One of the side effects of adopting a vegan diet is that you end up learning how to prepare and cook a lot of your own food, as many locations still don't have a wide variety of dine-in or takeout options for vegan customers. But everyone deserves to be able to order a pizza now and then. The good news is that you probably can get a vegan pizza delivered to your house without too much trouble, even if the only pizza places near you are chains or pizzerias that don't specialize in vegan menu options. Take a look at a few tips for ordering a vegan pizza.

Crust

You would think that a pizza crust would be vegan by default. After all, you can make one yourself at home with just flour, yeast, water and salt. But some pizza places use ingredients that come from animals, like honey, to activate the yeast, so you do have to check to be sure.

Most pizza places offer multiple types of crust, like pan, hand-tossed, and thin-crust. Usually, at least one of these will contain no animal products. If you order from a chain restaurant, the ingredients should be standard at all locations, and you can check their ingredients list online. If you order from an independent restaurant, you'll need to ask what their crust ingredients are, but since the ingredients they use are not necessarily standard, they may be willing to make a vegan crust for you, even if it isn't on their menu.

Cheese and Sauce

It's tough to find pizza restaurants that offer vegan cheese, so you may have to go cheeseless. You might be surprised to find out how tasty a cheeseless pizza can be. However, if you really need your cheese, keep some shredded vegan cheese in your refrigerator or vegan parmesan cheese in your pantry. Sprinkle it on when the pizza arrives and stick in the oven for a few minutes – you'll probably need to warm it up by the time it arrives.

The sauce is another one of those things that you have to ask about, just to be on the safe side – some pizza restaurants add parmesan cheese to their sauce, in which case it won't be vegan. However, chances are good that most places will have a vegan option. For example, it's currently popular to use barbecue or buffalo sauce in place of tomato sauce, and chances are good that one or both of those will be vegan-friendly.

Toppings and Sides

The pizza toppings are the easiest part of ordering a vegan pizza – just stick to the veggies and you'll be fine. Try some new and more exotic toppings, like artichoke hearts, eggplant, or broccoli rabe. Add zest with banana peppers or extra garlic, or throw in a little sweetness with pineapple pieces.

If you need something on the side to munch on, order garlic bread or garlic knots, and just ask that they leave off any cheese or parmesan. Many pizza places also offer salads, steamed vegetables, or pasta dishes that can easily be made vegan as well.

Choosing a vegan diet doesn't have to mean giving up pizza, and you don't necessarily even have to find a new pizza place. Pizza is something that is meant to be tailor-made to your individual taste, and there are plenty of ways to order a tasty vegan pizza. Check places like Ynot Italian for more options.