Jain pizza & pasta: ordering Italian without onion or garlic

Italian is the cuisine Jain travelers fall back on most, and the one with the most reports in this directory. The good news hides in one distinction most people miss: at many pizzerias, the pizza sauce and the pasta sauce are completely different things.

Compiled from Jain diners' reports at 82 restaurants in the JainFoodMap directory · Updated September 23, 2026 · 7 min read

The short version

Pizza is usually the safer order.Ask whether the pizza sauce has onion or garlic. Often it doesn't.
Pasta sauces usually do. Marinara, arrabbiata, vodka and pesto are all normally built on garlic.
If the sauce isn't Jain, skip it. Order a white pizza, olive oil instead of sauce, or fresh tomato slices.
Check three more things: egg in the dough or fresh pasta, animal rennet in the cheese, and garlic in the toppings and table shakers.

Pizza sauce is not marinara

Most people assume the red sauce on a pizza is the same as the red sauce on spaghetti. At a lot of pizzerias it isn't. Neapolitan and New York style pizzerias commonly use crushed tomatoes with salt, oil and basil or oregano, spread raw and cooked in the oven. Pasta sauce is made in a pot, and that pot almost always starts with garlic.

The clearest example in the directory is Filippi's Pizza Grotto in San Diego: “Marinara sauce contains garlic. Pizza sauce is Jain.” More than twenty other pizzerias reported that their standard pizza sauce has no onion or garlic, including:

L'industrie, New York: Margherita and burrata pizzas, eggless base
John's of Times Square, New York: no-onion, no-garlic sauce, thin-crust Margherita
De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville, NJ: most pies, near BAPS
Mamma Melina, Seattle: tomato sauce is Jain
Tutta Bella, Seattle: red sauce, but check the cheese
Blaze Pizza, Chicago: build your own on the red sauce
&pizza, Jersey City: tomato sauce is Jain
Pizza Twist, Edison: every sauce except the creamy garlic
Kona Crust, Hawaiʻi: red sauce and eggless dough
Regina Pizzeria, Boston: ask for the Original Regina Pizza Sauce

Recipes change and chains differ by location, so treat these as a reason to ask, not a guarantee.

When the sauce isn't Jain

Every pizzeria can make a pizza without sauce. Diners have used a few versions of the same workaround:

White pizza, no sauce: ordered at Frank's in East Stroudsburg and at Pizza Bar on 38th in Tokyo.
Olive oil base: Pat's Pizza in Bar Harbor swapped the tomato sauce for olive oil. The dough there is eggless, so you choose your own vegetables.
Tomato slices instead of sauce: Lilly's Pizza in Raleigh. A diner suggests calling ahead to ask.
Bring your own: at Wild West Pizzeriain West Yellowstone, the sauce isn't Jain. The staff made the pizza without it and let the family use the Jain ketchup they had brought.

Pasta: harder, not impossible

With pasta, you have to think about both the noodle and the sauce.

The noodle

Dried pasta is normally just semolina and water. Fresh pasta, including most ravioli, tagliatelle and pappardelle, is usually made with egg. At Mamma Melina, only a few pastas are eggless, including one the restaurant sources from outside.

Sauces that usually work

Olive oil and salt, butter and cheese, and cacio e pepe (cheese and black pepper). At Rubirosa in New York, the lumache cacio e pepe was reported as Jain.

Sauces to ask about

Alfredo is butter, cream and cheese, but many American kitchens add garlic. Diners were told it was Jain at Fumo in New York, Vittorino's in Sweetwater and Filippi's, so ask each time.

Sauces to avoid

Marinara, arrabbiata, vodka sauce, aglio e olio and pesto are all normally made with garlic or onion. At Rubirosa, the pasta is eggless but the vodka sauce may not be Jain.

Also watch out for gnocchi, which is made from potato, and risotto, which almost always starts with onion or shallot cooked in stock.

The cheese and dough questions

Rennet.Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano are made with animal rennet by definition. Mozzarella varies: many brands use microbial rennet, some don't. A diner at Tutta Bella flagged exactly this. At De Lorenzo's, a diner checked the brand of mozzarella and reports it has no animal products.

Egg in the dough.Standard pizza dough has none. Diners confirmed eggless dough at L'industrie, Kona Crust, Point Break and Hāna Farms on Maui, and Onyxin Springdale. Specialty crusts are the exception: at Filippi's, a diner specifically chose the gluten-free crust to get an eggless one.

Toppings and the table

Good toppings: tomato, bell peppers, olives, jalapeños, spinach, corn, basil, pineapple. A diner at Singas near the East Windsor BAPS temple swears by the jalapeño personal pizza.
Skip: onion, garlic, roasted garlic, potato, and mushrooms if you avoid them.
Finishing drizzles: one diner at Blaze tops their pizza with pesto. Traditional pesto is made with garlic, so check the ingredients first.
The shakers:“Italian seasoning” and garlic salt on the table often contain garlic powder. Chilli flakes and dried oregano on their own are fine.
Garlic bread and garlic knots usually arrive automatically at some places. Ask them not to bring them.

What to say

“Does your pizza sauce have any onion or garlic in it? What about the dough, is there egg?”

“Could I have a Margherita with no garlic anywhere, and could you check whether the cheese uses animal rennet?”

“Without onion, without garlic, without eggs.”Italian: senza cipolla, senza aglio, senza uova

Indian-style pizzerias and the bhakhri pizza

In New Jersey and California especially, Indian-owned pizzerias often list a Jain pizza on the menu, among them Bombay Curry Pizza in Iselin, Curry On Pie in Artesia and RS Pizza Bites in Piscataway. Gujarati restaurants like Honest and Choice serve bhakhri pizza, a crisp bhakhri flatbread used as the base. None of this is Italian, but all of it is easy to order.

