I don’t know where I’d be without Mexican food. It has become such a staple in my diet. However, I rarely delve into the world of vegan-zing Mexican desserts; so I decided to go on the hunt… I found lots of “Mexican inspired” recipes, but I was more interested in traditional Mexican desserts that have been vegan-ized, or perhaps are accidentally vegan to begin with. Those were less ubiquitous, but still fairly easy to come across once I did a little bit of research and new what to search for.

I was able to find beautiful vegan versions of churros, tres leches, flan, and more…

6 Plant-Based Mexican Dessert Recipes

#1. Vegan Churros

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Perhaps the most well-known Mexican dessert despite originating in Europe, churros often contain eggs, but this vegan version uses a flax-egg instead. Get the recipe here.

#2. Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches are sweet little cakes that are traditionally made with three kinds of milk: heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. This vegan version swaps the dairy for coconut milk, coconut cream, and soy milk. Get the recipe here.

#3. Mexican Chocolate Coffee Mug Cake

If you prefer chocolate cake, check out these easy to make Mexican chocolate mug cakes. They have a dash of chili powder in them for a lil’ zing and a lil’ pep; however, I think I’d be inclined to make that two dashes. Get the recipe here.

#4. Vegan Caramel Flan

While flan is technically an egg-based dish originating in ancient Rome, a sweet custard version with caramel has been a popular Mexican dessert for many generations. This vegan version from PETA makes use of tofu, soy milk, and agar-agar flakes to replace the animal ingredients. Get the recipe here.

#5. Girasol Cajeta (Sunflower Caramel Sauce)

Cajeta is a Mexican confection made from sweetened goat’s milk. Sometimes other liquids, such as juice and/or liquor are used, as well. It’s basically a fancy dulce de leche. This vegan version substitutes the goat’s milk for raw sunflower seeds, which I thought was pretty interesting. It looks fantastic! Get the recipe here.

#6. Watermelon Granita

Granita is the only dessert on this list that doesn’t require any modifications to be vegan-friendly. Although granita is of Sicilian origin, it has become a popular confection in Mexico, where it is sometimes seasoned with salt, chili powder, and/or cinnamon. Get the recipe here.