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Greece is on many people’s bucket lists and that’s no wonder. With its rich history, thousands of beaches and the alluring Aegean sea it’s the perfect getaway paradise. Unfortunately, some Greek destinations are having a hard time handling the pressure of overtourism, with destinations like Santorini and Mykonos being destroyed by the large influx of tourists. That’s why you should definitely pick your destination wisely when traveling to Greece. That said, is it easy to travel as a vegan in Greece? In this post, you can find a comprehensive though non-exhaustive list of Greek dishes suitable for vegans to start your vegan travel journey!
Damouchari, a wonderful beach in Pelion, Greece
First of all, is Greece good for vegans? I can wholeheartedly say: Yes! Greece is an incredibly vegan-friendly country to visit. And, traditional Greek cuisine is aside from being vegan-friendly also one of the healthiest in the world, with the island of Ikaria even being a Blue Zone.
The Greek kitchen mainly consists of fresh local ingredients. The most common are vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes, fresh fruits like figs, melon and grapes, beans, nuts, pasta and rice, olives and olive oil, yogurt, cheese, fish and some kinds of meat.
If you don’t want to eat out, the best place to find these ingredients is at the local markets. Check with your local host when the market takes place at your destination.
Aside from that, most Greeks also grow their own vegetables. There is a good chance you can pull fresh oranges from your host’s tree in the morning to make fresh orange juice and make your own vegan Greek salad in the evening with fresh tomatoes and cucumber from the garden.
There is no shortage of cute traditional Greek restaurants to eat as a vegan in Greece
The best way to eat vegan in Greece as a conscious traveler is to make a combination of two or three mezedes. Mezedes are small bites, comparable with Spanish tapas, that you order and share with the company you’re in.
If you travel with another vegan, four plates are definitely enough to share. If traveling with a non-vegan, you can opt to take two plates for yourself and share a salad. If you’re still hungry, you can order some more. Greeks tend to spend the whole night at a restaurant ordering one meze after another!
Bread and water are often put on the table before you get the menu. If you’re not sure if a dish is vegan, just ask. During my research, I read that there is no Greek word for vegan but most of the time it was clearly understood and it was sometimes even indicated at bakeries.
Fasting or Nistisimo food is sometimes vegan
That’s because Greeks fast multiple times a year and their fasting diet has some similarities with veganism. Fasting food in Greece is called “nistisimo”. The Greek-Orthodox fate has around 200 fasting days a year.
In those days, Greeks are not allowed to eat animal products like meat and eggs, dairy products, and olive oil. However, they can still consume honey and some kinds of fish so if you see a sign that the food is “nistisimo” be sure to ask about the honey and the fish.
Lunch and diner happen at a later time than in Western Europe. Greeks take lunch around 2 PM and diner around 10 PM. It’s up to you to know if you can go along with these local customs. That said, restaurants are generally open all day although some of them open quite late, around 2 PM, in places that are off the tourist trail.
Taberna by the beach in Damouchari Greece
Below is a comprehensive though non-exhaustive list of vegan Greek food you can try on your travels. I have only included dishes that I actually saw on menus and some other ones I researched before my trip and wished I had seen on menus but couldn’t find.
Just so you know, I traveled through mainland Greece and Crete. It is possible that you can find other dishes or a variation on certain dishes on other islands that are also suitable for people following a vegan diet. Although I think this list gives a pretty general understanding of the vegan Greek cuisine. Here we go!
Vegan in Greece: baked mushrooms
Mushrooms can come in many variations when you order them. Mostly it says baked, grilled or cooked in oil on the menu. Grilled doesn’t necessarily mean BBQ-style grilled but can also contain oil.
Vegan in Greece: fresh olives at a local Market
Olives can be found as an appetizer in a restaurant but the best way to try different kinds of olives is to head to a local market and sample some of the local variations. Buy some local wine to go with it and have your own Greek aperitif on the beach or at your accommodation.
Vegan in Greece: Fried Zucchini
These are zucchini slices fried in batter. Be sure to ask if the batter doesn’t contain cheese as it sometimes does. You can also find this dish with pumpkin or eggplant. The sauce you see in the picture is a traditional Greek garlic sauce (Skordalia) and was delicious.
Vegan in Greece: Eggplant salad
Melitzanosalata is a dip made of roasted eggplant, onion, garlic, olive oil en herbs. It’s mostly served as a dipping sauce with bread on the side but at the restaurant on the picture, they served it on “bisketes” with pieces of tomato.
