Plant-Based Eating in Puerto Rico

I enjoyed a fabulous week in Puerto Rico, celebrating its culture, food, beaches, rain forests, and beyond. I found so many delicious plant-based food choices on this island, with its rich history of native indigenous, Caribbean, Spanish, and American influences. Take a ride with me on this photo diary for the best of this amazing food culture.

Peter, Christian, Nicholas, and Me! 

Here I am with my family, on a rainy day in Old San Juan, where we explored the historic fort which walls in the old city and was used to protect it from invading interests for centuries. It’s beautifully maintained and a definite must on your travel list.

Café Berlin, San Juan 

Later that day, we stopped in for a delicious meal at Café Berlin, which has so many wonderful plant-based options! It has a very charming old world feel, and it’s easily accessible in Old San Juan.

Menu at    Café Berlin, San Juan 

Just check out the menu at Café Berlin! So many fabulous options. What I really loved is that they focused on traditional Puerto Rican dishes, turning them into plant-based varieties.

Yuca balls,     Café Berlin, San Juan 

Yuca is a main plant food in Puerto Rico—it is a nutritious root. I enjoyed yucca in many ways: fried wedges, mashed, and in these tasty little balls. A lot of Puerto Rican traditional food is fried. I wouldn’t recommend this for every day, but now and again it’s a tasty treat.

Vegan Mofungo,     Café Berlin, San Juan 

This was my first experience eating mofungo. After that I was obsessed and had it nearly every day! It is a very hearty plantain dish that is served with other foods. This version was served with a curried vegetable sauce. It was fabulous, and really pretty, too!

Bacardi Distillery 

We also spent an afternoon visiting the Bacardi Distillery, which produces the most popular rum in the world. When in Puerto Rico, right?

Bacardi Distillery

After our tour, we had a little rum tasting—I enjoyed a mojito, which is served with muddled mint, rum, lime juice, and simple syrup—quite refreshing.

Vegetable Tostados, La Madre, San Juan 

We took a ferry from the Bacardi Distillery to this beautiful restaurant in Old San Juan that served modern Mexican food. These vegetable tostadas were filled with a flower filling that had a sort of cranberry flavor—amazing!

Vegetable Burrito, La Madre, San Juan

There were a number of veggie options on the menu, and I chose this tofu veggie filled burrito, with a wonderful red sauce.

El Yunque Rain Forest 

We rented a car and spent a day hiking in the El Yunque rain forest and exploring the vicinity. What a gorgeous place! So rich in flora—trailing vines, dripping ferns, flowers in every color and shape, picturesque waterfalls. You could spend hours trying all of the trails and even picnicking in the lovely little covered areas.

Flowers in the El Yunque Rain Forest 

Gorgeous tropical flowers!

El Yunque Rain Forest 

The stunning views at the top of the rain forest. You can see all the way to the water.

Delicate Flowers, El Yunque Rain Forest 

These were so pretty!

Luquillo Kiosks, Puerto Rico 

After hiking all day, we had worked up an appetite, so we took in the nearby Luquillo kiosks. This is a beach town, which is famous for it’s row of street food shops, where you can sample real Puerto Rican street food. These are the original pop ups!

Ceviche Hut, Luquillo 

We had heard about this particular food kiosk, which serves Puerto Rican and Peruvian food. This was my favorite mofungo of the whole trip! It was really savory and tender, with lots of spices, diced bell peppers, and corn mixed in. The veggie version was accompanied with a delicious coconut curry vegetable mix. I was in heaven on this day!

Camuy Caves, Puerto Rico

We took our rental car for an excursion to the Camuy Caves, about 1 ½ hours from San Juan. It was amazingly beautiful. Just look at this shot looking up from the caves into the sunlight. Puerto Rico has many caves due to its natural geography and rock formations. I wish we could have visited them all, but we only had time for this one.

Camuy Caves 

The water trickling down the side of the caves made the most stunning image.

Street Produce Vendor 

On the way back from the Camuy Caves, I stumbled across this produce stand that had every manner of local plant foods. I was in heaven! I wish I had a kitchen to try cooking all of these things at home! Check out all of the plants I found in this stand below.

Pineapple, Street Stand 

Puerto Rico grows beautiful, luscious pineapples, such as these beauties

Papaya, Street Stand

Puerto Rico also has some of the most beautiful papayas I’ve every tasted—so pretty in rich coral shades, and sweet, too.

Avocado, Street Stand 

Look at these beautiful avocados! I tasted some in dishes all week long.

Plantain, Street Stand 

Here is the staple of Puerto Rico—it stars in tostones and mofongo—two very popular local dishes.

Guanabanas, Puerto Rico 

My friend said these are Guanabanas, which are sour apples. I didn’t get to try this, though.

Produce, Street Stand 

I think this is sapote—though I didn’t get a chance to taste it. If I’m right, it’s a fruit with sweet orange flesh.

Produce, Street Stand 

Loved this collection of produce—squash (calabaza), avocados, bananas, sapote…

Quenepas, Street Stand 

My Puerto Rican friend said these are quenepas, a Spanish lime. So pretty!

Ginger, Peppers, Street Stand 

Love the colors of this fresh ginger next to the hat shaped peppers!

Mango, Street Stand 

Couldn’t get enough of these beauties while I was in Puerto Rico!

Yuca Root, Puerto Rico 

My favorite!

Breadfruit, Street Stand 

These were so pretty lined up in a row—another starchy staple of the Caribbean.

Corn Sticks, Edith’s Café, San Juan 

At a local diner in San Juan by our hotel in Isla Verde, I tried these corn sticks—another example of the fried little street foods part of the traditional food scene. They were simply ground corn formed into sticks. Yummy!

Beans and Rice, Edith’s Café, San Juan

This is another one of my favorite dishes in the Caribbean—just simple beans (prepared in a rich tomato sauce) served with rice and a crisp green salad. I just love the simplicity of this dish!

Avocado with Creole Tofu and Vegetables and Quinoa, Ocean Park Café, San Juan 

I also discovered this plant forward restaurant in the Ocean Park neighborhood. The menu was amazing—very creative and healthy while showcasing traditional foods. This dish was fantastic—so flavorful and satisfying.

Acai Bowl, Ocean Park Café, San Juan

Acai bowls were all the rage in Puerto Rico, and I enjoyed this one day. It was so beautiful! Layers of pureed frozen acai berries, coconut, and tropical fruit. Yum!

Bread Fruit Fritters, Ocean Park Café, San Juan