Breakfast tacos are the perfect food, wouldn’t you agree? So join us as we get f-ed up on tacos at 5 vegan breakfast taco joints in Austin, Texas!
Tacos are a religion here in Texas. Tbh, we here at Plant-Based Passport enjoy a breakfast taco or three at least once a week. And we’re not even mad about it.
Austin may be our state’s capital city, but it is also the Breakfast Taco Capital of the whole wide world. Lucky for you, dear reader, we did the dirty work and dug up some of the city’s BEST vegan breakfast tacos. After all, Austin is also a haven for vegan food.
So saddle up! We visited five of the most popular spots for vegan breakfast tacos and rated them accordingly on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being best). Which of these handheld breakfast delights would you eat first?
Jump to:
๐ฎ WHAT IS A BREAKFAST TACO?
For starters, what even is a breakfast taco? A breakfast taco is a genius culinary invention of Tex-Mex origin. It consists of a flour tortilla, egg, and assorted savory fillings. The “assorted” part is where things get fun! From cheese to potatoes to beans and bacon, the breakfast taco is an edible choose-your-own-adventure wrapped in a tortilla. We’re not lying when we say the breakfast taco is the perfect food.
๐ WHAT MAKES A GREAT VEGAN BREAKFAST TACO?
Want to know how we rated the vegan breakfast tacos we tried? Here’s our criteria.
- Warm Tortilla: In our humble opinion, a great breakfast taco starts with a great tortilla. House-made is always best, but failing that, the tortilla at the very least needs to be soft, warm, and pliable.
- Egg Substitute: Secondly, there’s got to be an egg substituteโbe it a tofu scramble, JUST Egg, or something in between. Because really, is it a breakfast taco if it lacks egg?
- Fresh Fillings: Lastly, the fillings should be fresh. Breakfast tacos should be made to order. And because the fillings tend to be on the rich, decadent side, a dash of acidity is a welcome and perhaps needed touch. We’re talking citrusy pico de gallo, fiery pickled jalapeรฑos, a vinegary hot sauce, or a piquant homemade salsa.
๐ฎ THE VEGAN NOM
- Location: Vegan Nom Trailer Park in East Austin.
- Address: 2324 E Cesar Chavez St. Austin, TX 78702
- Hours: Monday (closed). Tuesday-Sunday (9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.)
- Notes: Breakfast tacos are served until 4:00 p.m.
First up! We were stoked about the sheer variety of breakfast tacos on the menu at Austin’s self-proclaimed original and only all-vegan taco truck! There are four ($4) premium tacos and five ($3) tacos to choose from. Because we’re extra, we tried all four of the premium tacos.
- Gracias Madre (house-made chorizo, scrambled tofu, and pepper jack)
- A classic chorizo-and-eggs combo with a smokey, spicy kick.
- Three Amigos (scrambled tofu, cheddar, and country breakfast sausage)
- Basically a country breakfast in taco form. The sausage was really flavorful and fennel forward.
- Rockin’ Migas (scrambled tofu, cheddar, tortilla strips, and pico de gallo)
- Our favorite of the bunch. The tortilla strips packed a good crunch, and the cheese was sharp and melty.
- Nueva Onda (sweet potato hash browns, scrambled tofu, and avocado):
- The least successful taco of the four. The hash browns were limp, and the taco as a whole was under seasoned.
Overall, our experience at The Vegan NOM was a mixed bag. While the menu was admittedly fun and exciting, the breakfast tacos did not fully deliver. The tortillas were pre-packaged, which isn’t a deal breaker, but they should have been heated through on a flat top to add back some moisture and pliability. Also, the tacos as a whole would have benefitted from some acidity. The salsas were tasty but more creamy than they were bright. This left the tacos feeling one note after a few bites.
Our Rating: 7.5/10
๐ฎ KERBEY LANE CAFE
- Location: South Austin
- Address: 3003 South Lamar Austin, TX 78704
- Hours: Sunday-Thursday (7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.). Friday-Saturday (7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.)
- Notes: Breakfast tacos are served all day. Patio is pet friendly!
Even in our pre-vegan days, we could always count on Kerbey Lane to serve up local, scratch-made, rib-sticking diner fare. Now we can drop by any of their nine locations to get our fill of their numerous vegan options, including their vegan breakfast taco served all day!
We each ordered the breakfast taco on a whole wheat tortilla. It was filled with veggie chorizo, tofu scramble, and seasoned home fries and served with a homemade salsa. Our server suggested topping our tacos off with a coconut-based queso, and of course, we thought that was a fine idea.
The tortillas were nice and hot. The veggie chorizo was mildly spicy. The potatoes were perfectly cookedโpillowy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The tofu scramble was well seasoned, eggy and moist. The queso was creamy and molten. The kicker was Kerbey Lane’s homemade salsa, which added a welcome dose of tang to our tacos.
