Vegans on Oahu will have no trouble navigating the Oahu restaurant scene for healthy veggie fare. In fact, Oahu is a great place to find vegan Hawaiian food and yummy meat-free options from around the world.
However, many restaurants that don’t advertise themselves as “vegan” also offer some great options for anyone following a strict vegetarian and vegan diet. And many Oahu restaurants offer “self-serve” and “customized” meals that can accommodate vegetarian diners.
100% Vegan Restaurants in Hawaii
We’ll highlight some places to find vegan fare below. But first, let’s share Oahu’s restaurants that are completely vegan:
- Peach Cafe in Honolulu
- Simple Joy on King Street in Honolulu
- Badass Burgers Hawaii in Honolulu
- Plant Based Paradise inside Yoga Under the Palms in Kamuki
- Thuong An Lac Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown
- Wild Orange cocktail bar in Honolulu.
Finding More Vegan Food in the Hawaiian Islands
Looking for a restaurant that has a mix of vegan and meat-filled favorites? Or simply looking for something different?
Because Hawaii has a large Asian influence, you can usually find vegetarian noodle dishes at a variety of restaurants.
Looking for gluten-free options? Check out our guide to gluten free Honolulu!
Be Careful About Fish Sauce & Shrimp Paste in Asian Dishes
All Thai restaurants have many vegetarian and vegan options. Nearly all have brown rice. However, most use fish sauce, and their red and green curry sauces contain shrimp paste, unless homemade. Suggestion: order the green curry vegetables but have them with yellow curry sauce.
Most Vietnamese restaurants have vegetarian sections on their menus and may offer brown rice. Request no fish sauce. Most offer vegan pho (made with vegetable broth) and vegan summer/spring rolls, even if that’s not on their menus.
Consider a Custom Order
There are great Chinese restaurants with vegan food throughout Oahu and the Hawaiian islands. Most will prepare whatever combination of ingredients you request. Tell them what vegetables, starch, or sauce you want. For example, bitter melon with rice and black bean sauce is a great vegan order at Chinese restaurants.
Request no chicken stock. You may also request reduced soy sauce and oil and no MSG. This does not apply to pre-prepared foods like soups, dumplings, and spring rolls. Increasingly, Chinese restaurants offer brown rice.
Hold the Egg Noodles and Cream Sauces at Italian Restaurants
Most Italian and many continental restaurants have one or two pasta primavera dishes (or can readily prepare one on request). Vegans must be wary of eggs in the pasta and dairy in the sauce. You may ask for reduced oil.
Consider Korean Dishes
All Korean take-out places offer vegan vegetable choices. The “vegetable plate” consists of four vegetable selections and white rice. The “vegetable plate without rice” allows five choices. Selections, quality, and portions vary widely among locations.
Look for Salad Bars for Vegan Food in the Hawaiian Islands
Many restaurants have good to excellent salad bars and plain baked potatoes. A variety of named salad shops (like Aloha Salads) can be found in malls and supermarkets.
Build Your Own Sandwich
At build-your-own sandwich shops, you may choose whole-grain bread and vegetarian/vegan/low-fat content. Suggestion: you may build an over-spiced sandwich and eat it at home with steamed vegetables.
Visit Hawaiian Mexican Restaurants for Vegan Food
The Mexican restaurant Maui Tacos in Kapolei allows you to build your own meal, much like the sandwich shops. Components that appear to be vegan (beans, guacamole, etc.) are purposely free of non-vegan components (lard, chicken stock, egg, etc.).
Visit Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice has at least 19 locations on Oahu. Most of the menu is vegan or vegetarian. Their smoothies have no artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.
Go To Zippy’s for Vegan Hawaiian Food on Oahu
Zippy’s has several locations on Oahu. They’re known for their local food and bakery and have several meat-free options. You can order a vegetarian burger, vegan chili, onion rings, and brown rice. Unfortunately, their baked goods are not vegan.
Going Vegan During Your Hawaii Vacation
You certainly won’t go hungry if you’re looking for vegetarian fare on Oahu. And while scoring great vegan food is a bit more challenging, it’s recently become more common throughout the Hawaiian islands.
As vegan diets become increasingly popular among residents and visitors, the variety of restaurants serving vegetarians on Oahu is likely to get even better!
