Vegetarian Tapas to Eat in Spain

Wine, cheese, tortilla, and padron peppers at Casa Gonzalez in Madrid.

You can’t go to Spain without having tapas. Literally, you will probably have some served to you whether you’re trying to eat them or not. If you don’t, you’re probably doing something wrong, or are a child, like I was when I first went to Spain on a family holiday.

Back then, I remember thinking the food wasn’t great in Spain. There are a few reasons for this: Spanish cuisine is big on pork which I have loathed for most of my life, and it could be hard to avoid for a kid who wasn’t “allowed” to be a vegetarian and didn’t know the first thing about the food, and obviously, since I was a kid, my parents were making a lot of the food choices. And they weren’t taking us to tapas bars.

Luckily, I’ve been able to visit Spain many times as an adult (and a vegetarian!) and have greatly expanded my repertoire of Spanish foods. One of my favorite parts of travel is trying new food, and Spain is a great destination for food and culture in general. Tapas bars combine both Spain’s unique culture and cuisine, and are the ideal places to eat (and drink) for any visitor trying to get to know the country better.

Tapas is really where it’s at for me (and many others) when it comes to Spanish cuisine. Eating various little bits of things with drinks? Yes, please! And, despite the popularity of pork and seafood, there are quite a few vegetarian options.

Spanish Tortilla

The Spanish tortilla has nothing to do with the Mexican flatbread that comes to mind for most Americans; rather, it’s more of a frittata consisting of eggs and potatoes in its most simple form. Some places offer a variety of filling for their tortillas, but most tapas bars serve slices of the classic potato (and maybe onion) tortilla as a tapa. It’s sometimes served with aioli and/or bravas sauce and is a naturally vegetarian option you can get almost anywhere. At Casa Gonzalez in Madrid, it comes with padron peppers!

Patatas Bravas

Patatas bravas are chunks of fried potatoes served with bravas sauce (a slightly spicy tomato sauce) and are another of the most common tapas you will find in Spain. Some places you can order with bravas sauce and aioli, which is my preferred way to eat them! I think the best bravas we had on our trip to Madrid were at Bar Sidi (pictured). They were perfectly crispy and had the most flavorful bravas sauce.

Gazpacho

This refreshing tomato, cucumber, and pepper soup is served cold and is kind of like drinking a salad. It’s one of my favorite tapas, and not only vegetarian, but vegan, too.

Olives

Olives are one of the most common snacks you will be served in Spain. They’re practically obligatory when you order a drink! It makes sense: there are a lot of olives in Spain. And…they’re really good! The most common variety is the plump green manzanilla olive.

Padron Peppers

These little blistered green peppers are another good option for vegetarians (and, usually, vegans!). They are pretty mild and not too spicy, though that can vary a little bit. In case you’ve been eating too many tortillas, you can get a vegetable in for once. I know I felt that way sometimes….

Croquettes (Croquetas)

Croquettes are fried bits of “dough” that can be created from many different kinds of filling. The most common ones are those made of roux (a flour mixture), and those made of mashed potato. The potato croquettes are a good option for vegetarians, though some places have the roux variety made with mushrooms or cheese (they’re usually made with ham). Croquettes won’t be winning any awards for healthiest snack, but they have the most wonderful crispy fried exterior and creamy filling! Rocablanca in Madrid is a very local place with a big variety of great croquettes.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are A Thing in Spain. One of the most well-known Spanish mushroom dishes is mushrooms sauteed with white wine and garlic, but there are lots of other varieties, too. There are whole restaurants devoted to mushrooms! I know it can be kind of a polarizing ingredient, as some people hate the texture. But for all the people who hate mushrooms, there are those of us who LOVE them! We went to a couple of mushroom restaurants in Madrid, and while they aren’t technically tapas I wanted to mention them because some places do serve mushroom tapas.

At El Cisne Azul, we got seasonal mushrooms with an egg, while at Meson del Champiñon we got buttery, garlicky roasted mushrooms, which come with chorizo (a spicy sausage), but we got half without for me (the vegetarian). I did like the mushrooms at Meson, but it was very touristy. If you’re looking for somewhere slightly more authentic, then El Cisne Azul is a good choice (and they have more veggie options).

Mushroom tapas/pintxos are also popular in northern Spain, where you can get them fried up in a load of garlic over a slice of bread.

Pisto

Pisto is vegetable stew similar to the more famous French dish, ratatouille. It combines Mediterranean vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini and is often topped with an egg.

Espinacas con Garbanzos (Spinach and Chickpeas)

Espinacas con garbanzos is another vegetarian stew you might encounter at a tapas bar. Its name is pretty self-explanatory. Although places make it in different ways, it’ll probably be seasoned with cumin, onion, and garlic.

Cheese

Another tapas plate you might get is a few slices of cheese, or a mini cheese plate. Sometimes it comes with ham, too; it’s actually pretty handy having a non-vegetarian boyfriend, as he just eats whatever I don’t…. But anyway, Spanish cheeses are often made from goat or sheep milk, with the most famous being manchego. Manchego is a sheep cheese and is aged for varying amounts of time, but has a fairly mild, nutty flavor. There are many other great Spanish cheeses, though, so if you’re big on cheese, I highly recommend getting a tasting plate! We loved Vinoteca Vides in Madrid for wine and cheese.

Patatas Alioli

Unlike the incredibly common potato salad “rusa”, patatas alioli is vegetarian. It’s also very simple: potatoes (boiled, not fried like bravas) and aioli (or “alioli”). I am not the biggest potato fan in the world (I know, I know) but I AM the biggest garlic fan in the world, so I actually liked this dish! It’s SUPER garlicky, and the potatoes have a nice texture.

As you can see, vegetarians need not worry about being able to find tapas options in Spain. And these are just some of the most common vegetarian tapas available and is by no means an exhaustive list; what you can find will depend also on what region you’re visiting as well as the bar itself.

What’s your favorite Spanish dish? Or, if you’re not that familiar with the cuisine, what do you most want to try?