Emirates Elevates In-Flight Dining with Innovative Vegan Cuisine

Airline Introduces Over 300 Plant-Based Recipes Across All Cabins and Lounges

In response to the growing demand for plant-based dining options, Emirates has significantly expanded its vegan menu, now offering over 300 vegan recipes across all cabin classes and airport lounges, reaching over 140 destinations worldwide.

The new plan makes a debut during Veganuary, a global initiative taking place during the month of January to encourage people to try the vegan diet at least for one month. Emirate's efforts cater to both dedicated vegans and passengers seeking lighter, health-conscious meal choices during their travels.

Culinary Innovations and High-Quality Ingredients

Emirates' culinary team gather in Emirates Flight Catering Concept Development Kitchen and experimented with innovative ingredients to replicate traditional flavors and textures in their vegan offerings. Notably, they have developed a legume-based egg substitute, featured in a spicy shakshuka, and developed a premade vegan pastry sheet to create savoury vegan cannelloni.

Partership with Global Suppliers

The extensive menu showcases an array of high-quality plant-based products sourced from global suppliers:

• plant-based proteins from Beyond Meat in California
• soybean protein from UAE and Singapore brand Arlene
• pressed tofu sourced from Japan's Qian Ye for authentic Asian flavours
• organic dark vegan chocolate crafted by Linnolat in France
• vegan margarine from Meister Marken in Germany
• vegan curry paste supplied by Pantai in Thailand
• almond milk from Italy's Koita.

Emirates also emphasizes sustainability by incorporating fresh produce from Bustanica, the world's largest hydroponic vertical farm. This facility is a joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering and supplies pesticide-free leafy greens directly to Emirates' catering services, enhancing the freshness and nutritional value of in-flight meals.

Class-Specific Vegan Delicacies

The airline serves more than 400,000 plant based meals onboard every year, across every class. In 2024, vegan meal consumption grew in line with passenger volumes bu consumption has exceeded passenger volume growth in some regions, like Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Also, many Emirates Cabin Crew also follow a plant-based diet, and Emirates has offered vegan meals for Cabin Crew for the last 9 years.

Passengers can look forward to a diverse range of vegan meals tailored to their cabin class:

• Economy Class: options include crêpes filled with sautéed carrots and peppers, served with roasted potatoes, mushrooms and tomato concassé, or curried vegetable puffs, and chocolate mousse cake with chocolate sauce and blackberry crumble.
• Premium Economy Class: customers choosing vegan cuisine will be served dishes such as braised mushrooms with vegetables in five spice soy sauce, served with steamed jasmine rice and blanched pak choi, followed by desserts like chocolate tart drizzled in apricot compote or raspberry tonka mousse cake with berry coulis.
• Business Class: the selection includes a range of elegant and creatively curated dishes including Thai red curry tofu with aubergine, beans, mushrooms and taro in aromatic gravy, served with steamed jasmine rice. And for dessert a tropical coconut pineapple cake or a chocolate pecan cake.
• First Class: customers will be treated to elevated vegan cuisine. The gourmet creations include creamy polenta cake with thyme mushroom ragout, sautéed spinach drizzled in a rich root vegetable jus or aubergine curry with charred rice and turmeric potato, with a dash of coconut and mint chutney. The meal ends with a selection of desserts like the tartness of rhubarb tempered with strawberry charlotte, Chantilly cream and raspberry tuille, or a warm chocolate fondant, dashed with salted caramel sauce and whipped cashew cream.

Vegan Options for Young Travelers

Recognizing the importance of catering to younger passengers and highlighting its commitment to culinary excellence for all customers, Emirates has introduced vegan meals for children. These kid-friendly options include vegan pizza, sweet and sour vegetable casserole, and vegetable fajitas, vegan muffins, cauliflower bites with sweet sauce and desserts like strawberry crumble and vegan chocolate pudding. The aim is to ensure children have access to nutritious and tasty plant-based meals during their flight.

Accessibility and Pre-Ordering

Vegan meals are available for pre-order across all Emirates flights and cabin classes, passengers can request plant-based options up to 24 hours before departure. On routes with high demand, vegan meals are also included in the main menu, providing flexibility and convenience for travelers.

By expanding and refining its vegan offerings, Emirates demonstrates a commitment to meeting diverse dietary preferences and enhancing the overall travel experience with innovative, high-quality plant-based cuisine.