Latin American cooking has a lot to offer vegetarians. Beans, corn, rice, plantains, squash, avocado and chiles are everyday ingredients across the region. The catch is that many dishes that look meat-free are traditionally made with lard, meat stock or small amounts of pork or seafood. This guide separates naturally vegetarian dishes from ones that need adapting, and includes two simple recipes.
Traditionally vegetarian versus adapted dishes
Some dishes are meat-free by nature, such as fried or baked plantains, plain rice, guacamole, many bean preparations that do not use pork, and tortillas made with oil. Others are easy to adapt, such as stews, soups and tamales that normally use stock, lard or meat fillings. A third group, such as ceviche, is built around seafood and only works as a vegetarian dish if you substitute a different main ingredient, such as cauliflower or hearts of palm.
Vegetarian and vegan are not the same. Cheese, crema, eggs and butter appear throughout Latin American cooking, so many “vegetarian” dishes include dairy. If you eat a vegan diet, ask or check each recipe.
Hidden animal ingredients to ask about
When ordering out or following a traditional recipe, it helps to check:
- Lard in refried beans, tortillas and tamale masa.
- Chicken or beef stock in rice, soups and bean stews.
- Pork or bacon added to a pot of beans for flavor.
- Fish or shrimp in sauces, pastes or toppings.
- Gelatin in some desserts.
Cooking at home removes most of the uncertainty.
Staples: beans, corn, rice and plantains
- Beans: black, red, pink and pinto beans vary by country and are the backbone of many vegetarian meals.
- Corn: tortillas, arepas, tamales and soups.
- Rice: usually served alongside beans.
- Plantains: sweet (ripe) or starchy (green), fried, baked or boiled.
- Squash, potatoes, yuca and sweet potatoes appear in stews and fillings.
Dishes to try from Central America and the Caribbean
- Pupusas from El Salvador are thick corn tortillas stuffed with fillings. Bean and cheese is a common vegetarian filling, and some cooks also use loroco, a flower bud. Confirm that the beans were not cooked with lard.
- Baleadas from Honduras fold refried beans, crema and cheese into a flour tortilla. Our guide to traditional Honduran food recipes has a recipe.
- Gallo pinto, the rice and beans of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is often vegetarian if cooked with oil rather than meat fat.
- Habichuelas guisadas from Puerto Rico are stewed beans with sofrito. Use water or vegetable stock and skip any cured pork. See our Puerto Rican Instant Pot recipes for the sofrito base.
- Cuban lentil soup can be made without meat and is often served with plantains.
- Tostones and maduros are fried green and ripe plantains.
Mexican vegetarian dishes
Many people ask what Mexican food vegetarians can eat. Common options include:
- Bean tacos or burritos, if the beans were not cooked with lard
- Cheese or squash blossom quesadillas
- Enchiladas filled with cheese, beans, corn or sweet potato
- Chiles rellenos stuffed with cheese
- Guacamole, salsa and pico de gallo
- Nopales (cactus) dishes
- Esquites and elote (corn)
- Chilaquiles, ordered with a meat-free sauce
Rice and refried beans at restaurants are the most common places for hidden animal fat, so it is reasonable to ask.
South American ideas
South America offers papas rellenas (potato croquettes) with vegetable fillings, empanadas with cheese or beans (see our guides to food and drinks in Colombia for arepas and empanadas, and special foods in Ecuador for ceviche and more), Colombian-style black bean stew, Brazilian-style black beans served with rice, and vegetable versions of moqueca made with plantain, hearts of palm and coconut milk. Chilean pastel de choclo can be made with a mushroom or eggplant filling in place of beef.
Recipe: simple black beans
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black beans, rinsed
- 1 small onion, half left whole and half finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Salt, cumin and lime juice to taste
Method
- Cover the beans with water, add the whole half onion, two garlic cloves and the bay leaf, and simmer until tender. This often takes one to two hours, depending on the beans.
- In a separate pan, soften the chopped onion and remaining garlic in oil. Add a ladle of beans with some liquid, mash a few, then stir everything together.
- Season with salt and a little cumin, and finish with lime juice.
- Serve with rice, avocado and tortillas.
Recipe: baked or fried plantains
Choose plantains that are yellow with black spots for a sweet result, or green for a starchy one.
- Baked maduros: slice ripe plantain on a diagonal, toss with a little oil, and bake in a hot oven, turning once, until browned at the edges.
- Tostones: cut green plantain into thick rounds, fry briefly, flatten, then fry again until crisp. Salt immediately.
Top Latin American dishes with vegetarian versions
If you are looking for a short list of dishes to try, these often come up and have vegetarian versions: tacos, pupusas, empanadas, arepas, tamales, gallo pinto, ceviche (with vegetable substitutes) and plantain dishes. There is no single answer to what the world’s most delicious vegetarian dish is, so use this list as a starting point.
Building a meal
A balanced plate in this style might be beans, rice, a plantain, something fresh like avocado or a cabbage salad, and tortillas. Add a salsa or pickled onion for acidity. Vegetarians who skip meat entirely may want to pay attention to protein variety, and combining beans with grains is a long-standing tradition in these cuisines.