Vegan Travel Guide to Aruba 🇦🇼

Aruba is a MAGICAL place. I had never been on a tropical or beach vacation like this before, but I’m definitely going to be back as soon as I can! One thing to note is that there are no fully vegan restaurants on the island (but there used to be). Despite that, Aruba is an incredibly vegan friendly island and we were lucky to have so many places to eat! 

The Coco Cafe at Boardwalk Boutique Hotel:

• Check out my other blog post regarding all the vegan options at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel’s newest cafe! 

Eduardo’s Beach Shack: 

• Iced matcha latte with agave: this matcha served its purpose for the trip but I don’t know that it’s worth the order if you’re a matcha connoisseur like me. If you do partake in matcha expertise, then you know what a matcha should look like and the green color it should be. 

• Pipeline Bowl: my FAVORITE thing at Eduardo’s, bar none. This bowl is a base of Brazilian açaí berry & banana blend, topped with granola, chia pudding, banana, strawberry, blueberry, peanut butter, cacao nibs, & goji berries. I love chia pudding so this was a must order for me. The combination of sweet berry açaí, nutty peanut butter, & creamy milky chia pudding was everything you could want in a breakfast fruit bowl! Or lunch if you feel like it.

• Vegan tacos: this is worth the order at Eduardo’s even just for that amazing chipotle mayo! You get three tacos with a lentil, sweet potato, & black bean mix. Healthy, delicious, & a fresh option for the beach 

• Healthy nachos: similar to the tacos but with chips & avocado crema. These are great, I just wish that there were more fillings/toppings included because a lot of the toppings were dumped into the middle & once you get to the bottom of the box, it’s just chips with nothing on them. 

• Aloha Poke Bowl: this was sweet, savory, & tasty! The sauce on the tofu worked well in a bowl full of rice and vegetables. 

• Ferraro Rocher Protein ball: if you’re expecting this to be sweet like candy, you might want to rethink it. Definitely more of a protein snack than a candy flavor. It was good in its own way of course. 

• Chocolate Protein Bowl: this was a vegan chocolate protein, banana, & dates blend. My husband had this & I only had a bite but he loved it & wanted to get it again! Chocolate-y and sweet while still being on the healthier side. 

Yemanja Grill: 

• Vegan BBQ platter: this was all housemade Everything was delicious & full of love because it was scratch made. This platter included: truffle & shiitake crumble mac & cheese, grilled dry rubbed BBQ organic tofu sticks, BBQ pulled ‘pork’ (jackfruit), grilled BBQ sticky ‘ribs’ (seitan), a grilled vegetable skewer, black bean mix with crunchy onion pieces, & pickled curried coleslaw. The star of the show for me was the truffle & shiitake crumble mac & cheese. There was a hint of mustard which really pulled the cheese sauce together & truffle is a flavor that I love so that along with the breadcrumbs had me loving this dish. In terms of the meat alternatives they offered, the tofu was my favorite. It even had grill marks & the sauce complimented it perfectly. 

Tandoor The Indian Grill House: 

• Aloo Paratha: bread stuffed with potatoes. This is a must order if you love potatoes. The bread was nice and toasted with a potato filling. 

• Garlic naan: I was a little disappointed in this one because I thought maybe they had some vegan butter to use for it but the vegan naan turned out to just be naan WITHOUT the butter 

• Samosa: this is one of my favorite Indian appetizers. I love the fried shell with potatoes in it. This is a can’t miss for me, so it was definitely tasty! 

• Tandoor BBQ Specialty Mixed Veg: this included veg kabob, potato, cauliflower, capsicum, tomato, & aloo tikki. The aloo tikki intrigued us because it tasted like a potato pancake, SO GOOD. I had never had that at an Indian spot before but now I know to order it if I see it again. Overall the mix veg entree was good and comes out in a sizzling cast iron pan so it has all the fanciness you could want. 

• Chana Masala: comes with rice of course, always good. Chickpeas in a tomato masala sauce. They offer mild, medium, or hot. I got mild because I don’t want to be fiending for water while eating dinner It was good though! Chana masala is a staple in my meals and this one was great! 

Eduardo’s Hideaway: 

• Vegan breakfast sandwich: as a New Jerseyan, it’s hard for me to enjoy a bagel made outside of the NYC/NJ area, but this sandwich was pretty good! The bagel was small, but they made up for it in filling. You have to ask for the vegan version, which includes tofu scramble & vegan sausage. As I mentioned above, their chipotle mayo is so good. The only minimally negative thing I can say about this sandwich is that I’m not sure how I feel about mushrooms on a breakfast sandwich, but it didn’t take away from the overall positive experience of it. 

• Loaded vegan fries: these fries were gorgeous! So colorful and full of toppings. They had soya mince & a special dressing that was definitely made with blue spirulina. Worth the order

• Chipotle black bean burger: this comes with a charcoal bun & their amazing chipotle sauce. We enjoyed this & would order it again. 

• Vegan tacos: similar to Eduardo's Beach Cafe nachos but loaded with toppings.

When they say “One Happy Island”, they mean it! I wish I never had to go home! Will you be visiting Aruba any time soon?