Anyone who’s been to France knows that the French have a thing for dairy. Eggs, cream, and butter are the lynchpin of French cuisine. When asked the secret to French cuisine, renowned turn-of-the-century French Chef August Escoffier replied, “butter, butter and butter.” Butter is the pillar of most French pastries (think croissants, brioches, tartes, etc.). You might understandably assume that eating vegan in Paris would be challenging. Not anymore. Frenchly has rounded up eight extraordinary places (not listed in order of preference) where you can enjoy vegan pastries in Paris.
1. Land & Monkeys
This reliable all-vegan patisserie has the largest selection of vegan baked goods, pastries, and sandwiches that I’ve seen in Paris. You’ll find terrific plain, chocolate, and almond croissants, as well as seriously good babka and chaussons aux pommes (apple turnovers). Louise, a regular customer sitting next to me on a recent visit, was so clearly enjoying her cinnamon roll that I had to have one. I couldn’t resist the pain au raisin (raisin Danish), which was particularly well suited to dipping in my café aux lait with oat milk (lait d’avoine). There are too many appetizing cookies and cakes to name here, but the tarts – chocolate and lemon – deserve special mention. Land & Monkeys has five Paris locations, and the flagship bakery on rue de Turenne is an ideal stopover when visiting the Marais district just a few blocks away.
Address: Multiple locations (My go-to is at 2 rue de Turenne, Paris 75004)
2. Aujourd’hui Demain
Aujourd’hui Demain (which means “today tomorrow”) is a concept store with a plant-based bakery-café in the front and a vegan-friendly boutique and grocery store in the back. You can’t help but be tempted by the colorful cakes and pastries in the display case (which conveniently doubles as the order counter). While there’s a good selection of desserts, cheesecake is king here. Spéculoos, macha, or mango passionfruit – take your pick. The signature pastry is the Tropézienne, a French brioche filled with pastry cream and buttercream, making it one of the most challenging pastries to make vegan. Aujourd’hui Demain also has a full savory menu, and I plan to return to try the vegan burger very soon.
Address: 42 Rue de Chemin Vert, Paris 75011
3. VG Pâtisserie
While small in size, this excellent vegan pastry shop is big on taste and quality. If it didn’t bill itself as vegan, chances are you’d never guess. You’ll find French pastry standards like madeleines and macarons, as well as cakes (the moist marble cake was one of the tastiest I’ve had in Paris). The viennoiserie – croissants, pain aux chocolats, chaussons aux pommes – are made with margarine instead of butter, and are excellent. VG Pâtisserie has limited seating indoors as well as out front, where you can have tea served in a cast iron tea pot.
Address: 123 Blvd Voltaire, Paris 75011
4. Rose Bakery
While Rose Bakery isn’t an all-vegan pastry shop, the talented pastry chef Alison Johnson bakes an impressive number of extraordinary freshly-baked vegan pastries, which are available on a rotating basis. Her vegan Chocolate Rose Fairy Cake is one of the best chocolate cupcakes you’re likely to find anywhere. Light and fluffy, with just enough chocolate intensity, and a sublime icing. The praliné hazelnut and orange poppy seed scones (served with date apple spread) were the first vegan scones I ever had, and I don’t see how one could find better. All of the vegan pastries I tasted paired extremely well with the newly-introduced Rose Latte, a smooth beverage of oat milk, maple syrup, and rose water.
Address: Multiple locations (The best for vegan pastries, in my opinion, is the Rose Bakery at Bon Marché, 24 rue de Sevres, Paris 75002)
5. Jo and Nana Cakes
Parisian salons de thé are combination of tea room-pastry shops and bistros, and are the ultimate food lover’s dream. Pastry chef Johanna Lefebvre personally oversees everything at her charming vegan salon de thé, Jo & Nana Cakes, which serves up (among other things) American-style layer cakes, fine French patisseries, high tea, and a delectable brunch. Jo and Nana Cakes is a great spot to plan, or pause from, your day in Paris while enjoying breakfast, lunch, teatime, or any time in between.