Vegan in Greece: grilled potatoes
This is quite self-explanatory. Potatoes with peel are grilled with a serious amount of olive oil. Afterward, they put a delicious sauce on it with fresh garlic and Mediterranean herbs accompanied with fresh lemon.
Vegan in Greece: Fava
Fava is a puree of yellow split peas topped with fresh parsley, onion and capers. It’s a great option for a light meal with some bread and a salad.
A lot of people think that Greek Fava is made from Fava beans, but that’s actually not the case!
Vegan in Greece: Spinach pie
Traditional spanakopita is a pie made with spinach and feta cheese but, during fasting time Greeks are not allowed to eat cheese so you can find many varieties without the cheese.
Vegan food in Thessaloniki: Traditional Greek herbs pie
This is another kind of pie made with vegetables and aromatic herbs. It was indicated at the bakery as “nistisimo” or fasting food and vegan.
Vegan in Greece: Skopelos vegetable pie
Greece has many kinds of pie and this is one from Skopelos island. Originally made with cheese, this one is a vegetables-only fasting version.
Vegan in Greece: Zucchini flowers stuffed with rice
Kolokythoanthoi are the flowers of a zucchini plant stuffed with aromatic rice. On the picture it is served with a small portion of Melitzanosalata which makes a great combination.
Vegan in Greece: Vegan baked feta
You probably won’t find this in more remote areas but you can find this in cities like Thessaloniki. Vegan traditional Greek restaurants do exist and try to recreate vegan versions of traditional recipes. Saganaki is found on the menu of every Greek restaurant and this vegan version makes a great alternative.
Another classic Greek dish you can find in vegan traditional Greek restaurants. Bougiourdi is a hot pot with tomatoes, peppers and vegan feta baked in the oven in a clay pot.
Obviously, it is impossible to try every Greek dish when you’re not actually living in Greece. Some I couldn’t find and others I didn’t quite like. Sometimes I just forgot to take a picture, oeps. Here are some more vegan mezedes:
Vegan in Greece: tomato salad
Although the menu said “tomato salad”, it was actually tomatoes and cucumber mixed with peppers and onions. Salads often contain more than one ingredient regardless of what the menu says.
Vegan in Greece: bread and beetroot salad
A salad of boiled red beetroot seasoned with garlic and vinegar. They often come in big portions so it’s best to share this with a travel companion.
Vegan in Greece: Grilled vegetables
This one is also quite self-explanatory. A grilled vegetable salad consisting of mushrooms, eggplant, peppers and zucchini with some soy sauce and lemon on the side.
Vegan in Greece: mixed vegetable salad
Another salad consisting of boiled wild greens, beetroot, carrots and green beans. Great in combination with fava and bread.
Vegan in Greece: boiled greens
Horta is a cold salad of boiled wild greens and herbs. Which greens are used often varies, but it can range from spinach and chicory to nettles and even dandelions. After boiling it is topped with lemon juice, olive oil and some salt and pepper.
This is a typical Cretan specialty. Dakos salad consists of tomatoes on top of barley rusks often topped with a white local Cretan cheese but you can ask to leave out the cheese. On mainland Greece, this dish was rather served as a salad in a bowl with pieces of barley bread and tomatoes mixed together.
These vegan soups and salads were on offer at restaurants but I didn’t try them or they were not available due to seasonality:
Small white beans simmered in a savory tomato sauce with garlic and fresh herbs. The perfect dish to get your proteins!
Imam Baildi are whole eggplants stuffed with a filling of onions, garlic and tomatoes. They are baked in the oven until tender and sometimes afterward sprinkled with feta cheese but this nistisimo version is eaten during fasting.
Briam is a popular dish you can find in almost every cooking book these days. It’s a typical Mediterranean dish of oven-roasted veggies and sometimes potatoes packed with flavor.
Green beans simmered in a hearty mouthwatering tomato sauce. Sometimes served as a full dish with potatoes in it but also served without them.
Moussaka is a typical Greek dish consisting of layers of potatoes and eggplant in a minced meat tomato sauce top with bechamel. It is probably hard to find vegan moussaka at more traditional places.
This vegan moussaka was on offer at a seaside restaurant with vegan options in Thessaloniki and was delicious.
Gemista are peppers and tomatoes stuffed with rice, vegetables and aromatic herbs baked in the oven until soft and tender. Most restaurants offer it with some baked slices of potato. Watch out, because the filling of gemista is sometimes made with minced meat.
This is on offer at many restaurants. A simple but savory tomato sauce spaghetti with a homemade taste. Tell the waiters you don’t need the cheese on top.
