17 Vegetarian Vietnamese Recipes for Meat-Free Pho, Banh Mi, and Beyond
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It’s no secret that Vietnamese cuisine often makes use of meat and fish. An estimated 95 percent of Vietnamese households consume fish sauce, which made its way to the Southeast Asian nation via the Silk Road during the Middle Ages. Porky pâté, a French import brought over in the mid-19th century during Vietnam's colonial period, is ubiquitous at banh mi shops and carts. And pho, perhaps the country's most famous dish, is classically made with meat, offal, and bones.
But tofu and seasonal vegetables are just as comfortable nestled into banh mi, wrapped into bánh cuốn rolls, bobbing amid a tangle of rice noodles in pho, or topping a breakfast bowl of cháo. Even beyond the world of plant proteins, many Vietnamese recipes can be made vegetarian or vegan with easy modifications.
For example, use a few drops of light soy sauce in place of fish sauce, or try this versatile vegan “fishy” sauce alternative if you crave more funky flavor. Commercial versions of vegan fish sauce are easily available online, as are umami-packed condiments such as the meaty-but-meat-free Maggi seasoning (which is also a European import to Vietnam and frequently appears in banh mi). Meanwhile, Vietnamese cuisine experts such as Uyen Luu and Andrea Nguyen have been pushing forward vegetarian Viet recipes and techniques through their cookbooks, which will provide you with even more inspiration once you work through the 17 recipes below.
Photo by Uyen Luu1/17Vegetarian Bánh Cuốn With Mushrooms and Pumpkin
Bánh cuốn are typically filled with ground pork, but these gluten-free crepes, from Uyen Luu’s Vietnamese Vegetarian, swap the minced meat for a panoply of vegetables, including winter squash, leeks, mushrooms, and sunchokes. (If one or more of those isn’t in season, however, feel free to substitute other hearty vegetables like sweet potatoes or carrots.) The batter is made with a combination of rice flour, tapioca, and cornstarch, which provides enough structure to keep the rolls together while remaining light and delicate.
Photo by Uyen Luu2/17Tofu and Tomatoes With Spinach and Basil
You can certainly use your prized in-season tomatoes for this recipe, but it’s also perfect for those less-than-ideal tomatoes because they get sauteéd with flavor-packed aromatics, including shallots, garlic, and green onions. Just as it does in Chinese tomato and scrambled eggs, the tofu here adds a creamy element and acts as a foil to the bright and pungent flavors of the tomatoes and alliums. A handful of spinach stirred in at the very end brings another dose of vegetables to the party.
Photo by Aubrie Pick3/17Green Mango, Cabbage, and Jicama Salad
Gỏi xoài, a classic Vietnamese mango salad, often features pork, but this meatless rendition, from Andrea Nguyen’s Vietnamese Food Any Day, is lighter and brighter, thanks to the addition of crunchy jicama. Chile brings up the heat a few notches, while cooling mint balances out the sweet-and-sour flavors of the dressing. Serve this with some rice noodle rolls for a fresh and easy summer dinner.
Photo by Aubrie Pick4/17Eggplant With Smoky Green Onion Oil
This recipe is based on the Vietnamese dish cà tím nướng mỡ hành, but it makes clever use of the microwave to cook the eggplant so that you don’t have to break out your grill. Even better, the eggplant cooks through evenly, staying supple and moist throughout—making it perfect for the smoky green onion relish that you serve it with.
Photo by Uyen Luu5/17Hoành Thánh Chay (Sweet Potato and Water Chestnut Wontons)
These vegetable-packed wontons are incredibly versatile, so feel free to get a little creative if need be. No edamame on hand? Swap in asparagus or green beans. No sweet potato? Pumpkin works just as well. You can fry, steam, or poach these little parcels, depending on what you’re serving with them. Plop them in a brothy soup or crisp them up and dunk them in a sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce.
