Vegan in New Mexico: Green/Red Chile and Beyond

September 18, 2019 11:40 AM

I'm heading off to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos (and points inbetween like Madrid and Jemez Springs) and am looking for recommendations for vegan restaurants or restaurants that have vegan menu items. I've consulted Happy Cow and all the usual websites but would love your recommendations. All price points welcome!

I'm especially looking for recommendations for vegan restaurants or traditional restaurants that specify vegan dishes to eat:
-New Mexican cuisine (bring on the red and green chile)
-Breakfast (especially a yummy breakfast burrito or tofu scramble)
-Dessert (baked goods and ice cream)

Feel free to add recommendations for other cuisines, if you've got a favorite.

posted by Pineapplicious to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

Best answer: I ate at The Acre in Albuquerque a few weeks ago and had super tasty vegetarian enchiladas with green chili. One side of their menu is vegetarian and the other side vegan. They have a big breakfast/brunch menu, too.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:57 PM on September 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

For Santa Fe:

Tomasita's came highly recommended to us by vegan friends who frequently are in Santa Fe. It was unbelievably busy when we tried to go (I have never seen a bigger crowd waiting for a table in my life) so we went to La Choza instead. I'm a sucker for green chile and it was fantastic.

For sweets, try Kakawa chocolate house!
posted by marshmallow peep at 1:30 PM on September 18, 2019

Best answer: In most places, your best bet for vegan chile is asking if they have vegan chopped green chile. A very small number of places might have a vegetarian green chile sauce/stew. Be suspicious of anyone who says they have vegan red chile. Nearly all red child is made with pork, even if there are no chunks of pork visible. Red chile incorrectly cooked, with pork or no, is a system-clearning catastrophe. I only trust two places in Albuquerque to do red chile at all (Barelas and Sadie's), and neither of them is vegan.

In Albuquerque, Flying Star is a local chain that has good vegan and vegetarian options. Their vegan migas breakfast scramble and their Buddah bowl are delicious, and they have other options like Impossible Burger variants. Humble Coffee offers vegan desserts and breakfast things from Planty Sweet. Thai vegan is fantastic, though I prefer the regular tofu to the meat-substitute tofus they also offer.

There are Annapurna’s cafes both in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, which offers both vegetarian and vegan food.

Cafe Pasqual's and Choclate Maven (both breakfast/lunch only) in Santa Fe are good. If you’re not strictly vegan, get the chocolate pinon cookies at the Maven. They’re the best, but I don't think they're vegan.

Feel free to message me with questions.
posted by answergrape at 1:43 PM on September 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you're on Facebook, there's a Vegan Santa Fe group that I'm sure will point you in many delicious directions.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 2:58 PM on September 18, 2019 [1 favorite]