Vegan & Vegetarian Food in Bali: A Complete Guide

In Brief

Vegetarian food in Bali is easy to find, at a village warung or at one of Ubud's vegan landmarks. Traditional Balinese food offers naturally vegetarian dishes like gado-gado, urap, and tempeh and tofu in spice paste.

Ubud is the easiest base, with many dedicated vegan restaurants, and Canggu and Seminyak have plenty of healthy cafes.

The main things to watch are shrimp paste (terasi) and fish in sambal and sauces, so learn a couple of phrases and ask.

Plant-Based Bali at a Glance

• Easiest base: Ubud, for dedicated vegan and vegetarian restaurants
• Also strong: Canggu, Berawa, Seminyak (healthy cafes)
• Traditional veg dishes: Gado-gado, urap, tempeh, tofu, nasi campur sayur
• Watch for: Shrimp paste (terasi), fish sauce, fish in sambal
• Useful phrase: "Saya vegetarian / vegan" and "tanpa terasi" (without shrimp paste)
• Cost: Warung vegetable plates are among the cheapest meals on the island, and dedicated vegan cafes charge cafe prices
• Availability: Easy island-wide, easiest in Ubud

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Two Things Make Plant-Based Eating Easy in Bali

The first is the food the island already cooks.

Traditional Balinese and Indonesian food leans heavily on vegetables, tempeh, tofu and rice, so naturally meat-free dishes are common, including at humble warungs.

The second is Ubud's international wellness scene, which has built a dense network of vegan, raw and vegetarian restaurants over the past decade.

You can eat a plant-based tasting plate one day and a vegetable nasi campur from a warung the next.

Five Traditional Dishes That Are Often Vegetarian

These are the dishes to look for on a warung menu, each with what to check before you order.

Gado-gado. Steamed and raw vegetables with a peanut sauce, an Indonesian classic that is reliably vegetarian, though check the sauce.

Urap. Vegetables tossed with grated, spiced coconut, a Balinese staple that is usually vegan.

Urap, vegetables in grated spiced coconut. Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Tempeh and tahu (tofu). Fermented soybean and tofu, fried or cooked in spice paste, are on almost every menu. Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food, native to Java, where it is a staple source of protein, and it is excellent here.

Nasi campur sayur. The vegetable version of the everyday rice plate, a spread of vegetable sides around rice. Ask for "sayur" (vegetable) and check there is no meat or fish stock.

Sayur urab and jukut. Various cooked-vegetable dishes, found especially in the north and in villages. See what to eat in Bali for the wider food picture.

Ask About Two Ingredients: Shrimp Paste and Fish

Bali is easy for plant-based eaters, but two ingredients turn up in dishes that look meat-free.

Terasi (shrimp paste) is in many sambals and some vegetable dishes. Ask for "tanpa terasi", which means without shrimp paste.

Fish and fish sauce can appear in otherwise vegetable dishes and in sambal. At warungs especially, ask.

Learning "saya vegetarian" or "saya vegan", then "tanpa terasi, tanpa ikan" (without shrimp paste, without fish), covers most situations. Dedicated vegan restaurants, common in Ubud, remove the guesswork.

Where to Eat by Area: Ubud, Canggu, Seminyak and the North

Ubud. The easiest base, with many vegan, raw and vegetarian restaurants. The Seeds of Life Raw Food Cafe, on the tourism ministry's vegetarian list below, is in Ubud. The wider Ubud picture is in where to eat in Ubud.

An organic cafe on Jalan Hanoman, Ubud. Photo: Fabio Achilli / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Canggu and Berawa. A strong healthy-cafe scene, with smoothie bowls, plant-based brunch and surf-town wellness food.

Seminyak. Plenty of healthy and vegan-friendly options alongside the international restaurants.

The north. Quieter, with few dedicated vegan restaurants and a great many warungs. There is a section on the north below.

