Time to Flake. These Are The Best Vegan Pastries in Paris

French law only lets a shop call itself a boulangerie if it kneads, shapes and bakes its bread on the premises, and Paris holds its bakeries to that standard with real pride. A growing number of them now do it without butter, eggs or milk, and their croissants, éclairs and tarts hold their own in the city that perfected the genre.

These nine spots run from donut shops to tea salons, clustered in the 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th and 17th arrondissements (city districts), and every one of them is fully vegan. For more cities, browse the vegan travel destinations. I would start with a croissant at Land&Monkeys and eat outward from there.

Vegan Paris Pastries at a Glance

• Classic French pâtisserie: VG Pâtisserie
• The croissant: Land&Monkeys
• Donuts: Boneshaker
• Afternoon tea: Jo and Nana Cakes
• Gluten-free everything: Giardino
• Pancakes and brunch: Cloud Cakes
• Sourdough and viennoiserie: La Mauvaise Herbe
• Lighter sweets and juice: Wild & The Moon
• Cakes to order and vegan shopping: Aujourd’hui Demain

Best Vegan Pastries in Paris

1. VG Pâtisserie: Paris’s First Vegan Fine Pâtisserie Vegan

Reviewers keep coming back for the éclairs, now in chocolate and coffee, and for the chocolate custard pastries that vanish before lunch. One regular calls the croissant glacé, a croissant finished with a sugar glaze, one of the best things they have ever eaten. On Saturdays there are chouquettes, little puffs of choux pastry studded with pearl sugar.

VG opened in 2016 as the first vegan fine pâtisserie in Paris, and the counter still looks like a classic French pastry window, with glossy tarts, lemon tarts, macarons and flan. There is quiche and other savoury food too, so a late breakfast works well. Large celebration cakes and travel cakes can be ordered online ahead of time.

💡 Tip: VG is closed on Mondays and only opens at 1PM on Tuesdays. Otherwise it runs 9AM to 7PM, and 9AM to 6PM on Sundays. I would go in the morning for the fullest counter.

📍 123 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris | 11th arrondissement, Voltaire métro | ☎️ +33 1 48 87 13 42 | 🌐 vgpatisserie.fr | 📸 @vgpatisserie

2. Land&Monkeys: The Croissant to Start With Vegan

Order the croissant. Reviewers describe it as flaky outside and soft inside, and one vegan of nine years called it the first real croissant they had eaten since going plant-based. Non-vegan partners regularly fail to spot the difference. Add a pain au chocolat, a madeleine or a slice of flan pâtissier, the set custard tart every Parisian bakery sells.

Land&Monkeys was founded by Rodolphe Landemaine, the baker behind the Maison Landemaine chain, and now runs a dozen bakeries across Paris, Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence. Each one feels like a proper neighbourhood boulangerie, with sandwiches and good coffee. The chocolate caramel monkey cookie has its own fan club, and the apple turnover gets praise for its flaky layers.

💡 Tip: The Beaumarchais branch opens at 7:30AM on weekdays and 8AM on weekends. Go early, because favourites sell through by late morning.

📍 86 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris | 11th arrondissement, plus branches across the city | ☎️ +33 9 54 40 95 83 | 🌐 land-and-monkeys.com | 📸 @land_and_monkeys

3. Boneshaker: Handmade Donuts in the 2nd Vegan

The dough is what reviewers talk about: light, fluffy and fresh, with fillings and glazes made in-house every morning. The Cookie Monster, a donut crowned with a whole chocolate chip cookie, is the crowd favourite, and the coconut glaze, vanilla bean, speculoos and lemon curd versions all get love. Regulars defend the plain glazed OG just as fiercely.

Pastry chef Amanda Bankert writes the recipes, and flavours rotate with the seasons, so trust whatever is in the case. A few people find the glazes very sweet, which is a good excuse for a black coffee from the specialty bar. The team has also published two cookbooks, so the donuts can come home with you in book form.

💡 Tip: Boneshaker opens at 8:30AM on weekdays, 9:30AM on Saturdays and 11AM on Sundays. Popular flavours sell out by late afternoon.

