Vegan in The Woodlands, Texas Guide (with gluten-free options, updated April 2020)

Looking for vegan food in The Woodlands, Texas? There are quite a few options now, including an all vegan bakery and cafe!

If I’ve missed any places, please let me know, and I’ll add them. I’ll also update this as I hear of/try more places.

I’ve done my best to make this list as accurate as possible, but I recommend confirming that everything is vegan before ordering at places that don’t label menu options as vegan, and always double check on the gluten free status of foods if you have allergies/Celiac.

Wisdom’s Bakery and Cafe (100% Vegan!)

Y’all, I’m so excited that there’s a vegan restaurant in The Woodlands now! Wisdom Bakery and Cafe has coffee and tea, smoothies, baked goods like cupcakes and pie, and a regular menu with sandwiches, wraps, and burgers as well! Check out this post to see what I tried there during my last visit.

 

Bella Green (Research Forrest)–Vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free items are marked on the menu. The Oh Kale Yeah Salad is vegan & gluten free–I get it with blackened tofu and love it so much I created my own version.

Other things that appear to be vegan are vegetable minestrone, the veggie wrap, veggie lettuce wraps/super veggie tacos (without cheese), fries/sweet potato fries, quinoa salad, roasted vegetables, and sauteed cauliflower. Make sure to ask if what you’re ordering is vegan though because I was told their gluten free pizza crust was vegan and later found out it actually contains honey. (I’ve also tried confirming their vegan options various times via email and have never received a response.) They have gf desserts but sadly none are vegan.

Black Walnut Cafe (Research Forest)–Now has one option labeled as vegan on the menu–the Lightlife® Burger.

Blue Door Coffee (Waterway, added 2019)– They have a few vegan options labeled on their menu–a green goddess bagel, quinoa power bowl, and vegan chocolate chip cookies. According to Happy Cow, they have soy, almond, and oat milk, and also serve the Just egg–but it’s not listed on the menu, so double check before going if that’s what you want.

Chipotle (Six Pines & College Park Drive)–Vegan and gluten free items are marked on their allergen guide. Their tofu sofritas, tortillas, vegetables, rice, beans, salsas, chips, and guacamole are vegan, and everything on their menu is gluten free besides flour tortillas.

Chuy’s (Shenandoah/I-45 South)–Chuy’s has been one of my fave places in The Woodlands long before I was vegan, so I’m glad I can still eat there. Vegetarian items are marked on the menu–I usually get the Veggie Enchiladas (no cheese), but there are a few other vegan options like chips and guacamole, nachos (no cheese), dinner salad with cilantro vinaigrette, Bean and Cheese Burrito (no cheese)–there’s a full list of options here. As far as I know nothing is strictly gluten free.

Dimassi’s Mediterranean Kitchen (Lake Woodlands)– I haven’t been to Dimassi’s yet but have been meaning to check it out–they have a buffet with foods labeled with ingredients so you can see the vegan and gluten free options like potatoes, hummus, baba ghanouge, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, and more.

DrinkabiliTea Cafe (College Park)– They have tea and smoothies as well as vegan sandwiches, burgers, and wraps. No gluten free options are listed, but I asked about/ordered the Lettuce Wraps a while back, and as far as I know they are gf.

Dunkin’ Donuts (College Park)–Check out a list of the vegan options at Dunkin’ Donuts here.

Falacos–Falacos is an all vegan and gluten free food truck that serves tacos with fried falafel balls. I don’t count them as a vegan place in The Woodlands since they travel around Houston/aren’t in The Woodlands that often, and I’ve only caught them in The Woodlands a couple of times. Definitely try them if they’re in the area though!

Flower Child (Lake Woodlands, added 2019)– This healthy restaurant chain just opened up in The Woodlands recently in 2019, and I’m looking forward to trying it out because they have quite a few things labeled as both vegan and gluten free. Spicy eggplant and spicy sweet potato noodles? Yes, please!

Freebird’s (Lake Woodlands)— Freebird’s now has Beyond Meat as a vegan protein option, and they also list egg/milk/wheat free ingredients in their allergen guide. I wrote about the Beyond Meat options in this post.

