Food trucks have grown extremely popular over the past two decades for their convenience, fast-casual dining, and, let’s be honest, great Instagram pics. You can pretty much find any cuisine you’d like to eat on wheels if you look hard enough — and that includes plant-based foods! Vegan food trucks are everywhere nowadays. This is great news for vegan foodies, of course. But vegan food trucks are also a fantastic way to bring plant-based foods into more communities without the operating costs of a brick-and-mortar restaurant. (Although several vegan food trucks have grown so popular that they’ve done that, too!)
Ready to start planning the road trip of your dreams? Here are the 10 of the best vegan food trucks across America — the ones local vegans love, the ones local non-vegans love, and the ones that have garnered national attention for being so dang good.
The 10 Best Vegan Food Trucks In the U.S.
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1. Slutty Vegan
Vegan fast food – Atlanta and Jonesboro, Georgia
If there’s a superstar in the vegan food community, it’s Aisha “Pinky” Cole. That’s amazing considering the 32-year-old entrepreneur only founded Slutty Vegan in 2018. Hit up the food truck that Thrillist called one of “the best food trucks in Atlanta” for the insanely popular One Night Stand burger. It’s a plant-based patty with vegan bacon, vegan cheese, caramelized onion, and “slut sauce.” Oh yes, the Slutty Vegan menu teases sexually-themed orders, like the Menage a Trois (a plant-based burger) and the Big Dawg (a plant-based bratwurst). The location of Slutty Vegan’s food truck is posted daily on its social media channels — and it’ll post what’s on offer that day, too. And the three IRL restaurants in Atlanta and Jonesboro aren’t too shabby, either.
Check it out here.
2. Gmonkey
Burgers – Branford, Connecticut
New England is known for its fried clams and lobster more so than its vegan dishes. (Trust me, I’m from Connecticut.) Allow us to introduce you to Gmonkey, a vegan food truck based in the seaside town of Branford. Gmonkey brings plant-based burgers and New York-style cheesecakes around the state. Check the calendar on Gmonkey’s website to find their exact location, usually at farmers’ markets and wineries. (You can also check out GZen — their brick-and-mortar, which was named one of the best vegan restaurants in the country by The Food Network — in Durham, Connecticut.
Check it out here.
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3. Dirty Lettuce
Creole, Cajun, and soul food – Portland, Oregon
There’s no shortage of plant-based dining in Portland. Given that, the Dirty Lettuce vegan food truck is still worth a visit for its vegan Creole, Cajun, and soul food. Owners Kim and Alkebulan are Mississippi transplants who have brought their plant-based ribs, catfish, and fried chicken to the discerning vegan tastebuds of the Pacific Northwest. Now Eater.com calls it one of the 15 essential vegan restaurants in Portland thanks to dishes like their cornbread and candied yams. Find Dirty Lettuce in the new Shady Pines Vegan Food Court alongside other vegan food cart favorites.
Check it out here.
4. The Vegan Food Truck by Ste Martaen
Vegan French cheeses – Chicago, Illinois
If Ste Martaen sounds like a quaint French village, you’re on the right track. The Chicago-based caterer (who are pick-up only at the moment) specializes in vegan gourmet cheeses. Think: charcuterie spreads, crêpes, tartlets, and even vegan lobster mac ‘n cheese. (YUM.) In addition to catering, Ste Martaen operates The Vegan Food Truck. In 2015, readers of the site The Daily Meal ranked it one of the top 101 food trucks in the country. Alas, Ste Martaen’s vegan food truck is only available for private booking at the moment. Here’s hoping that you get invited to a plant-based Chicago wedding soon!
Check it out here.
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5. ATX Food Co.
