Is Pizza Halal? Pepperoni, Cheese Rennet and What to Ask

A pizza has four parts: the crust, the sauce, the cheese and the toppings. For most Muslims, the crust and a plain tomato sauce raise few questions. The real issues are:

• Meat toppings. Pork is forbidden in the Qur'an, and so is meat from an animal that was not slaughtered properly ^[1].
• Cheese. Some cheese is made with rennet from animals, and scholars differ on it ^[4].
• Sauces. A few sauces, such as vodka sauce, contain alcohol ^[7].
• Cross-contact. The same oven, cutter and hands touch every pizza in a shop.

So the honest answer is that a pizza is only as halal as its least certain ingredient.

Regular pepperoni is not halal. Hormel's original pepperoni, a common US brand, lists pork and then beef as its first ingredients ^[2]. Ham, bacon and most Italian sausage are also pork.

Turkey and beef pepperoni exist. Hormel's turkey pepperoni is made from turkey, but the product page makes no halal claim ^[3]. A meat that is halal by nature is still only halal when the animal was slaughtered with God's name said over it ^[1].

Scholars differ on meat from Jewish and Christian suppliers. One view treats it as permissible, even when the method is unknown ^[9]. A Hanafi view asks for proof that God's name was said and the throat was cut, and advises avoiding meat when that can't be checked ^[10]. For more, see pepperoni and salami.

Rennet is an enzyme that sets milk into cheese. It can come from a calf's stomach, from microbes, or from fermentation. Industry figures reported in 2012 put fermentation-produced chymosin behind about 90% of US commercial cheese ^[6]. Darul Iftaa Chicago, a Hanafi institute, says most American cheese uses non-animal rennet and that such cheese is halal ^[5].

When the rennet does come from an animal that was not slaughtered Islamically, the schools split. Abu Hanifa held that this rennet stays pure. Most Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis held that it does not ^[4]. Rennet from pigs is not accepted ^[5].

Pizza shops rarely list their cheese supplier on the menu, so ask. Read more on mozzarella, rennet and cheese pizza.

Classic tomato pizza sauce rarely contains alcohol, but some specialty pizzas use vodka sauce. Islamic Services of America says accredited halal certifiers accept no beer, wine or spirits at any stage of cooking. It notes that some people believe the alcohol cooks off, while others say its presence is enough to rule it out ^[7]. See vodka sauce.

Mix-ups also happen. In 2017, a Dearborn, Michigan customer sued a Little Caesars store, alleging that pizzas sold in boxes marked halal were topped with pork pepperoni ^[8]. These were allegations in a lawsuit, not proven facts. The lesson is simple: a sticker is not a certificate.

1. Is the meat halal, and who certifies it? Ask for the certifier's name, not just the word "halal."
2. Is the pepperoni beef, turkey or pork? Many shops stock only pork pepperoni.
3. What rennet is in the cheese? A shop can check its supplier's spec sheet.
4. Are halal and pork toppings kept apart? Ask about separate bins, cutters and gloves.
5. Does any sauce contain wine or vodka?

For the big chains, see our pages on Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars and Papa John's. For smaller chains that advertise halal options, see pages such as Pizza Twist.

If you're unsure, ask a scholar you trust.