Ethiopian Vegetarian Food – How to Eat Healthy (and Delicious) in Ethiopia

By Mark Wiens 44 Comments
Stuffed jalapenos, Ethiopian vegan style
Stuffed jalapenos, Ethiopian vegan style

Ethiopia is one of the top livestock producing nations in the world.

People LOVE to eat meat!

But the good news is, if you’re vegetarian, or if you just want to eat healthy, Ethiopia also has some of the best vegetarian food I’ve ever had in the world.

Far from a vegetarian myself, I ended up eating probably half or more of my meals vegetarian. Because in Ethiopia, just like in India, when it comes to vegetarian and vegan food, Ethiopia knows how to do it well.

Eating Ethiopian Vegetarian Food

According Ethiopian Orthodox Church, every Wednesday and Friday, as well as the Lent period, are “fasting days.”

Now this isn’t the type of fasting where you refrain from eating altogether, but instead, fasting in Ethiopia means that you omit meat and all animal products from your diet – this includes meat, milk, butter, cheese – ingredients that are otherwise heavily used in Ethiopian cooking.

The good thing is, spices (berbere) are still permitted, so Ethiopian vegetarian and vegan food is still tasty and delicious.

Start eating injera!
Start eating injera!

Injera

First things first: injera.

It’s the staple starch and filler of Ethiopia, a food that just about all Ethiopians, no matter what class or status, eat one, two, or even three times daily.

Injera is made from teff, an ancient grain that’s native to Ethiopia, and really only eaten by Ethiopians and Eritreans.

Teff flour is mixed with water until it becomes a batter. It’s left to ferment, giving it a signature sour flavor, and then fried like a pancake in large circles.

Injera is used as the base of any Ethiopian meal, spread flat out over a communal pan and topped with Ethiopian saucy dishes.

Restaurants also normally have extra rolls of injera you can use to scoop up the dishes on your plate, but often there’s enough excess injera from the base that you don’t really need any extra.

The spongy pancake staple is something you’ll be eating every single day in Ethiopia, no matter if you’re a strict vegetarian or a hardcore carnivore.

Everyone eats injera, and it’s served complimentary with any Ethiopian dish you choose. I personally love it!

Another winning Ethiopian vegetarian food platter (yetsom beyaynetu)
Another winning Ethiopian vegetarian food platter (yetsom beyaynetu)

Yetsom Beyaynetu – The Veg Platter

Let’s start with a complete Ethiopian vegetarian food meal known as yetsom beyaynetu.

It’s essentially a mixed combination platter of injera topped with a variety of strictly vegan curries and vegetables available that day.

Just about every Ethiopian restaurant offers a yetsom beyaynetu on Wednesdays and Fridays, and some offer it everyday of the week.

The mixed Ethiopian vegetarian plate offers a little bit of everything so that you get some real variety in your meal. I tried ordering single dishes occasionally, but I always ended up craving that mixed plate. The flavors and ingredients are so delicious together.

Shiro Wat
Shiro Wat

Shiro Wat – A Staple

One of the Ethiopian food staples, in both vegan and non-vegan cooking, is shiro wat. It’s a curry or stew made from ground chickpeas flour – so basically it’s what I would call a bean paste – and it’s so flavorful.

Vegan shiro wat is cooked with a little oil, a blend of spices, onions, garlic, and ginger. It’s creamy like a hummus, beautifully flavorful, and very healthy.

Misir Wat
Misir Wat

Misir Wat – Lentils

Another omnipresent Ethiopian dish that’s almost certainly available at any restaurant serving vegan food is misir wat, or red lentils curry.

The lentils are simmered along with the mixture of spices (berbere), onions and garlic, and olive oil. Again, it’s a winning Ethiopian vegetarian food that’s not only healthy and protein rich, but it’s really tasty.

There are plenty of other wats (curries or stews) that utilize yellow peas, all sorts of different legumes, mung beans, and the full spectrum of legumes.

Other Vegetables
Other Vegetables

Other Vegetables

Gomen is collard greens, a vitamin packed healthy green leafy vegetable. It’s extremely common in Ethiopia and nearly always makes part of a mixed platter. The vegetable is normally cooked quite plain, sauteed in a little oil with some garlic.

Other vegetables that are frequently consumed in Ethiopian vegetarian food include cabbage, beats, potatoes, carrots, string beans, tomatoes, and jalapenos.

Ethiopian Salad (Salata)
Ethiopian Salad (Salata)

Ethiopian Salad (Salata)

Another thing you’re absolutely going to love in Ethiopia is the salad.

Many of the mixed Ethiopian vegan food platters (yetsom beyaynetu) will include a portion of tomato salad (timatim salata) as one of the dishes, but if not, you can ask for it (they don’t always have it, but it’s worth a shot). Whenever I could get tomato salad, I would order a huge bowl of it.

Diced tomatoes, red onions, and slices of jalapeno, dressed in nothing more than salt, lemon / lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil, then scooped up with pieces of injera is an amazing flavor. I loved it!

At Kategna restaurant in Addis Ababa I also loved their mixed salad, a huge clay pot loaded with ripped pieces of napa cabbage, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and dressed in the same simple and marvelous dressing.

