New Vegan Options at the 2024 MN State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair has released their New Foods List, and there’s a surprising amount of vegan options, most of which are made without gluten! Once they release the full list of food options, I’ll update my Minnesota State Fair Vegan Food Guide.
Now let’s get into what we know so far…
The Herbivorous Butcher’s Raging Ball
The Herbivorous Butcher
Everyone’s favorite local vegan butchers return for another year in the Food Building, continuing their movie theme. Their first dish is the Raging Ball: a deep-fried sesame mochi dough ball with cheeseburger filling. The filling consists of house made burger mix, cheddar cheese, grilled onions and pickles, topped with bacon-flavored powdered sugar.
Aside from being fully vegan (as always, of course), it’s made without gluten.
Indigenous Food Lab at the Midtown Global Market
Each year, two vendors from the Midtown Global Market split time at the space in the International Bazaar. For 2024, the Indigenous Food Lab will take on August 28 - September 2 and they’re offering Sweet Potato Dumplings topped with mixed berry wóžapi sauce. Enjoy them over a bed of nixtamal (white corn, blue corn, and yellow corn) mixed with wild rice and seasoned with maple and spices.
It’s marked vegan and gluten-free.
I haven’t heard who the other Global Market vendor is yet, but I hope they also have vegan options.
Dino’s Gyros Blazing Greek Bites
Dino’s Gyros
It’s exciting to see when traditionally non-vegan places branch out and add vegan options. This year, Dino’s will offer Blazing Greek Bites: deep-fried bites made from chickpeas, tomato, roasted red pepper, scallions and cayenne pepper. It’s served with a side of roasted red pepper hummus and is marked vegan and gluten-free.
Kosharina Egyptian Cuisine
This is a new vendor who’ll be nestled under the Grandstand ramp. They serve Koshari (rice, pasta, chickpeas, lentils, tomato sauce, garlicky vinegar "dakkah" sauce, topped with fried onions) and the veggie option is marked vegan. Omitting the pasta makes it gluten-free.
French Meadow
They continually have solid vegan options, and this year they’re introducing Shroomy “Calamari.” You’ll get deep-fried oyster mushrooms with a side of chipotle sauce, and the dish is vegan and gluten-free.
Tasti Whip’s Chile Mango Whip
Tasti Whip
The Chile Mango Whip looks like the perfect summer treat! It’s Mango Dole Soft Serve topped with chamoy and Tajín, garnished with a tamarind candy straw.
Other flavors they offer include pineapple, strawberry, and lemon. As far as I know, they’re all vegan and I’ll confirm as soon as I’m able. They’re also gluten-free.
Tot Boss
They’ve been on my vegan food guide only because you can get regular tots, but for 2024 they’re serving up Dill Pickle Tots: tater tots tossed in dill seasoning with a hint of vinegar flavor. I’m intrigued but not sure I’ll end up trying them.
Jammy Sammies by BRIM
Historically I’ve discouraged people from going to Jammy Sammies by BRIM because they’ve marked sandwiches as vegan even though the bread contains honey. According to the description of this year’s new dish, they seem to have their house in order.
Marco’s Garden features cheese and honey, but they note that you can get it vegan with a thyme tofu dip and maple syrup. It also comes with local rhubarb jam, thyme-marinated locally sourced tomatoes, and jalapeño with a side of grilled gluten-free flatbread.
There may be one or two other new options that are vegan, but I’m awaiting confirmation before adding them to this list. And as previously mentioned, stay tuned for an updated Minnesota State Fair Vegan Food Guide once the full food list has been updated. Happy eating!