In India, Jain Italian is often simply on the menu. The directory has 14 Italian and pizza places in India with reports, such as Baked in Bombay, where a diner says 80% of the menu is Jain, and Onomato in Mumbai for ravioli and lasagna.

Italian & pizza places where Jain diners ate

What diners reported ordering, most detail first. Kitchens change their recipes, so say “Jain” every time.

Moustache PitzaNew York, USA
Tabbouleh · Hummus with Zaatar Pizza · hummus · labneh · mozzarella pizza · greek salad · +1 more
“Has jain hummus, labneh and you can ask for the mozzarella pizza and greek salad and roasted red pepper pizza to be custom made jain”
Saci Indian BistroEdison, USA
Pasta · Burgers · Pizza · Sandwiches · Jain Momos
“Burgers, pasta, sandwiches, pizza, many items clearly marked for Jains | jain momos”
Choice Indian RestaurantKendall Park, USA
Harabhara kabab · Fantasy sandwich · Bhakhri pizza
“Lots of Jain dishes on the menu are Jain. Try Harabhara kabab, Fantasy sandwich, Bhakhri pizza”
DelfinoLondon, United Kingdom
Pizza · Pasta · Goat Cheese Salad
Honest Restaurant EdisonEdison, USA
paneer handi · Pau Bhaji · Bhakhri pizza
“Pau Bhaji, Bhakhri pizza... — Multiple locations are available including East Windsor, Somerset, and Bridgewater”
John's Pizzeria of Times SquareNew York, USA
Famous Pizza · NONG Sauce · Thin crust Margherita
“Famous Pizza, NONG Sauce, Inside of a 19th Century Church, Pie Only, Thin crust Margherita”
RubirosaNew York, USA
Tie Dye pizza · Lumache Cacio Pepe · Lumache alla Vodka
“Tie Dye pizza (without vodka sauce is Jain), Lumache Cacio Pepe (jain), Lumache alla Vodka (eggless pasta, but vodka sauce may not be Jain).”
Artichoke Basille's PizzaNew York, USA
Margherita Pizza · Cheese Pizza
Circolo PopolareLondon, United Kingdom
Pizza · Pasta
Coletta Italian Vegan RestaurantNew York, USA
Olive & Rosemary Bread · Focaccia Bread
Curry PizzaRexburg, USA
mix veg sabzi · daal
De Lorenzo's Tomato PiesRobbinsville, USA
Plain cheese pizza · Tomato Pie with basil, banana pepper, Cherry peppers, spinach, roasted pepper
“Most pizza pies have no onions no garlic sauce and can be customized.”
Filippi's Pizza Grotto Little ItalySan Diego, USA
Jain pizza · Fettuccine Alfredo pasta
“Jain pizza and fettuccine Alfredo pasta For pizza- Gluten free crust for eggless Marinara sauce contains garlic Pizza sauce is jain”
Il PostoSan Diego, USA
pizzas · pasta sauce
“Veg, non veg mix restaurant but pretty much all pizzas and pasta sauce can be made Jain.”
L'industrie Pizzeria West VillageNew York, USA
Margherita pizza · Burrata pizza
“Margarita pizza (sauce has no onion garlic) | No eggs in pizza base”
Lombardi's Miami Italian RestaurantMiami, USA
Pizza · Pasta
Mamma Melina Ristorante & PizzeriaSeattle, USA
Margherita pizza · Pasta
“Their tomato sauce is jain. Can order margherita pizza. Few pastas are eggless (one they source from outside) which can be made using the tomato sauce or olive oil”
Nicoletta | Italian restaurant in Cancun
Margarita pizza · Pasta
“Margarita pizza, pasta (tomato sauce) - no onion or garlic. No eggs in the dough”
Onyx Wood Fire Pizza, Sandwiches and SaladsSpringdale, USA
Parm cheese sauce · Dough
POP101Melbourne, Australia
Jain tikki burger · Jain fries
“The menu has jain options, tried the Jain tikki burger, it was yummy. Also has jain fries!”
RS Pizza BitesPiscataway, USA
Mexican pizza · Italian pizza
Snake River BrewingJackson, USA
walnut and Gorgonzola salad · California pizza
“They made the walnut and Gorgonzola salad and California pizza in Jain. The staff is good and you can modify other things on the me u as well. Serves non vegetarian also.”
Vegan PlanetMiami, USA
Pasta sauce · Pizza sauce
Vittorino's CucinaSweetwater, USA
Primavera Pasta · Alfredo Sauce

And 44 more on the map.

Carry the Jain food card in Italian if you're travelling in Italy, or read how to order Jain at any restaurant.

Quick answers

Is pizza sauce Jain?

Often, and more often than pasta sauce. Many pizzerias use a simple uncooked sauce of crushed tomatoes, salt, oil and herbs, with no onion or garlic. Jain diners reported this at more than twenty pizzerias in the directory. Always ask, because some sauces do contain garlic.

Is marinara sauce Jain?

Usually not. Marinara and most pasta sauces are cooked from a base of garlic and often onion. At Filippi's in San Diego, for example, the pizza sauce is Jain but the marinara contains garlic.

Is pizza dough made with egg?

Standard pizza dough is flour, water, yeast, salt and oil, and diners confirmed eggless dough at several pizzerias. Gluten-free and specialty crusts sometimes contain egg, so check those.

Is Parmesan cheese vegetarian?

Traditional Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano are always made with animal rennet, so strict vegetarians and Jains skip them. Many mozzarellas use microbial rennet, but it varies by brand, so ask.