Incorporating plant-based meal prep into your routine is one of the easiest ways to start cooking vegan meals at home. You’ll find over 30 easy vegan meal prep ideas and recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Along with healthy vegetarian recipes, you’ll find lots of tips, based on my own knowledge and personal experience of food preparation, to help you start eating delicious meals, establish healthy eating habits, and enjoy less meat. is the best way.

I have been a foodie for years especially when I worked outside the home. For me, it was the only way I could guarantee that I would eat healthy during the week. When I didn’t make time, I was more likely to rely on takeout or other less healthy options.

My process usually involves sitting down for 15 minutes and deciding what healthy foods I already have in the house, what I’m in the mood for, and then writing out a loose schedule and grocery list.

After a trip to the grocery store, I’ll spend an hour or two preparing some meals that I can eat throughout the week.

I applied everything I learned over the years to preparing plant-based meals when I started eating more plant-forward foods. Over time I was able to build a solid list of all my favorite vegetarian meal prep recipes to use as a reference over and over again.

What is plant-based food preparation?

Meal prep is a way to prepare recipes or ingredients ahead of time to make it easy to throw together meals during the week.

This often involves preparing an entire recipe such as a chili, soup or stew, but it can also involve cooking or preparing just one or a few ingredients that you will need for a recipe that you will have for the week. Provides a start to dinner.

Vegan and plant-based meal prep is a lot like meal prep and focuses on simple recipes that contain plant-forward ingredients and eliminate all meat and dairy products.

In many cases, meal prep involves one day of preparation, such as Sunday or another day you have free time, but it can also be done in short bursts. An example is chopping onions for the whole week while you’re preparing dinner on Monday night.

Sometimes, it’s all about finding what works best for you. It can be one or the other, but it can also be a hybrid.

Why food preparation?

Meal prep gives you a plan with pre-prepared ingredients or meals that allows you to prepare healthy, nutritious meals in less time.

Here are some ways to start a plant-based meal prep routine that will benefit you!

Saves time!

Makes weeknight dinners easy!

A healthy approach to eating!

Adds variety to meals throughout the week!

Reduces waste!

Who should prepare the food?

Anyone can prepare food! Even the person who lives alone!

Busy parents

Working couples

Small families

Single parent home

Families of all sizes!

One of the biggest obstacles to getting started is finding the time to plan and prepare. Once you do it a few times you know what works for you and it gets easier.

Pantry Staples Before Vegan Meals

Here are the top 10 ingredients I always keep on hand in my pantry and freezer!!

Lentils, black beans, pinto beans and other dry beans

Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa or other grains
Frozen vegetables and fruits

Canned diced or crushed tomatoes
Vegetable broth

Miso

Nutritional yeast
Oatmeal

Healthy fats like nuts, chia seeds and flax seeds

Healthy oils such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil

How to store food preparation

There are some important points to keep in mind when it comes to storing food for meal prep.

Consider how far in advance you are preparing the food to eat. Many cooked meals will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

Plan to pack more delicate foods like chopped berries, lettuce, cucumbers, greens, avocados, and apples closer to the time you’ll be eating because they don’t hold up as well when washed and prepackaged.

When packing food to go, use separate containers for perishable foods or pack them on top of more food.

Allow cooked foods to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator or freezer.

In addition to glass containers with tight-fitting lids, you can also use mason jars, store-bought food glass containers, plastic containers, plastic Ziploc bags, or recyclable storage bags that are more environmentally friendly. are

Keep freezer tape and a sharpie marker handy so you can label and date your containers. This is especially useful for freezer items.

Expert Tips

Decide what to cook.

When planning your menu for the week, it helps to have a good idea of what your schedule will look like for the week, as well as what foods you already have on hand. you want to use

I usually look for a combination of healthy vegan meal prep ideas and easy meals…

Which are quick and easy to make during the week.

Can be made 100% or partially ahead of time.

Travel and reheat well.

This makes a big batch for multiple meals during the week. Soups and stews are perfect for this purpose.

I keep a list of the best vegetarian meal prep recipes that my family and I enjoy so I can easily find them to recreate in the future.

Plan your meal prep days or times

Once you have your recipe ideas, it’s helpful to write down a quick timeline of your meal prep day. Consider foods that take longer to cook. This helps them get started first and then work on other prep items while they cook.

For example, if you want to prepare cereals and some pulses to use during the week, you can cook them at the same time and save half your time. As they cook, you can cut up the fruit or vegetables and use them in other recipes.

If you don’t have enough time to spend several hours a day preparing meals, look for tasks that you can combine during the week when you’re cooking.

For example, if recipes call for the same ingredients, you can prepare them all at once, separate them into containers, and store them until you’re ready to make them. Don’t be