Address: 14 rue Abel, 75012
6. Boneshaker Donuts
American expat pastry chef and cookbook author Amanda Bankert introduced artisanal American-style donuts to France. The delicious donuts she bakes at her wildly popular Boneshaker Donuts shop happen to be vegan, but are enjoyed by a legion of foodie fans, vegan and omnivore alike. These donuts are light, fluffy, generously portioned, and available in a wide variety of innovatively-flavored combinations. Bankert gives her delightful donuts equally whimsical names, like: Baby Got Back (peanut butter glazed with dark chocolate drizzle) and Breakfast in Bed (orange icing, coffee pastry cream, with a chocolate drizzle and orange zest). As a purist and chocolate lover, I order the straightforward yet heavenly chocolate glazed donut. (You know this is the good stuff when the chef uses Valrhona chocolate on a donut!)
Address: 86 rue d’Aboukir, 75002
7. Cloud Cakes
Along with the usual assortment of cakes (marble, carrot, etc.), cupcakes in a wide variety of flavors dominate the display case at Cloud Cakes vegan bakery and coffee shop. The impressive assortment of beverages available may make it challenging to decide on a drink to pair with your pastries. Should you get a chai, matcha, or ginger root latte? Maybe one of the many coffees or teas? Or maybe yet, a Steamer (steamed dairy-free milk with a choice of vanilla, caramel, or Speculoos syrup)? You can’t go wrong with any choice here.
Address: 6 Rue Mandar, Paris 75009; 32 rue Notre Dame de Lorette, Paris 75002
8. Grounded
Grounded is a vegan coffee shop in the trendy eleventh arrondissement that offers an appealing savory menu as well as enticing sweets, and of course, as the name implies, freshly ground coffee drinks. On a scale from one to ten, the coffee-dippability factor of their rotating selection of house-made braided Danish pastries (which they refer to as “rolls”) would be eleven. Just the flavor names alone make you want you want one right now! Apricot frangipane, white chocolate walnut, chocolate matcha, triple chocolate (dark, milk, and white), to name a few. Grounded has free Wi-Fi, so you can hang out and write, work, surf the web, or plan cool things to do in Paris until you’re ready to roll!
Address: 101 rue de Charonne, Paris 75011
While the growing number of plant-based pastry options is a boon to anyone who’s vegan, they’re getting so good that they are a welcome addition to any food lover wandering around Paris looking for great sweets tout suite (right away).
Frequently Asked Questions: Vegan Pastries in Paris
Can I find vegan pastries in Paris?
Paris is surprisingly vegan-friendly, and there are are a growing number of eateries that specialize in vegan pastry, such as: VG, Jo & Nana Cakes, Grounded, and Boneshaker Donuts, to name a few.
Are vegan pastries only available at vegan bakeries?
No, in addition to vegan bakeries, you can get vegan pastries at many vegan coffee shops, tea rooms, cafes, and restaurants.
Can I get vegan desserts in places that are not vegan?
More and more bakeries and cafes are putting some vegan and gluten-free items on their menus. For example, Rose Bakery, which is not a vegan brand, offers wonderful vegan desserts (and dishes).
Do vegan pastry shops and bakeries sell the same French pastries as traditional shops?
The vegan pastries and baked goods are the same pastries you’ll find at traditional pastry shops and bakeries; the only difference is that they don’t use dairy, honey, eggs, or other non-vegan ingredients. The better vegan pastry shops find ingenious ways of making the same delicious desserts as non-vegan shops.
Are vegan pastries only for vegans?
Delicious vegan pastries can be enjoyed by anyone. For dessert lovers like me who choose to eat less animal fats for health reasons, vegan desserts offer a terrific way to enjoy morning croissants and teatime cakes while reducing consumption of butter and eggs.
Are vegan desserts healthier?
The nutritional benefits of vegan pastries vs. traditional pastries will depend on the ingredients used. They are not necessarily healthier, but some may prefer them for ethical or environmental reasons.
How do I store vegan pastries if I’m staying in an Airbnb?
If you’re staying in an apartment with a kitchen, it’s a great idea to buy extra baked goods (croissants, pain aux chocolat, cinnamon buns) and freeze them to enjoy throughout the week. It’s a marvelous way to economize and experience real Parisian apartment living while in town. (Note, I take my frozen vegan croissants out the night before so they defrost for breakfast. I’ve had less success freezing vegan cakes.)
Philip Ruskin is an External Lecturer (ESSEC Bus. School), Consultant (food & travel marketing), writer, drummer and regular contributor to Frenchly. He loves to bike around his adopted hometown of Paris. Find him here, on Instagram. All photographs by the author.
