Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Best Vegan and Vegetarian Food
As interest in meatless and plant-based eating grows, Twin Cities restaurants have made meaningful strides to meet the demand. From eateries that offer a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options to innovative chefs creating entirely plant-based menus, Minneapolis and St. Paul are becoming increasingly welcoming to plant-forward diners.
Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or just exploring more sustainable meals, there's no shortage of spots to discover across the metro. Here are some of the area's best plant-based and vegetarian-friendly restaurants.
Plant-Based Restaurants
Francis Burger Joint
Francis Burger Joint began as a food truck before opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Northeast Minneapolis in early 2023. The restaurant specializes in plant-based burgers and chicken sandwiches, complemented by a range of flavorful sides like buffalo and chopped cheese fries, chips with chive dip, pasta salad, lemon pepper-fried cauliflower and mustard slaw. Its patties feature a variety of meat alternatives, including Impossible meat, black beans and plant-based chorizo.
In fall 2024, Francis expanded with a second location on East Lake Street. Its flagship also offers a full brunch menu on weekends, featuring everything from a chicken waffle sandwich to plant-based eggs Benedict.
Hard Times Cafe
Hard Times Cafe has been a mainstay in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis since the 1990s, serving an entirely vegetarian menu with plenty of vegan options. This employee-owned collective operates in a no-frills, grungy coffeehouse setting and accepts only cash and Venmo.
Judging by its merch — shirts that say things like "Hail Seitan" — it also has a sense of humor.
Open daily from 8 a.m. to midnight, Hard Times serves classic comfort food with a meatless twist: Seitan Phillys, Tempeh Reubens and Korean BBQ Tofu Buns. All breakfast items are available in vegetarian or vegan versions, and a variety of baked goods are clearly labeled to indicate whether they’re vegan, gluten-free or otherwise allergen-friendly.
The Herbivorous Butcher
The Herbivorous Butcher has served plant-based “meats” and “cheeses” at its Northeast Minneapolis butcher counter since 2016. Founded by siblings Aubry and Kale Walch, the shop is built on the belief that people go vegan for their health and the planet — not because meat and dairy taste bad.
Counter offerings include plant-based sausages, ribs, steaks, chicken, meatloaf and cold cuts, along with a rotating selection of cheeses. Ready-to-eat favorites include the longtime bestselling Italian Cold Cut Sandwich and the Turkey Havarti Dill, as well as specials like a Guam-inspired Huli Huli Rib Hot Panini featured on Guy Fieri's "Triple D Nation".
You’ll also find Herbivorous Butcher products served at restaurants and other establishments across the Twin Cities, and the shop’s website includes a handy locator.
J. Selby’s
J. Selby’s opened in St. Paul’s Summit-University neighborhood in 2017, serving plant-based comfort food in a breezy fast-casual setting. The menu spans breakfast favorites, burgers, sandwiches, salads and wraps, and sometimes includes specials like an innovative take on filet mignon offered on Valentine’s Day.
Another standout treat is the oat-milk soft serve, available as a sundae, shake, float or “frostbite” — a thicker, spoonable shake.
Life Juices Super Food Bar
Located on Lexington Parkway in St. Paul, Life Juices Super Food Bar specializes in plant-based, cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices. This fully vegan shop also offers smoothies, smoothie bowls and two varieties of jackfruit tacos.
Founded by Kali Terry, Life Juices is committed to using all-organic ingredients sourced from local farmers and food producers in Minnesota, with a mission to provide nutritious options to underserved communities.
Lulu EthioVegan
Lulu EthioVegan opened in fall 2023 in Minneapolis’ Stevens Square neighborhood, serving traditional vegan Ethiopian dishes, many of them gluten-free. The menu highlights lentils, fava beans, mushrooms and split peas in place of meat, with plenty of vegetables throughout.
Combination platters make it easy to sample a range of main dishes, including miser wot (spiced red lentil stew), shiro wot (slow-simmered chickpea stew) and ater kik (mild split pea stew). Meals are served with injera, a soft, tangy flatbread available gluten-free on request.
Reverie Cafe + Bar
Reverie Cafe + Bar has been a plant-based staple in Minneapolis since 2015. It first opened in a brick-and-mortar space in the Stevens Square neighborhood before transitioning to a food truck, which quickly became one of the Twin Cities’ most popular mobile eateries.
Thanks to an enthusiastic crowdfunding effort, Reverie found its permanent home in the Powderhorn neighborhood in 2019, where it now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner — along with a full coffee bar, beer, wine and more.
Menu highlights include the cardamom-infused Cinnamon Roll of Unusual Size, lemongrass tofu tacos, tempeh BLTs, a crave-worthy breakfast burrito, and a Long Haul burger served with roasted shiitake mushrooms, herbed chevre, Worcestershire-horseradish aioli and arugula.
