How to Survive Argentina as a Vegetarian

Although Argentina is famously known to be a meat-lover’s paradise, Argentinian cuisine is not all beef, chicken, and pork. There’s a wide variety of vegetarian food in Argentina, and you can find many vegetarian options in Buenos Aires. Just because you can’t eat meat, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Argentinian cuisine.

Traveling to Argentina as a Vegetarian

When my fiancé took me to meet his parents for the first time in his home city of Buenos Aires, I’ll be completely honest, the food situation was not easy. Especially since my fiancé is a carnivore, which didn’t help the situation. Had I known these other local and traditional vegetarian food options from the start of my trip, my visit would have been a lot simpler.

That being said, Buenos Aires has plenty of vegetarian restaurants and restaurants with vegetarian options.

So here’s a list of vegetarian foods that you can find in Argentina!
For convenience I’ve marked all vegan options with 🌱.

Pizza

Pizza de Cancha 🌱

Pizza de cancha is cheeseless pizza, and it’s actually vegan! It’s just dough and tomato sauce and my father-in-law to be loves it. Cancha means stadium in Spanish and according to the legend, it used to be sold outside of the Atlanta (soccer team of Villa Crespo neighborhood) matches.

Faina 🌱

Faina is another vegan food option on this list. It’s a triangular slice of thick pancake made from chickpea flower. Usually pizza parlors offer two options, regular faina or faina de verdeo which has green onion in it. I found it a great way to pack in protein and it makes for a fantastic snack. You’ll find faina in just about every pizzeria in Buenos Aires, so it makes for an easy way to satiate your hunger on the go.

Empanadas

You can’t visit Argentina without trying empanadas! Empanadas usually contain meat such as chicken or beef, but there are many other vegetarian fillings out there. Some classic vegetarian empanadas are:

• Humita: Corn and white sauce
• Caprese: Mozzarella, tomato, and basil
• Atun: Tuna
• Verdura: Spinach or chard, usually with cheese
• Cebolla y queso: Cheese and onions

There were a lot more vegetarian empanadas that I encountered on my trip to Buenos Aires, but those are some of the most common ones that we saw. Each casa de empanadas has their own fillings so don’t be afraid to ask what’s inside and use Google translate to help you out.

Vegan Parrilla

Along with empanadas, another staple in Argentine cuisine are their countless parrillas. Don’t get confused, they are pronounced pah-ree-shas (read more about Argentinian Spanish here). Parrilla literally means grill in Spanish, and as the name implies they are Argentine barbecue houses. They are as common in Buenos Aires as delis are in New York City.

There is a vegan parrilla in the heart of Buenos Aires called La Reverde Parrillita Vegana if you want a near authentic parrilla experience.

If you do end up going with your carnivore friends to an actual meat parrilla, there are a lot of vegetarian sides that you can get such as grilled veggies or potatoes. Or sometimes they will have some of the other vegetarian food options that are listed below.

Milanesa de Berenjena

In other words, eggplant schnitzel. I had this multiple times on my trip and it’s great. A normal milanesa is a beef schnitzel, but you’ll also find eggplant and soy variations. Another popular version of milanesa is milanesa napolitana which is a milanesa (or one of its vegetarian alternatives) topped off with tomato sauce and cheese.

Ñoquis (Gnocchi)

This is a prime example of the Italian influence on Argentina. In the early days of its founding many Italians immigrated to the country, and brought their culture along with them. This influenced so many things in Argentina, from the food to the language.

In Argentina, and elsewhere in South America as well, there is a tradition to put money underneath your plate of gnocchi, or ñoquis, on every 29th of the month. It is said to bring good luck for the coming month. The story behind this tradition is that payday is on the 1st of the month, and by the end of the month when people used to be tight on cash, they used cheap ingredients, potatoes and flour, to make a delicious meal: gnocchi! Additionally, the 29th is a Catholic feast day in honor of Saint Pantaleo who was canonized on that day.

