Minnesota State Fair 2021

CLICK HERE to view my Minnesota State Fair Vegan Food Guide.

Disclaimer: I understand that people have a variety of reasons to not attend the Minnesota State Fair, and they're good reasons. There's a lot of animal exploitation, and this year there aren't mask or vaccination requirements. My sister and I have attended for several years now, so it's become a tradition for us, and we pick a weekday so it won't be as crowded. We meet at 9am and usually leave by 2pm so we also avoid the after-work crowd.

This year was no different, and we were lucky that the crowds were really light, but I double-masked to be safe. The lack of crowds also made it easy to distance ourselves from others when we had to take our masks off to eat or drink. I went in knowing where to find the new vegan options, so I planned to hit those first in case I wasn't comfortable and wanted to leave. Obviously, you should make your own informed decision on whether or not to go. My state fair vegan food guide gets thousands of hits per year, so I know people are looking for plant-based options and I want to keep my guide up-to-date.

Andy's Garage

The most exciting new vegan option this year is the Choripop from Andy's Garage, which features The Herbivorous Butcher chorizo fried on a stick and topped with either avocado salsa or mole. I knew this would be good, but it honestly exceeded my expectation. Think of it like a super flavorful corn dog. And, it's $8 for two pops, which has to be one of the most reasonably-priced things at the fair.Find Andy's Garage at the International Bazaar at the Midtown Global Market stall through August 31.

Baba's

Check out this cute Baba's Airstream! They're another new vendor with amazing vegan options. Their pita is vegan, along with several of their bowls.It was tough to decide, but I had to go with the Chili Bowl in the end, which includes garlic chili oil, za'atar, kimchi, and scallions. The pita bread's texture was perfect, and the chili oil was a great compliment to the hummus. I could eat a lot of this and wish I had room to try their other bowls.Nearly next door to Baba's is Spinning Wylde who offers cute and fun cotton candy creations, so make sure to stop by and see them as well!

Mancini's al Fresco

Mancini's al Fresco has had a spot at the state fair for a long time, but this is the first year I felt compelled to stop by because of their new dish, La Floretta. It's a cup of cauliflower florets with herbs, spices, and a  sweet chili sauce. I loved the flavor, and the cauliflower was cooked just right for me: soft, but not mushy. It's also made without gluten, but if you're sensitive to spicy food, you'll probably want to skip this one.

The Strawberry Patch

The Strawberries & Creme booth wasn't open when I went (8/31/21 - a friend confirmed they are now open!), but I stopped by The Strawberry Patch where they have fresh strawberries, and you can ask for canned dairy-free whip. It's a nice sweet treat, but I'd rather have the one from Strawberries & Creme.Fair warning (pun intended?), it's by the horse barn, and I generally try to avoid the entire barn area of the fair, so that's another reason to skip this.

West End Creamery

My friends checked out West End Creamery in 2019, who confirmed they had vegan ice cream. I visited today, and they were able to give me a list of dairy-free options, so then you have to parse out from there what's actually vegan besides the soy ice cream and soy milk. I personally didn't have it in me to play twenty questions.When you check out, the person at the register will hand this yellow sheet to you, so when you pick up at the pickup window, the staff will know that you're dairy-free. They were using a gold straw to mark cups with vegan ice cream, but they accidentally added dairy milk at one point. The staff was obviously very new and learning as they went along, so I cut them some slack because they caught their mistake immediately, but I probably wouldn't go back.

So that's my 2021 Minnesota State Fair experience. My Minnesota State Fair Vegan Food Guide marks my favorites, and you can use the Food Finder for additional information on vendors.For those wanting a fair experience without supporting the state fair, Twin Cities Veg Fest is coming up on September 19. All the food is required to be vegan, and they'll have speakers, cooking demos, and more. But it's also not the worst thing in the world to skip events entirely right now.