Despite concerns about the defiantly traditional nature of Roman cuisine, being vegan in Rome is actually relatively easy and much more accessible these days. Here’s our guide on how to do it!
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Options for Vegan Food in Rome at Traditional Restaurants
Most Roman restaurants, whether that is a trattorie, osterie, or ristoranti have a number of vegan food options on the menu. Traditional Roman cuisine is not all pizza and pasta, and while vegan antipasti (appetizers) can be hard to find, the traditional primo – pasta or pizza – and secondo (a protein course) are usually served with a number of contorni – vegetable side dishes – that are entirely plant-based.
No matter what you order, saying “sono vegano” (soh-noh veh-GAN-oh) will suffice, as the movement has had sufficient penetration into Roman society for most people to understand the plant-based nature of the diet. Since dishes in Rome are almost always made fresh to your order, your waitstaff will be able to instruct the chef accordingly to make sure you receive vegan-food options.
Traditional Roman menus are made up of:
- Antipasto (appetizer)
- Primo (starch course)
- Secondo (protein course), accompanied by contorno (side dish)
- Dolce (dessert)
‘Antipasti’ for vegans in Rome
Finding vegan-friendly antipasti can be a tricky one in Rome, as most are made up of cheeseboards and sliced cured meats. But in addition to this there are also likely to be some vegan food options, such as fresh bread, olives, and fruit.
‘Primi’ for vegans visiting Rome
The primo is where we find pasta dishes, risotto, vegetable soups like minestra, or bread-based dishes such as pappa (this is a Tuscan dish but is sometimes found in Rome).
There are several delicious pasta options available to order if you are vegan such as:
- Pasta rossa (tomato sauce)
- Pasta e lenticchie (pasta with lentils)
- Ceci (Chickpeas)
- Fave (Fava beans, when they are in season)
- Aglio e oilio (garlic and olive oil)
Vegan Pasta Options
When ordering pasta as vegan in Rome, make sure that when you order from your waiter that it is made with “pasta all’acqua”, which means the pasta only contains nothing but flour and water. If you don’t specifically ask for this, you are likely to receive “pasta all’uovo” which is made with egg.
Vegan Risotto Options
Similarly, many risottos are made entirely without animal products and so are vegan-friendly, and still provide the wonderful creaminess you expect from a risotto, which predominately comes from the starchiness of the rice. “Pappa is made up of bread, herbs, and tomatoes, which is a delicious vegan risotto option. Be sure to check with your server that the bread is vegan-friendly, and not made with animal fats.
Vegan Pizza Options
Where it comes to traditional pizzas you cannot go wrong with pizza rossa, a standard pizza with no cheese – though again do, check with the waitstaff if the dough has been made without animal fats.
‘Secondi’ for vegans in Rome
Vegan options in secondi (protein courses) in traditional dishes are unfortunately rare, but there are some that are based on porcini mushrooms when they’re in season. There are also insalaton, which are big salads designed to be eaten as a meal in itself. Both porcini mushroom dishes, and salads are usually served with bread that is made with no animal products.
‘Contorni’ for vegans in Rome
Contorni, which are typically vegetable-based side dishes, are plentiful and provide a great selection to choose from if you’re looking to eat vegan in Rome.
Highlights include:
- Radicchio – a relative of chicory, whichhas a slight bitter and peppery taste
- Ciccoria – not chicory, this is a slightly bitter leaf that resembles spinach
- Carciofo alla romana – a deliciously filling Roman artichoke dish that is cooked in olive oil with herbs
- Carciofo alla giudea – a traditional Jewish dish, which is an artichoke flower deep-fried in olive oil.
- Not to mention a large number of delicious and fresh salads.
Eating dessert when you’re a vegan in Rome
Good vegan desserts in Rome are a taller order and can be hard to come by. But despite the ubiquity of some desserts such as tiramisù and pannacotta are, every restaurant will serve macedonia (fruit salad) and most ice cream shops do fruit-based sorbets.
Some restaurants will sometimes even have vegan versions of Rome’s famous gelato available, which can be a great option to finish off a meal. Vegan ice cream has started making an appearance in select gelaterie around the city, such as the fabulous Fatamorgana chain.