Marcus Nilsson6/17Vietnamese Ice Coffee
The key to Vietnamese iced coffee is the sweetened condensed milk, which adds creaminess, sweetness, and an absolutely velvety mouthfeel. For a vegan alternative, use sweetened condensed coconut milk (either store-bought or homemade) but don’t omit it or use plain coconut milk instead—you won’t get that deliciously thick texture.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca7/17Vegan Pho
Pho broth is traditionally made with beef bones, but this vegan version extracts tons of flavor from a triple umami threat of shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and miso. Star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and other warming spices add the unmistakable aroma of this classic Vietnamese soup, which is packed with silky rice noodles and hearty chunks of tofu.
Photo by Aubrie Pick8/17Lemongrass Tempeh Crumbles
While tempeh is often associated with Indonesian cooking, it works amazingly well as a ground pork analogue in Vietnamese dishes too. The lemongrass and sriracha bring bright, herbal flavors and pungent heat, making these crumbles excellent for sprinkling atop a bowl of pho or stuffed inside a mini baguette for banh mi.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley9/17Oven-Fried Crispy Shiitake Imperial Rolls
Just about everyone loves spring rolls, but maybe not the mess of deep-frying them at home. Enter the oven-fried spring roll: Brushed with a little coconut cream, these rice paper-wrapped parcels crisp up wonderfully in the oven or air fryer. Mushrooms, carrots, tofu, and scallions make for a flavorsome filling for this take on chả giò, and they freeze beautifully, too. Keep in mind that this recipe contains fish sauce, so either omit it or use one of the vegetarian fish sauce options linked above.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne10/17Pandan Chiffon Cake
Pandan is beloved across Southeast Asia for its grassy, vanilla-like flavor—and in this recipe, from Kat Lieu’s Modern Asian Baking at Home, it’s put to excellent use in a lighter-than-air chiffon cake. Whipped egg whites provide a soft, open crumb, while coconut milk adds richness and tropical flavor. And be prepared for oohs and ahhs when you slice into this cake, revealing its powerfully lime-green interior.
Photo by Aubrie Pick11/17Super-Simple Overnight Porridge
Cháo is something of a blank slate. A simple rice porridge flavored with ginger and scallions, it’s a go-to breakfast (and a lunchtime stomach soother, if you’ve had a long night) that plays well with just about any topping. Add a fried or soft-boiled egg, a spoonful of kimchi, crumbled rice crackers, roasted mushrooms—the sky’s the limit.
Joseph De Leo12/17Steamed Flan With Ginger
If you’re looking for a no-fuss dessert, you might not be thinking about flan. But think again: This one’s made on the stovetop, not in the oven, and it couldn’t be simpler to whip up. It calls for a mere four ingredients—including a warm ginger caramel—and steams to perfection in a matter of minutes.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by JoJo Li13/17Spicy Oyster Mushroom and Lemongrass Stir-Fry
Oyster mushrooms are meaty and economical, and they love to soak up any and all flavors you throw at them. In this dish, garlic, chiles, lemongrass, and a touch of curry powder bring the spice, while crunchy sugar snap or snow peas offer a pleasing contrast to the mushrooms. A side of steamed white rice is a surefire companion, but a green mango salad would be clutch, too.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by JoJo Li14/17Greens With Magical Sesame Salt
Rather than just another side of steamed vegetables, these greens, from Andrea Nguyen’s Ever-Green Vietnamese, are raw—so feel free to use whatever you like, such as Tuscan kale or water spinach. Massaging the greens with the muối mè, which is made with sesame seeds and a little sugar, softens them and flavors them at the same time.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by JoJo Li15/17Ðồ Chua Pickle
This is the sweet and sour pickle that you’ll find in just about every rendition of banh mi, but when you have a jar full of this stuff in your fridge, you’ll find yourself adding it to salads, cold noodle bowls, and more. While it’s traditionally made with daikon—which adds a funky, almost eggy aroma, especially over time—you can use jicama in this pickle instead.
Photo by Julie Soefer16/17Fried Egg Bánh Mì
These might be called “breakfast” sandwiches, but they’re really anytime sandwiches. Make sure to keep your fried eggs nice and runny, so that the molten yolks soak into the baguette when you bite in. This recipe calls for a fish sauce-flavored mayo, but you can use a vegan fish sauce alternative, light soy sauce, or a few drops of Maggi seasoning to bring out the umami.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by JoJo Li17/17Confetti Broccoli and Herb Slaw
