Vegetarian Food in Armenia – a guide for Vegetarian travellers

In 2022 we spent a few weeks travelling in Armenia. Because we liked the vegetarian options in Georgian cuisine and expected similarities in Armenian food, we were eager to explore the vegetarian delicacies the country had to offer. And Armenia held up to our expectations. Even outside of the capital of Yerevan it was easy to find vegetarian food in Armenia.

In this blog post, we’ll share our experiences and give you some ideas for vegetarian food in Armenia. We liked that Armenian people had a good concept of vegetarian food and usually there was no need to explain what we can eat. While this may be standard in many Western countries, you can’t assume it in many other places. For instance, we have had discussions whether beef tongue is vegetarian (in Uzbekistan) or whether vegetarians can eat fish sauce (in Japan). None of that in Armenia.

Apart from eating our way through the vegetarian cuisine of the country we visited a lot of monasteries like Geghard Monastery and Echmiatsin and went hiking in the beautiful mountains of the country near Alaverdi.

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The Armenian cuisine

Armenian cuisine thrives on fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and herbs. Pastries filled with meat or cheese are popular snacks, ideal for enjoying them on the go. The country also boasts a rich wine-making tradition, rooted in its Christian heritage, with especially notable pomegranate-based red wines. However, the only wine tasting we experienced in Armenia was disappointing. Additionally, Armenia became renowned for its brandy, a distilled grape spirit, during Soviet times. In the capital, Yerevan, the famous brandy factory offers tours.

Breakfast in Armenia

No matter where we travel, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Sightseeing is a major part of our travel experience, and so we are often busy during the opening hours of classical attractions. Thus, we prefer a hearty breakfast to keep us going until dinner, and Armenian breakfasts didn’t disappoint. Typically lavish, they offered a variety of vegetarian options. In hotels and homestays, breakfast included bread, cheese, kaymak (a high-fat cream spread), boiled eggs, fruits, vegetables, and some sort of cake. Coffee shops provided delicious pancakes for a sweet start to the day.

Zhingyalov hats – a vegetarian dish to watch out for

Among typical vegetarian Armenian dishes, Zhingyalov Hats quickly became our favourite. This flatbread, stuffed with finely chopped herbs and green vegetables, hails from the Syunik and Artsakh regions. Known as a “poor people food,” people often forage the ingredients from nature. The secret to its deliciousness lies in the balance of different greens. They include chervil, spring onion, spinach, and mountain caraway, with bitter herbs like dandelion used sparingly. Sometimes a bit of cheese adds more savour. In Yerevan, we found a restaurant specializing in Zhingyalov Hats, which we relished along with creamy Ayran. Each restaurant offered a slightly different taste, but we always enjoyed it.

Panrkash – delicious vegetarian food

Panrkhash is a centuries-old dish from the Gyumri region in northern Armenia. The name translates to “boil the cheese.” Unsurprisingly, the dish includes quite a bit of cheese, and also thin Armenian-style lavash bread, onions, butter, and water. All this is cooked together in one pot. Like an Armenian version of mac and cheese, it is rich and comforting with a delightful mix of fat and salt. Its warm, savoury flavours made it a memorable part of our Armenia trip. However, we found it only once on a restaurant menu, as it is typically enjoyed at home. Sadly, this is often the case with local vegetarian dishes around the world.

Vegetable dishes, salads and soups

Even in restaurants where most customers ordered meat, there were many vegetarian sides and starters. Visiting in early summer, we found that mushrooms featured heavily in many vegetable dishes. We particularly enjoyed mushroom risotto on several occasions. A more extravagant dish was the mushroom apricot soup at Tufenkian Restaurant in Dilijan. Salads and grilled vegetables were also consistently good options.

Georgian vegetarian food in Armenia

From our travels in ex-Soviet countries, we know Georgian restaurants are popular in all these countries. This was especially true in Armenia due to its proximity to Georgia. Even in smaller towns, we found at least one Georgian restaurant. Therefore, we frequently enjoyed Georgian staples during our trip.

We tried different types of Khachapuri, a cheese-filled bread, often opting for the Adjaruli style. This is perhaps the most elaborate version of Khachapuri, an open boat-shaped loaf filled with cheese, an (initially) raw egg , and a slice of butter stirred in at the table.

Another favourite was Khinkali, garlic-shaped dumplings stuffed with mushrooms, herbs, or potatoes, traditionally eaten by hand.

Pizza & Co

Apart from the Georgian Khachapuri, we enjoyed the combination of dough and cheese in many varieties. Burek-style stuffed pastries made for excellent snacks on the go. We also tried a wonderful pizza topped with wild mushrooms.

Another dish we often spotted on menus, but only ordered once, was filled lahmacun. Lahmacun is normally a thin bread filled with a bit of ground meat, but this one was a vegetarian version featuring vegetables and cheese. These cheesy delights added to our culinary journey in Armenia.

Armenian Sweets

As we are not lunch people, we often had a piece of cake or some sweets during the day in Armenia. We enthusiastically tried gata, a traditional Armenian cake. It is sometimes filled with a sweet mixture of flour, butter, and sugar, and quite delicious.

Ponchiks, Armenian-style donuts almost identical to German “Berliners” or “Krapfen,” are a typical sweet snack in Gyumri in northern Armenia.

We also explored markets for dried fruits, nuts, and sujuk – a string of walnuts dipped in grape juice syrup. If you have a sweet tooth like we do, Armenia is the place for you.

Armenian Coffee culture

Armenia has excellent coffee, too, usually prepared mokka style with finely ground coffee boiled in a small pot called a jazve. Most locals drink their coffee black without sugar, but staff will ask how you prefer yours when ordering. Interestingly, it was Armenian merchants who brought the concept of coffee shops to Europe in the 17th century. No wonder they still brew fantastic coffee in Armenia.

Travelling in Armenia as a vegetarian

Altogether, Armenia is one of the best countries for vegetarians to travel. Most restaurants offer vegetarian dishes on the regular menu, and cooks are often happy to modify dishes to accommodate plant-based diets. We found it especially rewarding to stay in small family-run pensions. They often gave us the opportunity to try traditional home cooking for breakfast. And, as everywhere, these “simple” dishes are more often vegetarian than not.

If you are vegetarian, have you ever travelled and tried vegetarian food in Armenia? What were your experiences? And which were your favourite countries so far, veggie-wise?

Recommended guidebooks for Armenia

NB: This is not a sponsored post and we paid for all the food ourselves.

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