Pasta Dishes

Going off of gnocchi, due to the Italian culinary influence, there are many places that offer delicious pasta dishes such as ravioli and many of them are vegetarian or are able to be changed to be vegetarian.

Tarta

Tartas are quiches and there are lots of vegetarian options with vegetables such as zucchini or sweet potato.

Medialunas

Meet the crossaint’s South American cousin, the medialuna. There are two types of medialunas: medialunas de manteca and medialunas de grasa, but only one of them is vegetarian. Medialunas de manteca mean butter medialunas and are sweet. These are vegetarian. Medialunas de grasa mean fat medialunas and are savory. These are not.

Medialunas are often eaten for breakfast or teatime (merienda). Another classic Argentinian dish is medialuna con jamón y queso, or a medialuna ham and cheese sandwhich. I love crossaint sandwiches so I had to give this a try, but with a vegetarian twist. After making sure they used sweet medialunas, I often asked cafes if they could swap out the ham with tomatoes, and most times they had no problem with it. Asides for empanadas I think it was my favorite new food from the trip!

Sweet Potatoes

If you’re the type of person who likes to try new produce when you travel, you’ll love this. Argentina has two types of sweet potatoes. I know, crazy! I was very surprised at first too. They have the “normal” orange sweet potatoes that we all know and love, which they call batatas, and they also have white sweet potatoes called boñatas, which are similar to Japanese sweet potatoes, but they’re not. And no, they’re not yams either. Boñatas are less sweet than their orange counterparts, but I really liked them and a lot of places use them for their fries.

Vegetarian Locro

Locro is a traditional Argentinian stew made with corn, beans, veggies, and usually meat. But if you’re lucky, there are places that serve it vegetarian. Since it is a hot stew, it’s usually enjoyed in the colder months. Remember, since Argentina is in the southern hemisphere, their seasons are reversed from what we are used to in America. The winter is approximately between the months of June to August.

Guiso de Lentejas

In other words, lentil stew. Often prepared with vegetables such as potatoes and squash, its warm, filling, and comforting. Like locro, it’s popular in the winter months when it’s cold out.

Provoletta

In Argentina they like to grill provoletta cheese and eat it plain, and as a lactose intolerant cheese-lover, let me tell you, it’s heavenly. Seared on the outside and soft on the inside, you can eat it alone or with bread. Rest assured if you are a fan of cheese, you are sure to enjoy.

Desserts

Pastafrola

Pastafrola is a traditional Argentinian pie usually made with quinces.

Alfajores

Drinks

Fernet

Mate

Last but not least, I couldn’t write a post about Argentinian food without including mate (pronounced mah-teh). Mate is the national drink of Argentina. It’s a native tea that is made out of yerba mate (mate leaves) which are grown natively in Argentina and other neighboring countries. Traditionally drunk in a gourd with a metal straw called a bombilla (bom-bee-sha). It’s said to contain many health benefits including a relaxing effect on the body.

Summary

If you stick to a vegetarian diet, don’t worry you’ll have some meatless options in Argentina. If you’re vegan, it will be challenging for you. I highly recommend booking accommodation with a kitchen in advance so that you will be able to cook for yourself during your stay and take food with you on the go.

To sum it up, here’s a quick list:

Vegetarian:

• Pizza
• Empanadas
• Vegan Parilla
• Milanesa de Berenjena (or de Soya)
• Ñoquis
• Tarta
• Medialunas

Food Dictionary

When in doubt it’s always good to know how to say what you don’t eat in the local language. In Buenos Aires, it will be enough to just say “soy vegetariano” (I am vegeratian) or “no como carne” (I don’t eat meat), but in more rural areas they might not be as familiar with the concept and could think that things like chicken don’t count as meat. In those cases make sure to clarify:

• “No como carne, pollo, y pescado”: I don’t eat meat, chicken, or fish
• Carne: Meat
• Pollo: Chicken
• Pescado: Fish
• Grasa: Fat
• Grasa blanca: Lard

Until next time,
Take a shans!