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 made with housemade turkey slices. “I’d eat it all day long,” Fieri said in the episode.
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 barbecue pork, maple turkey slices, lemon garlic herb chicken, and sliced roast beef.
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 salami, 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 either, 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, Rob Nipe and Nora Rubel 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, brats, 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, Aloha 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
Juicy Marbles
6Juicy 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 plant-based meat. The company currently offers whole-cut loins, thick-cut filets, and bone-in ribs, but they’re known to sell out quickly. Follow Juicy Marbles on Instagram to stay in the know for their next drop and new product launches.
FIND IT HERE
Meati
7 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
Five Points Pastrami
8Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli
Nationwide
Jenny Goldfarb is no stranger to deli culture. Her great-grandfather, Morris Gross, operated several delis and cafeterias in New York City, so when Goldfarb adopted a vegan lifestyle as an adult, she was determined to recreate the traditional deli flavors she grew up with. And thus, after trial and error, Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli was born. Today, the brand offers slices of Unreal Corn’d Beef, Unreal Roasted Turk’y, Unreal Steak Slices, and Unreal Bacon. Goldfarb even pitched her brand on Shark Tank and received backing from Mark Cuban. Find these vegan meats online or in store at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix, Kroger, Wegmans, and more.
FIND IT HERE
Prime Roots
9 Prime Roots
Nationwide
This revolutionary plant-based meat brand obtains its meaty texture and rich umami flavor from koji, a type of fungus used in a variety of culinary applications. Not only does it taste and slice just like its animal-based counterparts, Prime Roots’ meat is far better for the environment as it requires 92 percent less water than meat. Currently, the brand’s turkey, ham, pâté, and more can be found exclusively at partner restaurants, delis, and grocers. Check out their store and restaurant locator for a partner business near you.
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.
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