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Traveling to Laos and the near future and wondering what to eat there as a vegan? I got you! After traveling through Laos for one month I learned a lot about Lao cuisine, its influences, what condiments to look out for in seemingly vegan dishes, and which food is best suited for plant-plant foodies. Here we go!
Laos
Laos is a country in Southeast Asia perched between Thailand and Vietnam, two of tourists’ favorites. It is often overlooked by travelers, even backpackers, because of its lack of grand highlights. However, they couldn’t be more wrong!
Laos is the most peaceful of all the countries in Southeast Asia. Everything goes a bit slower here, compared to the fast pace of countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and even Cambodia, which gets millions of visitors every year to see the famous temples of Angkor Wat.
Natural attractions are abound, especially waterfalls, and cities like Vientiane and Luang Prabang still hold an authentic charm, with a nice mix of traditional Laotian culture and French colonial elements.
As for the food in Laos, expect a few very tasty national Laotian dishes and an attractive mix of Thai and Vietnamese influences.
Luang Prabang
If you have never traveled to Asia before, you need to know a few things first before embarking on your trip! This especially involves getting to know the ingredients and certain condiments they use in Laos that are not vegan.
A dish might seem vegan at first glance but can contain non-vegan elements for seasoning like fish sauce, shrimp pasta, or oyster sauce.
In the next paragraphs, I’ll let you in on my findings, traveling through Laos as a vegan, and the lessons I learned.
Food court in Luang Prabang
Yes, Laos is an incredibly vegan-friendly country. As with any of the Southeast Asian countries, there are a few things to look out for but, in general, you shouldn’t have a problem at all finding decent vegan food, not even in more remote parts of the country.
Additionally, Laos has been a French colony for almost 70 years and one of the advantages of that is that you can find French baguettes throughout the country if you are in need of Western food.
Aside from that, at any place in Laos, even small towns, there will be a market or small food stalls selling fresh fruit and delicious snacks, like seaweed crackers, banana beignets, or Kanom Krok, a delicious mini pancake made from coconut milk and rice flour.
Yes, all vegan!
One of the most important things you should know if you travel to Laos as a vegan is which condiments they use in their recipes that are non-vegan. Many dishes that will seem vegan at first glance, can contain fish sauce, shrimp paste or oyster sauce.
It’s important to be aware of this and ask the restaurant about this when you order. Secondly, there is no word that describes a vegan diet in Laotian. They are well aware of what vegetarian means, but it is possible that they will ad egg to your meal. This is something to look out for, especially when you order fried spring rolls.
Lao people buying goods at the morning market, Nong Khiaw
The best thing to do to make sure that you order food that is 100% vegan is to have a few pre-written sentences on your phone that describe what you don’t eat if little English is spoken.
After previously traveling through Vietnam, I also learned that the best practice is to not use elaborate sentences. Preferably, keep it simple and concise, and just write what is necessary.
To make it easy for you, Here is what I used to order at restaurants and food stalls where little English was spoken.
“I am a vegetarian. I don’t eat meat, fish, pork, or chicken. I also don’t eat milk, butter, eggs, cheese, fish sauce, oyster sauce, shrimp paste, and honey.”
Put it in Google Translate and you will be good to go! It will look like this:
→ PRO TIP: Read my complete packing list for Laos for conscious travelers!
Vang Vieng, Laos
In the next paragraphs, you can find the dishes I encountered on my trip that were vegan or can easily be veganized and my favorite restaurants in Laos.
There are many things in Laos that are suitable for vegans if you exclude fish sauce, shrimp paste, and oyster sauce in certain dishes. Loatians always cook up dishes from scratch when you order so it’s very easy for them to leave out certain ingredients.
The most common answer I got after showing them my food preferences was: “Soy sauce?”. If they actively respond with an answer like that, you can be sure that they understood what you wanted to say!
The following dishes are the ones I encountered on my trip. This is a comprehensive though non-exhaustive list. It’s quite impossible to list every Laotian dish here that is vegan or can be veganized.