📍 86 Rue d’Aboukir, 75002 Paris | 2nd arrondissement, Sentier | 🌐 boneshakerparis.com | 📸 @boneshakerparis

4. Jo and Nana Cakes: Afternoon Tea in a Pastel Salon Vegan

Book the afternoon tea, a tiered tower of sweet and savoury bites that reviewers rank among the highlights of their whole trip. From the counter, the Paris-Brest (a ring of choux pastry filled with praline cream) gets raves, as do the chocolate and passion fruit cupcake and a lemon meringue tart that one fan praised for not being too sweet.

Jo and Nana has been baking in the 12th for ten years, in a tiny salon de thé (tea room) dressed in vintage pastels near the Coulée Verte, the garden walkway built along an old railway line. Plenty of the menu is gluten-free too, and the brunch plate with a savoury croissant makes a very good breakfast.

💡 Tip: Tea time is by reservation only, so book ahead. Jo and Nana is closed on Tuesdays and opens at 2:30PM on Wednesdays. Other days run 10:30AM to 7PM, closing at 6:30PM on Sundays.

📍 14 Rue Abel, 75012 Paris | 12th arrondissement, near Gare de Lyon | ☎️ +33 9 86 45 78 42 | 🌐 joandnanacakes.com | 📸 @joandnanacakes

5. Giardino: Gluten-Free Pâtisserie in Batignolles Vegan

Order the three-lemon tart, which one reviewer described as light, sharp and not too sweet. The Rose Rhubarbe, rhubarb finished with fresh rose petals, gets praise for its balance, and the pecan tart and hazelnut pastry have loyal fans. Pastry chef Matteo Deiana is often behind the counter and collects almost as many compliments as his cakes.

Everything at Giardino is plant-based, gluten-free and lactose-free, which makes it the easiest stop in the city for anyone travelling with coeliac disease. The Italian accent shows in the citrus and nut flavours. There are a few tables in the tea room on Rue des Dames, in Batignolles, the village-like corner of the 17th.

💡 Tip: Giardino is closed on Mondays. It opens 10AM to 8PM Tuesday to Saturday and 10AM to 6PM on Sundays.

📍 54 Rue des Dames, 75017 Paris | 17th arrondissement, Batignolles | ☎️ +33 7 56 94 69 13 | 🌐 giardinoparis.com | 📸 @giardino_paris

6. Cloud Cakes: Pancakes and Cake in a Blue Café Vegan

The salted caramel pancakes are what reviewers order first, often with a vanilla milkshake, and they have converted more than one non-vegan cousin. The carrot cake gets consistent love, and a vegan of twenty years called the cakes the best they had ever eaten. The case also holds éclairs, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls and cookies to take away.

Cloud Cakes is a bright blue coffee shop on a quiet street in the 2nd, with a full brunch menu next to the pastries. The savoury plates, like the grilled cheese, draw less praise than the sweets, so save your appetite for cake. It is a few minutes on foot from Boneshaker, which makes for a very good double act.

💡 Tip: Cloud Cakes opens 9:30AM to 6:30PM Monday to Saturday and 11AM to 4PM on Sundays. Weekend brunch fills the small café quickly, so arrive early.

📍 6 Rue Mandar, 75002 Paris | 2nd arrondissement, Sentier | ☎️ +33 1 42 33 95 45 | 🌐 cloudcakes.fr | 📸 @cloudcakesfr

7. La Mauvaise Herbe: Sourdough and Croissants in the 17th Vegan

Reviewers call this one of the best vegan bakeries in Paris, and one admitted eating the croissant before managing a photo. The quiche and brioche get raves, while the flan, almond croissant and seasonal entremets (layered mousse cakes) show off serious pâtissier skill. Pick up an organic sourdough loaf on the way out for the next morning.

La Mauvaise Herbe means “the weed”, a cheeky name for a bakery that pastry chef Florence Neveux built as a proper working neighbourhood boulangerie, open from 7AM with organic flour and long hours. It sits on Avenue de Saint-Ouen at the top of the 17th, and the matcha latte makes good company for the walk back.

💡 Tip: La Mauvaise Herbe is open 7AM to 8PM every day except Thursday, when it is closed. Mornings bring the widest choice of bread.

