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The Vegan’s Guide to New Orleans

10/11/2018 by Kristin Addis 11 Comments

Traveling to New Orleans as a vegan? I got you covered with all of the best places with vegan options in New Orleans - it's a delicious journey ;) #NewOrleans #VeganTravelTips
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When you think of New Orleans, delicious vegan food may not immediately jump to mind. Well, friends, allow me to bring good news: there is plenty of vegan food in the Big Easy and it is delicious!

Here are a few of the best vegan options in New Orleans:

Table of Contents

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  • The French Quarter:
  • Bywater:
  • CBD:
  • Read Next:
  • Best Places to Stay in New Orleans

The French Quarter:

The French Quarter is known for that iconic New Orleans architecture and of course, Bourbon Street. This compact neighborhood is perfect for a day of exploring on foot, though you’re going to work up an appetite! Here are a few great vegan options to try:

Killer Poboy

killer poboy vegan new orleans

When in NOLA it makes sense to try some traditional fare, right? That’s almost always going to mean some variations on a theme, and Killer PoBoys has two! I read good things about the sweet potato poboy but not wanting to go carb on carb, I went for the cauliflower poboy with crispy kale, pickled radish, avocado, and roasted cauliflower, which the lady at the register said was the staff favorite (and mind you they have meat options too!). It was delicious, and I’m still thinking about that pickled radish, which I didn’t expect to be my favorite part of the sandwich.

Meals From The Heart Cafe

vegan new orleans meals from the heart

Even though I’m not a crab fan, the positive reviews I read about the vegan crab cake with chickpeas inspired me to order it and OMG, it was delicious! The vegan gumbo paled in comparison flavor-wise, but it’s still a solid 7/10. Bonus: You can order from these guys on Uber Eats and get it delivered to your door. That said, they’re located in the French Market which is absolutely worth a visit.

Green Goddess

Green Goddess was, unfortunately, closed when I was in New Orleans. So if you want to go, just know that they’re not open on Mondays or Tuesdays! However I’m still mentioning them here because they have many vegan options as well as food that will please omnivores. The mushroom pate and lemongrass tofu seem to be crowdpleasers!

Bywater:

The Bywater is too cool, full of art and hipster cafes. While in New Orleans you simply must stop by, and make sure you’re hungry when you do because the food is delicious. Here are a few of my favorites:

Sneaky Pickle

bywater sneaky pickle

This place sounds like a play on words for something, ahem, else, but their food is darn good. The tempeh flat bread is a loosely interpreted tempeh of white bean, which confused me at first. However it quickly won me over with the lentils, quinoa, and magical creamy sauce. The vegan Mac n cheese with peas and peppers was a nice main. I’d go back!

Paloma Cafe

vegan new orleans paloma cafe

Immediately upon walking in I liked the place with its laid back and friendly vibe. Most of the vegan options are the breakfast foods so get there before 3pm. The avocado toast with crispy chickpeas is a nice mix of textures and flavors, and I loved the matcha latte with oat milk. The horchata chia pudding with carmelized banana was way, way too sweet for me. However I began to see a running theme after eating three meals that were too sweet while in NOLA – I think the problem is with me, and the South is probably sweeter by nature than California standards. Bonus: the waiter came back with a handwritten list of his favorite places in the Bywater when I told him I was exploring and open to suggestions. Now that’s going above and beyond!

Dat Dog

This joint has not one, but three vegan hotdogs! Choose from the spicy chipotle dog with chipotle and garlic, the field roast Italian dog with eggplant and fennel, or the smoked apple sage with apples and ginger. From here it’s a quick walk to Frenchmen Street to see some live jazz and blues.

CBD:

The Central Business District, in contrast to the French Quarter and Bywater, features skyscrapers and a more local crowd. This is also where I found most of the vegan food in the city, along with Big Easy Bucha, which offers brewery tours!

