Vegan (n.): a person who chooses to omit ALL animal products and byproducts from the diet, usually for personal, health, and/or environmental reasons.
The biggest issue with attempting vegan meal prep?
People concentrate on what they can’t have rather than what they can.
If you have yet to attempt a vegan diet you may have some very strict boxes around what you assume you can and cannot have. Most of us do when we start, but those boxes often prevent you from seeing the variety that opens up on your plate when you make the commitment to use plants as the foundation of your meals. Making dietary choices to benefit your body and the environment isn’t as hard as it seems but it does require you to relearn and in some cases retrain yourself when planning, shopping, and prepping your meals for the week.
Already feeling overwhelmed?
You don’t have to become a vegan to enjoy vegan meal prep.
However, every legitimate dietary study concludes that it is of increasing importance that we increase the plant products on our plates. We want to make it easy for you to start delving into 1-2 meatless & dairy free meals per week so we’ve compiled our top 10 go-to vegan meal prep websites below and we included our favorite vegan meal prep recipe from each, starting with:
1. THE MINIMALIST VEGAN
If you’re searching for simple living and food packed with compassion and flavor, The Minimalist Vegan is for you. Michael and Maša share helpful articles, vegan recipes, and a podcast to share on their aesthetically-pleasing website. Not to mention, the have a weekly newsletter subscription that provides a clean summary of their content! They use their platform not only to share vegan recipes, but to “explore the intersection of minimalism and veganism.”
Recipes are divided into the categories of most popular, gluten-free, mains, sweets, sides & starters, breakfast, salads, snacks, soups & stews and drinks. Though they do have ample tasty vegan recipes, a drop-down menu to find exactly what you’re searching for might benefit the website. While The Minimalist Vegan doesn’t list any nutritional facts, they do discuss the benefits of some individual recipe components. Additionally, their ingredients are clearly labelled. Most recipes are fairly simple to follow, with most of the work required during preparation through chopping and mixing. Many of their dishes are ones you might not typically consume everyday, but each prove to be full of color and flavor. Plus, a majority of The Minimalist Vegan’s ingredients are items you’re likely to already have in your kitchen! Falafel, tempeh, mung beans, kelp and capsicum dot the ingredient lists as “uncommon.” New and fresh vegan takes on classic favorites are also featured by the Minimalist Vegan, such as french toast, naan, pasta, miso soup, avocado dip and corn fritters.
Our favorite recipe from The Minimalist Vegan is the Vegan Vietnamese Salad. This one has a few more ingredients and steps than the others, but trust us - it’s so worth it! This salad is fresh, filling, and a great vegan meal prep option.
2. OH SHE GLOWS
For Angela Liddon, Oh She Glows started as a blog discussing her progress towards health after recovering from an eating disorder and the wonderful qualities of food. With help from her fast-food aficionado husband, Angela began to create healthy plant-based recipes that appeal to all taste buds and walks of life. Apart from her successful website, the Oh She Glows Cookbook stands confidently on shelves across North America, the UK, Australia, and more.
Oh She Glows features more than 500 recipes to choose from. Their drop-down menu of categories and subcategories proves very helpful in this regard to narrow your results to your cravings. The “Seasonal” section is a fun touch by Angela, and the “Allergies” section is coveted by those whose meal choices are normally limited.
A majority of her recipes have a few additional steps that other websites may not have, but if you’re looking for something quick & easy, she has a section for those recipes too! Most ingredients are items vegans would likely consider staples, but to make the recipe, you might need to run to the grocery store once or twice. Not only is her photography stunning, but so is the variety of meals and snacks she has to offer readers. The nutritional information and serving sizes listed at the bottom of each post are welcomed additions by many pursuing meal prep.
Our favorite recipe from Oh She Glows is a cheap vegan bowl in the best kind of way! Check out the Nutty Crusted Butternut Squash Bowl. Not only is it filled with protein, but the dish has a variety of flavors and textures sure to entice. Oh, and it’s absolutely beautiful when plated or portioned into meal prep containers for the week.
