27 cheap vegan meals that are sure to please your taste buds and your wallet! These delicious recipes will fill your belly but they won't break the bank!
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One thing that really bugs me is the misconception that it's more expensive to eat a vegan diet than it is to eat an animal-based diet. That's a big fat lie!
I don't spend any more money on our grocery budget now as a vegan family than I did when we ate animal products. If anything, I spend less money. I'm saving money by eating vegan!
Meat is expensive, people! Beans, vegetables, tofu, and grains are extremely cheap! Making cheap healthy vegan meals is easy and you can do it too! Use the following techniques to get the most bang for your buck without having to sacrifice the quality of food that you're eating.
Shop at These Grocery Stores To Save Money
I definitely don't just buy whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it-- I make a budget-friendly meal plan, I make a grocery list, I shop the sales, and I shop at different stores to get the best price on products. I've found that that is the best way to save money on groceries. The following grocery stores are where I like to shop to save money on my groceries:
- Farmer's Markets, Whole Foods, Sprouts - I buy fresh organic produce 1-2 times a week from these stores. Local is best and farmer's markets usually have the best prices. However, Whole Foods recently lowered its prices (it's very affordable now!) on fresh organic produce and they offer an awesome Amazon Prime discount on specific products. I've always found Sprout's to have great prices on their organic produce too.
- Costco - I buy most of my bulk grains, nuts, seeds, and frozen fruit from Costco. Buying in bulk saves so much money! If you don't have a Costco close to you, stores like Whole Foods and Sprout's both have bulk sections where you can find vegan pantry staples at great prices too!
- Trader Joe's - TJ's has low prices on fresh organic produce and lots of vegan products that I love! Some products that I can't find anywhere else like organic vegan wine and cheap coconut aminos.
Here are my personal vegan shopping lists for Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Costco. Each list contains my favorite vegan products at each store, I hope it helps you!
Are There Coupons For Vegan Products?
Yes, there are coupons for vegan products! They can be difficult to find but you can check this website for coupons, check the product website for a specific product printable coupon or you can email the company and ask if they have any coupons available because you want to try their product. I've reached out to company's before to see if they have any coupons they could send me and they usually do!
Cheap Vegan Meals Staple Pantry Ingredients
The following shelf-stable items are inexpensive ingredients that I always have in my pantry and I recommend that you do the same! Many of these items (beans, rice, lentils) are my staples for when I do my weekly cheap vegan meal prep. I always food prep a big batch (2 dry cups) of beans or lentils + rice or quinoa on Sunday so I have an easy base to build on for quick lunches during the week. It really helps to have something already made when you're in a rush.
I store all of my pantry ingredients in glass jars so it's easy to see what I have as soon as I look in the pantry. I got the really big jars from Costco but I also like these 1-gallon large glass mason jars or you could wash out and reuse any jars that you buy filled from the store (pasta sauce, pickles, artichokes, etc).
- Black Beans
- Chickpeas
- Pinto Beans
- Great Northern Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Black-Eyed Peas
- Red Lentils
- Green Lentils
- French Lentils
- Brown Rice (Buy the big bag at Costco and keep it in the freezer)
- Quinoa
- Pasta (I keep noodles in the freezer)
- Oats
- Oat Flour
- Nutritional Yeast
- Chia Seeds
- Shredded Coconut
- Sunflower Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
I buy most of these low-cost items from the bulk section at my local market or in bulk from Costco. Make sure you always check the price per ounce so you can figure out where to get the best deal.
I like to build cheap vegan meals around one of these staples and add whatever produce I found on sale that week. Lentil soup, roasted red pepper pasta with roasted tofu, and Instant Pot black beans with magic yellow rice happen a lot at our house, they're some of our favorite frugal vegan recipes! You can find all of these recipes for the meals below on my Instagram page @Stacey_Homemaker.
11 Ways to Save Money on Your Grocery Budget
- Check the sales flyer before you shop.
- Make a meal plan (Try this free monthly cheap vegan meal plan) and grocery list and stick to it while you shop.
- Buy produce that's in season. If you want something that's out of season, look and see if your store offers it frozen because it's usually cheaper.
- See if your store has a clearance table for produce that's a little bit past its prime.
- Buy frozen fruit from a bulk store.
- Check product websites for coupons (I've also had success emailing a company and asking them to send me coupons).
- Buy the store brand. Usually, it's just as good quality but it's a little cheaper.
- Look through your pantry and plan nutritious meals around the food you already have and want to use up.
- Only buy enough groceries for 2-3 days to reduce food waste.
- Shop around at different stores to find the best deals.
- If you find a great deal on produce, stock up on it, portion it out and freeze it for the future.
- Don't waste leftovers! Either eat them or freeze them for a future meal!
If you incorporate all of these simple tips then I'd be really surprised if you didn't start saving money on your monthly grocery budget.
