Mean Greens Café, UNT’s nationally acclaimed Vegan Verified dining hall accredited by MenuTrinfo, presents a selection of healthy, plant-based meals that redefine campus dining. Students can indulge in a range of flavorful choices, including a fried rice bar, a Vietnamese pho station, a Mediterranean grill, and the ever-popular fresh guacamole.
Chef-crafted
Plant-based Goodness
Proudly holding the title of the first 100% vegan Dining Hall in the country, Mean Greens at Maple Hall isn’t just for vegans. It’s popular among all looking for satisfying, healthy options.
Serving Up –
Points of Pride
Mean Green Acres—a hydroponic garden that sustainably produces 650 to 750 heads of leafy greens per week.
Five consecutive years of “A+” ratings and Dean’s List honors from animal advocacy group peta2.
Daily Themed Menus –
Monday
Homestyle
Tuesday
Asia
Wednesday
India
Thursday
Mediterranean
Friday
Breakfast all day
Tex-Mex
Growing Our Own
– Leafy Greens and Fresh Herbs
Mean Greens is home to Mean Green Acres, a hydroponic garden built inside a specially designed, upcycled freight trailer behind the dining hall. At any given time, five to eleven different varieties of lettuce and herbs are grown in the container, allowing UNT Dining Services to produce up to 750 heads a week for Mean Greens Café and other Dining Halls on campus — all on about one gallon of water per day!
Mean Green Acres drastically reduces food shipments and impacts the university’s carbon footprint. We’re proud to produce non-GMO greens with superior flavor — grown from organic seed stock in an organic growing medium.
Watch video
Award-winning Tomato Mushroom Curry
2020 Best vegan recipe
Mean Greens Café’s famous Tomato Curry recipe received the Gold Award in the Best Vegan Recipe category of the 2020 NACUFS Nutrition Awards.
Download the recipe
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
2 cups red onion, diced
1/4 cup pickled ginger
2 tsp. canola oil
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. chili powder
2½ cups coconut milk
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch Thai basil, chiffonade
Optional: basmati rice
Instructions
- Place red onion & pickled ginger in food processor and chop until ingredients are finely minced. Set aside.
- Heat canola oil in a medium pot or deep sauté pan on medium high heat. When rondeau is smoking, add the fresh thyme & cilantro and quickly toast for 1–2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, about 6–7 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and brown for 4–5 minutes. Add the thyme, cilantro, turmeric, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, chili powder, and quickly sauté for 1–2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and fresh tomato, and turn heat down to a low simmer. Reduce curry down to your desired thickness, stirring often.
- Serve over basmati rice and garnish with Thai basil.
Events at Mean Greens Café
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