Seed

vegan new orleans seed

Seed is 100% plant based comfort food, helping you to miss things like chicken nuggets, Mac n cheese, and BBQ sandwiches a bit less. They do a pretty good job with the imitations using soy and my favorite vegan junk food: Seitan. Pictured above are the artichoke cakes and nuggets with buffalo sauce, which were delish.

All is not lost if you’d prefer healthier food as their raw menu has a pretty tasty take on a zucchini noodle Pad Thai. Though at the time of this writing they only have the CBD location, it looks like a Bywater location is in the works next to the Healing Center.

Big Easy Bucha

vegan new orleans big easy bucha

If you’re eating at Seed, then do stop by Big Easy Bucha for some delicious kombucha with locally sourced flavors including satsuma (similar to an orange), geaux green (cucumber- my favorite!) and hibiscus ginger goodness. I just love the personality of it, and it’s super cool to be able to see how it’s made – a rarity in the kombucha world. You’ll also get a chance to taste the flavors on tap and take photos inside as well!

Mac n Moon

vegan new orleans auction house market

For vegans who miss macarons, there’s good news: Mac n Moon has over 20 flavors including bananas foster and red velvet and they are all vegan! These are a lot sweeter than I usually like my macarons, that said they deserve applause for figuring out how to make eggless, gluten free macarons at all. You can find their stall in the Auction House Market.

Jaxx

Also in the Auction House Market, Jaxx is great for a morning smoothie. I liked the avocado one in particular and for the most part, enjoyed the flavors of their spinach salad loaded with beans and cauliflower, but was pretty disappointed by the undercooked sweet potato. I’m sure it’s usually cooked through but unfortunately mine was not. Don’t worry, I let them know!

Carmo

vegan new orleans carmo

I felt spoiled for choice looking at the menu at Carmo, which was full of vegan options. The flavor of the creole avocado appetizer was smokey, tangy, and delectable, but the rice, raisin, pineapple salad was a bit too sweet for me with vegan ham (soy) and what I think was canned pineapple. I’m not sure that it needed to cost $14.

That said I probably just didn’t order the right thing, and based on the appetizer alone, I would go back. Almost all of the desserts are vegan too, which is cause for major excitement, no? The Kahlua pecan chocolate cake was to die for – both rich in flavor and generous in size. Leave room!

Bearcat Cafe

vegan new orleans bearcat cafe

This cute cafe has a few vegan breakfast options including the vegan quesadilla, vegan scramble with tofu, and the vegan ranchero. Their espresso drinks are delish as well with homemade coconut milk on offer.

Midnight Noodle

Craving some Asian flavors? Midnight Noodle offers up Taiwanese street food with scallion pancakes, with Udon bok choy, and mushroom filled potstickers. All the food is vegan and it is quite popular with HappyCow reviewers!

While far from an exhaustive list, these were the delicious options I discovered while in NOLA and would recommend. Initially I feared for a vegan, New Orleans would be almost impossible, but the vegan scene is thriving and growing each day!

Have you tried any of these places out? Have any to add? I’d love to discover even more vegan deliciousness in New Orleans because girl, I am most definitely going back.

Read Next:

Best Places to Stay in New Orleans

Looking for vegan options in New Orleans? This guide covers the best places with vegan options in the Big Easy. Bookmark this guide for your next trip to New Orleans! #NewOrleans #VeganTravelTips
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About Kristin Addis

Kristin Addis is the founder and CEO of Be My Travel Muse, a resource for female travelers all around the world since 2012. She's traveled solo to over 65 countries and has brought over 150 women on her all-female adventure tours from Botswana to the Alaskan tundra.

