Iceland has a reputation as a hard place to eat without meat or fish. The old national diet was built on lamb, cod, dairy and whatever could be preserved through a long, dark winter, and vegetables played a very small part.
That picture is out of date. Reykjavík now has fully plant-based restaurants, supermarkets carry vegan staples, and a surprising number of everyday Icelandic foods happen to be meat-free already.
Here is how vegetarian and vegan food in Iceland works today, which traditional dishes fit, and a warming vegetable soup in the Icelandic style that you can cook at home.
Why Icelandic food leaned so heavily on meat and fish
For most of Iceland's history, very little grew there. The short summer, cool temperatures and thin soils meant farmers relied on sheep, cows and the sea, and the classic winter foods were smoked, salted, dried or soured to keep.
Potatoes and rutabaga only became common garden crops from the late 18th century onward. Until then, grains were mostly imported and expensive, which is why so many traditional dishes revolve around animal products.
That history still shows on menus. Lamb soup, fish stew and smoked lamb remain everyday comfort food, so a vegetarian visitor will usually need to ask a question or two at traditional restaurants.
Greenhouses changed what Icelanders eat
The big shift came with geothermal energy. Since the early 20th century, growers have used naturally hot water to heat greenhouses, especially in South Iceland around Hveragerði and Flúðir, and today they produce tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce all year round.
This homegrown produce is a point of local pride, and it is the reason you can eat a fresh salad in the middle of January. One greenhouse farm, Friðheimar, has even built its restaurant around tomatoes; our recipe for Icelandic tomato soup from Friðheimar is easy to make vegan with plant cream.
Look for Icelandic cucumbers and tomatoes in any supermarket. They are often labelled as Icelandic produce and are a good, low-mileage choice.
Traditional Icelandic foods that are already meat-free
Plenty of familiar Icelandic foods contain no meat or fish at all. Whether they suit a vegan diet depends on the recipe, because butter, milk and eggs turn up often.
Flatkökur, the soft charred rye flatbreads, are usually made from rye flour, water and salt. Our guide to Icelandic rye flatbread shows how simple they are, and they are traditionally topped with smoked lamb, so ask for butter, cheese or a plant spread instead.
Rúgbrauð, the dense, sweet dark rye bread, is vegetarian but often contains milk or buttermilk. Pönnukökur, the thin pancakes, and kleinur, the twisted doughnuts, are both vegetarian staples made with egg and milk.
Rófustappa, mashed rutabaga, and brúnaðar kartöflur, the sugar-glazed Christmas potatoes, are classic vegetarian side dishes. Swap the butter for plant butter and both work for vegans too.
Skyr is the obvious one for vegetarians. Traditionally it is made with a little rennet, so strict vegetarians may want to check the label, and vegans will find oat- and soy-based alternatives in larger shops.
Eating vegan and vegetarian in Reykjavík
Reykjavík is by far the easiest place in Iceland to eat plant-based. Several restaurants in the centre are fully vegan, and most mid-range places offer at least one vegetarian main course.
Mama, on Bankastræti in the city centre, describes itself as 100% plant-based, with dishes like its red lentil dhal. Vegan World Peace, in a 19th-century building on Aðalstræti, serves plant-based pan-Asian food and an evening tasting menu.
Garðurinn, a small vegetarian café on Klapparstígur, has fed meat-free diners for decades with a changing daily dish. Loving Hut offers inexpensive vegan Asian dishes away from the main tourist strip.
Opening hours change, especially outside the summer season, so it is worth checking each place before you go. Hlemmur and the other food halls are also handy, as several stalls usually have tofu or vegetable options.
Vegetarian food outside the capital and at the supermarket
Away from Reykjavík, the choice shrinks quickly. Country hotels and roadside restaurants usually have a vegetable soup, a pasta dish or a veggie burger, but there may only be one option.
Supermarkets are your safety net on a road trip. The big chains, such as Bónus, Krónan and Hagkaup, stock plant milks, tofu, hummus, bread and vegan ready meals, and Icelandic greenhouse vegetables are everywhere.
Soup is your friend when ordering. Many cafés serve a daily soup of the day with bread, but always ask whether it is made with meat or fish stock. The famous Icelandic lamb soup, kjötsúpa, is obviously off the list, though its vegetables make a brilliant meat-free version at home.
Making classic Icelandic flavours plant-based at home
You do not need special products to cook Icelandic-style food without meat. The backbone of many traditional dishes is root vegetables, rye, oats and dairy, and most of these swap easily.
Rye bread and flatbread pair beautifully with plant spreads, pickled red cabbage and sliced cucumber. Mashed rutabaga with plant butter and a pinch of nutmeg tastes almost exactly like the original.
For something sweet, Icelandic pancakes can be made with oat milk and a flax or chickpea-water egg replacer, then rolled with sugar or filled with jam and whipped plant cream.
Soups are the easiest win of all. Icelanders have always made thick, filling soups to get through winter, and a pot of vegetables, oats and dried herbs captures that spirit without any meat.
Recipe: Icelandic-style vegetable soup (grænmetissúpa)
This soup borrows the hearty vegetables and gentle seasoning of kjötsúpa and leaves out the lamb. It is vegan as long as you use a plant-based stock, and it tastes even better the next day.
Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed or other neutral oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 leek, washed and sliced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 small rutabaga (about 400 g / 14 oz), peeled and cut into cubes
- 500 g (about 1 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 200 g (about 7 oz) white cabbage, shredded
- 1.5 litres (about 6 cups) vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons rolled oats or short-grain rice
- 1 tablespoon dried soup herbs, or 1 teaspoon each dried thyme and parsley
- Salt and black pepper
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and leek and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Pour in the stock, then add the oats or rice and the dried herbs. Bring to the boil, add the rutabaga and carrots, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and cabbage and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper, and add a splash of water if the soup has thickened too much.
Serve it hot with flatkökur or a slice of rye bread. Leftovers keep for three days in the fridge.
A few practical tips for meat-free travellers
Learn two useful Icelandic words: grænmeti means vegetables and grænmetisréttur means a vegetable dish. Most Icelanders speak excellent English, though, so asking in English is completely normal.
Read the labels on sweets. Some gummies and liquorice products contain gelatine, so check before you stock up on Icelandic candy for the drive.
Book ahead for dinner in Reykjavík during busy months, as the smaller plant-based restaurants fill up quickly. And if you are self-catering, a pot of the soup above and a loaf of rye bread will carry you through a cold evening very nicely.
Cover photo: "Simple vegetable soup 2009" by Scott Teresi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
About Sigrún Ólafsdóttir
Sigrún grew up baking rúgbrauð with her grandmother in Akureyri and has spent the last decade collecting recipes from kitchens all over Iceland. She writes Icelandic MAT's recipes, one dish at a time.