Tacos, smoothies, and entrees – Austin, Texas
Trust pop star Billie Eilish to know her vegan food. She listed ATX Food Co. to her list of must-visit places for the ultimate vegan road trip — not just in Austin, but across the country. The popular vegan food truck has one of the most robust plant-based menus of any truck on this list. It also has the most unique ingredient: Sea moss. The edible seaweed, also called Irish sea moss, is available in gel form sold by the gallon or added by the spoonful to other food and drinks. Elsewhere on ATX Food Co.’s menu is a long list of smoothies to choose from and an impressive array of nut milks. With Texas BBQ brisket entree to the okra stew to the mango chia pudding on the menu, it will be difficult to decide what to order first.
Check it out here.
6. Frozen Fruit Co.
Ice cream – Los Angeles, CA
Frozen Fruit Co. made LAist’s list of the city’s best vegan and dairy-free ice cream spots for their plant-based ice cream and sorbet. They’re the proud owners of the city’s first-ever plant-based ice cream truck, named Truckie. You can find her driving around the city delivering vegan scoops to one and all. Find Truckie at one of her set locations four days out of the week. Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, and strawberries and cream. You can even buy plant-based peanut butter cups, too! (Or visit Frozen Fruit Co.’s standalone ice cream shop in Santa Monica whenever your sweet tooth hits.)
Check it out here.
7. Soulgood
Mexican food and burgers – Dallas, Texas
“We know finding healthy plant-based, vegan and vegetarian food in Texas can be trickier than shaking a rattlesnake off your boot,” the owners of Soulgood, a vegan restaurant in Dallas, joke on its website. They’ve made it easy for you: the Soulgood vegan food truck serves plant-based soul food around the city and always posts their locations online. Find the truck and pick up the owner and chef Cynthia Nevels’ vegan tamales, vegan beef street tacos, or vegan Mexican chocolate chip cookies. But don’t just take our word for it. Travel experts Lonely Planet named Soulgood one of the top 10 vegan food trucks in the world in their 2019 Vegan Travel Handbook.
Check it out here.
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8. Kind Kravings
Comfort food – Wichita, Kansas
The middle of farm country might not be your first guess for a vegan food truck. But Wichita, Kansas, is exactly where you’ll find Kind Kravings, a plant-based food truck with a retro, kitschy flair. Well, it’s more of a bus, really. In any case, Kind Kravings’ plant-based comfort food includes dishes like biscuits and gravy with coconut bacon, cinnamon roll pancakes, and “burgers” made with black bean patties. You can place any special orders for biscuits, sage gravy, vegan cheese sauce, or a long list of vegan baked goods. Just check their schedule online so you, too, can enjoy the food truck that The Food Network chose as the best vegetarian restaurant in Kansas. (Kind Kravings is vegan, not just vegetarian, though!)
Check it out here.
9. Shimmy Shack
Veg-American/Burgers – Plymouth, Michigan
If you live in Michigan and you’re hankering for a Coney Island dog, you’re in luck. Shimmy Shack, has you covered. The “Shimmy Coney” is a grilled soy dog with vegan chili, mustard, and topped with chopped onions. Is your sweet tooth dictating your cravings? Try one of chef Debra Levantrosser’s vegan shakes (blended with soy ice cream) or vegan cookies. Bring your friends with celiac disease along, because everything at Shimmy Shack is gluten-free as well. Check Shimmy Shack’s calendar online to find out upcoming locations for lunch and dinner. (And check out Shimmy Shack’s IRL restaurant when you can, too!)
Check it out here.
10. Plant Food For People
Tacos – Northeast Los Angeles, CA
Every day can be taco Tuesday if you want it to be. Jackfruit tacos are the darlings of Plant Food For People, a vegan food truck in East Los Angeles. Sometimes referred to as”‘the hottest vegan meat,” jackfruit has a similar texture to chicken or pork when shredded. Watch out, meat-eaters — VICE Munchies warns “these carnitas tacos might turn you vegan”! Self-taught vegan cooks Genise Nichole and Jeremy Castaneda started with a pop-up taco stand in 2011 and then began selling outside an organic market on Taco Tuesdays. Thanks to their success, PPFP has been a full-time gig for the past five years.
Check it out here.