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Comments

  1. GG says

    10/11/2018 at 11:03 am

    Hey Kristin: This is an amazing list and what I like about it is how honest you are about the experience, yet forgiving to the places. You could make a great food critic! It is great to have someone who travels like you do and can get personal recommendations like this from these places. It is interesting how places you expect to be vegan/vegetarian friendly aren’t and those that wouldn’t be are! My biggest pleasant surprise was Colorado. In my planning for New Orleans not too far down the road I was intrigued by these few places, but didn’t realize how many great options there were and so classy:

    1. Breads on Oak Cafe and Bakery: 8640 Oak Street, New Orleans, LA 70130: Kind of standard fare, I am not gluten-free, only the energy bar is.
    2. Nguyen in Nola: 2521 Jena St, New Orleans, LA 70125 A totally vegan Vietnamese restaurant! It is new so don’t know how good it is but I am going there unless hear otherwise! However, it is a “pop-up” restaurant so you have to check their website or instagram to see when and where they are open (usually at the given address). When they are open it is in the evenings starting at 5:30PM. Someone told me the food is delightful.
    If you are into gluten-free, they have some options I think AND ….
    3. When it is open, it is usually at the same location as your above mentioned Bearcat Cafe since it closes at 4PM!! Plenty of gluten free there at Bearcat. I think it is cool that it is sometimes two restaurants on the same day! Did you know that?

    Do you have any good recommendations for places that are vegan/vegetarian that are gluten free or are the ones you list have plenty of options?

    Thanks! Have a good day!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      10/11/2018 at 10:19 pm

      Thanks for the other suggestions! Carmo had GF stuff too.

      Reply
  2. Steph says

    10/11/2018 at 11:27 pm

    Totally could have used this list last time in NOLA. In a land of seafood and poboys… I had a hard time when i was there!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      10/12/2018 at 2:09 am

      Ah man! I could see that. Thankfully it’s becoming easier and easier to eat plant based there, and worldwide too I think.

      Reply
  3. Jason says

    05/02/2019 at 5:22 am

    Any 2019 updates?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      05/02/2019 at 7:44 pm

      These are all still around I think! This post was written right at the end of 2018.

      Reply
  4. Amy says

    01/29/2020 at 9:18 am

    This is a good start to illuminating some of the vegan eats here in NOLA. However, the majority of our vegan only establishments were missed.
    Here’s a list:
    https://www.facebook.com/TanjarineNOLA/

    https://www.facebook.com/BreadsOnOak/

    https://www.facebook.com/geauxnola.vegan/

    https://www.facebook.com/seednola/

    https://www.facebook.com/LongChimNola/

    https://www.facebook.com/yousneakypickle/

    https://www.facebook.com/maxwellneworleans/

    https://m.facebook.com/kindrednola/

    https://m.facebook.com/kinokonola/

    https://www.facebook.com/ItalGardennola/

    https://www.facebook.com/www.sweetsoulfood.net/

    https://www.facebook.com/macandmoon/

    https://www.facebook.com/JazzyberriesnthingsLLC/

    https://www.facebook.com/originalthoughtmarket/

    https://www.facebook.com/veganwitatwist/

    https://www.facebook.com/bearcatnola/

    https://www.facebook.com/ItsVeganSnackShack/

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      01/29/2020 at 9:58 am

      Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  5. Lauren says

    02/01/2020 at 8:08 am

    Sweet Soul is great!

    Reply
  6. Arcadia says

    06/06/2021 at 10:48 am

    Hi Kristin!

    Today is my 18 year veggiversary (my veganism is a legal adult now, lol) and I’m spending it as a “solo female traveler” in New Orleans!! You are most definitely my travel muse / comforting voice in believing that yes, I can travel alone as a woman and even as a VEGAN in NOLA.

    Everything on your site is inspiring but I especially wanna thank you for your Vegan’s Guide to New Orleans, cuz it’s wonderful. My first day out, I got a cup of vegan gumbo from Meals From the Heart yesterday at the French Market, per your mention. I sat on a bench facing the Mississippi River and the CCC bridge, listening to live Jazz flowing from the street. All passers by seemed to be in couples or in groups and I felt strangely empowered being here alone.

    I’m excited to try more of your recommendations during my stay, and get increasingly confident venturing out in what is my first time traveling w/o husband or children in just over 20 years.

    I appreciate you!!

    ~ Arcadia

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      06/09/2021 at 9:38 am

      AW that’s wonderful! I’m so glad that this was helpful for you and that you’re having a nice time!

      Reply

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