Vegan cuisine isn't what comes to mind when I think of New Orleans. From crawfish étouffée to shrimp creole, and jambalaya to po boys, New Orleans isn't the most vegan-friendly city I have been to. But even though Louisiana signature cuisine is pretty much off limits to vegans, vegan food can still be found here. Here are my top 5 vegan-friendly restaurants in New Orleans!
The Gumbo Shop - 630 St Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116
You cannot visit New Orleans without trying some gumbo and po boys, vegan or not! So the Gumbo Shop, located in the French Quarter, was a must as that was the only place I knew of that had either one. The gumbo soup was seasoned with creole spices and filled with red beans, rice, and okra while the po boy was white sandwich bread filled with grilled vegetables. Both were light yet satisfying, perfect for lunch. The vegan/vegetarian menu is separate from the regular menu so ask for it upon arriving.
Dat Dog - 601 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Dat Dog is another vegan-friendly restaurant perfect for lunch, with three vegan dogs on the menu. With Spicy Chipotle, Field Roast Italian, and Smoked Apple Sage veggie dogs, they give vegans interesting options rather than a plain flavored hot dog. For toppings there is a long list to choose from, making every dog unique to your taste. Out of the Field Roast Italian and the Smoked Apple Sage veggie dogs, the Apple Sage was my favorite, topping them both with ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions. The veggie dogs pair great with the seasoned fries too!
Mid City Pizza - 4400 Banks St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Mid City Pizza was one of my favorite restaurants to eat at while in New Orleans. In my opinion they not only have the best pizza in NOLA, but the best pizza I've ever had. I got the 18 inch build your own 5 topping pizza with daiya cheese, artichokes, green bell pepper, mushrooms, and black olives, and it was so big it took my boyfriend and I three meals to finish it all. We still had some the next day. Definitely worth $20.
Sukhothai - 2200 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70117
Another one of my favorite restaurants, not only in New Orleans but in the world, is Sukhothai. It's a good thing I don't live in New Orleans as I would go broke here. They have an extensive list of vegan options so if you love Asian food this is the place to go. My boyfriend and I ordered the fried eggplant, glass noodles, and pad thai. If we hadn't discovered this restaurant on our last day in New Orleans, I would have loved to have eaten here more so I could try every vegan thing on their menu. Loved their large portions also. One thing to keep in mind is that they close in the middle of the day then open back up later, so check the times before you go to make sure they aren't closed.
Seed - 1330 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70130
The last restaurant is Seed. This is the only 100% vegan restaurant I know of in New Orleans. It makes it nice for vegans to go to a restaurant and not having to worry about if we can eat it or not. Here I tried the chili cheese fries, eggplant pomodoro which is basically fried eggplant over spaghetti, zucchini salad, and beignets. Yes, beignets! The only place in NOLA with vegan beignets, and is actually how I found out about this restaurant. My favorites were the salad and the beignets, funny because I don't like salad, but I loved the flavor the filling inside the zucchini rolls gave.
That is it for my top 5 vegan restaurants in New Orleans. It took my boyfriend and I forever to find vegan options so I hope this list helps hungry vegans in NOLA. Definitely give these restaurants a try for delicious vegan food! Also make sure to check out my New Orleans video on YouTube!