📍 103 Avenue de Saint-Ouen, 75017 Paris | 17th arrondissement | ☎️ +33 9 82 58 65 92 | 📸 @boulangerie.lamauvaiseherbe

8. Wild & The Moon: Banana Bread and Cold-Pressed Juice Vegan

The banana bread is the order here. Reviewers call it a no-brainer and come back for it, and the fluffy babka and protein bars also get warm mentions. The sweets lean lighter, made with organic ingredients and much of the range gluten-free, so they pair well with a cold-pressed juice or a golden turmeric latte.

Wild & The Moon is an organic, fully plant-based café chain with eight branches in Paris, plus outposts in Dubai, Doha and Beirut. The café on Rue Charlot in the Marais is a pleasant place to stop mid-wander, and the bowls and granola cover anyone who wants a proper breakfast before the cake.

💡 Tip: The Charlot branch opens 8AM to 7PM on weekdays and 9AM to 7PM on weekends.

📍 55 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris | 3rd arrondissement, Le Marais | ☎️ +33 1 86 95 40 44 | 🌐 wildandthemoon.fr | 📸 @wildandthemoon

9. Aujourd’hui Demain: Takeaway Bakes at a Vegan Concept Store Vegan

Aujourd’hui Demain keeps a short menu of house-made pastries and sandwiches, all to take away, beside 150 square metres of vegan shopping: groceries, cosmetics, fashion and books. Whole cakes serving 6 to 16 people can be ordered at least 72 hours ahead, with birthday decoration and custom flavours on request, which makes it handy for a Paris celebration.

It opened in November 2017 as the first vegan concept store in France and still hosts pop-ups, tastings and book signings. The sit-down restaurant now lives five minutes away as Présent, a vegan bistro at 13bis Avenue Parmentier, so head there if you want to sit down and eat. The shop on Rue du Chemin Vert is purely takeaway.

💡 Tip: The shop is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It opens 9AM to 8PM Wednesday to Friday and 11AM to 8PM on weekends.

📍 42 Rue du Chemin Vert, 75011 Paris | 11th arrondissement, near Bastille | ☎️ +33 9 81 65 20 01 | 🌐 aujourdhui-demain.com | 📸 @ajddemain

A Pocket Glossary of Paris Pastry

Paris pastry counters come with their own vocabulary, and a few words go a long way when you are pointing at a glass case. Most of these show up at more than one bakery on this list.

• Viennoiserie: the laminated, yeasted breakfast pastries such as croissants, pains au chocolat and pains aux raisins.
• Entremet: a layered mousse cake with a sponge or biscuit base and a glossy glaze, sold whole or as individual pieces.
• Chouquette: a small, hollow puff of choux pastry topped with pearl sugar, sold by weight or by the bag.
• Flan pâtissier: a thick, set custard tart in a pastry shell, cut into wedges and eaten cold.
• Paris-Brest: a ring of choux pastry filled with praline cream, created in 1910 to honour the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race, which is why it is shaped like a wheel.

Vegan Paris: What to Know Before You Go

• Go early. The best pieces sell out by mid-afternoon, especially on weekends.
• Closing days vary: VG Pâtisserie and Giardino close on Mondays, Jo and Nana Cakes on Tuesdays, La Mauvaise Herbe on Thursdays and Aujourd’hui Demain on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• In an ordinary boulangerie, a croissant “pur beurre” is all butter, and a croissant “ordinaire” is made with margarine that can still contain milk, so neither is a safe vegan pick.
• One right-bank walk links Boneshaker and Cloud Cakes in the 2nd, Wild & The Moon in the Marais and Land&Monkeys on Boulevard Beaumarchais. Giardino and La Mauvaise Herbe pair up in the 17th.
• Most of these places are geared to takeaway, so plan a bench. The Coulée Verte and Square des Batignolles are both close to a bakery on this list.
• Croissants and other viennoiserie are wheat-based. For coeliac-safe pastry, go to Giardino, where everything is gluten-free.

When to Visit Paris

Pastry is a year-round pleasure, but spring and early autumn are kindest for eating on park benches. In August many independent Parisian shops close for the summer break, so check Instagram before you cross town for a particular bakery.

December brings the bûche de Noël (a rolled Yule log cake), and January brings the galette des rois, a frangipane-filled puff pastry cake eaten for Epiphany. Ask the vegan bakeries about their seasonal versions and order ahead, because the classics go fast.

Vegan Paris Pastries FAQ