Want to find the best vegan recipes for beginners or find easy vegan meal ideas to follow throughout the week?
In this article, we are going to go over a long list of vegan meal ideas! From breakfast to lunch to dinner. Even going so far as to cover vegan desserts and snacks as well.
This list can help any vegan who is just starting out and needs some meal inspiration. Or can even be useful for someone who has been vegan for years and just wants some new ideas.
So, if you want to find out what the best recipes are for vegan beginners and get some plant-based food inspiration. Then keep reading!
Vegan Recipes for Beginners
If you are looking for quick and easy vegan recipes that are satisfying and wholesome, then you have come to the right place.
This list is going to cover all of the bases so that you can be better prepared when going vegan. All of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners can all be planned ahead of time.
Not to mention all of the ideas for tasty vegan desserts and snacks to treat yourself to.
So, keep reading till the end for even more information on what to eat on a vegan diet. As well as a few tips to help you successfully transition into veganism.
- Related: Vegan Food List for Beginners
Vegan Breakfasts:
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day as it sets you up for success. Getting you ready and fueled to meet the new day with a full stomach and an energized brain.
Here are a few easy and relatively healthy vegan breakfast recipes to get you started on a new day.
Savory Breakfast Recipes
- Easy Scrambled Tofu
- Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
- Easy Vegan Breakfast Hash
- Savory Vegan Breakfast Bowl
- Simple Vegan Omelet
- Tofu Breakfast Burrito
- Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Pumpkin, Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Easy Vegan French Toast
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Vegan Gingerbread Waffles
- Double Chocolate Strawberry Waffles
- Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Vegan Lunches:
Lunch is one of those meals that always seems to be put at the back of everyone’s mind. Mainly because it just falls into a busy part of the day.
These vegan lunch ideas should help you to put together satisfying and hearty lunches to get you through the afternoon.
- Tomato and White Bean Casserole
- Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta
- Spicy Peanut Noodle Stir Fry
- Mexican Rice Fijita Bowl
- Veggie Sandwich
- Baked Vegan Taquitos
- Mexican Chopped Salad
- Broccoli Pesto Pasta
- Lentil Hummus Wrap
- Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
- Vegan Egg Fried Rice
- Pecan and Pinto Bean Lettuce Wraps
Vegan Dinner:
Dinner is probably my personal favorite meal of the day! There are so many choices, and you could go in so many different directions.
These are just a few vegan recipes for beginners that you can try out for yourself when transitioning to eating a vegan diet.
Dinner can often feel like the hardest meal to veganize since it usually includes meat and dairy. But with some inspiration, it can become an amazing vegan meal.
- Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
- Quinoa Slow Cooker Chili
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Spicy Lentil Soup
- Tofu and Vegetable Curry
- Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Casserole
- Brown Rice Noodle Stir Fry
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- Garlic Teriyaki Tofu
- One Pot Tomato Pasta
- Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Enchilada Casserole
- Simple Vegan Pizza
Vegan Desserts:
Want to start to make some easy but delicious vegan desserts to treat yourself to? There are plenty of recipes to choose from.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started and to inspire you to start making more vegan sweets.
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Fudgy Vegan Brownies
- Blueberry Banana Bread
- Blueberry Pie
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
- Coconut Macaroons
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Scones
- Baked Vegan Donuts
- Strawberry Macarons
- Vegan Pecan Pie
- One Bowl Peanut Butter Cookies
Vegan Snacks:
If you are the type of person who likes to snack, don’t worry, there are plenty of vegan snack options out there! There are many store-bought snacks that are vegan friendly, but you can also make your own.
Here are a few snack recipes that you can make at home for your daily treat.
- Healthy Cookie Dough
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Vegan Orange Creamsicle Gummies
- Vegan Cheese Crackers
- Coconut and Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- Vegan Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
- Nut-Free Granola Bars
- Easy Vegan Crackers
- Fruit Leather
- Peanut Butter Cup Energy Bites
- Gluten-Free Savory Snack Mix
- Gummy Fruit Snacks
- Almond Coconut Granola Bars
What Should a Vegan Eat for Beginners?
If you are just starting to dip your toes into veganism, you might be wondering what to eat as a vegan beginner. And the real answer is that there is no one specific guide to what and how you should eat.
