We’re going to talk about breakfast and brunch together this time. Asheville has some really delicious vegan breakfast options, but the truth is that only a handful of places serve a full vegan breakfast during actual breakfast hours. We’re purposely not including vegan sweet baked goods here because we covered those in our dessert guide so you know we love baked goods too! It is a little sad that there is only one place in town where you can get vegan pancakes or French toast, but we will take what we can get. The good news is that the places that do offer vegan breakfast are excellent, and there are breakfast sandwiches, savory plates, and avocado toasts at several spots around the city.
Smokin’ Onion
Smokin’ Onion has the most legit vegan breakfast menu in Asheville, and you can order from it any time they’re open. The are open four days a week (Fri, Sat, Mon 12-8 and Sun 10-4), and everything on the menu is outstanding.
Our two favorites are the breakfast plate (an herbed scallion biscuit, homemade buttermilk chick’n or homemade eegg, oyster mushroom gravy, breakfast potatoes with onions, and avocado) and the chick’n and waffle (which comes with a sweet potato waffle, their buttermilk chick’n in a spice blend, onion jam, smoked brown sugar butter, and maple syrup). They also have lemon blueberry pancakes, French toast, and a chick’n and biscuit. It’s one of the best vegan breakfast experiences in the city.
Rosetta’s Kitchen
Rosetta’s Kitchen has a great vegan brunch menu with three really good dishes. Our favorite is the breakfast sandwich, which has smokey tofu bacon, a Just Egg patty, garlic aioli, cheese, and roasted tomato on a kaiser roll, with home fries or grits.
The biscuits & gravy (Impossible sausage on a homemade biscuit with country gravy) is also excellent, and the Asheville scramble (Just Egg scramble with home fries or grits, Impossible sausage, tomato aioli, sweet pepper hash, and avocado) is a solid choice too. Their brunch menu is only available on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 11am, but it’s one of the best vegan brunch options in town.
Better Thymes (at North Asheville Tailgate Market)
Our favorite breakfast option that’s available during actual breakfast hours is the vegan breakfast sandwich from Better Thymes on Saturday mornings at the North Asheville Tailgate Market. This is a big-time hidden gem, and honestly, we’re almost afraid to tell people about it because we don’t want them to sell out. But it’s so good, and they’re such a great local business, that it deserves the love.
The sandwich is a perfectly baked focaccia stuffed with vegan sausage, tofu, cheese, and one of their incredible hot sauces. Better Thymes is best known for their hot sauces and creative plant butters, but this breakfast sandwich is one of the best vegan breakfast bites in Asheville. They also have a version with mushrooms instead of the vegan sausage that we plan on trying eventually too!
Simple Café and Juice Bar
Simple Café has a nice mix of lighter breakfast options and heartier choices. They offer juices and smoothies, a vegan bagel and lox with cashew cream cheese, avocado toast, a vegan breakfast burrito, biscuits and gravy, and the Sausage “Egg & Cheese” mock muffin (vegan fried egg, Daiya cheddar, vegan sausage, and spicy veganaise on ciabatta).
Bridge & Tunnel Coffee Company
Bridge & Tunnel is one of the few places where you can get a vegan breakfast sandwich during weekday mornings. They serve it Monday-Thursday from 8-1, and it’s a good one: tofu, cheese, avocado, coconut bacon, and apricot jam on your choice of bun, bagel, or sourdough. The apricot jam really makes it stand out.
They also offer avocado toast, breakfast burritos, grilled cheese, smoothies, and more. It’s a reliable weekday breakfast spot.
Green Sage Café
Green Sage has three locations (South, North, and Downtown), and all of them offer a solid vegan-friendly breakfast. Their avocado toast is really good, and if you add the maple tempeh bacon, it becomes even better.
They also have a Good Life Bowl with scrambled tofu, tomatoes, black beans, kale, root veggie hash, and avocado. You can also customize their breakfast burrito to make it vegan.
Ultra Coffeebar
Ultra Coffeebar in the River Arts District is open 8-3 every day and has several vegan bagel sandwich variations. Our favorite is the Viva La Vegan, which is a toasted everything bagel, tofu egg, tempeh bacon, and vegan cream cheese.
They also have multiple vegan cream cheese flavors, which is a nice touch, and a pretty good avocado toast.
Pulp + Sprout
Pulp + Sprout (North Asheville) is a great option if you want a lighter, healthier breakfast. They offer avocado toast, smoothies, juices, and fruit bowls. We talked about them in our overall AVL favorites guide, and they continue to be a reliable choice for fresh, plant-based breakfast options.
Mountain Juicery
Mountain Juicery (South and North Asheville) is another excellent option for smoothies, juices, and lighter breakfast choices. We mentioned them in our overall favorites guide too, and they’re still one of our go-to spots for a quick, healthy start to the day.
Wrapping Up…
There are a couple of other places that have one or two vegan items on their breakfast menus, but they unfortunately don’t get much love from the online vegan community, and we haven’t personally tried them yet. If you have suggestions or recommendations, please share because we’re always on the lookout for more breakfast options.
Our next post will be Favorite Sandwiches / Lunch Spots, and we’re excited to put that one together next!
Asheville Vegan Map
Here’s a map with all the places from this guide so you can plan your meals around town.
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