Best Vegan Soul Food in Minneapolis & St. Paul 2026
Soul food — the Southern comfort cooking tradition rooted in beans, greens, corn, and fried proteins — is one of the most naturally adaptable culinary traditions for plant-based eating. This is not obvious from the outside, but it becomes clear when you trace the history: the foundational ingredients of soul food are largely plant-based. Dried legumes (black-eyed peas, butter beans, red beans), leafy greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens), sweet potatoes, cornmeal, and rice were the base. The animal products — lard, smoked pork, chicken fat, ham hocks for seasoning — were layered in over generations, often as necessity gave way to tradition. Removing them, and replacing the flavor depth they bring with good technique and vegan fat sources, is the challenge and the opportunity of plant-based soul food.
Minneapolis and St Paul have a handful of restaurants doing this work seriously. The standout is Trio Plant-Based in St Paul — a fully vegan Southern comfort restaurant that does not hedge or apologize. The fried chick'n sandwich has a properly crispy crust and well-textured plant protein inside. The mac and cheese uses a creamy plant-based sauce that does not taste like a concession. The collard greens are cooked low and slow with depth. The cornbread is actually good. For a fully vegan restaurant in the Twin Cities doing Southern comfort food without compromise, Trio is the benchmark.
J. Selby's in Cathedral Hill St Paul extends the comfort food tradition into diner classics and bar food — nachos piled with vegan queso, loaded crunch wraps, Animal Fries, thick shakes. Everything at J. Selby's is 100% vegan, which means the entire menu is the vegan menu. This is a crucial distinction: you can bring a mixed-diet group here and everyone orders freely, without the usual social math of who can eat what.
Hard Times Cafe in Cedar-Riverside Minneapolis is the 24-hour option — a longtime Minneapolis institution serving diner food around the clock with extensive vegan options including vegan biscuits and gravy, the Helter Skelter (a chaos of vegan breakfast food), and a comprehensive late-night vegan menu when nothing else in the city is open. Hard Times is the answer when the question is "where can I get vegan food at 2 AM in Minneapolis."
For Ethiopian comfort food — a tradition that overlaps significantly with the soul food concept of communal, slow-cooked, deeply seasoned grain and legume dishes — Lulu EthioVegan in South Minneapolis is fully vegan and one of the most praised restaurants in the entire Twin Cities regardless of dietary category. The injera with a spread of lentil stews, collard greens, and spiced chickpea dishes is Ethiopian comfort food at its best.
Price context: Trio Plant-Based runs $14-$22 for mains. J. Selby's is in the $14-$18 range for sandwiches and loaded plates. Hard Times is among the most affordable vegan meals in Minneapolis at $10-$14. Lulu EthioVegan combination platters run $18-$25 and are among the best value meals in the city.
Neighborhood context: Trio Plant-Based is in St Paul — accessible via the Green Line light rail (about 25 minutes from downtown Minneapolis) and worth the trip. J. Selby's is in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood on Selby Ave, a walkable block from the Victoria light rail station. Hard Times Cafe in Cedar-Riverside is adjacent to the West Bank campus, served by multiple bus lines and extremely close to the 10 and 21 bus routes. Lulu EthioVegan is in South Minneapolis near the intersection of Lake Street and Nicollet — easily reachable by car or the 21 bus.
Accessibility notes: J. Selby's is fully accessible with a ground-level entrance. Hard Times Cafe is accessible, open 24 hours, and has a large communal seating area. Trio Plant-Based — check current hours before visiting as they operate limited days. Lulu EthioVegan is a small restaurant, accessible but may have wait times during dinner service on weekends.
External resources: Trio Plant-Based and J. Selby's both have active social media presences with current menu updates and hours. HappyCow lists all four restaurants with extensive user reviews from vegan diners. Yelp reviews for Trio and J. Selby's are consistently strong.
For more depth on vegan soul food and comfort food in the Twin Cities, see our vegan soul food Minneapolis blog post. Browse all Twin Cities vegan restaurants in the MPLS Vegan directory.
Yes — Trio Plant-Based in St Paul is a 100% vegan restaurant. Every item on the menu is plant-based: fried chick'n sandwiches, mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, sweet potato dishes, and desserts. There is no need to ask about ingredients or modifications — the entire menu is vegan by design.
Where can I get vegan fried chicken in Minneapolis?
Trio Plant-Based in St Paul is the benchmark for vegan fried chick'n in the Twin Cities — Southern-style, crispy-crusted, and served with proper sides. J. Selby's in Cathedral Hill St Paul does vegan chicken-style sandwiches and wraps. The Herbivorous Butcher in Northeast Minneapolis sells vegan chicken cutlets and other plant-based meats to prepare at home.
Is Hard Times Cafe vegan-friendly?
Hard Times Cafe in Cedar-Riverside Minneapolis has an extensive vegan menu and is open 24 hours. The vegan biscuits and gravy, the Helter Skelter breakfast plate, and a range of vegan burgers and sandwiches are available around the clock. This is one of the only places in Minneapolis to get a real vegan meal late at night.
What is vegan soul food?
Vegan soul food replaces the animal-based ingredients in Southern comfort cooking (lard, pork fat, meat proteins, butter, dairy) with plant-based alternatives while preserving the flavor depth and technique of the tradition. The foundational ingredients of soul food — legumes, greens, sweet potatoes, corn — are already plant-based, which makes the adaptation more natural than it might seem. Great vegan soul food tastes like great soul food, not like a compromise.
Where can I get vegan mac and cheese in Minneapolis?
Trio Plant-Based in St Paul has the benchmark vegan mac and cheese in the Twin Cities — a creamy plant-based sauce that does not taste like a compromise. J. Selby's in Cathedral Hill also does a vegan mac and cheese as a side or add-on. Several other Twin Cities restaurants have added vegan mac and cheese to their menus, but Trio is the definitive version in the area.
Is Hard Times Cafe open 24 hours?
Yes — Hard Times Cafe in Cedar-Riverside Minneapolis is a 24-hour diner with extensive vegan options available around the clock. The vegan biscuits and gravy, the Helter Skelter breakfast plate, and vegan burgers and sandwiches are available at any hour. This makes Hard Times the go-to for late-night vegan food in Minneapolis when nothing else is open. It is also a longtime cultural institution in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, popular with university students and the broader West Bank community.