The real key to eating a fulfilling and balanced vegan diet is to make sure that you are eating a variety of foods. This is important since you have cut out animal products from your diet.
In order to still get all of the nutrients that your body needs, you need to diversify your diet to make up for the food being cut out.
This will mean trying out new kinds of fruit and produce, eating more beans and grains, and experimenting with different meal combinations.
Here are the three basic food groups that you should focus on as a vegan beginner.
Vegetables and Fruit
Vegetables and fruit are going to make up the bulk of your diet. This is because produce is where the majority of the abundance is in a vegan diet.
You should eat multiple servings of vegetables and fruit throughout the day. And your meals should be made up mainly of vegetables. The more variety the better!
Grains
Grains should also have a prominent place in your easy vegan recipes and vegan meal ideas. These grains are full of carbohydrates which will help to fill you up.
Starchy grains are important in a vegan diet as they help to give you energy and leave you feeling satisfied after meals.
Legumes
Legumes should also have a stable place in your daily meals as this helps to give you large amounts of protein. Al vegetables, fruit, and grains contain amounts of protein, but beans are very high in protein.
They will help you to feel full and feel more energized. Helping to take the place of meat where you would usually get your protein.
Try to have at least one or two servings of beans per day while you are experimenting with vegan recipes for beginners.
Vegan Tips for Beginners
When you are just starting to make vegan recipes for beginners, it can feel intimidating. Even easy vegan recipes and easy vegan meal ideas can feel overwhelmingly different from what you used to eat.
That is why there are just a few tips to remember when you go vegan. These tips will help you to be better prepared and will set you up for success.
Many people give up before they have really even started or given veganism a chance. So, try to set yourself up for success by following a bunch of vegan recipes and preparing beforehand!
Meal Plan
Meal planning is probably one of the biggest tips that I could ever give someone who is looking into going vegan!
This is because meal planning is so effective, especially if you are not used to cooking all of your meals from scratch.
When you start eating vegan food you will naturally find yourself cooking more frequently, and meal planning can help with this adjustment.
Meal planning also makes it easier to create vegan meals in your first few weeks of being vegan, which will be the hardest period of time. This is the transition time and will feel like the rockiest part.
Having a meal plan will help you to not only get the hang of creating vegan food but it will help you to find your new favorite meals!
Expect to Make Mistakes
One of the best tips that I have to share with new vegans is that you are going to make mistakes.
It is completely normal and nothing to get upset about! Every vegan makes many mistakes, whether they have been vegan for months or years!
You are going to end up eating something that is not vegan friendly, no matter how hard you try. So do your best and expect to make some mistakes along the way and know that that is normal.
Do Your Research
One important tip to help you get used to a vegan diet is to do your research before rather than later.
Before meal planning or grocery shopping, try to look up vegan brands that your local grocery store carries or for brands that offer vegan friendly options.
Try to familiarize yourself with ingredients that you will need to avoid so that you know what you are looking for when reading food labels.
It is also a good idea to look through the health food section of your grocery store as that will be where you find specialty food items. Such as vegan meats, cheese, and tofu.
Just in general, try to do your research before going out to get vegan food so that you can avoid unwanted stress.
It also helps to read some vegan based books for additional information, such as Vegan for Her by Virginia Messina. Or recipe books, such as Oh She Glows Recipe Book by Angela Liddon or Plant-Based Diet Meal Plan by Heather Nicholds.
Vegan Recipes for Beginners Conclusion
I hope that this article on vegan recipes for beginners has been helpful to you. And that if you are a new vegan this has helped you to find some new recipes.
Cooking vegan food isn’t nearly as hard as it might seem. In fact, it can be even easier than cooking with animal ingredients. It only seems intimidating at first because it is new and takes time to adjust to.
All you need is determination and a well-stocked arsenal of vegan recipes to get you started on the right path. You would be amazed at how much easier it is to get used to cooking vegan food when you have recipes to look to.
Plus, it can be fun to experiment with your new diet and learn the ropes of creating delicious vegan food from scratch. It will become your newest acquired skill!
Have you tried any of these recipes on this list? Or do you have a recipe that you ate when you first went vegan that you would like to share?
