Vegan at the Taqueria—What Do I Eat?

There’s a lot to love about Mexican food—to begin with, it’s delicious—but ordering vegan at a taqueria can be intimidating at first.

Mexico has a rich history with plant-based foods. Indigenous people in the area now known as Mexico grew beans, corn, squash, and wild greens, which are still key ingredients in Mexican cooking today. Authors Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel of the cookbook Decolonize Your Diet note that Spanish colonizers brought pigs and cows to Mesoamerica, and consuming their flesh and milk has caused health problems over generations.

Fortunately, there are just a few things you have to watch out for at Mexican restaurants today: mainly cheese, sour cream (crema), and, of course, meat. If you keep these items in mind, you’ll be able to get a great vegan burrito (or taco, or torta, or whatever) in most taquerias in America.

Without those animal-abusing ingredients, Mexican food is one of the most healthful cuisines. You’ll be eating lots of delicious beans and grilled veggies, alive with the sparkle of salsa and optionally the heat of jalapeño peppers.

Check out the typical elements of Mexican cuisine below. It doesn’t take much to create tasty and filling vegan Mexican dishes if you know what to ask for.

Tortillas

Corn tortillas are almost always vegan (and usually gluten-free). Wheat tortillas are mostly vegan, but a few are made with pig fat (lard).

Rice

Occasionally, restaurants serve rice seasoned with dead birds (chicken stock), so if that’s the case, ask about another rice option.

Beans

Whole beans in taquerias usually do not contain animal-derived ingredients, but refried beans sometimes contain pig fat.

Salsas

Sauces, including red and green hot sauce and pico de gallo (chopped onions, cilantro, and tomatoes), are almost always vegan.

Guacamole

Guacamole is usually vegan, but a restaurant occasionally sprinkles cheese on top or adds other ingredients. It never hurts to ask.

Mexican food is now the top “international” cuisine in the USA, surpassing Chinese food and even pizza. Virtually everyone in America has access to a taco. And that means there are more vegan tacos than ever, too: There’s simply no need for thinking, feeling beings like chickens and pigs to suffer and die for our food.

The best option, of course, is to find a vegan taqueria (like La Venganza in Oakland; their vegan carnitas torta is one of the greatest things I have ever put in my mouth). But nearly any taqueria—even fast-food chains like Chipotle or Taco Bell—will feed you well.

¡Buen provecho!

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