Princeton, New Jersey, offers a vibrant and diverse culinary scene, with a growing emphasis on healthy and sustainable dining options. From farm-to-table restaurants to Mediterranean cuisine and innovative salad concepts, Princeton caters to health-conscious eaters looking for delicious and nutritious meals. This article explores some of the best healthy food options in and around Princeton, highlighting restaurants that prioritize fresh, local, and organic ingredients.
Farm-to-Table Dining
Agricola
Agricola embodies the farm-to-table spirit with its dedication to community and comfort. The restaurant sources fresh, local ingredients to create flavorful dishes that celebrate the season. With a menu that changes to reflect the best of each harvest, Agricola offers meals influenced by Italian and American tastes. Agricola invites you to savor all your moments, be they big or small, with them. Every day is an occasion to celebrate, to gather together and to enjoy delicious food.
Zinna's Bistro
Located in nearby Cranbury, NJ, Zinna's Bistro is a family-owned Italian-American bistro committed to quality. They showcase homemade pastas and produce grown on their premises, as well as the freshest ingredients from the Garden State. Zinna's strives to provide a unique dining experience, focusing on both food and service.
Mediterranean Cuisine
Aspendos Mediterranean Cuisine
Aspendos Mediterranean Cuisine offers a rich history of flavors and traditions. The restaurant features a range of Mediterranean favorites such as hummus, bowl salad, and crispy octopus.
Mediterranean Restaurant
This restaurant is the brainchild of two brothers with over 20 years of experience in the food industry. They have crafted a menu that showcases the best of their culinary expertise. From savory appetizers to mouth-watering entrees, every dish is carefully prepared using only the freshest and finest ingredients.
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Italian Restaurants with Fresh Ingredients
La Mezzaluna
La Mezzaluna, located in downtown Princeton, is an Italian restaurant known for its exquisite dining and service. The menu features regional Italian cuisine and flavors, prepared using the finest and freshest seasonal local ingredients. The menu changes seasonally and offers special dishes during major holidays. One reviewer noted that the pasta could have used another minute boiling, and the sauce was thin, ran off the noodle too quickly on the vodka sauce. The cannelloni had all the right elements but the flavors were off the mark a bit. The homemade crepe was dry on the ends that were not covered with the mozzarella when baked so they were hard and inedible.
Piccolo Trattoria
Piccolo Trattoria is a BYOB casual dining restaurant in the area. It features homemade pasta, milk-fed veal, and prime cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. Fresh seafood is delivered daily and cooked to perfection with inspired sauces. Piccolo Trattoria offers fine dining and a bistro menu featuring gourmet panini sandwiches, exotic salads, fresh pasta e fagioli and soups, & of course a large selection of gourmet hand-tossed pizza.
Seafood
Blue Point Grill
The highly Zagat-rated Blue Point Grill features an extensive selection of impeccably fresh seafood in a fun, lively setting.
Salad Options
CHOPT Creative Salad Co.
CHOPT Creative Salad Co. aims to make healthy eating exciting. With a menu that celebrates flavors from around the world, CHOPT offers a variety of salads with classic cravings and seasonal collaborations.
Arlee's Raw Blends
Arlee's Raw Blends is Princeton's premier source for raw, 100% organic, unpasteurized, cold-pressed juices and foods.
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Other Healthy Options
Seasons 52
Seasons 52 offers a seasonal menu featuring ingredients at their peak of freshness, oak-fire grilled or brick oven roasted. Customers have noted that the food is fresh and appealing, with one reviewer mentioning that it is a healthier option since there are no fries.
CRAVE
CRAVE is committed to healthy living, sustainability, and community. They serve fresh, healthy, and flavorful food, with plant-based and organic options. Customers praise the fresh food, friendly service, and pleasant atmosphere.
Alfalfa
The Alfalfa experience combines elements of life that bring happiness: healthy and delicious salads, doughnuts, and an obsession with delighting our customers. Everything we do, from selecting our ingredients to curating our spaces, is driven by an aspiration for excellence. We believe that those around us deserve to be happy, including our team members, customers, partners, and our broader communities. We are an ingredient driven brand powered by simple, yet unique, recipes that allow the flavor profiles of each component to truly shine. To achieve that robust profile, the primary focus for all of our food is to source high quality, local, fresh produce from vendors we can trust.
Healthy Eating at Princeton University
Princeton University is committed to providing healthy food options for its students and staff. The university's dining program focuses on nutrition education, food allergy awareness, and special dietary considerations.
EatWell Programs
Princeton University offers EatWell Programs, which include nutrition-focused tastings, meet-and-greets with a wellness dietitian, and informative cooking classes.
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Food Allergy Awareness
Princeton Campus Dining is passionate about food allergy safety and has implemented comprehensive training programs to ensure the safety of students with food allergies. Culinary and operational managers participate in the AllerTrain® program, which teaches them how to prepare food to avoid cross-contact and better serve diners with special dietary needs.
Produce Giveaway
Campus Dining has launched a Produce Giveaway program to support health and wellness among its staff. Every two weeks, each dining unit conducts a random drawing where a staff member can win $25 worth of fresh produce to take home.
Other Restaurants
Amazing Thai restaurant
The modern cuisine at Amazing Thai restaurant is a celebration of the rich variety offered by the northern, eastern, southern and central recipes of Thailand.
Bread Boutique
Bakery and cafe dedicated to creating from-scratch baked goods influenced by centuries of tradition, specializing in hand-formed bread and European pastries.
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
Capriotti's serves up mouthwatering sub sandwiches hand-crafted with premium ingredients.
Chapin Restaurant
A casual and cozy Mexican and Guatemalan restaurant in Princeton.
Chez Alice
Chez Alice Patisserie is an airy French cafe with pastries, coffee, tea and sipping chocolate.
Chuck's Spring Street Cafe
Chuck's Spring Street Cafe offers buffalo wings, chicken, burgers and fish in downtown Princeton.
Conte's Pizza and Bar
Contes has been serving thin-crust pizza, pasta, sandwiches and more in Princeton since the 1950s.
Cross Culture Indian Cuisine
Tandoori and other Indian staples served in a spare, refined yet casual strip-mall setting.
D'Angelo Italian Market
Italian specialty food market, gourmet catering, brick oven pizzeria, bakery, espresso bar and cafe.
Delizioso Bakery + Kitchen
Specializing in bakery goods and specialty foods.
Diesel and Duke
Handmade, cooked-to-order burgers in Princeton.
The Dinky Bar & Kitchen
The Dinky Bar & Kitchen is a welcoming, simple bar offering locally sourced, ingredient-driven snacks, small plates and more.
Dunkin Donuts
Donuts, coffee, breakfast sandwiches in the Princeton Shopping Center.
Dvaraka Indian Restaurant
Indian restaurant featuring cuisines of Chettinad, and a fusion of South Indian and North Indian dishes.