Vegan Foods for Latinos
By Lucia Rivera, VRG intern
4 Day Menu of Latin American Vegan Dishes
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | |
| Breakfast | Plantain empanadas filled with beans and a side of fruit salad | Vegan chilaquiles with vegan soy “cheese” and vegan “chicken” | Vegan soy chorizo, refried beans, and guacamole | Gallo pinto (stovetop beans and rice mixture) and corn tortillas |
| Lunch | Vegetable fajita tacos (made with mushroom, bell peppers, zucchini, onion, and tomatoes) | Refried bean and rice burrito in wheat tortilla (vegan cheese alternative is optional) | Tostada topped with pinto beans, cabbage, tomato, and avocado with a side of fried potatoes | Sweet corn tamales with side of beans and red rice |
| Dinner | Bean pupusas with tomato-based salsa and avocado, with a side of tostones (baked plantain circles) | Gallo pinto (fried red beans and rice) with fried ripe plantains | Vegan pozole (with jackfruit, hominy, lentils, and pinto beans) with tortilla chips | Sopa de fideos (angel hair pasta soup in tomato base) with fried potato tacos |
| Snacks | Fried yucca with salsa | Vegan avena caliente (hot oatmeal and plant-milk) | Fresh fruit | Dried fruit and nuts |
Abuela’s tamales, your favorite soups and stews, and the best tacos you have ever had – and all vegan. The sphere of Latin American traditional and adapted recipes include some amazing vegan options for anyone who wishes to enjoy the culinary aspect of the Latinx culture while staying true to their own ethical lifestyle. As a vegetarian Latina who loves food, I can undoubtedly say that despite the most common Latin American dishes being stuffed, flavored, mixed with, or primarily consisting of meat and dairy products, Latinx vegans and vegetarians do, in fact, exist! There are numerous ways for someone used to traditional Latin American food to enjoy that part of their culture while adapting to veganism, whether it be through replacing ingredients or simply avoiding them. As a large part of the Latinx culture, food is central to connecting with others and can be enjoyed by all eaters, including vegetarians and vegans.
Any Latinx recipes can be altered to replace chicken, beef, pork, or any other meat with soy or vegetable faux meat. Tacos are a classic example of a popular Latin American meal that can easily be made vegan with some black beans, soy-based ground beef, and any choice of vegan toppings. Toppings range from vegetable-based salsas, to sour cream-free guacamole, to the simple additions of lime, salt, chiles, and diced onion. It is also not uncommon for taco trucks or shops to offer a vegetarian or vegan option, which goes to show how simple these changes can be. I have personally had delicious jackfruit tacos, soy “fish” and chip tacos, and vegetable and mushroom fajita tacos that each offered an amazing vegan alternative to traditional taco recipes.
As someone with Mexican and Nicaraguan heritage, I am mostly writing about Mexican and Central American dishes in this article. Therefore, options I mention in this article are only a few of the thousands of recipes from Latin America. For example, in some South American countries like Venezuela, quinoa is used as a great, nutritious vegan option that can be added to taco recipes.
When eating out however (especially at traditional restaurants), some orders that may appear vegan could surprisingly contain animal products. Examples of this are when some restaurants fry beans and tortillas in lard, or when chicken broth is used to cook rice. It can help vegans to ask the waiter or chef at a restaurant to confirm a dish is animal product-free, especially if one has concerns about a specific ingredient like refined sugar. While sweet corn tamales made by a relative might not include sugar or sour cream, at an unfamiliar restaurant it would be safer to double check. For home cooking, all dairy and meat ingredients can be replaced with a number of plant-based alternatives of one’s own preference. It is easier to enjoy these possibilities in one’s own home where you have the opportunity to experiment with your own cooking. Whether Latin American vegan dishes are prepared at home or enjoyed at a restaurant, they fully transmit all the tradition, culture, and deliciousness of traditional Latinx recipes.
Alternatively, if one does not want to put replacement meat and dairy to use, there are other options that can satisfy comfort food cravings. For example, even though Salvadoran pupusas (stovetop-cooked tortilla-like dough encased around a filling) can be stuffed with chicken, they also can be ordered or prepared filled with delicious beans or loroco, which is an edible flower that is grown in Central America. Important staple ingredients for many Latin American dishes are also coincidentally vegan. These include both corn and wheat tortillas, guacamole (most of the time), rice, and lots of salsas. Luckily, many different vegetables are staples in Latin American foods, ranging from corn to squash to chile.
Legumes of different kinds are also found all over Latin America at almost every dinner table and restaurant, offering the perfect chance for a vegan meal. Someone who refrains from eating meat can still get tons of nutrients from the daily serving of beans that is common in most Latinx households. Most Latin American countries and regions have a specific type of bean that they mostly use. In Nicaragua it is a smaller reddish bean, while in Mexico more often recipes use pinto beans. Besides many different types of beans, varying kinds of lentils and peas are popular in recipes like pigeon peas used in the Puerto Rican, arroz con gandules which can be vegan-ized with a soy “pork” alternative. Overall, vegetables and fruits are typically found in breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whether in a main dish or as a side. An example of this is the avocado, which is used to give many vegan salsas a creamier texture and used as a topping on a range of dishes. As a side dip, guacamole is an essential component to Mexican meals, as is an option of cabbage to top off one’s platter.
For people who have recently become vegan and wish to find ways to adjust their own favorite recipes, the internet is a great place to get inspiration. Although it may not have been true a few years ago, there is now an abundance of cookbooks, blogs, and single recipes aimed right at the Latinx and vegan demographic. Some examples of recipe alterations that are suggested include replacing lentils for ground meat, using cashew-lime cream, tofu on tostadas, or jackfruit in tacos. Another option to try is using a replacement for cheese in Latin American dishes, which can be done at home with nutritional yeast and vegetables, or can be bought at many grocery stores. Vegan cheese is another way to adapt a non-vegan recipe without falling far from its traditional components! With recipes like these available on the internet, it is not such a daunting task to take on veganism and stay connected with the food of your culture.
To view more Latin American vegan recipes, peruse the links below:
Colombian Andean Vegan Cuisine
Glossary:
Chilaquiles – traditional baked Mexican dish of layered tortilla, filling, and sauce
Empanada – Crispy outer dough encased around a choice of filling (can be sweet or savory)
Plantain – a fruit, similar to a banana, used in many Latin American recipes
Pozole – type of Mexican soup traditionally made with hominy, meat (you can use a vegan meat), and vegetables
Pupusa – stovetop-cooked tortilla-like dough encased around a filling
