The Rundown: Plant-Based Eating In & Around Asheville

Asheville is a lovely small city in Western North Carolina that’s full of awesome eateries. If you’re looking for vegan & vegetarian dining options, here’s a rundown of some great places for plant-based eating in Asheville! 

My nomad family and I recently spent five weeks residing in the Asheville area. We stayed in the adorable nearby town of Black Mountain, where we were thrilled by the mountainous views and daily bear sightings. There’s so much to explore in this Western North Carolina area, and one aspect of that is the abundance of fantastic eateries.

Honestly, I was overwhelmed with the plethora of options for plant-based eating in and around Asheville! It’s like vegan & vegetarian heaven there. While it became clear to me that I couldn’t check every eatery off my area bucket list in a little over a month, I tried to experience as many as possible.

Where to Dine: Plant-Based Eating In Asheville

Today’s round up includes mostly vegan favorites in the Asheville area, with a few places included where I enjoyed vegetarian fare as well. I’m also including a list of eateries that I had on my ‘to dine at’ list but didn’t have a chance to check out this time around. Let’s get to it!

Plant

One of the more well-known vegan joints in Asheville is Plant, a sophisticated restaurant that’s been open since 2011. Tripadvisor has it ranked as the #10 (out of 493) Asheville eatery, and Zagat called it “one of the best vegan restaurants in the country” – so naturally, I had to dine there when in town.

From its above pictured vegan cheese plate and mushroom ravioli to dishes like hazelnut + ramp crusted tempeh, Plant offers some really fun, creative dishes full of flavor. We ordered a variety of things and enjoyed every one of them. My only regret is not trying the saffron creme brûlée.

Rosetta’s Kitchen & Buchi Bar

Rosetta’s is a casual eatery located in the middle of downtown Asheville. They specialize in vegan soul food and a kombucha bar. A few of my favorite items that I’ve tried are their “tempalo” tempeh wings and portobello melt.

Nine Mile

This Caribbean-inspired, vegetarian friendly restaurant has three locations in the Asheville area. Nine Mile‘s menu features veggie-forward dishes like the above pictured “Back a Yard Bowl” – Beyond Meat vegan brats, Basmati rice, Caribbean black beans, grilled zucchini, fried plantains, roasted jalapeño & pineapple salsa, & a Caribbean chimichurri sauce. Their menu clearly marks vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free options.

Laughing Seed Cafe

Laughing Seed Cafe offers an international vegetarian menu and is a great place to dine outside and enjoy the charming Asheville street it’s located on. They offer a variety of pizza, salads, sandwiches, and entrees, and their buffalo cauliflower tacos are dynamite.

Vortex Doughnuts

Be still my heart.. this vegan donut joint is what my sweet tooth dreams are made of! Vortex Doughnuts offers a variety of donuts, coffees, and teas, and I love how they have a yeasted donut section and a cake donut section (made me realize that I like cake donuts better!). A few of their items are not vegan, which they have labeled.

The Trashy Vegan

Looking for plant-based comfort food? The Trashy Vegan has you covered with its cheeseburgers, sandwiches, and seasoned fries.

Sunshine Sammies

Looking for an awesome dessert spot? Sample the best ice cream sandwiches in the area at Sunshine Sammies. This downtown Asheville joint offers seasonal and small batch sweets made with local ingredients, and they also have an ice cream sandwich food truck. Their menu also includes coconut milk ice cream and sorbet.

 

Green Sage Cafe

With an “eat pure food” slogan, Green Sage Cafe thoughtfully sources its ingredients and is a great stop for plant-based eating in Asheville. They have three locations, one of which is in the heart of downtown Asheville. I really like their tofu scrambles, and other offerings include breakfast sandwiches, buddha bowls, chia pudding, cold-pressed juices and smoothies.

Pulp + Sprout

My daughter and I popped into this juice bar and vegan cafe one morning after yoga class for a superfood smoothie bowl, and it’s a cute place to grab coffee, work remotely and get a healthy bite to eat. In addition to smoothies, bowls, and beverages, Pulp + Sprout‘s menu includes sandwiches, salads and desserts. They also sell a few local products, one of which is the best vegan cheese I’ve had (made by Asheville brand, Darë).

Dough House

The sister eatery of The Trashy Vegan is Black Mountain vegan doughnut shop Dough House. They offer made-to-order doughnuts, including flavors like the above pictured apple cider caramel yumminess.

Blue Ridge Biscuit Co

Another Black Mountain eatery that makes the list is popular buttermilk biscuit shop Blue Ridge Biscuit Co. Their vegetarian offerings include the above pictured biscuit sandwich with fried green tomatoes, arugula and red pepper sauce (insanely delicious). Their shiitake mushroom gravy biscuits are equally addictive. Blue Ridge’s menu also includes waffles, grits, oats and a variety of pastries.

French Broad Chocolate

French Broad Chocolate is a quintessential Asheville dessert spot located in the heart of downtown. In addition to its menu of classic caramels and truffles, sipping chocolate, gelato, and beverages (including beer & wine), French Broad has a variety of vegan offerings, including hot chocolate, bonbons, dark chocolates and nut treats like maple bourbon pecans.

The Hop Ice Cream Cafe

With a number of locations in the area, The Hop specializes in handcrafted ice cream and fun seasonal flavors. In addition to having dairy ice cream, The Hop also offers vegan ice creams with scratch-made bases of oat milk, pepita milk, hemp milk, almond milk, and banana crème. Pictured above is an oat milk mint + dark chocolate ice cream cup.

OWL Bakery

OWL Bakery satisfied my homemade bread cravings with its hearty, old world goodness. The bakery’s focus is on naturally leavened breads and European-inspired pastries with transparent sourcing. The West Asheville location that I visited is a great place to sip on a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the morning. It’s the kind of thoughtful eatery that would happily answer any ingredient questions.

Pop Bubble Tea

Starting off the unconventional section of my round up is Pop Bubble Tea. I think it deserves a spot of the list because of its uniqueness. The tapioca pearls in their fun Taiwanese tea-based drink menu are made from cassava root, and their offer dairy free options like oat milk. Pop Bubble Tea has the same owners as The Hop, and they share a location on Merrimon Ave.

WNC Farmers Market

I would be remiss to not include the WNC Farmers Market on my list because it’s an awesome place to walk around and pick up some locally grown/made ingredients to use at home in the kitchen. This year-round, daily market is the definition of farm-to-table…and the prices are great as well! When I visited, I snacked on cinnamon almonds and purchased a huge bag of apples that I mixed and matched, a bunch of tomatoes that I used for sauce and some mini pumpkins for my toddler.

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For more ideas for plant-based eating in Asheville, here are some eateries on my foodie bucket list that I didn’t get a chance to try:

• Goldfinch
• Chai Pani
• Blue Dream Curry House
• Dobra Tea Room
• Biscuit Head
• Roman’s Deli
• White Duck Taco Shop
• Eldr
• Sunny Point Cafe

Tell me.. Have you ever been to Asheville? Anything I should add to this round up?

Questions or comments? Let me know below!