Chiang Mai has become a paradise for vegan travelers seeking authentic Thai cooking experiences. And for good reason.
The city’s culinary scene explodes with color, flavor, and plant-based possibilities. From traditional recipes passed down through generations to innovative takes on Thai classics, vegan cooking classes here offer something truly special. You’ll learn techniques that transform simple vegetables into extraordinary dishes while exploring Thailand’s rich food culture.
Whether you’re planning a short visit or settling in as an expat, these highly-rated vegan cooking schools provide hands-on instruction in English. Each class emphasizes authentic flavors without fish sauce, shrimp paste, or other animal products.
Let’s explore the best options available in late 2025.
Why Choose a Vegan Cooking Class in Chiang Mai?
Thai cuisine naturally includes many vegetarian elements. Fresh herbs, aromatic spices, coconut milk, and vibrant vegetables form the foundation of countless dishes. Learning to cook Thai food the vegan way means you’ll discover how to achieve that perfect balance of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy using only plant-based ingredients.
Most classes include market tours where you’ll discover exotic produce you’ve never seen before. Thai eggplants, holy basil, galangal, lemongrass. These ingredients become familiar friends as instructors explain their uses and flavors.
You’ll also take home recipe books, ensuring those pad Thai and green curry skills translate to your kitchen back home.
May Kaidee’s Cooking School: The Vegan Pioneer
Want to learn from a legend? May Kaidee’s has taught vegan Thai cooking since 1988. Founded by Chef Sommay “May” Jaijong, this school has expanded from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and even New York.
The Chiang Mai location sits just outside the Old City on Chang Moi Kao Road. Easy walking distance. The school operates 365 days a year, offering morning and afternoon sessions that each last about four hours.
What you’ll cook: Expect to prepare approximately seven dishes entirely from plant-based ingredients. The typical menu includes two soups (like tom yum and coconut), two curries (green and massaman are favorites), a stir-fry such as pad Thai, a fresh salad, and a classic Thai dessert like mango sticky rice.
The curriculum goes deeper for those who want it. Multi-day courses span 3, 5, or even 10 days, covering raw food preparation, fruit carving, and advanced techniques. Some classes even incorporate Thai cultural elements like traditional dancing or massage lessons.
Pricing: Around 1,600 to 1,800 Thai Baht per person (approximately $50 USD). This includes all ingredients, instruction, the meal you create, and a comprehensive recipe book. The shorter express class runs about 900 to 1,000 Baht.
Students consistently praise the flavors achieved without any animal products. Reviews note that even meat-eaters enjoy these classes, appreciating how May Kaidee’s proprietary sauces deliver authentic umami.
We Love Green: Farm-to-Table Vegan Excellence
Looking for an immersive, countryside experience? We Love Green delivers exactly that.
Located about 17 kilometers southeast of Chiang Mai in Saraphi, this school operates from Chef Patchareeporn “Nan” Janta’s home. She founded it in 2018 after running a restaurant in her native Buriram province. The setting is tranquil. Garden views. Fresh air. A stark contrast to urban classrooms.
The impressive menu: Students prepare around 10 to 11 different items in a single half-day session. You’ll make two chili pastes, a peanut sauce, then use them to craft Tom Yum soup, green curry, pad Thai, fresh spring rolls, papaya salad, and mango sticky rice.
Each student gets their own cooking station and wok. No sharing. This hands-on approach means you actually master each technique rather than watching someone else cook.
The class begins with a local market tour where Nan introduces Thai ingredients up close. You’ll smell, touch, and taste exotic herbs before returning to her spacious open-air cooking area. Her background from Northeast Thailand adds interesting cultural depth, as she shares stories about Isaan food traditions alongside Central Thai recipes.
Class details: Half-day courses run twice daily (9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM). An express evening class (7:00 to 9:00 PM) covers five dishes without the market tour.
Free pickup and drop-off within 6 kilometers of Chiang Mai city center makes transportation simple. Just provide your hotel details when booking.
Cost: 1,500 Baht for the half-day course, 1,100 Baht for the evening session.
