Traditional Maldivian cuisine (see our introduction to Maldivian cuisine) is built almost entirely around tuna — which makes vegetarian and vegan travel here more of a planning question than it would be in a lot of other destinations, though a genuinely manageable one.
On a resort
Most resorts are well set up for vegetarian and vegan guests, particularly larger properties with multiple restaurants and international buffet-style dining (see our resort dining guide) — but it's worth flagging dietary requirements when you book rather than assuming it'll be handled seamlessly on arrival, especially at smaller boutique properties with a single set-menu restaurant.
On a local island
Local-island cafés (see our eating on a local island guide) lean heavily fish-based by default, and plant-based options are less consistently available than at a resort — worth researching your specific guesthouse's kitchen flexibility in advance if you're travelling the budget, local-island route covered in our guesthouses guide.
What travels well regardless
Rice, dhal-based dishes, and fresh tropical fruit (see our tropical fruit guide) are reliably available across both resort and local-island dining — a reasonable fallback even where a full vegetarian or vegan menu isn't set up.