Reverie’s owners, Kirstin Wiegmann and Jeff Therkelsen, opened a separate plant-based restaurant, Dreamstate Café, in Uptown Minneapolis in 2025. Along with creative sandwiches and tacos that wouldn’t look out of place at Reverie — corned beef seitan and chili crisp mock duck, anyone? — it also serves dynamic entrees like a lion’s mane steak with roasted corn, black bean mole, potato threads, radish, avocado puree and cilantro, as well as linguine starring oyster mushroom “scallops.”
Trio Plant-Based
Chef Louis Hunter brought plant-based Southern comfort food to Minneapolis when he opened Trio Plant-Based in 2018. Considered Minnesota’s first Black-owned vegan restaurant, Trio Plant-Based serves hearty soul food, including bowls, mac & cheese, burgers, onion rings, cauliflower wings and jackfruit fries.
It’s now located at Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market, an influential food hall featuring international cuisine and vendors from East Africa, Morocco, Mexico, Jamaica, Tibet and more.
Vegan East
Vegan East specializes in plant-based baked goods near Lake Nokomis in South Minneapolis. The bakery offers a daily selection of cupcakes in flavors like carrot cake, chocolate fudge, cookie dough and cookies and cream, along with gluten-free options such as strawberries and cream and chocolate raspberry.
Brownies, cake slices and sweet loaves round out the menu. Cakes and cupcakes can also be preordered for special occasions.
Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants
French Meadow
French Meadow Bakery & Cafe has been a Twin Cities staple for more than 40 years, with locations in Uptown Minneapolis and St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland neighborhood. The certified organic bakery serves brunch, lunch and dinner with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
Standouts include the Morning Quesadilla for breakfast, the Healing Plate with grilled tempeh for lunch, and the Sweet & Sour Tofu Bowl for dinner. Save room for dessert; local favorites include the Rose Cake and Vegan Turtle Cake.
Gai Noi
Gai Noi in Minneapolis’ Loring Park neighborhood specializes in Laotian cuisine. Since opening in May 2023, it has earned national recognition, including a spot on The New York Times’ list of the 50 best restaurants in the United States. Vegan and vegetarian standouts include Lao Yum Salad, Laab Tofu, Drunken Udon and Yellow Curry, along with a range of sides.
Gai Noi doesn’t take reservations, so plan to arrive early and check in at the host stand. With Loring Park across the street and the Walker Sculpture Garden nearby, it’s an easy place for a scenic stroll while you wait.
Hai Hai
The James Beard Award-winning Hai Hai in Northeast Minneapolis offers a vibrant selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes. Inspired by the Southeast Asian street food chef Christina Nguyen grew up with, the menu leans toward bright, herbaceous and spicy flavors.
Standout plant-based options include Salt & Pepper Fried Tofu, Eggplant Sambal Dip, Hanoi Sticky Rice with mock duck, and specials like Crispy Oyster & Shiitake Mushrooms with green chili-lime salt and vegan Shan Tofu dressed with tamarind, lime and tamari sauce and garnished with lime leaf, shallots, peanuts and herbs.
Modern Times Cafe
Modern Times in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn neighborhood pairs a punk, DIY vibe with comforting greasy spoon fare, including what one Google reviewer called “actually good vegan and veggie alternatives.” Nearly every dish can be made vegetarian or vegan, and many are served that way by default.
Open for breakfast and lunch, the café is especially popular for brunch, often served with warm tortillas. Menu highlights include Hashbrown or Polenta Rancheros, tofu scramble hashes, vegan donuts, and the Barbara Ann Burger, a house-made English muffin with a tempeh patty topped with cucumber, red onion, spring mix and basil mayo.
Pizza Lucé
Pizza Lucé makes ordering meatless dishes easy with convenient “vegan” and “vegetarian” filters on its online menu. Plant-based cheese and meat alternatives are also available for many of its signature pizzas.
Highlights include the Herbaceous Gouda Vegan Hoagie with mock chicken and vegan versions of popular pies like the Athena, Ruby and Luce. With multiple locations across the Twin Cities, Pizza Lucé is a reliable choice for dining in or ordering out.
Salsa a la Salsa
The family-owned Salsa a la Salsa has been serving the Twin Cities since 2003 from its home in the Midtown Global Market. Using traditional ingredients like corn husks, banana leaves, cactus and papaya, the restaurant offers a dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu that reimagines Central Mexican classics for plant-based diners.
Highlights include hearts-of-palm ceviche, black bean and grilled veggie tamales, plantain and cheese enchiladas and nopalitos.
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