Pizza had 187 locations throughout Canada! Visit their website below for locations, hours, menus, and online ordering!

Website: www.panago.com