A Short List: 3 Top Vegan Pizza Places in Portland
Portland is well known for its delicious and abundant vegan restaurants, but one thing seems to escape the vegan-curious: Where are the best vegan pizza places? Some of them are more obvious than others; the ever-so-popular Sizzle Pie usually displays 3 vegan pizzas available for slice purchases all day long. But what about other places offering an animal-free version of pie? And what about the restaurants that specialize in vegan pizza? Here’s a shortlist of some of the best places to go when you need a slice, or a full pie, of vegan pizza.
One of my favorite places to eat vegan food in Portland, Virtuous Pie does not disappoint with anything on its menu. From its pies, to its mac and cheese, to its ice cream; all of which is vegan and incredible. For pie, it’s not the kind of greasy, cheesy mess that you might expect from other pizza places--not that there’s anything wrong with that. No, Virtuous pies seem designed for somebody looking for something closer to a Pizzicato (but slightly better in this writer’s opinion).
Going to VP really isn’t just about the pizza. It’s about the experience of a straight-up unhealthy pizza place that creates high-quality food--something hard to find in the vegan market at a reasonable price. If you don’t want pizza but still want to feel forced to undo your belt, you can get white-bean artichoke dip with a side of Italian meatballs and finish off with an Earl Grey cheesecake cannoli. And if that really wasn’t enough, they sell pints of dipping sauce. Yes, you can get a pint of Blue Cheese, Ranch, or Almond Parmesan. I can’t… please don’t let somebody like me know these things. The dangers….
Little-known secret about Pizza Jerk is that it has some of the best vegan pizza in Portland. Depending on the day, I might even call it the best. It’s basically a deep dish that they don’t call a deep dish, stacked with cheese and whatever other toppings you choose (including vegan sausage, vegan pepperoni, and cashew ricotta. This is the kind of vegan pizza where people who are standing next to you with a regular, non-vegan slice of pepperoni will look over your plate and ask, “Hey, can I try that?” It literally happened to me three times in the same day. On that note, Pizza Jerk’s regular pizza is good, too. But you have so many regular pizza options in Portland, I’m not as quick to jump onto the idea that Pizza Jerk’s non-vegan pizza stands at the same level as its vegan counterpart. Just get your hands on this greasy masterpiece before this online magazine actually gets popular and everybody else knows about it. You have a chance right now; we’re still niche. I mean, Portland by nature is niche. But once everybody realizes that it will be mainstream, and so will Pizza Jerk’s vegan pizza.
If you haven’t been to Sizzle Pie, you haven’t experienced what Portland is about. It’s not about hikes, bike rides, and activism. It’s about by-the-slice pizza from a semi-New-York style pizza joint. No joke. This is literally one of the strongest OG, pre-gentrification Portland vibes you can get; one of the few things that have stood the test of time and remained after all of the change and the loss of the “charm”, if you want to call it that. And if you want some dope-ass vegan pizza, Sizzle has you covered. Slather that fuckin’ shit in their ranch which is, surprisingly, also vegan. They honestly might have the best vegan ranch in the city. In fact, that might be a good next article… Portland’s best vegan ranch. Honestly, even though Sizzle Pie doesn’t match the cheesy, greasiness of Pizza Jerk or the refinement of Virtuous Pie, it has an addictive quality that’s present in all of their pies. They also do an excellent job of taking advantage of the creative possibilities when it comes to making vegan pizzas and foregoing some of the traditional toppings we’re used to.
Image Cred : IG @Virtuouspie
Image Cred : IG @Pizzajerkpdx
Image Cred : IG @Sizzlepie
