At first glance, Filipino cuisine doesn’t look plant-based. Not even close.

We’re a nation known for pork in all its forms; crispy, stewed, skewered. Dishes built on broth, bone, fat, and flavor. To suggest an adobo without meat used to feel like a joke. Now it’s a pop-up menu item in Quezon City, and it’s selling out.

Something is changing. Quietly, steadily, and often on a banana leaf.

Plant-forward Filipino food has been gaining ground, not just among vegetarians or eco-conscious eaters, but everyday Filipinos who are curious, open, or just trying to eat a little lighter. It doesn’t feel like a movement with slogans. It feels more like… preference. Gradual changes. A switch from beef to mushrooms. A habit of asking what’s in the sinigang.

Laing has always been meatless, of course. But now it’s headlining. Kare-kare is showing up with jackfruit instead of oxtail. Sisig? Mushrooms, tofu, even banana heart. Then there’s vegan lechon, a sentence that would’ve raised eyebrows ten years ago, but now just gets a nod and a “where’d you buy it?”

It’s not just restaurants either. Home cooks are experimenting. There are entire TikTok channels dedicated to “plantifying” Filipino classics.

Sustainability plays a part, definitely. So does health. But there’s also this: Filipino food has always adapted. Always changed with migration, necessity, resourcefulness. So maybe this isn’t a break from tradition. Maybe it’s the most traditional thing we’ve done in a while.

Still, not everyone’s on board. There’s resistance, mostly from those who feel meat equals authenticity. Some think it’s trend-driven. Some just don’t like tofu. That’s fair, food is personal. You don’t have to replace your favorite dish to respect someone else’s version of it.

But the fact that we’re even having that conversation? That says something.

So, trend or transition?

It depends on who’s cooking.