This quick guide to vegan meal prep is sure to have a little something for everyone. From make-ahead breakfasts to packable lunches to vegan-friendly meal prep dinners - these are the vegan meal prep recipes that will save you time and energy all week long!
I've always loved the idea of meal prepping - essentially making a whole bunch of food in one session and eating it all week long. Can you imagine how much time it would save during the week?
But I've always struggled to find great vegan meal prep recipes. Despite the many awesome meal planning blogs out there, there aren't many (or any?) that have a plant-based focus.
So I've rounded up all my favorite meal-prep worthy vegan breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts to get you started.
All of these vegan meal prep recipes are:
- 100% vegan and vegetarian friendly
- dairy-free
- make-ahead meals that you can store for several days (or freeze!)
Most of these recipes don't require any special equipment, but there are a few that use the slow cooker or instant pot to make large batches more conveniently.
And check out the end of this post for a few of my favorite vegan meal prep tricks and tips. Let's get meal prepping!
Vegan Meal Prep Recipes
This quick guide to vegan meal prep is sure to have a little something for everyone. From make-ahead breakfasts to packable lunches to vegan-friendly meal prep dinners – these are the vegan meal prep recipes that will save you time and energy all week long!
Vegan Meal Prep Breakfast Recipes
Who has time for breakfast these days? I know I sure don’t.
But with these vegan meal prep breakfasts, I can have a little something delicious waiting for me when I open my eyes. Isn’t that the perfect way to start the day?
These delicious vegan breakfast burritos are stuffed with tasty vegan scrambled eggs, fresh veggies, and lots of spice. They can be made ahead of time and kept for up to three days in the fridge.
An easy recipe for breakfast burritos with roasted potatoes, a delicious tofu scramble, and fresh veggies. These burritos can be served right away or put in the freezer for later!
I love my coffee super sweet – with tons of ilk and sugar. So I fell in love instantly with this Cold Brew Coffee Milk It only takes minutes to prepare, and yields enough coffee to last you an entire week! Now that’s my kind of breakfast.
Overnight oats are one of the simplest vegan meal prep ideas you’ll come across. And the flavor combinations are endless – like this hazelnut cinnamon version. Yum!
This Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal comes complete with a sinfully delicious Golden Cashew Cream for a hearty make-ahead vegan breakfast.
These Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats are good enough to eat for dessert!
Vegan Meal Preps Soups & Chilis
Soups and chilis makes excellent vegan meal prep recipes. They tend to be simple to prepare in large batches, and easy to keep in the fridge or freezer so they’re ready when you are.
This vegetarian pumpkin chili is the ultimate comfort food. It’s packed with flavor from pumpkin, adobo chilis, and fresh veggies. And it cooks up in the slow cooker while you are at work. Easy peasy.
This protein-packed slow cooker vegan chili is loaded with flavor. Let it cook all day in the crock pot, and it’s ready for dinner when you are! This works well for huge batches that you can freeze.
Crunchy chickpeas and savory tomatoes team up in this delicious chickpea tomato soup. This is one of my personal favorite vegan meal prep ideas.
This hearty Tuscan Bean Soup is warming and nourishing. Just make the soup ahead of time and serve it with your favorite crusty bread.
This vegan Thai Pumpkin Soup with coconut milk is is one of my favorite soup recipes ever. And it’s easy to make-ahead for the week.
This Lentil Vegetable Soup is easy to cook up in huge batches, and makes an awesome packable vegan lunch.
I love making my own homemade vegetable stock – it’s so much cheaper and more flavorful than store bought. So I make this in big batches and use it in all my favorite vegan meal prep recipes.
Vegan Meal Prep Main Dishes
Need something a bit more substantial? All of these recipes are 100% plant based and easy to make ahead. Perfect for all your vegan meal planning needs!
This hearty farro recipe is packed with flavor from the zesty sun-dried tomato pesto and pan-fried eggplant. It keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge, and can be served warm or cold, so it’s great for meal prep.
This Vegan Jambalaya is packed with flavor from fresh veggies and tons of spice! And this one pot meal is easy to prepare in under an hour.
This vegan buddha bowl is packed with nutritious flavor from black beans, sweet plantains, and roasted portabella mushrooms. Just prep the ingredients during your meal prep time, and assemble the bowls when you’re ready to eat!
This simple orzo salad is packed with fresh veggies and a homemade Italian vinaigrette. There’s literally no cooking at all – vegan meal prep doesn’t get any easier than this one!
Burrito bowls are one my go-to vegan meal prep ideas. You can prep the ingredients ahead, using whatever fresh veggies you have on hand, and let everyone build their own burrito bowls at dinner time.
This sweet and savory butternut squash curry brings together traditional Indian spices with iconic Thai red curry for an incredible fusion of flavors. This is one of the newest reader-favorites on the blog!
Curries are another great option for vegan meal prep. This one is healthy and delicious – it keeps well for several days and even freezes. Plus, it’s completely vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free.
Burgers, anyone? These gourmet vegan burger patties are packed with ginger, lemongrass, carrot and soy. Make the patties ahead and cook them up for a quick and easy meal.
