Vegan Lunches from Around the World
A world of lunches that are naturally vegan: 38 authentic dishes, each from a real region with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in. Toggle vegan on any other recipe and it rewrites itself to match.
38 recipes
Ta'ameya (Egyptian Falafel)Cairo, Egypt · medium · 1 h 10 minEgypt’s own falafel, made from split fava beans instead of chickpeas, packed with herbs for a vivid green centre and fried to a shattering crisp.
Ta'ameya (Egyptian Falafel) Dholl PuriPort Louis, Mauritius · medium · 1 h 10 minFeather-soft flatbreads with ground split peas hidden in the dough, folded around bean curry and chutney.
Dholl Puri Pasta al Sugo e BerbereAsmara, Eritrea · easy · 45 minSpaghetti tossed in silsi, the Eritrean tomato sauce spiked with berbere, the everyday pasta of Asmara.
Pasta al Sugo e Berbere Arroz de FolhaSão Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe · medium · 1 h 10 minSeasoned rice bloomed in red palm oil, parcelled in banana leaves and steamed until the leaf perfumes the grain, a festive Santomean dish.
Arroz de Folha LoubiaCasablanca-Settat, Morocco · easy · 1 h 45 minWhite beans slow-simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce with cumin and paprika, a humble everyday Moroccan lunch.
Loubia NdambéDakar, Senegal · easy · 1 h 15 minA spiced black-eyed pea stew served in a crusty baguette, Senegal's everyday street breakfast-lunch.
Ndambé Zanzibar UrojoZanzibar, Tanzania · medium · 1 hA tangy turmeric-and-mango broth piled with fritters, potato, and crunchy toppings, Zanzibar's famous mix.
Zanzibar Urojo DikgobeGaborone, Botswana · easy · 2 h 15 minSamp and beans (or sorghum) slow-cooked soft together into a filling one-pot, a staple of the Botswana table.
Dikgobe MadesuKinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 1 h 45 minWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
Madesu Wassa-WassaCotonou, Benin · medium · 55 minSteamed yam-flour couscous tossed with a spiced tomato and onion sauce, a northern Beninese lunch staple.
Wassa-Wassa Gozo with Groundnut SauceBangui, Central African Republic · medium · 50 minSmooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Gozo with Groundnut Sauce Tsebhi BirsenAsmara, Eritrea · easy · 55 minRed lentils simmered with berbere, onion, and tomato into a warming spiced stew, scooped up with injera.
NyekoeMaseru, Lesotho · easy · 1 h 45 minA filling one-pot of sorghum and beans simmered slow with pumpkin and onion, the warming everyday lunch of the Lesotho highlands.
Nyekoe MkhwaniLilongwe, Malawi · easy · 30 minTender pumpkin leaves simmered with groundnut flour into a creamy green relish, eaten with nsima across Malawi.
Mkhwani Dan WakeNiamey, Niger · medium · 40 minSoft bean-flour dumplings tossed with oil, spice, and onion, a popular Hausa street lunch of Niger.
Dan Wake SidvudvuMbabane, Eswatini · easy · 40 minSweet pumpkin cooked down with maize meal into a smooth, comforting porridge, a traditional Eswatini favorite.
Sidvudvu AseedaJuba, South Sudan · medium · 30 minSouth Sudan's smooth sorghum dough dome, beaten glossy over the fire and eaten by hand from a shared bowl with mullah stew.
Aseeda GitheriNairobi, Kenya · easy · 1 h 45 minBoiled maize and beans finished in a tomato and onion masala, one of the oldest and most dependable Kenyan home meals.
Githeri Malakwang (Sour Greens in Groundnut Sauce)Kampala, Uganda · easy · 45 minTangy malakwang leaves simmered until tender then folded into a smooth groundnut sauce, sweet, sour and nutty at once.