Fasting Fitfit (Firfir)
Fasting Fitfit (Firfir)

Fasting Fitfit (Firfir)

Fitfit is a popular Ethiopian food that includes pieces of injera that are soaked in lemon juice and olive oil, mixed with some berbere seasoning, and eaten as a full meal, or on top of a combination platter of injera.

You could almost call it marinated injera. It’s easy to eat and makes good use of day old injera.

There are often a number of fasting versions of fitfit, such as shiro fitfit (fitfit) or timatim fit fit (tomato salad fitfit) that both cater to vegetarian eaters.

I personally prefer solid injera with a spread of curries on top, but there are many locals that enjoy fitfit from time to time. It’s also a popular breakfast dish throughout Ethiopia.

Eating healthy Ethiopian food
Eating healthy Ethiopian food

You’re going to love Ethiopian vegetarian food…

Like I already mentioned above, I’m not vegetarian myself, though I do enjoy eating healthy, and I thoroughly enjoyed numerous vegetarian meals while traveling in Ethiopia.

But one thing is certain, if I ever did become vegetarian, I would be happy to live in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has one of the few cuisines where you can find healthy vegetarian dishes, packed with flavor and loaded with spices, without the addition of animal flavorings.

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of these delicious Ethiopian vegetarian foods, you’ll have no problem ordering up a satisfying “fasting feast” (I know that sounds a little ironic) that you’ll feel great about!

44 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • THC Delivery

    3 years ago

    It was interesting to read thank you very much for sharing this, I have really never heard about this! Thank you very much!

  • High Rated Gabru

    3 years ago

    Nice food blog. Good job Mark!

  • hemp flower

    3 years ago

    Your description of the dishes and product examples is excellent. Now I want to try injera with a mix of vegetables. Since I have been vegetarian for the past 5 years, I found all these dishes absolutely wonderful.

  • Ogreen

    3 years ago

    Great web site you have got here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

    • Oluwatuyi Olawale

      3 years ago

      One of the best delicacy I have ever seen…. I really appreciate your effort on this website

  • sankar singh

    3 years ago

    nice food blog

  • Riley

    3 years ago

    These are absolutely great and good for the health

  • Rose

    3 years ago

    I love these delicacies, they are my favourite

  • Audre

    3 years ago

    Really packed with so much informative tips and valuable content

  • Vishal Kaushik

    4 years ago

    Keep writing guys.

  • Vishal

    5 years ago

    Amazing information. I am going to bookmark it.

  • CJ

    6 years ago

    I love Ethiopianfood but I found out almost all the Ethiopian restaurants in Washington DC do not use olive oil- they use corn oil which in the US is genetically modified. This completely negates the “health” benefits.

  • Sharon Lee Rosewoman

    6 years ago

    The pix of the mushroom risotto doesn’t show many mushrooms, but the price shows many$$$$. Very expensive IMHO
    t

  • Arcis Avi

    7 years ago

    Excellent information for vegetarians who wish to live in Ethiopia.

  • danny

    7 years ago

    hi, I am a vegetarian and in Ethiopia since months.. Its hard to find vegetarian food on non fasting days.. The split peas that prepare shiro is most often grass peas which are neuro toxic.. my advice when in ethiopia vegetarians need to survive on raw salads and fruits.. Avocados are a plenty and that is the saving grace..

  • Franca

    10 years ago

    I’ve never heard of teff before and now I’m so curious to try it! I must go to Ethiopia then 🙂

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Franca, it’s a grain that’s really only eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Hope you can visit, amazing food!

    • Alanla

      7 years ago

      Teff is also available in the US.

    • Alanla

      7 years ago

      Depending on where you live Franca, Ethiopian restaurants have injera.

  • theodros Yeshiarega

    10 years ago

    “But one thing is certain, if I ever did become vegetarian, I would be happy to live in Ethiopia.” I couldn’t agree with you more Mark and it’s still ironic why many Ethiopians are obsessed with meat while having such a wonderful delight which everybody envies to. Thanks anyway for sharing and keep on inspiring.

  • Jonny Duncan

    10 years ago

    I was there during their fasting time and in the countryside practically lived of veg shiro wat! 😛

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Jonny, that’s a great thing to live off!

  • Rebecca

    10 years ago

    Yum! I first tried injera at an African restaurant in Melbourne and loved it – soaking up curries with its fluffiness is divine.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Excellent, glad you’ve had Ethiopian food Rebecca!

  • nash

    10 years ago

    The Veg food look oh so Indian, more like a Dosa with the fixings, the Chili is no jalapeno, more like a Serrano. Food looks interesting indeed. Must be a few Indian around the place for sure.
    Maybe some Fusion food. Pretty cool.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Nash, yah, it’s a huge meal, and so tasty. Some of the curries definitely taste a bit like Indian!

    • norem

      10 years ago

      No fusion at all. This authentic Ethiopian food. It’s more likely that Indians took some recipe from Ethiopia.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Thanks Norem!

  • Maria

    10 years ago

    There’s a fab Ethiopian restaurant down the street from my apt. I’d be there daily, if I could.

  • Tom @ Waegook Tom

    10 years ago

    I absolutely adore Ethiopian food! Ethiopia is at the top of my list for my 2015 travels, and although I’m a confirmed carnivore, I’d have no trouble giving up meat for a couple of days each week. Bring on the injera.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Tom, glad Ethiopia is on your list, it’s a beautiful country. I agree with you when it comes to meat, but this veg platter is amazing!

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      3 years ago

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