These pumpkin and black rice patties are another fantastic option for vegan meal prep burgers.
This quick and easy vegan dinner only takes five minutes to meal prep. And if you don’t have five minutes – you can even make it ahead and store it all week in the fridge.
These Sweet Potato & Quinoa Bowls are quick, healthy, and delicious. And they’re packed with flavor from roasted sweet potatoes, fresh veggies, and garlic-yogurt dressing. All that – and it’s pretty enough for a dinner party!
This vegan fried rice makes for another simple vegan meal prep recipe. It’s loaded with nutritious flavor from fresh veggies, brown rice, and tofu, then topped with a spicy sriracha-soy sauce.
This vegan paella is bursting with flavor. Spanish rice is simmered in vegetable stock and wine, then combined with saffron, spanish spices, and delicious veggies. And it’s perfect for vegan meal prepping as it only tastes better the next day!
This Vegan Pasta Bake is an easy and hearty dish that’s easy to prepare ahead for a busy weeknight meal. Rotini pasta is slathered with a savory tomato sauce and dairy-free cheese, then baked to perfection.
These vegan meatballs are dripping in a sweet and spicy Korean glaze. They’re infused with the unique flavors of soy, hoisin, ginger, and lemongrass. Plus, they’re super fast and easy to prep
This quinoa salad is a great vegan meal prep recipe – you can make it ahead of time and serve it all week long. Just keep the honey mustard dressing on the side until you’re ready to dig in.
Roasted beets are one of my favorite vegetables, and they keep really well, making them perfect for meal prep. I love the combination of beets and red quinoa in this pretty make-ahead salad.
Mushroom Masala - Mushroom Curry {Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole 30}
Mushroom Masala is a classic Indian dish that is jam-packed with flavor. This one is ready in just 30 minutes and keeps well in the fridge or freezer -making it a great vegan meal prep option.
This nutritious broccoli and wild rice salad is a quick, hearty meal full. It will store well for several days, and makes a great packable vegan lunch.
This Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad is gluten-free, easy to make, and delicious. It’s topped with a creamy peanut sauce that I can’t get enough of. And it’s easy to make ahead and serve all week long.
Ready in just 20 minutes, this quick and flavorful vegan red lentil dahl recipe is a great vegan meal prep. The flavors only get better the next day, and it’s also easy to freeze for later.
These Instant Pot Black Beans are packed full of nutritious protein, and easy to pull together in the Instant Pot. Plus, they’re 100% vegan and gluten-free. Make a huge batch and use them for all sorts of vegan meal prep recipes – burrito bowls, black bean salad, or on their own with a bit of avocado.
Vegan Meal Prep Desserts
Finish off your meal with these healthy, delectable, fuss-free vegan dessert recipes that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth!
These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Blondies are just irresistible. You can make them ahead and freeze some for later. Who doesn’t love a make-ahead dessert?
This gingerbread granola is a great thing to make during meal prep time and keep on hand. It’s great for breakfast of course, but I like it even more as a dessert. Just sprinkle it over some dairy-free coconut yogurt.
These vegan peanut butter cookies are so rich and buttery, you’ll never believe they’re vegan and gluten-free. Definitely a great addition to your vegan meal prep routine. You can store them for 4-5 days, or you can freeze the cookie dough for making another batch later.
Vegan Meal Prep Tips
A few extra tips for successful vegan meal prep planning:
Choose staples that you can use to prep several different recipes.
For example, you can prep a big batch of instant pot black beans over the weekend and use them to make vegan buddha bowls, vegan burrito bowls, loaded sweet potatoes, and Mexican black bean salad during the week.
That's four different recipes from just on main ingredient!
Look for vegan meal prep recipes that freeze well.
If you're able to freeze your dishes, your meal prep time will become much more efficient. Instead of just cooking for the week, you can cook for a month or more!
Soups and chilis are great options for freezable dishes. I've had great luck freezing my vegan tomato chickpea soup and carrot and coriander soup. These are great options for vegan meal prep.
In general, tomato-based sauces and stews will freeze much better than creamier dishes.
Invest in a slow cooker or an instant pot.
While definitely not a requirement, having one or both of these handy devices can make your vegan meal prep much easier
I like to use the slow cooker to make huge batches of black bean chili or pumpkin chili, and then freeze half for later. Look for a slow cooker with a built in timer, so you can set it and forget it all day long.
While I still love my slow cooker dearly, I'm also a pretty big fan of my new Instant Pot. This thing does everything the slow cooker can do and then some.
The pressure cooking feature can cook things incredibly fast - I cooked a butternut squash in six minutes the other night. So this is a surefire way to speed up the vegan meal prep process!
Portion the dishes as you meal prep.
If you know you're going to be taking a dish for lunch, go ahead and pack it right into those lunch containers as you prepare it. This will save you extra time when you're heading out the door in the morning.
I personally like these glass meal prep containers - they leave some space for packing a bit of fruit or nuts on the side of our main dish. And I like that they're more sustainable than the disposable food storage containers.
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