My 7 Favorite Places to Eat Vegan in Puerto Escondido

The Puerto Escondido vegan scene blossomed in recent years. And many restaurants get creative by going beyond simply using soy products.

The vegan food in Puerto Escondido includes flavorful vegan tacos, healthy hummus bowls, inventive vegan breakfasts, and classic Mexican dishes with a vegan twist.

While this article focuses on Puerto Escondido vegan food, I’ve expanded it to include vegetarian options as well as some speciality shops to buy products. Let’s dive into some of the best healthy food in Puerto Escondido.

A quick note before we dive into the best Puerto Escondido vegan food. I’ve included the neighborhood name with a map link so that you can find the best vegetarian and vegan food near you.

1. Cocofam

📍 Centro

Cocofam is all about the veggies, many of which are supplied by the garden they’ve cultivated next to the restaurant. When I was there, I saw squash, papaya, lettuce, lemongrass, and more growing in the garden.

The menu mostly focuses on tacos and tortas loaded with veggies and served with a nice side salad. To drink, they offer traditional Mexican aguas, often with a healthy twist such as the oat water which adds amaranth and peanuts.

And to round out your vegan meal, they also make a vegan tart for dessert. This is easily one of the best places for healthy vegan food in Puerto Escondido.

2. Cultivo Comida Viva

📍 La Punta

Cultivo is the real deal for vegan food in La Punta. Claudia is also the creator of Oryza Om, one of the best producers of fermented foods in Puerto Escondido.

As a result, Cultivo specializes in fermented foods: tempeh, sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented onions, and kombucha. And it’s offered as healthy vegan pitas and bowls.

I highly recommend the marinated tempeh pita with sauerkraut and their fermented salsa. The homemade tempeh is marinated and grilled until a crispy edge forms.

But in reality, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. All of the pitas and bowls creatively blend protein with veggies, from the mushroom shawarma to the tempeh bacon with tofu eggs.

3. YA’AB Vegan Kitchen & Café

📍 La Punta

At Ya’ab, the vegan menu is simple although the dishes are substantially filling and healthy. The sweet side of the menu includes smoothies and smoothie bowls of vegetable milk, fruit, and other substantial ingredients such as chia, cacao, peanut butter, and granola.

The savory side features various types of hummus (classic, beet, sweet potato, and avocado) which are combined with a mix of veggies to create hummus bowls and toast plates. The salad bowls replace the hummus with lentils or chickpeas, also combined with a mix of veggies.

YA’AB Vegan Kitchen also makes its own vegan cheese from almonds and cashews. The cheese makes an appearance on most dishes as small balls rolled in black sesame seeds. They are delicious!

Bonus: the WiFi is really strong here, but if you’re looking for a place to work all day, check out my list of Puerto Escondido coworking spaces.

4. Xole Vegana PXM

📍 La Punta

Update: Unfortunately this vegan restaurant has temporarily closed. I’m holding out hope that it reopens.

Xole Vegana creates some of the most interesting Mexican vegan food in Puerto Escondido. The menu focuses on guisados, or stews, one of my favorite taco fillings. 

And rather than simply relying on soy products, they transform Mexican classics into vegan dishes such as carrot tinga and mushroom chicharrón. 

Throughout the menu, they incorporate their homemade tofu cream and vegan ricotta cheese, sometimes found in the style of cottage cheese.

With incredibly affordable prices and flavorful food, I also included Xole Vegana on my list of Puerto Escondido restaurants. This should be a staple restaurant for vegans and vegetarians in Puerto Escondido.

5. Secret Spot Café + Restaurant

📍 Rinconada

This outdoor vegan cafe serves a variety of dishes from vegan toasts, salads, and breakfast plates. They also offer a couple of Mexican inspired plates using soy protein, namely quesadillas and tostadas.

This is a solid space to eat vegan food in Puerto Escondido if you’re looking for breakfast or lunch.

6. Papi Bowls

📍 Rinconada

While Papi Bowls serves more than vegan food, I wanted to include it as a light and healthy option in Rinconada. The menu includes a salads, paninis, and a couple of vegan bowls that use tempeh or seitan. Or you can create your own bowl.

The ingredients include a lot of veggies, brown rice, and other plant-based ingredients like lentils and quinoa. Plus you get to choose your own salsa.

7. Café Elephant Garden

📍 Zicatela

While this isn’t a strictly vegan-vegetarian restaurant, Elephant Garden is a staple Zicatela restaurant with quite a few vegetarian and vegan food options clearly marked on the menu. They also take things a step further by making their own plant milk. And sweet lovers will enjoy their homemade vegan desserts.

The space at Elephant Garden consists of a small dining area that expands to the outdoor garden seating which often has live music on the weekends. This is one of the top places for breakfast in Puerto Escondido, so anticipate that there may be a wait for a table at peak times.

Shops for Vegan Food in Puerto Escondido

There are a number of small tiendas in Puerto Escondido where you can buy vegan food to cook. Most of these aren’t purely vegan but they sell lots of vegan products, baked goods, and veggies.

8. Señor Salud – An Organic Tienda

📍 Los Mangos (near Centro)

Owner Evelia has curated an organic tienda full of natural products, produce, and homemade kombucha. With a background in the spa industry, I step inside a lot of these little health food stores to browse.

At Señor Salud I was immediately impressed with the unique selection of products. Evelia explained that she tries to source only local products, though she will make exceptions for specific requests.

I fell in love with this store as soon as I walked in but then I fell in love again, with copal oil. I was already familiar with copal from the energy cleansing I’d received before a temazcal ceremony in Oaxaca. But to have its intoxicating scent in oil form is really something special.

I highly recommend going out of your way to shop at this unique health store in Puerto.

9. Moringa Fresh and Wild

📍 La Punta

Moringa is one of the oldest health food stores in Puerto Escondido. And like the others, they also offer a range of interesting products with a large selection of face and body care.

In the refrigerated section, you’ll also find kombucha and artisanal beer as well as some prepackaged snacks that are perfect to take to the beach such as an acai bowl, baba ganoush, and vegan sushi. 

The frozen section has veggie patties and vegan desserts and there is a small selection of fresh veggies. Other items include Mama Pacha chocolate from Oaxaca City, granola, coffee, tea, a small bulk section, and of course, mezcal.

10. Verde Puerto Rinconada

📍 Rinconada

In addition to a selection of organic vegetables and bulk items, this health store in Rinconada carries a lot of products made by other small businesses in Oaxaca. This means by shopping here you’ll be supporting more than just Verde itself.

One of the most notable for vegans is the bean tempeh made by Oryza Om, a fermented food specialist whose range of products you can see on their Facebook page.

There are also some cacao energy snacks and other snacks you can pick up to go as well as things for the pantry such as tahini, a creamy pumpkin seed spread, and coffee from Binisa Cafe.

11. Canela Tienda Vegana y Organica

📍 Mercado Zicatela | Rinconada

Canela organic and vegan store has a couple of locations in Puerto Escondido as well as one in Mazunte. The location inside of Mercado Zicatela is the largest, with a wide selection of bulk items including cooking oils, shampoo, and soap.

There are also bulk spices, beans, and alternative flours for cooking. One of the most interesting is the basket of healthy tostadas made using unique ingredients, such as beets, sesame seeds, moringa, and nopal cactus.