We Love Green boasts a perfect 5.0 rating on TripAdvisor with reviewers calling it “the highlight of our trip.” Nan’s passion for treating Thai cooking as an art form shines through every lesson.
Thai Farm Cooking School: The Original Organic Experience
Established in 2001, Thai Farm was Chiang Mai’s first cooking school on an organic farm. That pioneering spirit continues today.
The school sits about 17 kilometers north in Mae Rim district. Imagine ponds with water lilies, rows of fresh herbs, and open-air cooking pavilions surrounded by greenery. You’ll actually pick ingredients from the garden during the farm tour, then use those same herbs in your dishes minutes later.
While not exclusively vegan, Thai Farm accommodates plant-based diets expertly. Every dish can be made without meat or fish sauce, and instructors provide soy sauce, mushroom sauce, and tofu as standard substitutions.
What you’ll learn: The full-day class (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM) includes a market tour, farm tour, and instruction in six dishes. Typically: a stir-fry, soup, curry paste from scratch, a curry using that paste, an appetizer, and dessert. The menu varies by day of the week to keep things fresh.
The half-day option covers four dishes in a condensed morning session.
Each student gets their own cooking station. You’ll pound curry paste using a traditional mortar and pestle, learning the foundation of Thai flavors through direct experience.
Pricing: Full-day course runs about 1,500 Baht, half-day around 800 Baht. Both include transportation from your hotel, all ingredients, and a color recipe book.
Many travelers call this the best cooking class in Chiang Mai, praising both the comprehensive instruction and the beautiful farm setting. The only consideration? The 30 to 45-minute drive from town. Most find it worthwhile for the countryside views and organic experience.
Thai Akha Kitchen: Cultural Fusion at Its Finest
Here’s something unique. Thai Akha Kitchen is the only cooking class in Chiang Mai where you learn both Thai classics and Akha tribal dishes.
Run by members of the Akha ethnic minority, this school offers cultural insight alongside culinary skills. The location within the Old City walls makes it convenient, while the market tour at Chiang Mai Gate market adds local flavor.
The menu: Six dishes plus one curry paste total. You’ll prepare an appetizer, soup, stir-fry, curry with homemade paste, dessert, and one special Akha dish of your choice. Think spring rolls, tom kha coconut soup, pad kra-pao basil stir-fry, green curry, mango sticky rice, plus your selected Akha specialty.
Vegetarians substitute tofu or mushrooms for meat in the Akha dishes. The school provides vegetarian seasonings throughout, ensuring full plant-based adaptation without compromising authenticity.
Classes run twice daily: morning (8:30 AM to 1:30 PM) and evening (4:30 PM to 9:00 PM). Both include market tours and last approximately five hours.
Cost: Around 1,000 to 1,200 Baht per person, including transportation, market tour, ingredients, and recipe book.
The Akha family’s personal touch makes this special. You’re learning recipes passed down through generations, not found in typical tourist classes. Instructors are fluent in English and create a fun, laughter-filled atmosphere.
Bodhi Tree Café: Intimate and Customizable
Want a more personalized experience? Bodhi Tree Café near Tha Pae Gate offers exactly that.
Owner Ubon “Lotus” Kanokphong keeps class sizes to a maximum of five or six people. Sometimes it’s just you. This creates an intimate, flexible learning environment where you can ask endless questions and adjust recipes to your preferences.
The format: Classes run about 2.5 to 3 hours. Unlike fixed-menu schools, Lotus lets you choose approximately four dishes plus curry paste and dessert. Green curry with fresh paste, pad Thai, tom kha soup, papaya salad, mango sticky rice. Pick what interests you most.
Everything is 100% vegan, and Lotus emphasizes balancing Thai taste profiles from the start. Hate cilantro? She’ll show you alternatives. Concerned about spice levels? She adapts.
Classes meet daily at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Book at least one day ahead, as classes only run when reserved.
Pricing: 1,000 Baht per person, which is remarkably reasonable for a semi-private class. No pickup provided since the café sits centrally in the Old City.
The casual, homely environment feels like cooking with a Thai friend. Lotus brings a Buddhist vegetarian philosophy to her teaching, often discussing nutritional benefits alongside techniques.