27 Frugal Vegan Recipes You Can Make on a Budget
Want to see what delicious cheap vegan and vegetarian meals that you can make on a budget? The following list has 27 tasty options for you to choose from! These cheap vegan recipes are perfect for family's, college students, couples, beginner vegans-- pretty much anyone that wants to eat delicious food on an affordable budget.
1 - 30-Minute Veggie Barely Soup
5 - Lentil Meatballs with Spaghetti
6 - Lentil Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
10 - Oven Baked Garlic Mushrooms Rice by A Virtual Vegan
11 - Crispy Hawaiian Garlic Tofu by Rabbit and Wolves
12 - Santa Fe Quinoa Stuffed Peppers by Vegan Huggs
13 - Vegan Jambalaya by The Stingy Vegan
14 - Vegan White Bean Soup by Little Sunny Kitchen
15 - Vegan Shepherd's Pie by Fit Foodie Nutter
16 - Lemon One Pot Pasta by V Nutrition
17 - Italian Inspired Tomato & Chickpea Stew by Sprinkles & Sprouts
18 - Red Lentil Daal by I Knead to Eat
19 - Spanish Beans with Tomatoes by Veggie Desserts
20 - Easy Quinoa Tabbouleh by EAStewart
21 - Whole Wheat Orzo Kale Cauliflower Soup by Cookin Canuck
22 - Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chickpea Lentil Soup by Supergolden Bakes
23 - 5 Minute Vegan Lentil Salad by Delicious Everyday
24 - The Best Black Bean Burger by We're Parents
25 - Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli by Ministry of Curry
26 - Quinoa Fried Rice by Happy Kitchen Rocks
27 - Vegetable Tofu Ricotta Lasagna by Healthy World Cuisine
I hope that you found a couple of cheap vegan meals on this list that you want to try! Enjoy!
If you try any of these cheap vegan meals, please post a picture of it on Instagram and tag me @Stacey_Homemaker and use the #StaceyHomemaker so I can see your delicious meal!
More Cheap Vegan Recipes You'll Love!
30-Minute Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
What are your favorite cheap vegan meals that you make at home? Let me know in a comment!
Although I have not tried the recipes yet, I just had to comment to say thank you for creating these plans & lists!! Our daughter's Neurologist suggested that a Vegan lifestyle will be best for her. We have shopped clean, organic, gluten free, & non-gmo for 10+ years. Long story, but it was a difficult transition because of how my husband & I were raised. We did it for our daughter & our health! I feared this transition to go vegan & didn't know where to start! It seemed so overwhelming. I've checked out 4 books @ the library & Pinterest board full of recipes-but no info to transition. I can't thank you enough for providing all of the info, plans, & lists. If you ever find a moment thinking "why am I doing this", please remember this comment. I greatly appreciate this!!
Samantha, your sweet comment left me in tears! I was having a tough day today and your comment truly made a difference to me. Thank you so much, I'm so happy to help. I hope your transition is easy and that you find the guides helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me at any time. I'd love to help!
I am just now getting into the vegan lifestyle and have been a little worried on if I would be able to make any meals that would be good. I just went through the list and 16 out of the list just from pics alone look great I cant wait to try them. Think i will try the black bean burgers this weekend.
I'm so glad that you found some vegan recipes that look good to you, Kathryn! Let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help <3
"Whole Foods is inexpensive" is something I have never heard anyone say before. It's not a place for people without a lot of money. They jack up their prices. The Prime discount usually amounts to a few cents.
Hey, Chris. Well, you didn't hear it from me either. I never said that everything at Whole Foods is "inexpensive", I said that their produce and some of their products are affordable-- you have to shop the sales and know your prices. In my opinion, they have good sales and their prices for organic produce are fair. Do they have expensive products? Yes. Do they jack up their prices on some products? Sure, but so do lots of stores. That's why I only buy specific products at Whole Foods and that's also why I made a shopping list of my favorite items to help you see which products are a good deal. As for the prime discount, I don't see any other grocery stores offering an extra 10% off their products. Do you? My grocery budget is limited so I'll take any discount I can get. We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one, thanks for your comment!
I think the problem is when people hear “Whole Foods”, automatically they think it’s expensive. I love Whole Foods. You just have to compare prices with other grocery stores(I compare with Trader Joe’s). In all truth, regular grocery stores can be expensive as well, it’s just expensive with cheap gmo ingredients in their products. I’m also on a budget as well, but when it comes to my health, I prefer to eat organic non gmo products from Whole Foods.
What a great collection!! Thank you so much for including my recipe!
Delicious round up with so many new recipes to try. Thanks so much for including our Vegetable Tofu Ricotta Lasagna. Wishing you a super holiday season.
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you too!
As I am a vegan. You know there is always a big problem which vegan face is Diet but when I read this article My problem is solved. I tried some of your recommended meals. But the flavor of this one is "Ranch Cauliflower Tacos" amazing. Thanks for sharing these nice meals with us.
You're welcome!