3. THE EDGY VEG
The Edgy Veg takes your childhood favorites and refines them to be luscious and vegan-friendly. In Candice’s words, “nothing is off-limits and everything is vegan” as she strays from salads and smoothies. Her website and blog posts are accompanied by a successful YouTube channel with more than 350,000 subscribers.
Her website does not include a selection menu from recipes, though, so make sure you give yourself time to choose from all the tasty options! However, once you click on a meal you’re interested in, buttons such as “easy vegan dinners” are at the top of the page for your convenience. Candice goes above and beyond to mark titles of certain recipes as dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free when applicable. But as always, every recipe is vegan. Fun and familiar dishes such as tater tot nachos, lasagna, drumsticks, mac and cheese, and Wendy’s chicken nuggets are recreated without animal products or by-products and elevated to your adult palette.
Nutritional information is not noted under recipes, but serving sizes are suggested. Readers can especially appreciate the easily printable recipe card on each post! In order to give you that nostalgic taste, The Edgy Veg’s recipes do require more ingredients than one might typically have on hand, but are sure to please even the pickiest eater. Prep time averages 20 minutes for most recipes, but most cook times are fairly short - perfect for hungry readers who are ready to eat at a moment’s notice.
Our favorite recipe from The Edgy Veg is the Spicy Watermelon ‘Tuna’ Rolls. Time is needed to prepare such a delicious dish, but you’ll only need a few ingredients. As Candice tells readers, vegan sushi can be “so much more than cucumber and avocado rolls,” and this proves it!
4. SIMPLE VEGAN BLOG
Iosune runs the Simple Vegan Blog as a certified health coach. Her grandparents inspired her to merge great cooking with healthy eating, which is exactly the goal of both the website and recipes! Her well-deserved success is featured on media outlets such as BuzzFeed, NBC, Healthline, Delish and the Huffington Post, proving her validity and trustworthiness.
Though her categories don’t have drop-down menus to make quick recipe selection, the Simple Vegan Blog has plenty of options to choose from. Recipe types include soups, breakfast, main dishes, side dishes, appetizers, desserts, snacks, drinks, tofu, how-to's, gluten-free options and food for the grill. Her how-tos are a welcome category to those who may not fully understand how to create all the ingredients needed for popular vegan recipes.
These include items such as seitan, tahini, flax egg, vegan pesto, baked tofu and vegan butter. Iosune even includes nutritional facts and serving sizes to help you make healthy choices. Recipes are not necessarily difficult to follow but particular steps should be taken with care. Iosune also offers readers a special benefit that we love; if you subscribe to The Simple Vegan’s email updates, you might find an enticing eCookbook appear in your inbox. Likewise, her printable recipes are an additional benefit to her website!
Our favorite recipe from the Simple Vegan Blog is the Vegan Carrot Hot Dogs. Though grocery stores carry hot dogs made with meat alternatives nowadays, most of them are full of refined and undesirable ingredients. We’re almost certain no one would notice that this spectacular dog was vegan on first glance, and they definitely wouldn’t object on first bite!
5. BROWN VEGAN
Monique Koch started Brown Vegan to show that vegan life can be familiar and satisfying while valuing “progression over perfection.” She encourages readers to find balance in their diets between fun and health with her vegan recipes. If you have a family, this website might especially be for you: her home page reads “practical vegan life: especially for families.”
Brown Vegan is unlike the others on this list in that a majority of her recipes are posted on her YouTube platform! This platform may be better for those newer to the vegan lifestyle and it’s certainly better for those that prefer to watch rather than read while cooking. With a visual guide, you are able to pause a video step-by-step to make sure your food looks as great as it should taste! Monique’s bright personality also shines through all her videos for added inspiration.
She also has a blog in which she posts helpful tips for vegans and their families, along with a few choice recipes. Most of the ingredients used in her recipes are ones the average person would be able to easily pick up, if not already found lurking in their fridge and pantry. Nutritional information is not provided in her recipes, but serving sizes are. An additional bonus recommended by our team is Brown Vegan’s “Vegan Starter Kit” for those looking to start a healthier journey but need guidance in order to be consistent.