If you found other great Laotian dishes on your vegan quest throughout Laos, please let me know and if you have a photo, I will gladly ad it to this list!
Loatian food: Laap or larb
Laap also pronounced as Larp or Laab is a Laotian dish that traditionally contains minced meat, fresh herbs and vegetables, and a tangy dressing.
Though it is not vegan at all, you can find vegan versions at restaurants in which the meat is replaced with mushrooms, tofu, or a protein replacement.
Another thing to look out for is the dressing. This traditionally contains fish sauce so be sure to inquire about this.
Laab is a cold dish. It is equivalent to a salad and makes a perfect light lunch.
Kanom Krok
Originally a vegan dish from Thailand, Kanom Krok was one of my favorite snacks in Laos. You can find these little pancakes at food stalls in the markets in Laos. They are sold in little banana leaf baskets and contain 5 pieces often topped with shredded coconut.
The ingredients are simple: rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, and salt. On top of that, they sometimes add other ingredients to the batter like spring onion, corn or pumpkin.
Papaya salad
A papaya salad is a very common non-vegan dish in Laos. It mostly consists of unripe shredded papaya, tomatoes, chilies, and possibly other vegetables like green beans or Thai eggplant.
The tricky thing for vegans is the dressing. This traditionally contains a Laotian fish sauce called Padaek and sometimes also shrimp paste and even crab paste. It is however possible to replace these ingredients with soy sauce.
Baguette
Due to the French colonization in the past, you can find French baguettes virtually everywhere in Laos, even in smaller towns up north. You can buy them at markets for a few kips a piece or they are also sold as a Vietnamese Banh Mi-style sandwich.
The traditional Laotian style Banh Mi is not vegan at all but you can find a great vegan version at Break for a bread in Luang Prabang.
Baguettes are also sold everywhere on the streets in Vang Vieng with Western-style ingredients like cheese but also avocado and mushrooms.
Sticky rice in a bamboo tube
Sticky rice in bamboo is a traditional Southeast Asian dish that can be found on every street corner. It contains glutinous sticky rice mixed with coconut milk, sugar, and possibly other ingredients like taro or sweet potato.
After the tubes are prepared they are grilled for 90 minutes over an open fire. It’s quite difficult to peel open and it’s possible you might need a hand from a local!
Jeow Mak Len
Jeow Mak Len is a Laotian tomato dipping sauce. It consists of tomatoes, chilies, onion, and garlic and is traditionally served with boiled vegetables.
Jeow Mak Len is not necessarily vegan. It can contain fish sauce but they can normally replace it with soy sauce. Jeow Mak Khua is another lovely Laotian dip that can be suitable for vegans and contains eggplant instead of tomatoes.
Laos: vegan bor bun
Bor bun or bo bun is a Vietnamese-style noodle salad with fresh herbs, and greens and in Laos available with spring rolls and tofu instead of pork.
Do specify that you are a vegan when ordering this dish since the spring rolls can contain egg and the dressing can contain fish sauce.
One of the most surprisingly tasty dishes I can across in Thailand and Laos was fried Mekong Seaweed crackers. When you watch the Mekong traveling through Laos, you can see small fisherman boats dragging stuff out of the water.
Mekong seaweed crackers
This is seaweed, which is afterward dried and fried with garlic, chilies, and garlic. It is absolutely delicious and a good source of protein for vegans.
Suzy
Suzy was hands-down my favorite dish in the whole of Laos. I only encountered it in the north of Laos, in Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi to be exact and I think it’s a regional dish that you won’t find elsewhere in Laos.
Suzy is a soup-like stew consisting of potatoes, carrots, onion,s and greens in a delicious coconut sauce. They don’t add a curry mix but it is subtly flavored with presumably soy sauce or Thai Maggi sauce and simple spices.
Fresh spring rolls
Fresh spring rolls can be found throughout Asia and are one of the best snacks for vegans. While most of them contain meat or eggs, you can find vegan versions readily made at markets (look for a stand at the small road at the night market in Luang Prabang!).
