Carnival Cruise Line has just introduced vegan menus on board Carnival Freedom in Port Canaveral, Fla. in response to a fleetwide initiative to offer guests more options in its dining rooms. New vegan menus will be introduced fleetwide through the end of the year on Carnival Horizon and Carnival Freedom at Port Miami.

A selection of vegan appetizers, entrees, and desserts will be available in the ships’ dining rooms at each meal. To ensure that every menu item is prepared without using animal products, Carnival chefs created recipes and used meat substitutes for all proteins.

“Plant-based food is becoming a more popular choice on our ships just as it is on land, and that’s why we’re introducing new dishes,” said Richard Morse, Carnival Cruise Line’s senior vice president of food and beverage. Choosing specific menus for our vegan offerings will make it easier for diners to order in the dining room and for our chefs to prepare in the kitchen.”

Among the vegan options on the new menu are:

Preparation of appetizers

• Hawaiian Salmon Poke – A delicious starter made from plant-based salmon, edamame, mango, and cucumber.
• Stuffed Mushrooms – Stuffed with spinach and vegan cheese, these four fried mushrooms are sure to please.
• Spaghetti Carbonara – A delicious pasta dish with vegan bacon, onions, and garlic, you can order it as either an appetizer or main dish.

Entrees

• Grilled Tofu Steak – Enjoy this savory tofu steak with honey barbeque sauce along with a Hasselback potato and mixed vegetables.
• Baked Vegetable Au Gratin – Roasted mixed vegetables mixed with vol-au-vent and topped with melted plant-based cheese.
• Eggplant Cutlet a la Parmigiana – a tasty starter topped with pesto and basil leaves, topped with vegan mozzarella.

Desserts

• Key Lime Velvet Cake – This cake combines flavors of citrus and raspberry and strawberry to create a fruity twist on classic key lime pie.
• Dutch Double Chocolate Pave – A chocolate lover’s dream dessert made with layers of cake and buttercream frosting.
• Cappuccino Pot de Créme – Delicious combination of coffee flavors and cinnamon crème chantilly.

Vegan-specific menus will be introduced throughout the fall. Carnival Magic has already piloted them. The menus will be implemented on Carnival Dream by the end of this month, and guests will be able to order from the menus on Carnival Valor, Carnival Radiance, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Panorama, and Mardi Gras as well by then. By the end of October, the new vegan menus will be available on Carnival Celebration, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Glory, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Elation. The menus for Carnival Paradise, Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend, and Carnival Venezia will be introduced by the end of November, while Carnival Jubilee and Carnival Legend will be introduced shortly thereafter.

The fleetwide dining room menus at Carnival continue to be updated with dozens of new dishes every day. As part of Carnival’s ongoing efforts to bring more variety to its dining room offerings, the new dishes include dishes curated by Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse and Carnival chefs.