Friday’s (Lake Woodlands)– Friday’s now has the Beyond Meat burger, but to make it vegan you need to order it without cheese or Friday’s sauce, and I’m not clear on whether any of their buns are vegan, so you may need to get it wrapped in lettuce as well. According to this Peta guide, other vegan options include the Black Bean & Avocado Burger (hold the mayo and cheese), nachos (without cheese or sour cream), Loaded Potato Skins (replace the cheese, sour cream, and bacon with guacamole and black beans), and you can special-order angel hair pasta in garlic and olive oil (and add mushrooms, squash, and peppers.) I’ve checked the Friday’s allergen menu though, and none of their sides or fries are vegan–even the veggies contain milk.

Grub Burger Bar— Grub is listed as having vegan options on Happy Cow, and they offer a Beyond Burger, but their buns contain dairy and eggs, so I wouldn’t consider them very vegan friendly. It appears from their allergen guide that the onion rings and fries might be vegan, but I’m not sure–ask about vegan options if you’re interested.

Huti’s 5 Free-Fire Grill–To order vegan at Huti’s, order Make Mine A Veggie (which is two sides)–all of the sides are vegan except the Street Corn, and the Chimichurri (parsley and olive oil), Asado Red (mild with fresh vegetables), and the Piri Piri (spicy with jalapenos and paprika) sauces are all vegan as well as the vinagrete. (Confirmed vegan options via email January 2018.) They also said that basically their whole menu is gluten free besides the brownie.

Kona Grill (Waterway)– They used to have vegan (and gluten free) options listed on a Lifestyle Menu, but it’s not online anymore. The menu used to say that the Vegetarian Roll, Edamame, Seaweed Salad, and House Salad with onion soy, sweet soy, or oil & vinegar dressing (without cheese or croutons) are vegan, but that may have changed so double check. It appears than none of the vegan options are strictly gluten free, and last time I went, they did not have gluten free soy sauce.

MOD Pizza (Indian Springs)– MOD pizza is a build your own pizza place–their regular and gluten free crusts are both vegan, and they have vegan cheese, vegan sauces (red, BBQ, & garlic rub) as well as lots of veggie options (unlimited toppings!) Dairy free/egg free/gluten free options are marked on their allergen guide.

Olive Garden (I-45/The Woodlands Mall)– According to their Allergen Guide and this Peta Guide, some vegan options at Olive Garden are the bread sticks, minestrone, and angel hair, cavatappi, fettuccine, gluten-free rotini, rigatoni, small shells, spaghetti, and whole-wheat linguine pastas, which you can get with marinara or tomato sauce. I haven’t been there since going vegan, but if I ever do, I could get the Rotini with Marinara from the gluten-sensitive menu.

P.F. Changs (The Woodlands Mall)– Vegetarian options are marked on the menu, and they list which items are dairy free/egg free/wheat free on their allergy guide. Some of their vegan options (I’m going by their allergy chart/they aren’t marked as vegan) are their Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps, Buddha’s Feast (steamed or stir-fried), Coconut Curry Vegetables, Ma Po Tofu, Stir Fried Eggplant, Chili Garlic Green Beans, Sichuan-style Asparagus, Wok’d Spinach with garlic, and white and brown rice. Apparently their edamame has egg (ew.)  You can also request that some dishes be made gluten free.

Panera Bread (The Woodlands Mall)– Panera has a guide with their vegan options, which includes bagels, oatmeal, bowls, and salads.

Pure Health Eatery (Research Forest & Sawdust)– Vegan and gluten free options are marked on the menu and include lentil soup and a couple of salads, but none of their main entrees or sandwiches are marked as vegan (you may be able to veganize a few). They also have juices and a few vegan smoothies. Update 2019: Closed.

Red Pheonix Hunan (College Park)– They have a vegetarian section on the menu, some of which are vegan like the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, which is what I got last time. Last time I checked the hostess confirmed the Eggplant as well as the Ma Po Tofu are vegan, but I’m not sure about the other vegetarian options.