A traditional Greek meal made of giant beans baked in the oven with a savory and herby tomato sauce. Again, a great dish to get your proteins.
Souvlakerias are the Greek versions of kebab shops. Traditionally made with meat, you can get these sandwiches in classic Greek-wrapped bread or Turkish style like the one in the picture. Gyros meat is replaced with falafel, vegan gyros or grilled mushrooms and ask what sauces are on offer to replace the tzatziki.
This is not a typical Greek dish but it can be found in cities as well as in less touristy places. I found this in a small mountain village on the Pelion peninsula on mainland Greece.
Sandwiches are also easy to find everywhere you go. The grilled vegetables still give this sandwich a local taste and flair.
Instead of ordering it as a meze, grilled mushrooms can also be offered in a delicious sandwich, here on the picture with sundried tomatoes and herby pesto-like cream.
These ones I saw on menus at restaurants but they were not available:
The best place to buy local fruits and other fresh ingredients to make a DIY breakfast is hands down at a colorful local market. Fruits are also often offered for free at local restaurants as a dessert.
Sweet spoons are offered as a dessert or snack at local restaurants. Sweet spoons are fruits or sometimes even vegetables boiled in water together with sugar. After a few hours, it becomes a thick and sweet syrup which makes it easy to preserve the fruit. There is no gelatin used in the process.
You can find sorbet ice cream easily at the beach or bakeries. Supermarkets sell vegan Ben and Jerry’s in big and smaller cities.
Plant-based milk is easy to find in big and smaller cities. Alpro is the most common brand in Europe and they have a variety of plant-based milks, ranging from soy milk and coconut milk to oat milk and and almond milk.
Greece also sells plant-based milk from a brand called Olympus which can easily be found in less touristy areas. Olympus started as a Greek dairy brand but now has multiple factories in Europe and also manufactures a vegan alternative.
Bread can be found easily everywhere and varies from plain white bread to pita bread, and savory bread like olive bread. Jams and plant-based butter can be bought in supermarkets but keep your eyes open at local markets for women selling homemade fig jams.
Short answer: No! A lot of Greek traditional dishes are naturally vegan. You can find fully vegan and vegetarian restaurants easily in the bigger cities like Athens and Thessaloniki.
But you’ll be perfectly fine too when you travel to the Greek islands or to more off-the-beaten-path places in Greece.
If you want to be sure that there are plenty of options for vegans in the destination you are traveling to, check out the website Happy Cow.
Do you prefer to stay at a vegan hotel in Greece, to play it safe? That is completely understandable and there are some incredible fully-vegan hotels to be found in this country!
Koukoumi was the very first vegan boutique hotel in Greece and is located in Ano Mera on the island of Mykonos. But today, there are several vegan hotels to choose from and I’ve made a list of them in this post about the best vegan hotels in Greece.
So, as you can see you will definitely not go hungry as a vegan in Greece! The traditional Greek diet is for a large part naturally vegan and also caters to vegan travelers who prefer to have a healthy lifestyle.
However, be sure to also try the local spirits in Greece like Raki, Ouzo, and Tsipouro and local Greek wine and coffee. They might not be very healthy but are a part of typical Greek culture too!
As I said before, this list is comprehensive but non-exhaustive so if you come across any other vegan dishes during your travels in Greece please let me know in the comments below or drop me a message through my contact page.
Also, don’t forget to check out my resources page with my favorite booking platforms and tips to start planning your trip. Additionally, have a look at my favorite travel gear if you want to pack more consciously!
ENJOY!
Disclaimer: This post may include affiliate links. If you click on them, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Hi! I am Annelies and this is Travelers & Dreamers, a blog about conscious travel which means traveling in a more mindful way, with a positive impact on the world and yourself!
On this website, I cover different topics like slow travel, plant-based food guides, responsible travel, sustainable packing, eco-travel, and more!
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Shelley
i love love love greek/med food! …and it seems i will have soooo many options when i visit. the vegan mousaka & stuffed zucchini flower look so delish, and i’ll be on the lookout for those first.
simplyjolayne
I never thought to eat the flowers from a zucchini plant. I love vegetables and find that many places in Europe don’t focus on veggies as much as I would like. Thanks for great ideas.
Wellness Travel Diaries
Thank you so, so much for this guide! As a traveler with allergies to both dairy and gluten free, I have to do a ton of research before my arrival to a destination. This article helps me feel super confident that I can travel to Greece and find plenty to eat. Thanks again!
Nina Clapperton
I didnt know you could get spanikopita without cheese! I’m not vegan but I’m dairy free.