Malakwang (Sour Greens in Groundnut Sauce) Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens)Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · easy · 40 minSoft, soupy rice cooked with leafy greens and ginger, the everyday restorative bowl of the Malagasy highlands.
Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens) Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 45 minRice simmered with beans, onion, garlic and bay until glossy and tender, the everyday jag of the Cape Verde islands.
Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) Hamli (Eritrean Spiced Greens)Asmara, Eritrea · easy · 35 minCollard greens or chard wilted with onion, garlic, ginger and gentle spices, the everyday greens of the Eritrean platter.
Fasoolia (White Bean Stew)Djibouti City, Djibouti · easy · 50 minWhite beans simmered soft in a spiced tomato and onion sauce warm with cumin and cinnamon, eaten with bread or rice.
Fasoolia (White Bean Stew) Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot)Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · easy · 55 minBitter greens and rice simmered with pounded groundnuts and pungent soumbala into a thick, nourishing one-pot meal.
Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) Masala DosaTamil Nadu (Chennai), India · medium · 8 h 50 minA crisp, golden fermented rice-and-lentil crepe wrapped around spiced potato, South India's iconic anytime meal.
Masala Dosa FalafelBeirut, Lebanon · medium · 45 minCrisp herb-flecked chickpea fritters tucked into pita with tahini, pickles, and salad, a Levantine street classic.
Falafel HummusTel Aviv, Israel · easy · 1 h 15 minSilky-smooth chickpea and tahini puree pooled with olive oil, scooped up with warm pita, a Levantine lunch of devotion.
Hummus Injo-gogi-bapPyongyang, North Korea · easy · 1 h 5 minSheets of soybean 'meat' stuffed with rice and topped with a spicy sauce, a resourceful North Korean street food.
Injo-gogi-bap Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)Amman, Jordan · easy · 55 minA humble Levantine pilaf of brown lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with deeply caramelized onions, seasoned simply with cumin.
Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) PasulPristina, Kosovo · easy · 1 h 45 minA slow-simmered white bean stew rich with paprika and onion, the everyday food of Kosovo.
Pasul Moros y CristianosHavana, Cuba · easy · 1 h 30 minBlack beans and white rice cooked together in one pot with a cumin-scented sofrito until every grain turns dusky and savory, the everyday soul of the Cuban table.
Moros y Cristianos Saint Lucian Pumpkin RiceCastries, Saint Lucia · easy · 45 minRice simmered with sweet pumpkin, coconut, and island herbs into a soft, golden one-pot, an everyday Lucian lunch.
Saint Lucian Pumpkin Rice Grenadian Callaloo SoupSt. George's, Grenada · easy · 50 minA creamy Grenadian soup of callaloo (dasheen) leaves and okra simmered in coconut milk with thyme and a whole hot pepper, blended smooth.
Grenadian Callaloo Soup Fiji Roti ParcelViti Levu, Fiji · medium · 55 minA soft griddle roti wrapped around spiced potato-and-pea curry, the everyday one-handed lunch of Fiji's towns.
Fiji Roti Parcel SimboroEfate (Port Vila), Vanuatu · easy · 45 minGrated cassava rolled in island-cabbage leaves and simmered in coconut cream, Vanuatu's everyday take on laplap.
Simboro Grilled Breadfruit with MitiFunafuti, Tuvalu · easy · 55 minWhole breadfruit roasted over coals until smoky and tender, torn into pieces and dipped into miti, a fresh coconut cream sauce sharpened with onion, chili and lime.
Grilled Breadfruit with Miti Fafa (Kosraean Pounded Taro)Palikir, Micronesia · medium · 1 hSoft taro pounded smooth with a stone tok and mixed with coconut milk, the signature ceremonial food of Kosrae.
Fafa (Kosraean Pounded Taro) DingonYaren, Nauru · easy · 50 minPounded breadfruit or banana worked with fresh coconut and fragrant pandanus, shaped into dense little patties and baked or pan-fried, a classic Nauruan savory food.
Dingon← Browse all collections