Spring rolls consist of rice paper that is filled with rice noodles, lettuce, and fresh herbs like mint and coriander. The only thing to look out for is the peanut sauce which can contain fish sauce. Be sure to ask!
Fried spring rolls
The ingredients of fried spring rolls can vary a bit from fresh spring rolls. Fried spring rolls are filled with rice noodles and generally cabbage and carrot before frying and are served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.
Beware, however, that the cabbage and carrots are not mixed with oyster sauce or fish sauce to add extra flavor or that the dipping sauce doesn’t contain fish sauce.
Fried spring rolls plate with side dishes
A cheap but tasty in Luang Prabang was this Fried spring roll plate with side dishes. Fried spring rolls were accompanied by rice noodles, spring onions, banana flower salad, a basket of fresh lettuce and herbs, peanut sauce, and chilies.
If you visit Luang Prabang, you should try the local restaurant Phonheuang Café. It’s cheap, has great local dishes of which most can be veganized, and has a friendly atmosphere.
Laotian noodle soup
Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup that originally contains meat stock. In Laos, you can find a Laotian variety that consists of vegetable broth, tofu, noodles, and fresh herbs.
You can also find plain vegetable soup without noodles and tofu very easily.
Laotian coconut soup
Khao poon is a traditional fragrant Lao vermicelli noodle soup. Traditionally made with chicken broth, you can also find vegan versions of this soup at plant-based orientated local eateries.
The main ingredients are red curry, coconut milk, noodles and lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal. It is after cooking served with numerous toppings like bean sprouts, green onions and lime.
Pumpkin soup
Another great soup that can be found easily in Laos is pumpkin soup. I have to be honest, the quality wasn’t always the best.
Sometimes, it was awesomely flavorful but other times it was bland and it felt like it was just pumpkin cooked in water and afterward mixed with a blender.
Sweet and sour vegetables
Sweet and sour vegetables are widely available in Laos and meat or chicken can easily be replaced with tofu.
For vegans, it can be a bit tricky to know if there’s any animal-based condiment added to this dish. recipes can vary greatly and can sometimes contain fish sauce or oyster sauce. Be sure to check this before ordering!
Pad Lao
Pad Thai is a traditional Thai dish that can also be found in Laos. Phad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodles dish that is not vegan but can easily be veganized by leaving out the shrimp paste, eggs, and fish sauce.
While vegan versions in Thailand have a rather sweet taste because of the tamarind sauce, this is not the case in Laos. The noodles in Lao were rather cooked in a brown sweet sauce and, like a traditional Pad Thai, lime, bean sprouts, and peanuts were added for extra taste.
Fried rice with vegetables
The most basic vegan grub you can find in Laos or any other Southeast Asian country is fried rice with vegetables. While it may seem that you can go wrong here, be sure to ask that they don’t use fish sauce to stir-fry the rice.
Quality, flavor and added vegetables can vary greatly depending on who’s cooking.
Fried noodles
Fried noodles are another staple dish in Southeast Asia and this is no different in Laos. As with fried rice, flavors, added vegetables and quality can vary greatly.
Fried noodles
In the first photo, you can see fried noodles with celery and carrot that is topped with fresh herbs while the plate in the second photo contains water spinach and bean sprouts.
Fried noodles with tomato sauce
Another variety of noodles that I encountered in the north of Laos that is not that common in Southeast Asia is fried noodles in tomato sauce. It consists of the same ingredients as regular fried noodles but it is cooked in a mild aromatic tomato sauce.
Fried banana beignets
Just like Pisang Goreng in Malaysia or Chuoi Chien in Vietnam, you can also find fried bananas in Laos. The dough consists of rice flour and normally doesn’t contain eggs but be sure to ask before buying them. I have also found varieties with coconut and potato inside.
Green curry
Curry is a tricky dish to order in Laos and Thailand because you can never be sure what you’re going to get. This is because green curry paste traditionally contains shrimp paste or fish sauce.
You can discuss before ordering if the curry can be completely veganized or not. Dishes are likely to be made from scratch in local Laotian restaurants so it is possible but they can also just say yes and used non-vegan curry paste anyway. It’s pretty hard to taste!