Vegan restaurants in Rome
Rome boasts a growing number of specifically vegan or vegetarian/vegan-friendly eateries, and they are spectacular. In a culinary tradition that trades on a near-Zen approach to creating the perfect version of each recipe, vegan food in Rome simply cannot be fobbed off with unappetizing fare. Vegan food in Rome is interesting, feisty, and delicious, meaning as a vegan you can visit Rome and eat delicious and varied food every day.
Coffee for vegans in Rome
The most typical way to drink coffee in Rome
is as a super-short espresso, usually macchiato (stained) with a dash of milk and sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar. Almost all cafés in Rome now serve soy or nut milk, so you can do as the Romans do with a caffè macchiato con latte di soia or a cappuccino of the same type.
Be warned that asking for a “soy milk latte” will just get you a cup of soy milk. So if you want to order a milky coffee, you need to specify you want coffee too: “caffè latte di soia”. Of course, if you take your coffee black (amaro) or with sugar, you will not need to be concerned.
Eating Breakfast as a vegan in Rome
Breakfast is always a tricky subject when on one’s travels. The good news is that the traditional simple Roman breakfast of cappuccino e cornetto (sweet croissant) taken standing up at the bar is increasingly available in vegan form.
In addition to this, an increasingly large number of cafés are providing more and more vegan options, as well as the aforementioned dairy-free coffees. Just look for the “vegano” label on the many pastries available behind the counter and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, there’ll be another coffee bar just around the corner that will.
Vegan snacks in Rome
There are plenty of vegan food options in Rome supermarkets and alimentari (independent grocery stores) selling nuts, potato chips, and other convenient snacks. If you’re looking for something more exotic, head to Vittorio Emanuele, and you’ll find plenty of south-Asian vegan snacks.
Our favorite vegan restaurants in Rome
And now our personal recommendations. Formerly confined to the city’s “countercultural” suburbs such as Pigneto and Prenestina, veganism has now made inroads right into the heart of the city’s centro storico. Here are our top five highlights:
Écru
Écru offers a truly unique food experience, and is located near the river at the end of Via Giulia, and we think it is a real find. Écru specializes in freshly-made raw vegan food absolutely bursting with flavor. Their salads and soups are legendary, and they even have non-baked cookies with raw chocolate, which are truly delicious. You’ll struggle to find another eatery which offers such a unique dining experience, vegan or not.
Ma Va?
This amusingly named vegan eatery (it means “You’re kidding?”) can be found near the Vatican. It is as traditional Roman grub as you can get without animal products, albeit it is a little small, so booking well ahead of time is essential. Ma Va? offers a quiet and cosy atmosphere, while serving standout food you’ll not soon forget.
Le Bistrot
Just off Viale Cristoforo Colombo in south Rome, on the edge of the Garbatella district, this cosy and friendly place is run by two sisters, and serves both traditional and more innovative fare. Le Bistrot places an emphasis on presenting the ingredients as they were grown, not overly processed.
Rifugio Romano
Rifugio Romano is a trailblazer in vegan-only cooking and is found right in the city center, this restaurant is aimed at the higher end of the market. It’s just steps from Piazza delle Repubblica and is ideal for an upmarket vegan dinner.
Solo Crudo
If you really want to go ‘ingegralista’ (fundamentalist), then Solo Crudo provides you with not just vegan but raw food too – or at least nothing cooked at more than 42C. This funky place is the future of vegan food in Rome, and if we had to pick just one vegan place in Rome to eat at, this would be it.
Regardless of how and where you do it, finding vegan food in Rome is no longer a worrying prospect, you need not limit yourself to a particular class of eatery. The city has changed and is now a lot more accommodating for anyone visiting who wishes to eat vegan, you can find many scintillating vegetable-only choices at the top and bottom of the market.
Buon appetito vegano!
Book a Food Tour in Rome
If you are visiting Rome on your vacation and consider yourself a foodie, then there is no better experience than going on a walking food tour through the heart of the city. Experience a wide range of different dishes and cuisines, and with plenty of vegan options available, a food tour in Rome is perfect for everybody.
