25 Delicious Vegan Food Products I Found in Argentina
In December I went back to Buenos Aires, my hometown, after almost 4 years. I hadn’t been there since I moved to the United States. It was a wonderful feeling I’ll explain later in the sustainable guide to Buenos Aires I’m preparing. In terms of food, it was the first time I stepped on Argentinian floor as a vegan. When I left, I was just a vegetarian, and the vegan products were something very difficult to find and were only available in specific stores in downtown Buenos Aires. As a girl from the suburbs, I managed to buy a tofu block occasionally, at most.
I was surprised at the variety of vegan products I found in Argentina, not only in the city, but also in the outskirts. Another thing that I noticed was that, even though these were mostly found at the ‘dietéticas’ (specialized stores in which they sell healthy food and products), there were also several vegan products that could be found at the supermarket, which didn’t happen when I lived there.
Another thing I was very happy about was that at least 95% of the products I saw were also gluten free. I’m a celiac and a vegan, so sometimes I found a gluten-free product that isn’t plant-based, or a vegan product that looks delicious but isn’t gluten free. It doesn’t happen often, because there’s somehow a convergence point between both (if you go to a vegan restaurant, you’ll find several gluten-free options). For this reason, every product you see on this list is something I bought and tried (and liked) and is therefore gluten-free. In Argentina, you can know if a product is gluten-free if there’s the ‘sin T.A.C.C.’ certification, represented by wheat surrounded and covered by a red sign, which you can see in some of the pictures below. T.A.C.C. stands for Trigo (wheat), Avena (Oat), Cebada (barley), and Centeno (rye), the plants that have gluten.
For the vegan products, you will either find the ‘100% a base de plantas’ certification (100% plant-based), or other statements such as ‘100% vegetal’ (100% vegetables), ‘vegano’ or ‘vegan’.
In case you are from Argentina or you’re travelling there, and because a plant-based diet is more sustainable, I prepared this list of the best vegan food products I tried when I visited Buenos Aires. I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy them as much as I did. Please consider there are many more vegan products available, but I didn’t have time to eat them all (I had to invite some friends over to help me eat everything I got!), specially because my meals are usually whole foods, mostly veggies. These are all products I tried, I’m sure the ones I didn’t get a chance to buy were just as delicious.
THE AMAZING VEGAN PRODUCTS I TRIED IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
1) HUMMUS
by Felices Las Vacas
This is the typical chickpeas hummus you can use as a spread on toast, or to add flavor to your salads and bowls, for instance. It also has white sesame seeds, making it a very nutritious option for your meals or snacks.
2) QUINOA AND BROCCOLI BURGERS
by Nutree
You can cook these in the oven or in a pan in a few minutes. What I love about these is that have healthy ingredients (nothing you can’t pronounce!): quinoa, yamani rice, broccoli, onion, sunflower oil, flaxseed, manioc starch, salt, and spices. They also come in other flavors, like spinach.
3) QUINOA PIZZA WITH VEGAN MOZZARELLA
by Mundo Vegetal
This was one of the products I loved the most. It was full of flavor, and the crust was so good! The crust is made of quinoa, and it’s topped with broccoli and leek, and a vegan mozzarella (which they call Muzzalmendra, a compund word made from the words muzzarella and almendra, which is mozzarella and almond).
4) VEGAN NUGGETS
by Green Kitchen
I’m not sure if I ever tried vegan nuggets before these. I might have tried them in New York, but I think they were made of tofu. They sell vegan nuggets in the U.S. but the ones I’ve seen aren’t gluten-free. Luckily, I found gluten-free plant-based nuggets in Argentina! They’re made of chickpeas and quinoa, and I cooked them in the oven to get them crunchy on the outside.
5) BEAN PASTA
by Wakas
This is a great vegan option to enjoy in Argentina. I could eat pasta every day, to be honest, preferably with tomato sauce. It just makes me happy. Pasta and pizza have been my favorite meals since I was a kid (I guess my Italian roots are strong!). To keep it varied, I buy regular gluten-free pasta (usually made of rice, corn or quinoa), and also legume pasta (chickpeas, lentils, or beans), which have more protein. I eat these with sautéed veggies, and enjoyed it a lot.
