Veganism is gaining popularity in the Philippines, and vegan options are expanding rapidly.
All you have to do is search online, and you’ll be inundated with results. The days of Filipino vegans starving themselves to death by avoiding everything at wedding receptions are long gone. Indeed, veganism is the wave of the future.
To make things even easier for vegans, vegan-curious, and vegetarians, I’ve compiled a list of vegan stores in the Philippines where you can purchase your green necessities and options.
But, before we get into some great finds, let’s first look at the plant-based options that are widely available.
Vegan Food Philippines
Because Filipinos adore street food, you may come across some of these vegan-by-default, also known as Accidentally Vegan Foods, on the streets.
- Banana cue– bananas in caramelized brown sugar on a skewer
- Biko– a rice cake made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and glutinous rice with coconut milk curd on top
- Buko– freshly served young coconut
- Carioka– rice balls in caramelized brown sugar on a skewer
- Champorado (without milk)– glutinous rice cooked with chocolate and usually served with milk
- Espasol– a rice cake cooked with coconut dusted with toasted flour
- Fresh fruits– you can buy whole or vendors sometimes sell them sliced and ready to eat
- Ginataang bilo bilo– a sweet coconut milk soup with rice balls, sweet potatoes, bananas, and tapioca
- Ginataang mais– glutinous rice and corn cooked in coconut milk
- Kalamay– a very sticky rice cake with coconut milk curd on top
- Kamote cue– sweet potatoes in caramelized brown sugar on a skewer like banana cue
- Kutsinta– a rice cake made from tapioca flour with anatto seeds for color.
- Lumpiang toge (without meat)– deep fried spring rolls with bean sprouts and carrots wrapped in paper like wrapper. This usually has meat but can be subtituted with tofu.
- Mani (peanuts)- can be boiled or fried
- Palitaw– a flat rice cake with grated coconut, sugar and toasted sesame seeds
- Pritong Tokwa– fried tofu
- Puto bumbong (without butter)– steamed rice cakes cooked in bamboo tubes topped with grated coconut and sugar
- Putong bigas– steamed rice cake
- Suman sa lihiya– a greenish steamed rice cake wrapped in banana leaves with sweet brown sauce
- Suman malagkit– steamed rice cake wrapped in coconut leaves, banana leaves, or palm leaves
- Taho– silken tofu with caramelized sugar and tapioca
- Turon– bananas wrapped in paper like wrapper. It sometimes has ripe jackfruit for added flavor.
Some recipes might be slightly altered so a good rule of thumb is to ask the seller if it contains milk, butter, cheese, eggs, or honey before buying.
Need more? Here are some vegan restaurants in the Philippines that you should consider visiting.
Disclaimer: I’d like to keep this up to date, so please let me know if you find anything inappropriate or missing from this list.
