Austin, TX is known for its unique culture and local flavors. Whether that means skinny dipping at hippy hollow, or frequenting one of the city's many farmers markets, the live music capital of the world will not disappoint your inner health nut. As a native Austinite, I've discovered that my city has a lot to offer when it comes to sustainable, vegan restaurants and coffee shops. If you find yourself in Austin and need a vegan fix for your sweet tooth, look no further than these 10 local gems for a healthier, delicious treat.
1. Quack's 43rd Street Bakery
Quack's is an Austin favorite, offering a friendly relaxed atmosphere with delicious baked goods and coffee. While they don't bake vegan confections exclusively, they do have some stellar options such as their vegan chocolate truffles and lemon, blueberry, coconut, and peanut butter cupcakes, just to name a few. If you're in the mood for something that's a little chewy and salty-sweet, try their vegan trail mix cookie. It's perfect on a summer day with an iced coffee.
Location: 411 E 43rd St.
Hours: Mon-Fri: 6:30am-11pm | Sat: 7am-11pm | Sun: 7:30am-11pm
2. Bouldin Creek
Bouldin Creek Cafe makes incredible vegan and vegetarian food from scratch. They're also committed to building a community hangout that represents Austin's creative flair (check out their rotating art show!). For the best brownie you'll have in your life, try Bouldin Creek's Taxi Driver—a vegan almond brownie bathed in espresso and chocolate sauce. If you're not a chocoholic, try the light and fragrant blueberry lavender pie with a scoop of vegan ice cream.
Location: 1900 South 1st St.
Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-12am | Sat-Sun: 8am-12am
3. Thai Fresh
Thai Fresh is home to the best vegan ice cream in Austin, as voted by the Austin Chronicle. They start with a coconut milk base sweetened with organic fair trade cane juice and then add whatever fruit is local and in season. Try their Golden Milk Turmeric or Lavender Caramel Swirl flavors paired with sweet sticky rice for a light and creamy treat you won't forget.
Location: 909 West Mary St.
Hours: Mon-Sun: 9am-10pm
4. Bananarchy
Bananarchy is a "revolutionary" food truck located in Austin's trendy South 1st district. Their menu consists entirely of chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla-covered bananas that are all sourced ethically. You can order a banana dipped in vegan chocolate and top it with nuts, coconut, cinnamon, or all three.
Location: 603 W Live Oak St
Hours: Mon-Thur: 12pm-10pm | Fri-Sat: 12pm-12am
5. Skull & Cakebones
Located in Dripping Springs, just southwest of Austin, Skull & Cakebones a little out of the way, but completely worth it. They're an entirely vegan bakery with a commitment to fresh, locally sourced ingredients. They refuse to use any preservatives and even make their food coloring from fruits and veggies. Try their decadent tequila-infused Peached Horchata Trifle or the Just Beat It cupcake made with beets and chocolate cake topped with vanilla beet frosting.
Location: 3991 US-290 a, Dripping Springs, TX
Hours: Tue-Fri: 9am-5pm | Sat-Sun: 10am-3pm
6. Sweet Ritual Ice Cream
Sweet Ritual is a vegan ice cream shop focused on using fair trade and organic ingredients whenever possible. Build a delicious sundae by starting with one of their ice cream bases (try toasted coconut or unicorn poop) and adding anything you want on top, from lavender syrup to edible glitter.
Location: 4631 Airport Blvd #125
Hours: Sun-Thur: 12pm-10pm | Fri-Sat : 12pm-11:30pm
7. Sugar Mama's Bakeshop
Sugar Mama's Bakeshop is your mother's baking with a hipster twist. Located in Austin's South 1st district, they have a passion for fair trade, the environment, and keeping ingredients local. They're also working towards a zero-waste environment and have reduced their waste by 75% since their founding. While not completely vegan, they have an amazing amount of options, including their Cookies N' Cream cupcake with an uber moist Bensdorp chocolate cake base filled with bits of cookie and topped with vanilla frosting and a mini vegan Oreo. Did I mention they won Cupcake Wars?
Location: 1905 South 1st St.
Hours: Tue-Sat: 10am-8pm | Sun: 10am-6pm
8. Lick Ice Cream
Lick is committed to making honest ice creams from local ingredients grown in the Texas hill country. Try their line of vegan, coconut-based ice creams with flavors like Coconut Caramel Cream, Vegan Chocolate Chocolate, and Coconut Carrot Cake. Their Thai Lime and Lemongrass flavor with hints of creamy-cool coconut milk is the perfect refresher on one of those blistering Austin days.
Location: 1100 S Lamar Blvd #1135
Hours: Mon-Thur: 12:30pm-10pm | Fri-Sat: 12:30pm-11:30pm
9. Counter Culture
Counter Culture creates a mouthwatering dessert that's good for you and the earth. They serve internationally inspired vegan and vegetarian cuisine, making everything from scratch with organic, fair trade ingredients. But Counter Culture is probably best known for their bomb vegan desserts. They offer a key lime pie with an avocado base and a cheesecake made from cashews. Their chocolate-covered donut holes are especially sublime and are made from scratch with ingredients like ground almonds, dried pineapple, coconut, and dates. Wash them down with a tart, ice cold lavender lemonade.
Location: 2337 East Cesar Chavez
Hours: Mon-Sun: 11am-10pm | Sat-Sun: brunch 11am-3pm
10. Capital City Bakery
Capital City Bakery is an adorable bakery and coffee house on Austin's east side. They bake their delicious cupcakes and pastries fresh daily and all their confections are 100% vegan. It's also a female-owned local business with a passion for sustainability and environmentalism. Capital City Bakery creates desserts you wouldn't know where vegan if you hadn't been told. Their pumpkin carrot cupcake is a personal favorite; the cake is light yet moist with the fragrance of chopped walnuts and a hearty dollop of cream cheese frosting.
Location: 2211 E. Cesar Chavez
Hours: Mon-Sun: 9am-7pm
Being vegan shouldn't mean settling for bland or boring desserts. Make sure to try these local spots and your tastebuds (and the environment) will thank you. If you're in the mood for a little something before you order your dessert, check out this list of the best vegan restaurants in Austin. Just make sure to leave room for dessert!