As recently as 2015, the term “vegan butcher shop” was an unheard of oxymoron. Today, with dozens popping up throughout the world, the phrase doesn’t raise an eyebrow. These cleaver-slinging vegan entrepreneurs have proven that you can make meat from plants, and they’re changing the definition of butcher shop for good.
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What is a vegan butcher?
Until recently, the words “vegan” and “butcher” weren’t often seen side-by-side. Veganism entails leading a cruelty-free lifestyle, and this means refraining from the consumption of animal-based foods and products. The word “butcher,” on the contrary, refers to someone who makes a living cutting up and selling animal meat.
The Herbivorous Butcher
While the term “vegan butcher” may sound like a contradiction, a vegan butcher creates plant-based meat alternatives. Instead of animal flesh, vegan butchers use ingredients such as seitan, tofu, and soy to create plant-based meats.
The rise of vegan butcher shops
In January 2016, sibling duo Kale and Aubry Walch made history when they opened The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis, MN—the first vegan butcher shop in the US.
The team appeared on hit Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives the same year they opened, pleasantly shocking celebrity chef host Guy Fieri with their vegan turkey and dill Havarti sandwich.
Since then, plant-based butcher shops have continued popping up around the country and throughout the world.
Vegan butcher shops
From California to New York here are the best vegan butcher shops (listed in no particular order) that have the meats.
The Herbivorous Butcher
1 The Herbivorous Butcher
Minneapolis, MN
Many attribute the sister-and-brother duo behind The Herbivorous Butcher for pioneering the plant-based butcher movement. Kale and Aubry Walch opened up shop in 2016 with an extensive menu of deli meats, cheeses, steaks, sausages, and ribs. Today, they’re shipping their products nationwide and educating the mainstream audience about what vegan eating can be. Plus, the siblings are keeping busy with another venture, vegan chicken shop Herbie Butcher’s Fried Chicken.
FIND IT HERE
The Butcher’s Son
2 The Butcher’s Son
Berkeley, CA
Like The Herbivorous Butcher, The Butcher’s Son is way more than a vegan meat shop. This college town deli serves a full menu for lunch and brunch in addition to an extensive and mouthwatering bakery menu. However, if you’re there just for the meat, they’ve got you covered with a rotating selection of items such as packaged maple turkey slices, seasoned steak slices, and more.
FIND IT HERE
Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli
3Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli
Los Angeles, CA
The city’s first full-service plant-based butcher and deli, Maciel’s serves more than just smoked turkey, bacon, and pastrami. Founder Maciel Bañales Luna draws from her Mexican heritage to create Mexican-style ribs and chorizo successfully winning over Angelenos in the process. Don’t miss the shop’s extensive sandwich menu, which boasts pastrami French dip, chicken pesto, and more.
FIND IT HERE
Grass Fed
4 Grass Fed
Rochester, NY
This vegan butchery got its start when its founders were gripped with an insatiable craving for a breakfast sandwich complete with the perfect meaty sausage. New vegans at the time, they took to the kitchen to develop the perfect plant-based meat. And the rest is, as they say, history. Today they’re whipping up a rotating selection of deli slices, pâté, gyro meat, and everything in between right in the heart of Rochester, NY. Plus, they’re certified Kosher to boot.
FIND IT HERE
NoButcher
5NoButcher
Las Vegas, NV
Located just 10 minutes west of the famed Las Vegas Strip, this plant-based butcher and deli has earned a cult following with its extensive menu of vegan meats, housemade cheeses, and delectable sandwiches. If you’re hungry for a next-level handheld, choose between Italian cold cuts, NoTuna, NoRib, NoPastrami, and more. Pick up a Beer NoBacon Cheese Ball, an order of your favorite vegan meat, and your favorite deli salad to keep the fun going at home.
FIND IT HERE
The Plant Butchers
6 The Plant Butchers
Long Beach, CA
The latest venture from the founders of Sugar Taco, The Plant Butchers officially opened 25 miles south of Los Angeles in October 2023. The woman-owned shop offers maple bacon, pastrami, barbecue ribs, fried chicken, and roast beef alongside dairy-free cheeses including goat cheese, cotija, mozzarella, and more. Stock up on meats and enjoy a selection of breakfast must-haves (think egg and cheese sandos, muffins, and quiche), sandwiches, desserts, and classic deli sides.
FIND IT HERE
Juicy Marbles
7Juicy Marbles
Online shipping
This vegan meat company is ushering in a new era of plant-based protein. Rather than focus on staple vegan meats such as patties, crumbles, and sausages, Juicy Marbles is creating whole-cuts of meat made vegan. The company’s whole-cut loins and thick-cut filets sold out rapidly. Follow Juicy Marbles on Instagram to stay in the know for their next drop and new product launches.
FIND IT HERE
Meati
8 Meati
Nationwide
Mushrooms have long been used as a meat alternative due to their chewy, meaty texture. But now, Meati is changing the game. Made from mycelium, the fast-growing root system of mushrooms, Meati’s steaks and chicken cutlets will fool even the staunchest omnivores. Pick up these juicy cutlets at Whole Foods Market and Sprouts locations nationwide.
FIND IT HERE
Abbot’s Butcher
9 Abbot’s Butcher
Nationwide
This Southern California vegan meat company got its start by sampling its fantastic chorizo at farmers’ markets and health food stores. The selection of vegan ground beef, Chopped Chick’n, and chorizo can now be found at various grocery stores and retailers including Target, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and more. Nationwide shipping is also available via online retailers GTFO It’s Vegan and Hungry Root.
FIND IT HERE
Before the Butcher
10 Before the Butcher (UNCUT)
Online shipping
Originally a wholesale distributor for food service, this Orange County, CA brand expanded into retail, beginning at a single Bristol Farms location in Yorba Linda. The plant-based butcher now has a line of meaty vegan burgers, crumbles, shreds, and chunks sold under its UNCUT brand.
Find it here
For more vegan meat options, read:
Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the vegan lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include shopping links where we might earn a small commission. In no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.
