Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, halal and kosher options across New Orleans.
Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, halal and kosher options across New Orleans. including where to go and what to order.
Sweet Soulfood in New Orleans is the all-vegan plant-based Creole soul-food kitchen on North Broad Street in Treme, with a buffet line of vegan mac and cheese, greens and cornbread.
Tip: The vegan mac and cheese with greens and cornbread plate is the canonical order; cash gets a small discount.
Saba in New Orleans runs an extensive vegan and vegetarian menu within Alon Shaya's modern Israeli room on Magazine Street, with whole-roasted cauliflower, hummus and vegan pita meals.
Tip: Most of the mezze list is vegan; the whole-roasted cauliflower with whipped vegan tahini is the cult vegan order.
Good Karma Prep Cafe in New Orleans is the Uptown vegan and gluten-free cafe on Magazine Street, with all plant-based smoothies, salads, bowls and weekly meal-prep boxes.
Tip: Order the Bayou Bowl with red beans and rice; vegan plate-lunch comfort with Louisiana seasoning.
Shaya in New Orleans runs an extensive vegetarian menu within the modern Israeli room on Magazine Street, with wood-fired pita, hummus, baba ghanoush and a long mezze rotation.
Tip: The wood-fired pita is the cult vegetarian order; the menu marks vegetarian dishes clearly.
Carmo in New Orleans is the Warehouse District tropical and vegetarian-friendly cafe on Julia Street, with vegan and vegetarian Brazilian and Caribbean small plates and a long fresh juice list.
Tip: Carmo runs a near-complete vegan/vegetarian menu; the Brazilian feijoada in plant version is the cult dish.
Satsuma Cafe in New Orleans is the Bywater cafe on Dauphine Street with extensive vegetarian breakfast plates, fresh-pressed juice, biscuits and bowls in a cottage with a back garden.
Tip: Vegetarian-friendly cafe rather than vegan-only; check menu marks, the breakfast bowls are flexible.
HiVolt Coffee in New Orleans runs a wide gluten-free menu on Sophie Wright Place in the Lower Garden District, with gluten-free pastries, sandwiches and a long-running gluten-free breakfast service.
Tip: Most pastries are clearly marked gluten-free; cross-contamination risks are low but flag staff at order.
District Donuts on Magazine in New Orleans makes gluten-free doughnuts daily as part of its rotating offering, marked on the case in the Lower Garden District shop on Magazine Street.
Tip: Gluten-free doughnut flavours rotate; not every day has a gluten-free option, check the morning Instagram.
Saba in New Orleans on Magazine Street is the most-halal-friendly modern Israeli room in the city, with a kitchen that runs no pork or shellfish and lamb-and-chicken proteins as standard.
Tip: The kitchen is no-pork and no-shellfish but check the meat sourcing details at the host stand for strictly halal certification.
Lebanon's Cafe in New Orleans is the Carrollton Avenue halal Lebanese restaurant near Tulane, with halal meat shawarma, hummus, falafel and a long-running campus and family crowd.
Tip: All meat is halal-certified per the kitchen; the lamb shawarma and the chicken kebab are the canonical orders.
Kosher Cajun NY Deli in Metairie outside New Orleans is the metro area's main certified-kosher deli, with kosher meats, Pareve sides and a sandwich counter that serves the local Jewish community.
Tip: Certified kosher under the New Orleans Va'ad; the Reuben and the kosher hot dog are the deli's anchors.
Peak food season in New Orleans is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. New Orleans rewards trust.