Hidden Animal Ingredients in Italian Food (Rennet, Anchovy and Guanciale)

Italian food has a reputation for simple, honest ingredients, but it hides animal products in places that catch vegetarians off guard. The cheese is not always vegetarian, the tomato sauce sometimes has fish in it, and the cured pork is everywhere even when you cannot see it.

Key Takeaways

• Parmesan and other hard Italian cheeses use animal rennet, so they are not vegetarian.
• Anchovies hide in some tomato sauces, like puttanesca, and in Worcestershire-style seasonings.
• Guanciale, pancetta and prosciutto are cured pork, and they appear in carbonara, amatriciana and antipasti.
• Fresh pasta often contains egg, and risotto is usually cooked in meat stock with butter and parmesan.

TL;DR: Italian food hides animal products in cheese rennet, anchovies and cured pork. Parmesan is not vegetarian, and pork and fish hide in sauces that look meat-free.

The cheese problem: rennet

The biggest Italian gotcha is the cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano are made with animal rennet, which comes from the stomachs of calves, so they are not vegetarian. A food writer put it plainly: this is the Italian cheese vegetarians should avoid, because the production rules require animal rennet (The Takeout, retrieved 2026-08-25).

That means a plate of pasta with “just cheese” is not vegetarian if the cheese is Parmesan. The same applies to Pecorino Romano. Softer cheeses like mozzarella or ricotta may use microbial rennet, but it varies by brand.

Anchovy: the fish in the sauce

Anchovies are the quiet ingredient in Italian cooking. They dissolve into:

• Puttanesca sauce (anchovies are a core ingredient)
• Some marinara-style sauces and aglio e olio variations
• Bagna cauda (a warm anchovy-garlic dip)
• Worcestershire-style seasonings in a few recipes

Because anchovy melts into the sauce, a “vegetable” pasta can be fish-based without any visible fish.

Cured pork: guanciale and pancetta

Italian pork hides in the famous pastas:

• Carbonara (guanciale, cured pork cheek)
• Amatriciana (guanciale)
• Prosciutto and salumi on antipasti platters
• Lard (strutto) in some traditional doughs and frying

These are obvious when listed, but easy to miss when the menu says “pasta with egg and cheese.”

The egg and stock layer

• Fresh pasta (pasta fresca) is usually made with egg, so it is vegetarian but not vegan.
• Risotto is cooked in meat stock and finished with butter and parmesan, so it is usually not vegetarian unless made with vegetable stock.

How to order

1. Ask if the cheese is Parmesan/Pecorino (animal rennet) or a rennet-free cheese.
2. Ask if the sauce has anchovy or fish.
3. For vegan, request no cheese, no egg pasta and no butter.
4. Check that risotto is made with vegetable stock.

See our Italy common-ingredients guide for a fuller list.

The bottom line

Italian food hides animal products in its cheese, its sauces and its cured pork. Parmesan is the biggest surprise, anchovy the sneakiest, and pork the most common. Ask about the cheese and the sauce, and you will catch most of it.

Check before you eat. The Verify Veg app scans a barcode or reads an ingredient list from a photo and flags ingredients against your diet (vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher, Jain and more). Download on the App Store - Android is coming soon.

Written by Samir Narain, founder of Verify Veg. Verify Veg helps people check packaged food against their diet by scanning barcodes and reading ingredient lists from photos.

Note: Verify Veg provides ingredient-based compatibility checks, not certification. Recipes and preparations vary by restaurant, region and cook, so always confirm with the restaurant, brand or vendor.