Five Restaurants the Tourism Ministry Lists

Indonesia's tourism ministry keeps its own list of vegetarian restaurants in Bali. It is a useful starting point because it is an official listing, and it reaches past the obvious names.

These are the five, in the ministry's own description:

• Peloton Supershop, Tibubeneng in North Kuta, is a plant-based, bicycle-themed cafe with salads, vegan burgers and smoothie bowls. Map
• I Am Vegan Babe, Canggu, serves plant-based Western food and drinks, with the stated aim of showing that vegetarian dishes can stand beside animal-based ones. Map
• The Seeds of Life Raw Food Cafe, Ubud, serves Western-inspired raw dishes made from fresh organic ingredients, with a long dessert list. Map
• Sakti Dining Room, inside the Fivelements wellness retreat by the Ayung river at Mambal, is the ministry's pick for vegan fine dining. Map
• The Shady Shack, Canggu, serves vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free food: smoothies, bowls, burgers and wraps. Map

Restaurants open and close, so check the listing, and the restaurant's own account, before you build a day around one.

North Bali Has Few Vegan Restaurants and Many Warung Vegetable Plates

North Bali has few dedicated vegan restaurants and a great many warungs, which turns out to be workable.

The vegetable half of a nasi campur is the default meal here, made up of:

• urap
• long beans in coconut
• tempeh in sweet soy
• fried tofu
• sometimes jackfruit

Say tanpa terasi and tanpa ikan and you have eaten well for very little.

Lovina and the coast road have cafes used to the request. The best restaurants in Lovina and the best cafes in north Bali cover what is there. The best warungs in north Bali covers the cheaper end, and the kitchens and dishes to ask for are in vegetarian and vegan food in north Bali.

Practical Notes

Specifics change. Confirm locally.

• Best value: the vegetable nasi campur and the vegetable sides at a warung
• Say: "Saya vegan/vegetarian," "tanpa terasi," "tanpa ikan"
• Ask about: shrimp paste and fish in sambal and sauces
• For no guesswork: base yourself in Ubud, for its dedicated vegan and vegetarian restaurants
• Budget: cheap at warungs, cafe prices at dedicated vegan cafes

FAQ

Is Bali good for vegans and vegetarians? Yes. Ubud's vegan scene and the naturally vegetable-heavy traditional food, found even at warungs, make it easy to eat plant-based.

Where is the best vegan food in Bali? Ubud is the easiest place to find it, with many vegan, raw and vegetarian restaurants. Canggu and Seminyak are also strong.

What traditional Balinese dishes are vegetarian? Gado-gado, urap (spiced coconut vegetables), tempeh and tofu dishes, and nasi campur sayur (the vegetable rice plate), among others. Check for shrimp paste and fish.

What do I need to watch for as a vegetarian in Bali? Shrimp paste (terasi) in sambal and vegetable dishes, and fish or fish sauce in otherwise meat-free dishes. Learn "tanpa terasi" and "tanpa ikan" and ask at warungs.

Is vegan food expensive in Bali? Dedicated vegan cafes charge cafe prices, the same as any other cafe aimed at visitors. Naturally vegetarian warung dishes are among the cheapest food on the island.

Can you eat vegan in north Bali? Yes, though with fewer dedicated restaurants than Ubud. Warungs across the north serve naturally vegetarian dishes, and cafes around Lovina and Munduk cater to plant-based diets.

Sources

• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, 5 Vegetarian Restaurants in Bali You've Probably Never Heard Of, for the five restaurants listed above, read September 2026 (in English)
• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, Vegetarian Restaurants in Indonesia, for its Bali picks, Sakti Dining Room and Peloton Supershop, read September 2026 (in English)
• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, Gado-Gado Betawi, for gado-gado's vegetables, tofu, tempeh and peanut sauce, read September 2026 (in English)
• Wikipedia, Urap, Tempeh and Terasi, read September 2026 (in English)

Next: what to eat in Bali for the whole table, and Bali belly for eating at warungs without trouble.