Our favorite recipe from Brown Vegan is the Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Corn and Avocado. This take on quinoa is ideal for those who aren’t typically fans of the seed. It’s perfect as a side dish or packed as a lunch for your work associates to envy, and as the ThinkFit team can attest this is a gateway recipe to getting into veganism!
6. IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN
It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken is fun, playful and plant-based. After watching the documentaries Vegucated and Forks Over Knives and bingeing on health and environmental books, Sam Tullburn decided to go vegan…even though she didn’t initially want to. Though the idea was logical and ethical, she didn’t want to leave her previous eating choices behind. In her efforts to ditch the old lifestyle, she decided to become “the best damn vegan she could be.”
Her recipes have a drop down menu of mains, get the party started, breakfasts, desserts, 10 ingredients or less, 30 minutes or less, gluten-free recipes and oil-free recipes. Once you click on a category, you can even narrow it down to the details such as sweet breakfasts, pasta & noodles, vegan meats and others. Even the printable recipe cards and website icons are cleverly sketched over, encouraging a mindset that shouts “food is fun!”
Her dishes such as Cheesy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes, Vegan Strawberry Shortcake, and Buttery Soft Pretzels are great examples of this mentality. Each of Sam’s recipes provide nutritional information as well as serving sizes. The website avoids fancy or uncommon ingredients, making your vegan meals quick and easy. Many of her recipes do use a few made-from-scratch ingredients out of her cookbook, Fuss-Free-Vegan, but she informs readers that you can also use store-bought ingredients.
Our favorite recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken is the Vegan BBQ Chickpea Pizza. In many instances, restaurants that offer pizzas with vegan cheese are unappetizing and bland. This recipe brings stretchy, cheesy, and smoky flavors to your kitchen table for all to share.
7. VEGAN RICHA
Vegan Richa is named after its creator, Richa Hingle-Garg, who designs tasty vegan recipes influenced by her Indian background. She and her husband switched to a plant-based diet after Richa underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor. Cooking and blogging became a hobby for her, and after learning more about her foster dog and puppy mills, she made the switch to veganism.
The recipe section of Vegan Richa is divided into the categories of popular recipes, breakfast, lunch/dinner, dessert, Indian, instant pot, burgers and pizza. She even has a “recipe index” to make vegan meal prep selection extra simple where you can select extremely detailed categories or search by month! Detailed categories include items such as Asian vegan recipes, freezer-friendly, game day and low-carb options - ideal to find any meal your vegan heart could desire. Most recipes require a fair amount of ingredients, but don’t fret about trips to specialty grocery stores.
All ingredients could be whipped together from any supermarket shelf to make a tasty dish for anyone to enjoy. Prep time is limited, but cook time may set you back anywhere from 30-45 minutes to enjoy Richa’s delectable plates! She includes simple instructions and nutritional information on each and every recipe post, resulting in a no-fuss creation. We’re sure you would find something to love off Vegan Richa - after all, she’s been in the business of posting recipes almost every month for more than 10 years.
Our favorite recipe from Vegan Richa is the Pulled Jackfruit Sandwiches - Vegan Pulled “Pork.” If you’re a fan of barbecues and coleslaw, this is a tempting alternative from typical meatless dogs. Sweet, savory and hearty make for the perfect meal.This is probably our favorite when prepping meals for the week ahead, just be sure to separate the jackfruit, coleslaw, & buns - easy to do with our meal prep bag multi-sized containers!
8. VEGAN YACK ATTACK
Vegan Yack Attack was started by Jackie Sobon, who was affectionately nicknamed Yackie by her former kitchen staff. The combination of a product design background and fervent reading into government’s lack of regulation, chemicals and factory farming prompted her to start a vegan lifestyle. Her cookbooks are Vegan Yack Attack On the Go! for readers who live a more active lifestyle and Vegan Yack Attack’s Plant Based Meal Prep: the perfect combination of vegan lifestyle and meal preparation that ThinkFit is all about!