All in all, Kerbey Lane may lack the variety and pizzaz of The Vegan NOM’s breakfast tacos, but simple, fresh ingredients go a long way.
Our Rating: 8.5/10
๐ฎ GรERO’S TACO BAR
- Location: South Congress (SOCO)
- Address: 1412 South Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78704
- Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Sunday (11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). Thursday-Saturday (11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.)
- Notes: Breakfast tacos are served all day. If you have room, you need to try the soy taquitos al pastor!
This legendary Tex-Mex eatery has been a South Congress establishment for over 30 years. The long wait times for a table speak to the restaurant’s durability over the years. Although not an exclusively vegan restaurant, Gรผero’s has a vegan menu with a customizable breakfast taco available all day.
You can choose two of the following ingredients: black beans, refried beans, charro beans, potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions or bell peppers. For 89ยข more, you can tack on additional items to your taco and even add soy chorizo for $1.29 extra.
We filled our tacos with black and refried beans (respectively), potatoes, and soy chorizo. They were accompanied by homemade salsas and pico de gallo. The salsas, especially the salsa verde, were outstandingโsome of the best we’ve had. The pico de gallo was wonderfully tart. The potatoes were flawlessly al dente, and the soy chorizo delectable.
As with Kerbey Lane’s breakfast tacos, simple, quality ingredients go a long way.
Our Rating: 8.5/10
๐ฎ MR. NATURAL
- Location: East Austin
- Address: 1901 E. Cesar Chavez St. Austin, TX 78702
- Hours: Monday-Saturday (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). Sunday (closed).
- Notes: Breakfast tacos are served all day. Also, no excusesโyou need to nab some freshly baked goodies from the dessert case. While you’re at it, make sure to stop and admire the mural of legendary vegetarians outside the restaurant. And bring your furry friend, because the patio is pet friendly!
If you love Tex-Mex inspired vegan eats and baked treats, Mr. Natural is for you. Mr. Natural is a fully vegetarian restaurant with several vegan options, two locations, and three vegan breakfast taco options. Naturally (see what we did there?), we ordered all three! They came with a side of house-made red salsa.
- Vegan Migas Taco (tofu scrambled with pico de gallo and topped with tortilla strips and Daiya cheese)
- Yummy flavor overall, but too much cheese. (We’re not big fans of the texture of Daiya cheese when melted). The tortilla strips were a good textural element, but we wish there were more of them.
- East Side Vegan Taco (scrambled tofu, vegan bacon, potatoes, and Daiya cheese)
- The potatoes were cooked well, and the bacon was good. But we had the same issue with the copious amounts of Daiya cheese on this taco. Honestly, neither this taco nor the migas taco needed the cheese; they were tasty without it.
- Vegan Crispy Taco (homemade soy chorizo mixed with breakfast potatoes in a crunchy taco shell)
- This was our favorite taco of the lot! It made up for the lack of scrambled tofu with wonderfully flavor-packed homemade soyrizo. The crunchy taco shell was a revelation paired with this filling combination.
Overall, we enjoyed the breakfast tacos at Mr. Natural. The tortillas were fresh and hot. However, we could have done without all the Daiya cheese, and the salsa could have been more acidic.
Our Rating: 7/10
๐ฎ BOULDIN CREEK CAFร
Location: South Austin
Address: 1900 S. 1st St. Austin, TX 78704
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day.
Notes: Bouldin Creek is hands down one of our favorite vegan-friendly restaurants in Austin. Literally everything we’ve tried off the menu is FIRE. (You don’t want to miss out on the Vegan Blueberry Cornbread…thank us later). Breakfast tacos are served all day. Best yet, the patio is pet friendly!
This quirky, women-owned cafรฉ embodies the “Keep Austin Weird” vibe. Meat-eaters and herbivores alike vie for tables at this popular spot, as it offers a wide array of vegan dishes. Among these are three different vegan tacos on the menuโof which we ordered two.
- Red Taco (tofu scramble, onion, garlic, onion, and vegan cheddar)
- Neal Taco (tofu scramble, organic spinach, mushrooms, and vegan cheddar)
- For an additional charge, we each added avocado and house-made seitan bacon to our Neal Tacos.
Let’s cut to the chase: Bouldin Creek Cafรฉ’s breakfast tacos were our favorite breakfast tacos in Austin by far! Not only were the tortillas warm and pillowy, the vegan cheddar was oozy, the homemade bacon was incredibly meaty and smokey, and the portion sizes were generous. The salsa, which was fresh and zesty, as well as the pickled jalapeรฑos, woke up the flavors of the tacos. These tacos were a study in texture and balance of flavors. 11/10 would order again!
Our Rating: 10/10
Thanks for joining us on our virtual Austin, Texas vegan breakfast taco crawl! We hope this blog post gave you some inspiration for your next taco-fueled trip to our state capital. For us, Taco Tuesday is every damn day.
Signing off,
Val & Mani
Damn, these all look outstanding.