Vegetarian’s Guide to Eating & Cooking in Ubud
Ubud is a dream for vegetarians and vegans. Between its yoga-and-wellness culture and a local cuisine that leans heavily on vegetables, tofu, tempeh and coconut, eating plant-based here is easy and delicious. Here’s how to do it well.
Why Balinese food suits vegetarians
Traditional Balinese home cooking uses meat sparingly. Many everyday dishes are naturally vegetable-forward, built on the same Base Genep spice paste that flavours everything else. That means you’re not eating a compromise — you’re eating the real cuisine.
Balinese vegetarian dishes to know
- Tempe Manis — sweet, sticky fried tempeh in palm sugar and kecap manis.
- Sayur Urap — steamed vegetables in toasted spiced coconut.
- Kare Tahu — tofu in a fragrant coconut curry.
- Tofu Pepes — tofu and mushroom steamed in banana leaf.
- Gado-gado — vegetables with peanut sauce (found across Indonesia).
- Sambal Matah — the raw sambal; ask for it without shrimp paste.
Most of these you can learn to make yourself — see our recipe for sambal matah to start.
Tips for ordering as a vegan
Two ingredients to watch for: terasi (shrimp paste), which hides in many sambals and pastes, and egg in some fried rice. A simple “tanpa terasi, tanpa telur” (without shrimp paste, without egg) goes a long way. Most warungs and restaurants in Ubud are very used to the request.
Cook it yourself
The best souvenir from Ubud is knowing how to recreate the food at home. Our vegetarian cooking class in Ubud is a complete plant-based menu — market tour included — and we can make the whole class vegan on request. Curious what a class is like first? Read what to expect at a Bali cooking class.
