You might think that the land of tango and steaks might not be the easiest place to be vegan, and in many ways you would be right, but with a will there is a way, and I even managed to find some of the best empanadas I have ever had!

It should first be noted that Argentina is a huge country and I was only able to visit three areas during my two weeks there – Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, and the Salta Region. All three of these areas are very different, but all worth experiencing!

Buenos Aires

I’m not a huge fan of visiting cities as I live in NYC and get my fill, but I was actually in Buenos Aires for the International Pole Sport Federation competition (aka the Olympics of pole and aerial sport). I had to be in Buenos Aires for a week, so I got a pretty good lay of the land. I also went in with a plan. I intentionally booked a hotel in the Pelermo area as it is the most vegan friendly part of the city.

As I was there for a week I tried to make as much food from the hotel. The grocery stores were not the most vegan friendly I have seen, but I was able to pick up the basics – granola, almond milk, veggies, pasta, and there was one chip brand that celebrated being planet based! I tried to get a pasta sauce but it was mostly just crushed tomatoes and not very exciting. To be fair, I might not have been looking in the right places and my Spanish is pretty limited.

One thing I would note is how limited English is in Argentina, but especially Buenos Aires. Almost no one spoke any English at all. I found this a bit surprising as Buenos Aires is a large city and pretty tourist friendly. Google Translate will be your friend, even if you tried getting better at Spanish on Duolingo!

There were a few places of note for vegan foodies! I was very excited to find a crepe place, Crepas, which had five vegan crepes available! I personally love crepes and finding vegan ones isn’t always so easy so I was very excited to give them a try! Their Hongoes one was my favorite – mushrooms and pickles! It was very interesting and tasty!

We were able to get some acai around, but overall I wasn’t blown away by it. I love acai and eat it almost every day at home, but whenever I eat it out I find it is full of sugar and not worth it. I did have some really good acai on the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls tho! More on that later.

For a sit down dinner we went to Puerta, which is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a bunch of Argentinian dishes. The food was good and beautifully displayed, but a little on the oily side. We decided to only go the one time.

My all time favorite wasn’t actually planned and almost didn’t happen! It was this tiny little all vegan bakery, Todo Lo Que Esta Bien, with only one small table that can be taken outside. Everything was vegan and to die for!! I tried almost all their different empanadas, of which there were many, got an Argentinian sandwich to go, and they gave us the best cookies that survived most of the trip! It is a little off the beaten path, but especially if you have a car, it is completely worth the visit. I stocked up with them for our flight to Iguazu Falls, and was very happy I did!

Todo Lo Que Esta Bien’s amazing empanadas!

Iguazu Falls

We stayed on the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls in Iguazu, which is a small tourist town and pretty limited as far as vegan food goes. Our hotel offered breakfast, but only fruits for vegans, we basically didn’t eat it at all. We thankfully had some snacks that we had packed previously to help us get through the mornings.

If you are going to the Iguazu Falls, which you should, they are breathtaking, I highly recommend doing both sides – Brazil and Argentina. They are both their own experience. We chose to do the Brazil side first, and I think that was the right choice.

Some notes:

If you are doing the Brazil side, make sure you have all needed visas. If you are a USA citizen you need a visa, even if it is for less than 24hrs.
They recommend getting a Yellow Fever vaccine for the whole area (both sides). I didn’t actually get any mosquito bites while I was there, but I didn’t want to take the risk. So, I got the vaccine.
The Brazil side will need a lot more time to get to as you will need to cross the border in both directions. I was told there are buses you can take to do it, but the hotel didn’t seem to encourage it so we went with a driver they suggested. I’m sure it would have been much cheaper to take a bus, but the driver was actually pretty helpful for all the immigration stuff. I’m not sure we needed her for the Argentinian side, but I’m glad we used her for the Brazil side.

If you are doing the Brazil side make sure you also do the bird park which is right across the street from the Iguazu park. I absolutely loved the bird park! It was set up by a family who is on a mission to rescue birds and their love for the animals really shows. The whole park is very smart and interactive with how you walk through each enclosure. You can get very close to many of the birds and have a really lovely time with them.

Also, the best acai I might have ever had, certainly on this trip, was in this park at the small cafe in the middle!

For lunch both sides had buffet restaurants where we were able to get a mix of things that were vegan. Was it the best food, nope, did it do the job after walking around all day, yep! I was happy for the option.

There is one small vegan place in Iguazu — La Vaca Empoderada - Vegan Morfi. I got empanadas, as one should eat as many empanadas as possible while in Argentina. They were good, but not as good at my place in Buenos Aires. The couple who ran the joint were very passionate to confirm with me that everything there was vegan tho, which I always love! I do highly recommend not using their bathroom, if you can avoid it.

Salta Region

The Salta Region was my favorite part of Argentina that I got to visit. First, it is beautiful! Second, it is more indigenous, which is one of my favorite things! Third, the vibe was the most friendly. Extra bonus, they speak more english in this part of the country – no clue why.

We did three main parts of Salta, the city, the salt flats Salinas Grandes, and Purmamarca (The Seven Colors Hill).

In Salta, the city, we found two lovely vegan friendly restaurants, The Salad Bar and Cardamomo. The Salad Bar is a nice smoothie and salad place. Caramomo has a lot more options. We went to Caramomo for a few meals and they were all great! They even have avocado toast and baked goods! So, more than just dinner options. Our hotel in Salta, Hotel de la Linda, actually had vegan yogurt available; which I was pleasantly surprised about!

We splurged at Salinas Grandes and stayed at Pristine Luxury Camps, which are luxury yurts on the salt flats. Here all food was included in the stay, and they were very accommodating of our diet! Overall, the food was great, but secretly, we actually liked the food at Caramomo better. It's ok, we were not there for the food, but rather the insane experience of being on the salt flats overnight. It felt like visiting another planet!

Finally, Purmamarca! Purmamarca is a very small indigenous town next to the Seven Colors Hill, which is very beautiful. Purmamarca really only had one place that was vegan friendly in the city, however our Bed and Breakfast, Sendero De Las Cabras, was extremely accommodating for our diet! In Purmamarca we ate at PedroPan, which seemed very homemade and delicious!

While Argentina is known for its steaks, you can find your vegan friends along the way. I hope this article helps you connect with some of the amazing places I visited!

Traveling Vegan - Avoiding Steaks in Argentina

Buenos Aires

Iguazu Falls

Some notes:

Salta Region