Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking Classes in Athens

Vegans have one class built for them: a plant-based Greek cooking class in Koukaki, near the Acropolis. Vegetarians can take most classes, either as they are or with notice. Gluten-free is the hard one: phyllo, bread and rusks run through Greek cooking, and the rooftop class has no gluten-free option.

Greek home cooking is friendlier to plant-based eating than its reputation. Much of it, the ladera dishes cooked in olive oil, the pulses, the greens pies, the stuffed vegetables, has always been meat-free, partly because of the Orthodox fasting days, when meat, dairy and eggs are traditionally avoided.

The plant-based class

Soybird's Greek cooking class in Koukaki, a short walk from the Acropolis, cooks the classics with no animal products: moussaka with a cashew bechamel, tzatziki, spanakopita, fava (a yellow split-pea purée), an almond-based feta, dakos, koulouri (sesame bread rings) and ekmek for dessert. Groups are small, at most 14, and you cook in two teams before everything goes on the table as a shared buffet. The meal comes with a glass of wine or a beer, plus soft drinks, and you get a digital recipe book in English.

It costs from $71 per person, rated 4.9 from 231 reviews (checked October 2026), and lasts about three and a half hours. Two practical points: the class needs at least six participants to run (you are told at least 24 hours ahead if it does not), and it is not suitable for children under 8. The studio is wheelchair accessible, which is rare in Athens.

Classes that adapt for vegetarians

Dietary terms checked October 2026.

The market visit and cooking class caters for dietary needs if you tell the kitchen as soon as you book, through the booking’s messaging; it cannot change the menu at the last minute. Its standard menu is already mostly vegetarian: dolmades (with meat optional), spanakopita, imam baildi, tzatziki and orange pie.

Gluten-free

This is where the options narrow. The rooftop class has no gluten-free option, because its menu is built on pies. Phyllo, bread and rusks run through most Greek class menus, so if you are coeliac, message the kitchen before you book rather than after, and ask specifically about cross-contamination in a shared kitchen. Naturally gluten-free Greek dishes include gemista (stuffed vegetables), fava, most grilled meat and fish, and horiatiki salad.

Tips for any diet

• Say it at booking, in the booking message, not on the day. Kitchens buy ingredients in advance.
• Ask about the shared table. At classes that cook in teams and eat as a buffet, ask which dishes are safe for you.
• Ask about the drinks too. Most classes include wine; the plant-based class also has soft drinks.

For the menus of every class, see the dishes guide; for prices, the price guide.

Written 25 October 2026. Menus, dietary terms, group sizes, age limits and access are from the GetYourGuide and Viator listings, read 25 October 2026, and change over time. Orthodox fasting customs are general background.