26 of the Best Vegetarian and Vegan Dishes at Walt Disney World

Vegetarian and vegan food is finally getting its time in the limelight at destinations across the country, and Walt Disney World no exception. Gone are the days when plant eaters were left with nothing but sad side salads and French fries-Disney World restaurants now offer a bounty of flavor-forward, plant-based and vegetarian dishes, many so good they've become must-orders for even the most militant meat-eaters. An October 2019 rollout of hundreds of plant-based dishes on menus across Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort and an ongoing "strategic alliance" between Disney and Impossible Foods has kept a steady parade of new offerings coming to Disney World menus so frequently that it's hard to keep up-even as a Disney World regular. This list could easily be twice as long, but here are 25 of my favorite vegan and vegetarian dishes at Walt Disney World.

Lottawatta Lodge, Disney's Blizzard Beach

Walt Disney World has been adding plant-based burgers to menus across the parks and resorts and lucky for veggie burger lovers, they're not all created equal-in a good way. Different plant-based patties, buns, and toppings mean you rarely get the same burger twice. I certainly didn't expect to discover one of the best veggie burgers at Walt Disney World at a water park, but Lottawatta Lodge at Disney's Blizzard Beach serves a GREAT one. What makes this Impossible Burger ($11.49) really stand out is the delicious plant-based chipotle mayonnaise topping. It's also topped with lettuce and tomato and served with house-made chips. Coming in at a very close second for plant-based dishes at Blizzard Beach is the Plant-based Bratwurst Sandwich, topped with roasted pepper and pickled onions.

Via Napoli, EPCOT

Head to EPCOT's Italy pavilion for authentic Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas, churned out from Via Napoli's three wood-burning ovens named after Italy's three active volcanoes, Etna, Vesuvius, and Stromboli. Vegetarians can't go wrong with the classic Margherita Pizza (starts at $21), topped with creamy fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and fresh, fragrant basil. Make it vegan by requesting vegan mozzarella.

Whispering Canyon Café, Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Skillets are the main event for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Whispering Canyon Café at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Vegans can load up on more plant-based protein than you've ever seen on a single plate with the Plant-Based Signature Skillet ($34), an extravaganza of maple-chipotle barbecued jackfruit, spicy "sausage," mustard-glazed beefless tips, and herb-brushed "trick'n chick'n," plus roasted potatoes, oven-roasted carrots, sautéed green beans and charred peppers. It's also served with vegan coleslaw and a delicious vegan cornbread and butter.

Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, Disney's Hollywood Studios

This is one kid-sized, vegan meal that could easily please (and fool) most meat eaters. The Peka Pasta Rings Youngling Meal ($8.99) at Docking Bay 7 at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is tiny pasta rings topped with an Impossible meat marinara sauce and served with a side of broccoli. This dish is so good I've long wished there was an adult-sized version on the menu!

Ale & Compass Restaurant, Disney's Yacht Club Resort

You might not think of a big ol' bowl of cauliflower as the perfect way to satisfy a craving for a salty, spicy snack, but this starter ($9) from Ale & Compass Restaurant (also available at Ale & Compass Lounge and for mobile order from the restaurant's to-go menu) hits the spot, especially when your body is demanding veggies after a few too many theme park snacks. Roasted and tossed in a tangy, spicy Buffalo sauce and served with hearts of romaine and an herb ranch for dipping, one taste and you'll be looking to recreate it at home on football Sundays.

Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen, Magic Kingdom

One of the most underrated restaurants at Walt Disney World, both for its theming and inventive menu, Skipper Canteen is a newer addition to Adventureland but has become a must-visit spot to get the full story of Jungle Cruise, one of Magic Kingdom's most iconic attractions. When Skipper Canteen opened in 2016 as the "headquarters" for the Jungle Navigation Co. LTD's skippers, it extended the backstory of the famed ride, which also happens to be undergoing an extensive update to be completed later this summer. Skipper Canteen offers two plant-based entrees so good you'll just have to visit twice! First up, the Curried Vegetable Crew Stew ($19), colorful veggies and delicate, crispy pineapple tofu in a house-made curry sauce served with tender coconut rice.

Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen, Magic Kingdom

The second plant-based highlight on Skipper Canteen's exotic, but crowd-pleasing menu, the Perkins Thai Noodles ($25) are a fan favorite. Rice noodles tossed in a Spicy Soy-Chili-Garlic Sauce are topped with crisp, colorful veggies and firm, seared tofu. If your meat-eating pals get jealous, this dish is also available with chicken upon request.

Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, Disney's Hollywood Studios

The main quick-service location at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo serves features a plant-based dish that's as well received by carnivores as vegetarians. The Felucian Kefta and Hummus Garden Spread ($12.99) stars flavorful plant-based meatballs made with a mildly spiced blend of Impossible "meat" and quinoa and served on top of cold herb hummus and crisp tomato-cucumber relish with pita bread.