Jackie’s recipes are conveniently separated into tabs of appetizers, breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, gluten-free recipes, holiday recipes, drinks, entrees, salads and soups. A surprising section lists vegan-friendly camping recipes for the more physically adventurous vegan, such as BBQ party packs, cool ranch roasted chickpeas and veggie skewers.
Another unique item to Vegan Yack Attack is an extensive list of raw recipes. While a raw diet can seem intimidating, Jackie does a wonderful job at showing color, flavor, and fun with a variety of recipes eager to please. Both prep and cook times are relatively quick on Vegan Yack Attack, even though no nutritional information is provided. Ingredients are familiar, but most readers will need to take a few extra minutes in the produce section during your grocery store run.
Our favorite dish from Vegan Yack Attack is the Vegan Grilled Mac n Cheese. Substitute your typical vegan cheese for a creamy, luscious pasta and pair it with tomatoes, greens and tempeh bacon. Results? A mouthwatering sandwich to eat in any hour, place or season.
9. FROM MY BOWL
Along with running a YouTube channel and managing a social media presence, Caitlin Shoemaker creates content for the vegan blog From My Bowl. Caitlin was raised vegetarian but ate fairly unhealthily until she started to feel as bad as the food she was putting into her body. She began her social media accounts to encourage herself to keep up with the lifestyle and, with research, eventually engaged veganism. From My Bowl encourages vegan food that doesn’t have to be “expensive, complicated, and/or bland.”
From My Bowl’s recipes are easy to navigate with a drop-down menu, separated into recipes by alphabetical order, breakfast, sides & small bites, salads, mains, dessert and gluten free. Caitlin dives even further, though, with subcategories such as dressings, energy balls, savory items and pasta. She does not include nutrition facts, but her recipes usually call for 10 ingredients or less!
Feeling like you’re too busy for all of this?:
So is Caitlin, so almost every From My Bowl recipe requires little prep time, making the website easy for busy lifestyles. The food photography is beautiful, to boot, showing the bright colors of each recipe. If you’re looking for visual guidance over a list of instructions, head over to her YouTube channel to see select popular recipes created step-by-step. Her “What I Ate” videos are also a popular pairing to her already blossoming website.
Our favorite recipe from From My Bowl is the One Pot Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff. We cannot say enough good things about one pot recipes - what’s not to love with easy clean up, quick preparation and streamlined serving? It’s a healthy twist to the popular entrée, and served with love and cozy comfort.
10. BLISSFUL BASIL
According to blogger Ashley, Blissful Basil is about more than food; “it’s about passion for and commitment to living life in a way that nourishes the heart, mind, soul and body.” Ashley started her blog as a meat-eater turned vegetarian before committing to veganism, which is something you’ll find in her older recipes. The Blissful Basil website and cookbook encourage readers to find food that both inspires and nourishes.
Her beautifully plated food is divided naturally into the recipe categories of bigger bites, breakfast, desserts, gluten-free, light bites, pasta & grains, pizza, raw vegan, salads, sandwiches, side dishes, smoothies and soups & stews. Some of her prettiest dishes include her cherry tomato bruschetta or tandoori cauliflower roast, which can be served as appetizers to share or delivered as a lighter meal for two.
Dishes featured so elegantly might dishearten a new vegan, but don’t be alarmed; Blissful Basil does a wonderful job of taking you through each recipe. Ashley’s blog posts do not include nutritional information, but recipe steps are happily broken down into a photographic series for both assistance and visual confirmation. This creates a comfortable setting for vegan novices and aficionados alike! A majority of her recipes will require you to have a few more ingredients than normal, but the prep time is relatively quick for each.
Our favorite recipe from Blissful Basil is the Vegan Walnut-Lentil Chorizo. Though Ashley served it in tacos with cilantro, cabbage and vegan sour cream, the dish is fabulously functional in almost any form or meal. However, you will definitely not see us objecting over a beautiful, delicious taco any day.
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Have you tried any of our favorite vegan recipes listed above? Are there additional vegan meal prep websites or vegan meal prep recipes you love? Connect with us below and be sure to bookmark our post so you always have access to these tried and tested vegan meal prep resources!