Red Robin (Shenandoah/I-45 South)–Check out this post that lists vegan options at Red Robin.

Saigon USA (1488)– Saigon USA is a Vietnamese & Chinese restaurant with quite a few vegan options like pho, vermicelli, spring rolls, egg rolls, bahn mi, edamame, and two vegan tofu dishes (all clearly labeled–hooray!) Check out what I tried during my latest visit here.

Salata (Market Street & College Park)– Vegan and gluten free options are marked on their allergen list and include Lemon Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Fat-free Sun-Dried Tomato dressings, Chipotle White Bean Soup, quinoa and falafel toppings, and tofu and pita chips (not gf).

Sweet Tomatoes— I haven’t gone because it doesn’t look like they have many vegan options, so it doesn’t look worth it to me, but they do have a few things, like salad and baked potatoes/sweet potatoes.

Taco Bell (Multiple locations)– I love that Taco Bell’s are literally everywhere and have quite a few vegan options–check out all of them here.

The Cheesecake Factory (The Woodlands Mall)– They have a Vegan Cobb Salad on the menu, which looks like it could be gf without the farro, but I haven’t verified. They don’t have an allergy guide, but Peta has a list of their vegan options.

The Counter (Market Street)– They used to have an allergen guide on their website, but I couldn’t find it online anymore, so I emailed them, and they sent it to me–the vegan options listed include the Vegan Veggie patty, the Ciabatta bun (they said it is processed on non-vegan equipment if that bothers you), all of the greens, vegan cheddar, chipotle aioli, red relish, spicy tomato jam, apricot sauce, sweet sriracha, house mustard, Just Mayo, ginger soy vinaigrette, thousand island, all of the raw veggies, roasted corn and black bean salsa, almonds, quinoa, artichokes, avocado, sauteed mushrooms, fries and sweet potato fries, veggie skewers, and the Asian Veggie over greens (pictured). Last time I went, I saw they have the Impossible Burger now too. The gluten free bun isn’t vegan, and the vegan veggie patty isn’t gluten free, which I only realized recently. Update 2020: Closed.

Tris (Waterway, added 2019)– I got an email from this fine dining restaurant letting me know that they offer a few vegan options. It looks like there’s only one vegan starter offered on the menu right now, so I’ll keep y’all updated if I go and see what they have–maybe the chef can make some other vegan options.

True Food Kitchen (Market Street)–I finally tried True Food Kitchen recently, and it’s so good! They have quite a few vegan (and gluten free options) including pizza, salads, and other delicious seasonal dishes.

Whole Foods (Hughes Landing)– Whole Foods has quite a few vegan options in their deli section including a salad bar with veggies, rice, beans, tofu, and more. They also have vegan soup options, vegan pasta, potato salad, desserts, and other options in the prepared foods section. I’ve also seen vegan pizza slices and vegan tacos, though I think availability depends on when you go. You can also request vegan Orchid Rolls with black rice from the sushi counter (the vegetarian brown rice rolls contain honey.)

Zoe’s Kitchen (Market Street & Woodlands Parkway)– They don’t have as many vegan options as they used to (RIP the veggie kabobs), but they still have some like hummus, lentil soup, roasted vegetables, braised white beans, turmeric rice, and potato salad, and you could probably customize their salads to make them vegan.

Some other places that may have vegan options that I haven’t confirmed:

Lucky Cafe— Vietnamese food place with a Vegetarian section on the menu including entrees with tofu and imitation meat (they didn’t respond when I reached out to confirm via email.)

Lupe Tortilla— They have a vegetarian section on the menu, but when I called to ask about vegan options whoever answered wasn’t very knowledge, and then when they said they would go ask the chef, they hung up on me.

Ploy–There are mixed reviews on Happy Cow as to whether any of their options are actually vegan (they didn’t respond when I reached out to confirm via email.)

Yucatan Taco Stand–They have some vegetarian options on the menu, but I’m not sure if any of them are or could be modified to be vegan.

Have you tried any vegan options in The Woodlands? Did I miss any? Which are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

Also, check out my past posts on What I Ate in The Woodlands here.

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