Nomad Lounge, Disney's Animal Kingdom

A once-slightly hidden gem that's ever-increasing in popularity, Nomad Lounge at Disney's Animal Kingdom serves small plates and inventive cocktails. The Impossible Sliders ($15) are more than your average veggie burgers. Delicately spiced, they're topped with crunchy slaw and Chipotle Aioli and served with thick-cut Yucca Fries. Grab a comfy couch on the terrace for a front-row view of passing character flotillas.

Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue, EPCOT

A welcome addition to the American Adventure pavilion in EPCOT's World Showcase, Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue is a meat-lover's paradise of smoked and barbecued meats dishes. Vegetarians and vegans aren't left out though. The BBQ Jackfruit Burger ($12.99) is a plant-based burger served on garlic toast and topped with BBQ jackfruit (a relative of figs and breadfruit with a stringy consistency that mimics pulled pork), plant-based mayo and lettuce. The burger is served with your choice of sides like beer-battered onion rings and mac & cheese but we're partial to the house-made pickles.

Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera, Disney's Riviera Resort

Since opening in December of 2019, the food at Disney's Riviera Resort has continued to impress. Riviera's culinary crown jewel, Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera is home to easily the best character meal on property for breakfast and brunch, and an elevated French and Italian-inspired dinner experience with a side of sweeping views of Walt Disney World. Grab a drink on the terrace then start with antipasti like the Ricotta with tomato, aged balsamic, cracked pepper, basil, and house-made epi bread and the Olives Marinées served with lemon, garlic, marjoram and bay leaf. For a plant-based main event, the Tarbais Bean Cassoulet ($34) impresses. The hearty plant-based dish stars king trumpet mushrooms and plant-based Beyond sausage served in a crispy bread crumb-topped ramekin with a side of tender root veggies.

Le Cellier, EPCOT

There's plenty to fill up vegans at vegetarians at this wine cellar-themed steakhouse in EPCOT's Canada pavilion. Start with the cult-favorite pretzel bread and Plant-based House-made Chorizo Meatballs or a salad before the main event, the Steamed Asian Impossible Dumplings ($34). Plant-based meat dumplings are served in a fragrant broth packed with bok choy, Chinese long beans, red peppers and radishes.

Ronto Roasters, Disney's Hollywood Studios

Vegetarian Star Wars fans have patiently waited since the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge for their own version of the popular Ronto Wraps served at Ronto Roasters. At long last, Disney unveiled the Zuchii Wrap ($11.99), a grilled pita filled with a thick piece of grilled zucchini (in place of the traditional Ronto Wrap's sausage) and topped with smoky chickpea-onion slaw, creamy garlic-tahini sauce, and fresh cilantro (which you can opt to leave off when you Mobile Order on your My Disney Experience app). Only available daily until 3 pm, this is a light, fresh option perfect for lunch in a galaxy far, far away.

Ronto Roasters, Disney's Hollywood Studios

Vegetarians starting their day on Batuu, the Outer-Rim planet where Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is set, should also head to Ronto Roasters for the Triple Suns Breakfast Wrap ($11.49). Plant-based egg is topped with the same flavorful smoky chickpea-onion slaw that comes on the Zuchii Wrap plus roasted tomato sauce and wrapped in pita bread.

Kona Cafe, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Get into a tropical mood with a Lapu Lapu cocktail at Tambu Lounge before you head over to dinner at Kona Café at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. The Vegetable Dashi Bowl is a fragrant, steaming bowl of jasmine broth filled with glass noodles, pineapple tofu, umami tomato, and fresh veggies. Just be sure to save room for a Dole Whip from Pineapple Lanai downstairs for dessert.

Rosie's All-American Café, Disney's Hollywood Studios

If you did a double take at "Plant-Based Lobster Roll," you're not alone. This dish is… unexpected. Just off Sunset Boulevard at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Rosie's serves all the old standbys like hot dogs, burgers, and chicken nuggets. So, it was a bit of a shock when Rosie's rolled out such an unexpected plant-based dish. Marinated hearts of palm stand in for the lobster, and this sandwich is anything but fishy. Instead, flavors of Old Bay dressing, celery, and sweet apples take center stage. If you want to keep it lighter (or if you just hate dill like I do), I recommend Mobile Ordering the extra dressing on the side.

Sanaa, Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village

Sanaa is one of Walt Disney World's most unique restaurants -guests seated near the windows get a front-row view of the animals roaming the savanna at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village. It may be the resort's immersive African theming and seemingly free-roaming zebras and giraffes that bring diners to Sanaa for the first time, but it's the Indian-style Bread Service ($19) that keeps them coming back. This shareable starter has achieved legendary status. Get a selection of flat breads served with nine different dipping sauces. It's great to order for the table as an appetizer, but vegetarians (like yours truly) have been known to make a meal of it. Sanaa's famed bread service is now even available to go via Mobile Order, so you can take it back to the room or enjoy it at a table by the pool.

