Did you know that Oklahoma City is home to several plant-based restaurants? That’s right, an area of the country known for barbecue and steak offers up some delicious, mouth-watering vegetarian and vegan fare that even the most committed steak connoisseur couldn’t pass up. If you’ve never eaten at one of these tasty and flavorful plant-based restaurants, now’s the time to be courageous and try something new. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

The Loaded Bowl

A bowl of plant-based macaroni and cheese from an Oklahoma City restaurant

baked mac on round black ceramic plate” used with permission via Unsplash by ronaldordeoliveira

The Loaded Bowl opened in 2013 as Oklahoma’s first vegan food truck. They now have a lovely brick-and-mortar location with a restaurant, bar, and catering menu. Its mission is to provide conscious comfort food that is accessible, affordable, and cruelty-free. They are also proud to offer a livable wage and a safe space for their employees to work.

Creating one-of-a-kind recipes using plant-based foods is their number one goal. They believe in making healthy meals accessible and affordable while also using ethically sourced ingredients. This belief is apparent in everything they do as all of their food packages are reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable.

Known for their macaroni and cheese bowls, The Loaded Bowl began with this one dish that made them extremely popular. Their Cashew Mac and Cheese is a large serving of creamy macaroni and cheese made with cashew cheese, and it’s also available in barbecue, Buffalo, and maple chili flavors. They also serve a Mashed Potato Bowl with rosemary mashed potatoes, sage gravy, cashew cheese, grilled corn, and fried vegan chicken. Other bowls include a hearty lasagna, layered enchilada, sesame rice, and orange chicken.

Nourished Food Bar

The Nourished Food Bar is another clean eating restaurant located in the Business District of downtown OKC. They’ve designed their restaurant as a grab-and-go locale offering a variety of salads, soups, sandwiches, snacks, and bites. The staff at Nourished Food believes that food is a powerful way to create and support life, and should be used to connect yourself with those around you. Their goal is to make food simple and uncomplicated.

Most of their recipes are free of many of the top allergens such as dairy, gluten, and nuts. While their menu offerings remain the same, the flavors and tastes may change based on the season and what’s available at local farmers markets.

Their hearty salads are available as whole or half orders and their sandwiches are made with house-made gluten-free bread. This restaurant also offers several baked goods such as blueberry banana muffins, pumpkin muffins, cookies, oat granola, and whole loaves of their homemade bread. The food options don’t stop there. Convenient, yet healthy packaged foods and snacks include carrots and house-made hummus, sweet potato almond crackers and cashew cheese spread, and homemade fig bars. Be sure to complete your lunch or dinner with coffee, tea, kombucha, or sparkling water.

Nabati Vegan Mediterranean

Nabati Vegan Mediterranean is a completely vegan restaurant that creates dishes inspired by the owner’s mother and her Mediterranean home cooking. Nabati means plant-based in Arabic and that’s exactly the type of food this restaurant serves. From pizzas and platters to sandwiches and sides, there is something for everyone at Nabati’s.

If pizza sounds amazing to you, choose from their hand-tossed, crispy thin, or gluten-free crust and indulge in a barbecue, Margherita, Mediterranean, Zaatar, or supreme pizza pie. Their platters include a Shawarma Plate with chick’n shawarma, rice, hummus, and salad, or the Majadarah, which includes rice with lentil beans, fried onions, and salad. Sandwiches abound with the Falafel Pita, Shawarma Wrap, or Chick’n Burger. Don’t forget about their healthy salads! Add a Chick’n Salad, Tabbouleh Salad, or Greek Salad to round out your meal.

If you want something light, Nabati’s offers an assortment of sides from hummus to falafel to stuffed grape leaves. Their signature sweets include homemade baklava with layers of flakey phyllo dough filled with different flavors like pistachio, chocolate, coconut, and pumpkin spice.

The Red Cup

Founded in 1995, The Red Cup is known for having a simple yet eclectic reputation as Oklahoma City’s all-vegetarian restaurant. Located near the Asian District, they are open for breakfast and lunch and feature an amazing coffee and tea bar.

The Red Cup serves breakfast all day including oatmeal, granola, yogurt, and gluten-free biscuits and gravy. If you’re looking for a more hearty brunch, try their breakfast burritos filled with a variety of foods including potatoes, beans, onions, peppers, tofu scramble, and creamy cashew cheese sauce. You may also want to order the Mt. Saint Chorizo which is layered with corn tortillas, potatoes, black beans, P.B. crumbles, onions, peppers, tomatoes, salsa chorizo, avocado, cilantro, and tofu scramble.

Along with their exceptional breakfast offerings, The Red Cup also features a wide range of sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, pasta dishes, and entrees for lunch. The Meatless Ball Sub is made with P.B. balls on a toasted baguette and topped with cashew cheese, house-made marinara, and herbs. Their burgers are full of flavor, like the Chili Burger, a P.B. patty with cashew cheese, chili, pickled jalapeno, red onion, and mustard. For a meal that won’t disappoint, order the Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, Macho Nachos, or P.B. Steak and Gravy.

Picasso Cafe

Located in the Paseo District of downtown OKC, Picasso Cafe is a health-conscious restaurant that features made-from-scratch meals. They are quite mindful of the dietary needs of everyone who walks through their door. While they’re not an all-vegetarian restaurant, they do offer an exhaustive vegetarian menu that is bound to please even the most dedicated carnivore.

Begin with one or more of their Plates to Share such as the Vegan Avocado Toast or the Vegan Sliders. Enjoy their vegetarian entrees like the Vegan Quinoa Tacos, Chicken Fried Portabello, Kung Pao Spicy Cauliflower, or Mushroom Reuben Sandwich. What makes the Picasso Cafe truly unique is their monthly Veggie Dinners. Each month, their team creates a unique, five-course vegetarian meal complete with wine pairings.

At Crème de la Crème of Oklahoma City, we’d love to hear what your favorite plant-based, vegetarian, or vegan restaurants are. Drop us a line and we’ll be sure to add it to our list above.