Panang curry
Just like green curry, you also have to be careful when ordering red curry or Panang curry in Laos. Both Panang curry and red curry (with Panang being less spicy and thicker in structure) traditionally contain schrimp paste and can contain fish sauce. Check before ordering if they are willing to cook it without these ingredients.
That said, a lot of restaurants in Laos are genuinely vegan-friendly and will also indicate this in their menu’s so you will surely find a good and hearty curry in Lao that you can devour without thinking about shrimp and fish!
Massaman curry
Just like green and red curry, it’s the same story for Massaman curry. This curry that contains vegetables, potatoes, and peanuts is delicious but the curry pasta can also contain shrimp paste. Be sure to check it in advance!
Leek with tofu
In a small local eatery in Nong Khiaw, I came across this dish that I haven’t seen anywhere else in Laos. Leek is not that common in Southeast Asia as a vegetable so I was surprised to see this. The leek and tofu were cooked in a delicious brown hearty sauce of which i was assured it didn’t contain any animal-based ingredients.
The restaurant where this dish is served is called Mama Alex in Nong Khiaw.
Water spinach
Stir-fried water spinach is a staple food in Southeast Asia and this is no different in Laos. Recipes vary greatly depending on countries and regions and can contain shrimp paste, fish sauce, or oyster sauce. Check this before ordering!
Fried eggplant
Fried eggplant is a common dish on Laotian menus and can be served in a variety of ways. Sometimes, the eggplant can be served cut into very small pieces together with other vegetables.
Another version of fried eggplant
On other occasions, the structure and taste of the eggplant were completely different. For instance, Thai eggplants are green, rather round instead of long-shaped, and have a distinctively different taste than purple eggplant.
The dish in the photo above is prepared with green eggplant and tofu. If I am honest, I like purple eggplant better!
Here are the websites I personally use whenever I travel to Laos:
Booking.com: For the best cheap guesthouses, homestays or small hotels
Hostelworld: To find the best hostels located in the cities
Homestay: For a unique immersive homestay experience in Luang Prabang
12GO and Bookaway: The best transport websites for long-distance buses and train travel in Laos
Loca: Uber and Grab don’t operate in Laos but Vientiane has its own ride-hailing app called Loca!
Skyscanner: For affordable flights to Vientiane or Luang Prabang
Viator and Get Your Guide: book all kinds of activities from a Kuang Si waterfall cruise to a private cave and jungle trekking in Vang Vieng!
Get your Visa for Laos online through the Evisa website. Do note that you cannot enter just any border with the Evisa. You can fly with an Evisa into Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Pakse and cross three borders with Thailand. They don’t accept the Evisa when you want to cross a land border coming from Vietnam, Cambodia, or China. It’s best to contact the Laotian embassies in these countries to obtain a visa.
If you’re looking for travel insurance, the one with the best benefits online is without a doubt Heymondo! It’s very easy to ask for a quote on the website and if you book with this link you’ll get 5% off!
Get access to mobile data straight away when entering the country with a Laos E-sim or an Asialink E-sim when traveling through multiple countries.
Night market Luang Prabang
As I visited Laos, I came across some awesome restaurants to which I hope to return one day. Do note that, as a conscious traveler, I travel as locally as possible. As a result, this list won’t include any Western-orientated restaurants.
Vegan buffet at a Buddhist restaurant in Vientiane
Here are my favorite restaurants in Laos that I think you should definitely give a try when traveling to Laos as a vegan:
VIENTIANE:
VANG VIENG:
LUANG PRABANG:
There you go! I hope you enjoyed this vegan guide to Laos. Having only visited the north of Laos, I can’t attest if you will find the above dishes in the south but I believe this list gives you a good idea of what you can expect in Laos as a vegan.
I you have any questions, please drop them in the comments below, or feel free to reach out to me through my contact page!
Also, if you know any other Lao vegan recipes that are missing in this list, please contact me, so I can add them! =)
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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