Flame Tree Barbecue, Disney's Animal Kingdom

The seating area at this quick-service spot at Disney's Animal Kingdom, a toss-up against Satu'li Canteen for best quick-service food in the park, is a tranquil respite with waterfront tables where you can catch a view of the character flotillas sailing by. Meat lovers flock here for the BBQ, but vegans and vegetarians get a great option in the Hot Link Smokehouse Sandwich, a plant-based sausage served in a fresh, pillowy house-made New England-style bun and topped with a tangy mustard barbecue sauce, crunchy slaw, and crispy fried onions.

Woody's Lunch Box, Disney's Hollywood Studios

This certainly isn't the healthiest dish on this list, but vegans deserve their chance to indulge too. Head over to this quick-service spot in Toy Story Land for potato barrels and corn chips (think Tater Tots and Fritos) topped with vegan chili and cheese and green onions. Vegetarians who eat dairy should also consider the delicious Grilled Three-Cheese Sandwich with a side of tomato soup. There's a Plant-based Toasted Cheddar Sandwich available too, but the Totchos are definitely the superior choice from Woody's for vegans.

Spice Road Table, EPCOT

Spice Road Table's open-air seating area overlooking World Showcase Lagoon has always been one of the most atmospheric dining locations at EPCOT. And now, following a transition from third-party to Disney operation and a corresponding new menu, it's become one of my go-to meals at EPCOT. With a laid-back vibe-walk-ins only-and a "lounge" menu of small, sharable plates served all day, this is a great spot to visit on a whim, though you'll probably end up wanting to stay all day. Vegetarian and plant-based options abound, from Naan Spreads and House-made Hummus Fries to my personal favorite, the Pomegranate-Chili Crispy Cauliflower served with Red Pepper Aleppo Sauce.

Trattoria Al Forno, Disney's Boardwalk

Since opening, Trattoria Al Forno has been lauded for their breakfast menu, but I'd always found their traditional Italian dinner offerings to be just okay. But, thanks to a new chef and a new menu unveiled in April 2021, this spot is anything but mediocre. A few bites of the Plant-Based Rigatoni Bolognese ($25) launched Al Forno way up my ranks-this spot is now a serious contender for best Italian food at Walt Disney World. A rich, silky sauce made with well-seasoned Impossible meat, mushrooms, and tomatoes clings to tender, perfectly al dente pasta and makes for one of the heartiest, most satisfying plant-based dishes at Disney World.

Disney's Old Key West Resort

You might not expect a $5 breakfast side to make a list of the best vegetarian dishes at Walt Disney World, but when I recently walked past a table of 6 breakfast diners at Olivia's Café at Disney's Old Key West Resort, each with a heaping bowl of grits alongside their main course, I figured something was up. This may look like a standard, humble bowl of the southern staple, but Olivia's Famous Grits are impossibly creamy, yet somehow fluffy; rich, but not overly heavy. Some choose to take them up a notch and add cheese on top, but they're so good on their own, they don't even need it.

Wine Bar George

After years of nary a vegetarian option beyond macaroni and cheese or cheese pizza, as a rule I almost never order mac & cheese now that restaurants have gotten so much more creative. But, when theme park guru Carlye Wisel demands you order not one, but two orders of the Crispy Mac & Cheese Bites ($12) from George Miliotis' Disney Springs wine bar known for its delicious small plates and expertly curated wine list, you go along with it. Carlye was right. Al dente macaroni in a gooey, velvety cheese sauce is coated in breadcrumbs and fried golden brown for a satisfying texture and crunch. The bites are served atop a tomato nage for the perfect amount of acidity to cut the richness of the cheese. Order them along with the Grilled Romaine and Shishito Peppers and make it a meal fit for vegetarian royalty.

BaseLine Tap House

If you go to Walt Disney World and don't get a pretzel with cheese, were you ever really there? For my money, there's no need to mess with the classic Mickey pretzel dipped in shelf-stable, peel-top "plastic cheese," perfect in its "pasteurized cheese product" predictability. But those who turn their nose up at such things can find a more refined option at BaseLine Tap House at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Here, a Bavarian Pretzel is served with a delicious beer-cheese fondue and spicy mustard, the perfect complement to one of Baseline's California draft brews.

EPCOT

Some of the best plant-based dishes at Walt Disney World come from EPCOT's seasonal festival booths. The 2021 Taste of EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival wraps up for the season July 5, making way for the kickoff of the 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival on July 15. Food & Wine menus haven't been released yet, but we're hoping to see the return of favorites from last year like the plant-based Macaroni & Cheese with House-made Italian Sausage and Peppers and the Impossible Burger Slider with Wasabi Cream and Spicy Asian Slaw on a Sesame Seed Bun.