6) MUSHROOM RISOTTO
by Molé
This mushroom risotto was super delicious and tasty. It doesn’t have any salt, and it’s made with pine mushroom (Géneros Boletus). I didn’t eat it as a whole meal, but rather cooked a pot and eat it as a side dish with veggies and some of the other vegan products I featured in this post.
7) CHICK’N BURGERS
by Felices Las Vacas
These vegan chick’n burgers (Chicken Vil) have a lot of protein per portion: 18 grams. It’s a burger made mainly from texturized pea protein, and that simulates the chicken flavor. I still have some trouble eating these kinds of products, because they remind me of their meat alternatives, which I find disgusting. To me it just tasted like another thing (I don’t remember the taste of chicken, really, after almost 12 years without eating any meat), but I think these plant-based replacements are great for anyone who might like the taste of meat, but wants to go plant-based or vegan for the animals, health, or the environment.
8) QUINOA NUGGETS
by Kaia
These quinoa veggie nuggets were good, but different from the ones from Green Kitchen, which I appreciated (so I can have two unique experiences with each!). Kaia’s tasted a bit more homemade, whereas Green Kitchen’s tasted more like the ones you usually find in a fast-food restaurant. These are great to accompany with a salad.
9) BLACK QUINOA BITES
by Mundo Vegetal
Another yummy product from Mundo Vegetal, these black quinoa bites with muzzalmendra (vegan mozzarella made from almonds) and portobello mushrooms, felt similar to falafel. You can cook them in the oven and them eat them as snacks, appetizers, in a wrap or burrito, or to add extra nutrition to your bowls.
10) MARGARITA PIZZA
by Veg & Veggie
I took this margarita pizza with dried tomatoes, basil and vegan mozzarella, to my friend’s party. They were having pizzas on the grill, and I told them I would bring in my own gluten-free vegan pizza. They saved a clean spot for me on the grill. At first, it seemed that the mozzarella wasn’t melting, but then I pressed it with a fork, and it was perfect!
11) RAW CREPES
by Crudencio
These green-leaves raw vegan crepes are perfect for wraps, tacos, or lasagna, and they’re mostly made of flaxseeds, coconut, chards, zucchini, and apples. It’s a good way to add plants to your diet, and also to add some versatility to your dishes. So don’t worry about eating as a vegan in Argentina, you’re good!
12) VEGAN PROVOLONE
by Felices Las Vacas
This is one product that blew my mind, because I’ve never heard about it before. This is what we call provoleta in Argentina, and it usually goes on the grill when people have barbecue. It’s like a rounded provolone that starts melting when heated. It’s made with almonds and cashews. In my case, I cooked it in the oven, and it was still super tasty. What I like about this is that it homogenizes vegan with non-vegans. You can still have a provoleta with everyone else, only vegan. And if you can replace everything in a barbeque and make it vegan, you won’t have a problem blending in with the locals.
13) VEGGIE STICKS
by ViaVita
These veggie sticks are made of tomato, beetroot and olive, and they’re great to have as a snack, or to eat while you cook your main deal. I served them before lunch with my friends, and there weren’t any left in a matter of seconds. A great vegan product to try in Argentina.
14) VEGAN CHIPA
by Santa Mandioca
I love chipá (in Argentina we’re obsessed with them). I used to eat them as snacks when I was in college. They sold them straight out of the oven, and we shared them between my friends while we chatted and walked around campus. These are the vegan version, made with potato cheese. In case you’ve never heard about chipá, they’re like cheese breads. When you cook them in the oven, you get a crispy exterior, and the inside’s soft and sticky. I cook my own a few times a year, but it was nice finding them ready-to-eat while traveling. This is definitely on my top 3 vegan products in Argentina you should try.
15) VEGAN SMOKED CHEESE
by Crudda
This vegan smoked cheese is made of cashews, and it’s a great source of vitamin B12. I used it to prepare a famous picada, a typical argentinian dish served as a starter (or as a main dish you really know how to make a good picada), which fusions Spanish’ tapas and Italian’s antipasto, offering a variety of finger foods that are often accompanied with wine. A typical picada serves a variety of cheeses, so this product was a nice addition to my vegan picada!
