Vegetarian Lunch Near Cleburne, TX: Every Meatless Plate at Malli's

For a vegetarian lunch near Cleburne, TX, the short answer is 8 minutes east. Malli's Latin Kitchen in Keene is 4.7 miles from Cleburne by E Henderson St, and its printed menu says "Make ANY plate vegetarian", with one exception: the Lunch Plate has no tofu, and the Veggie Plate is its meatless version. Tofu is one of the proteins on every plate that asks for one, the Veggie Plate is meatless from the start, and two of the four pupusas have no meat at all.

Here is every meatless order, what to ask if you eat vegan, and how to feed an office where only some people skip meat.

Why a Keene kitchen cooks this way

Keene grew up around a school the Seventh-day Adventist church opened here in 1894. Today it is Southwestern Adventist University, and the Adventist week still shows: the Handbook of Texas notes that Keene's post office closes on Saturdays rather than Sundays. Malli's keeps the same week. It is closed Saturday and open Sunday.

Diet runs through Adventist life. The Adventist Health Study-2 followed about 96,000 Adventists in the US and Canada: 8% vegan, 28% lacto-ovo vegetarian, 10% pesco-vegetarian and 6% semi-vegetarian. In a town like that, "can I get it with tofu?" is an ordinary lunch question, and at Malli's the answer is yes on every plate with a protein choice.

Every vegetarian order at Malli's

Order	How it is meatless	Egg or dairy?
Veggie Plate	Plant-based turkey roast or tofu fajitas, with quinoa salad and rice	Ask
3 Tacos with tofu	Tofu as the protein	Ask about cheese and sauce
Lunch Burrito with tofu	Tofu, pico de gallo, rice, beans, cheese, sauce	Cheese
Torta with tofu	Tofu, beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, chipotle sauce	Cheese
Quesadilla with tofu	Tofu and cheese on a flour tortilla	Cheese
Cheese pupusa	No meat	Cheese
Bean and cheese pupusa	No meat	Cheese
Breakfast Burrito	Potato, egg, cheese and beans; add veggie sausage	Egg, cheese

The one plate that does not take tofu is the Lunch Plate (grilled chicken, beans, rice, salad and plantain). Its meatless version is the Veggie Plate, so order that instead.

Everything else swaps tofu in for chicken, asada or barbacoa, and nothing else on the plate changes. A mixed table orders off one menu. Today's prices are on the menu, kept current with the kitchen.

If you eat vegan

Nothing on Malli's menu is labeled vegan, and many dishes carry cheese, egg or sour cream. The ones to ask about:

• 3 Tacos with tofu, with no cheese and no cream sauce.
• Veggie Plate with tofu fajitas: ask whether the rice or the quinoa salad has butter or dairy.
• Jamaica, the hibiscus drink.

Two questions worth asking once, at the counter:

1. Is the rice cooked with chicken stock?
2. Is the plant-based turkey roast free of egg?

The answers have to come from the kitchen, so call (817) 897-7026 before you drive over if either one decides your order. Lard is not a question: Malli's uses no pork and no lard in anything.

What a vegetarian customer said

From Malli's Google reviews:

• "As a vegetarian, it’s always amazing when ai can get authentic food! SO GOOD. I’m definitely coming back!" (Teymi T.)
• "The food... VERY GOOD! My torta was perfect, not soggy like so often the case at other restaurants." (Larry A.)

Vegetarian lunch orders from Cleburne

Who	What to order
Just you	Veggie Plate and a jamaica
Just you, lighter	2 bean and cheese pupusas with beans and rice
Two people	2 cheese and 2 bean and cheese pupusas, plus 1 Veggie Plate to share
Office of 8, 3 vegetarians	3 Veggie Plates and 5 Lunch Burritos with any protein
Office of 8, one order for all	8 Lunch Burritos, 3 of them with tofu

For an office order, call ahead and say "tofu" for each meatless plate, so the kitchen bags them apart.

Getting there from Cleburne

Read on Google Maps, "Leave now", usual traffic: 8 minutes, 4.7 miles.

1. Take E Chambers St, which bends right and becomes US 67 Business N / E Henderson St (3.3 miles on Henderson).
2. Turn left onto S Old Betsy Rd (1.1 miles).
3. Malli's is on the right at 314 S Old Betsy Rd, across from Pinnacle Bank.

Eight minutes each way is 16 minutes of driving, so a sit-down lunch fits inside an hour. The kitchen opens at 9 AM and closes at 3 PM, Sunday to Friday, and is closed Saturday. Open directions in Google Maps for live traffic, or see every route to Malli's.

More reading: vegetarian Salvadoran food, the vegetarian menu, and pupusa fillings explained.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a vegetarian lunch near Cleburne, TX? Yes. Malli's Latin Kitchen in Keene, 8 minutes east of Cleburne, puts tofu on any plate that asks for a protein and has a Veggie Plate built without meat.

What is the lightest vegetarian lunch at Malli's? Two cheese or bean and cheese pupusas, with beans and rice on the side if you are hungry.

Does Malli's have vegan food? Nothing is labeled vegan. Ask about the tofu tacos without cheese and the tofu fajita Veggie Plate.

Does Malli's use pork or lard? No. Malli's uses no pork and no lard in anything, so the beans and the pupusas are free of both.

Can a mixed group order together? Yes. The tacos, torta, burrito and quesadilla take chicken, asada, barbacoa or tofu, so meat eaters and vegetarians order off the same menu.

Is Malli's open on Saturday? No. Malli's is open Sunday to Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM, and closed Saturday.

Order now

Call (817) 897-7026 to order ahead for pickup, or come in and eat.

Malli's Latin Kitchen, 314 S Old Betsy Rd, Keene, TX 76059, across from Pinnacle Bank. Open Sunday to Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM. Closed Saturday.

Sources

• Google Maps driving directions from Cleburne, TX to 314 S Old Betsy Rd, Keene, TX 76059 (8 min, 4.7 miles, via US 67 Business N / E Henderson St), read 12 Oct 2026, "Leave now", usual traffic.
• Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, "Keene, TX" (1894 Adventist school; post office closes on Saturdays rather than Sundays): https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/keene-tx
• Southwestern Adventist University, "About": https://www.swau.edu/about
• Adventist Health Study, "AHS-2" (96,000 Adventists in the US and Canada; vegan 8%, lacto-ovo 28%, pesco 10%, semi 6%), read 19 Oct 2026: https://adventisthealthstudy.org/studies/AHS-2
• Malli's Latin Kitchen: printed menu ("Make ANY plate vegetarian", except the Lunch Plate; Karen, 14 Oct 2026: the Lunch Plate takes no tofu, the Veggie Plate is its meatless version); owner, 18 Oct 2026: no pork and no lard; Google reviews by Teymi T. and Larry A.