Thaimuang by Chef Ning: Northern Thai Specialties
Thaimuang Vegetarian Cooking Class (formerly known as Ning’s Kitchen) brings Northern Thai flavors to the forefront.
Located at 237 Thapae Road, Chef Ning runs intimate sessions with a maximum of six people. Her passion for vegetarian cooking and deep knowledge of Northern specialties set this class apart.
What makes it special: Ning often incorporates dishes like Khao Soi (Chiang Mai curry noodles) alongside classics. A sample menu includes spring rolls, mixed vegetable soup, tom yum, massaman curry, pad Thai, and mango sticky rice. That’s six items in one session.
You’ll make curry paste from scratch by grinding spices. Students say Ning’s massaman curry rivals any they’ve tasted anywhere.
Classes begin with a market tour, often to Warorot Market. Ning explains ingredients with patience and enthusiasm, showing you pea eggplants, banana blossoms, and different basil varieties.
Schedule: Morning classes start around 9:00 AM, evening sessions around 4:00 or 4:30 PM. Each runs 4 to 5 hours including market tour and meal.
Cost: Approximately 1,000 Baht per person, covering pickup, market tour, all ingredients, and recipe booklets.
Reviews are consistently five-star, with travelers noting the authentic, personalized atmosphere. Ning’s class feels like joining a Thai family for the day rather than attending a commercial cooking school.
Making Your Choice: Quick Comparison
Not sure which school fits your needs? Consider these factors:
For comprehensive menus: We Love Green teaches 10 to 11 dishes in one session, offering exceptional value.
For legendary reputation: May Kaidee’s decades of experience and international recognition make it a safe bet.
For farm experience: Thai Farm Cooking School combines instruction with organic garden tours and countryside beauty.
For cultural depth: Thai Akha Kitchen’s inclusion of tribal recipes offers something you won’t find elsewhere.
For personalization: Bodhi Tree Café’s tiny class sizes and customizable menu suit those wanting individual attention.
For Northern specialties: Thaimuang by Chef Ning emphasizes regional dishes like Khao Soi.
Most classes include market tours, transportation or central locations, recipe books, and the meal you create. Prices range from 800 to 1,800 Baht depending on duration and inclusions.
Beyond the Top Choices
Several other schools accommodate vegans excellently. Aromdii Cooking School offers budget-friendly options at around 800 Baht. Green Mango Thai Cookery School uses mostly homemade ingredients in a tranquil garden setting. Trichada Cookery Home focuses entirely on Northern Thai cuisine for food enthusiasts wanting regional specialization.
The point? Chiang Mai overflows with vegan-friendly cooking class options. Virtually every reputable school accommodates plant-based diets gladly, as Thai cuisine naturally includes abundant vegetarian elements.
Booking Tips and Final Thoughts
Book in advance. Popular classes fill quickly during high season (November to February). Reserve at least a few days ahead, or even a week for peak times.
Mention dietary needs. While these schools specialize in vegan/vegetarian cooking, letting them know your specific requirements ensures they’re fully prepared. Gluten-free? Nut allergies? They’ll adapt.
Bring appetite and enthusiasm. You’ll cook multiple dishes and eat everything you make. Come hungry. Wear comfortable clothes. Prepare to get your hands messy grinding curry paste.
Don’t worry about skill level. These classes welcome complete beginners. Instructors teach each technique from scratch, demonstrating before you try.
Chiang Mai’s vegan cooking classes offer more than recipes. They provide cultural immersion, hands-on learning, and memories that extend far beyond the kitchen. You’ll return home confident in your ability to recreate authentic Thai flavors using only plant-based ingredients.
The recipes you master here, the techniques you learn, and the stories you hear from instructors will enrich your cooking for years to come. Whether you choose May Kaidee’s legendary school, We Love Green’s comprehensive farm experience, or any other option, you’re investing in skills that last a lifetime.
Ready to start your Thai vegan cooking adventure? Pick a class, book your spot, and prepare for one of the most delicious experiences Chiang Mai offers.