16) VEGAN SNACK BAR
by Felices Las Vacas
Okay, I guess you noticed how Felices Las Vacas shows up a lot on this list (and you still haven’t seen it all!). That’s because they have so many vegan products, every time I turned around in the dietética, I found another one, and my shopping cart got bigger by the minute.
This snack bar is made with almond spread and is covered in chocolate. I ate it with a coffee at my office, once I was back home in Miami, because I truly didn’t have the physical capacity of eating everything in only 10 days!
17) BLACK ALFAJOR
by Felices Las Vacas
Alfajor is another one of our typical foods. They’re the typical snack you ate at school when you were younger. It’s like a sandwich cookie. In this case, the middle is filled with almond spread and tastes like dulce de leche, and is covered in chocolate.
This vegan alfajor tasted the same as its non-vegan counterpart, and I brought a bunch of these and the peanut ones to the office as a souvenir, and everyone was amazed at how good and similar to the regular ones they were. None were left! Another top 3 vegan products in Argentina you can’t miss.
18) PEANUT ALFAJOR
by Felices Las Vacas
Another flavor for this wonderful snack (or dessert)! This is the vegan alternative to the kind of alfajor that’s a bit harder (the black alfajor is softer), so when you bite it you can hear a ‘crunch’.
The middle, in this case, is filled with peanut butter, and it’s also covered in chocolate.
19) ALMOND AND SEEDS BITES
by Natural Candy Bites
Almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, covered in chocolate. A delicious snack or dessert with a lot of nutritive ingredients.
It’s vegan and also kosher, and a great option for when you’re craving something sweeter but want it to be healthy.
20) PLANT-BASED CRACKERS
by Crudencio
Some plant-based cookies to add to your list of vegan foods to try in Argentina! These are made from peas and agroecological buckwheat. They don’t have any additives or preservatives, and they’re raw and parve, as well as gluten-free.
21) ALMOND BUTTER
by Vrink
I genuinely don’t understand how this product is SO good, because the only ingredient it’s made of is almonds. Nothing else. It doesn’t have sugar or additives, it’s just almonds in their full glory. The consistency is creamy and I didn’t get to try it in Argentina; I opened it at home, and put it in my breakfast oatmeal for a morning boost of flavor and protein.
22) COCONUT SPREAD
by Doña Magdalena
Behold! I bring you the good news: a vegan alternative for the famous, the beloved, the one and only dulce de leche. This is probably the product you’ll find in most Argentinian homes. Don’t judge me, but I was never crazy about it. I always preferred Nutella (which I have a vegan replacement for now). Dulce de leche is everywhere you look, especially in baked goods and some products, like alfajor.
Some go berserk without it, so I’m happy to inform you that there are several vegan dulce de leche options in Argentina. Whether you’re Argentinian, or you’re traveling there and want a taste of Argentinian culture, you won’t have to abstain.
This one is made of coconut, and I also opened it at home in Miami. I use it as a spread on toast, but some people just dig a spoon on it and have a bellyful.
23) ALMOND SPREAD
by Felices Las Vacas
This is another vegan dulce de leche alternative, but made of almonds. You can try both and compare them. They did taste different, and this one had a thicker consistency, like a repostero, which is a type of dulce de leche that’s preferred to use in baking.
24) OAT DRINK
by Vrink
I never found gluten-free oats when I lived in Argentina. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they are always processed together with wheat, so it’s usually contaminated. When oats are gluten-free, they’re grown separately from other grains. Luckily, I found a gluten-free oat milk to take with my coffee. It has a lot of fiber, and is fortified with vitamins A, D2, E, B2, B12, Folic Acid, and calcium.
25) VEGAN MILK
by NotCo
NOT MILK is a plant-based milk by the NotCo company, that’s mostly made of pea protein and inulin, and is fortified with vitamins D and B12. I put it on my coffee or I used it to cook my oats.
My non-vegan friends tried it and they said it tasted really good and they couldn’t really tell the difference between regular milk and this one.
That’s my list of 25 vegan products to try in Argentina. Hopefully you get to visit this amazing country soon and eat all these and many more!
Is there one you would be most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below.
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Hi, I’m Melina,
I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.
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