Vegan Lunch Menu with Grocery List Fitnessnacks

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Last modified: January 4, 2024. Originally posted: January 4, 2024 By Sophia DeSantis

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This vegan lunch menu has a whole week of lunch recipes with a full grocery list to take the stress out of planning lunches! Perfect for school or work.

Coming up with easy vegan lunch ideas can leave your head spinning, but I got you covered. Use this lunch menu every week!

This recipe was originally published on 8/29/18

If you want to switch up what you put into your lunchbox you can even check out my vegan school lunch ideas or healthy lunchables recipes for more variety. But we need to start somewhere and this plan is it!

Vegan Lunch Ideas

There are so many incredible vegan lunches you can make; from sandwiches, to salads, bowls, soups, and more! The following are excellent vegan lunch go-tos, see below for a complete 5 day lunch meal plan, and below that even more tips for meal prepping vegan lunches!

Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Skip the tuna sandwich and try a smashed chickpea salad sandwich, which is packed with protein and fresh ingredients. A perfect meal for lunch or bread free as a side dish!

see recipe

Falafel Sandwich in Pita

This falafel sandwich is quick and easy making it a great family meal for busy nights. Filled with protein, easy to prep and customizable!

see recipe

Salad in a Jar Recipes

Delicious and healthy salad in a jar recipes filled with vibrant veggies, filling protein and tasty dressings. Creative and convenient ways to enjoy fresh salads on the go!

see recipe

The Best Cowboy Salad Recipe

This cowboy salad is the perfect recipe for summer picnics and poolside barbecues. It’s so easy to prepare and has incredible flavors from the beans, corn, and veggies!

see recipe

Vegan Mediterranean Orzo Salad

This Mediterranean orzo salad is a 20 minute recipe you won’t want to miss!! It’s easy to throw together with my special trick, and doesn’t skimp on flavor. Plus, easily make it vegan using your favorite dairy free cheese!

see recipe

The Best Easy Macro Bowl Recipe

I love a nutritious recipe that the whole family will devour and this macro bowl is high on the list! The combination of flavors are incredible and it’s simple to prepare.

see recipe

Lentil Quinoa Salad

This recipe has it all: protein, iron, veggies and the health benefits of quinoa. So easy to put together and a great spring dish!

see recipe

Easy Vegan Loaded Baked Potato Recipe

Nothing can beat this vegan baked potato loaded with ingredients! My special trick gives a crisp outer layer with a buttery soft inside that is so fluffy it will melt in your mouth. Load it up with vegan cheese, sour cream, and extra toppings for a satisfying lunch.

see recipe

BBQ Tahini Power Bowl

A power bowl for the gods. Loads of veggies and protein smothered in the most delicious sauce you’ve ever had. One bowl, one fully healthy meal. Easy and delicious!

see recipe

5 Day Vegan Lunch Menu

Having healthy prepared lunches on hand is a lifesaver. Who wants to make fresh lunches every single morning? Not this busy mom! That’s why I’m obsessed with gathering all the easy lunch meal prep ideas I can!

And here we are. Five whole days of preplanned lunches. From me to you, because I love your sanity.

All of the ingredients needed for this are in the recipe card below, which can be used as a shopping list. Don’t forget this is for one week of lunch for one person. So make sure to multiply by however many lunches you need to make, but also keeping in mind that some things you may have more of by default (the black beans for example).

The key to this lunch meal plan is to spend a little time Sunday preparing what you’ll need. Then you can build these easy meal prep lunches the night before or morning of in minutes.

Day #1

Prep needed:

• Mix up the ranch dressing (use again on day 5)
• Make Brownie Batter Bites (use as a treat for each day)
• Cut celery sticks

Main: Mashed black bean and avocado roll ups

1. Using a fork, mash ¼ cup rinsed and drained black beans (I use canned) onto a tortilla (gluten-free if needed). Spread evenly.
2. Then mash ¼ cup avocado over the top. Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt.
3. Roll tortilla up, then slice into pieces.

Veggie: Celery and ranch

1. Cut 1 large celery stick into smaller pieces. Pack with 2-3 tablespoons ranch on the side.
   • I like to make my own using this recipe, but feel free to sub a store bought brand you love to make it even easier (although I cannot recommend this recipe enough). The shopping list includes the homemade version, so plan accordingly if you buy it.

Fruit: Banana nut butter stacks

1. Cut ¼ of a banana into 4 round pieces.
2. Spread ½ teaspoon nut butter of choice on one piece, then top with another piece.
3. Do this for all pieces, you will have 2 mini stacks.

Snack: ¼ cup pretzels

Treat: 1 Brownie batter bite

• I use this brownie batter bite recipe as my weekly treat. It makes 6 bites, and since you will definitely eat one as you are making it, you will have a perfect 5 left for the week. Pack one per day as a treat.
• Store in an air tight container in the fridge and they will last all 5 days.
• Take note that you can sub oat flour for the protein powder used in the recipe, I put both options on the shopping list. The recipe also calls for almond butter, but use whatever nut butter you have chosen for the rest of the week’s items to make it simple.

Day #2

Prep needed:

• Slice zucchini and cucumber, wash strawberries.
• Make the pizza sauce if using homemade.

Main: Pita pizzas with zucchini

1. Spread 3 tablespoons pizza sauce onto 1 pita bread.
   • I include store bought pizza sauce in the shopping list, but you can also make your own. I have a great recipe for homemade pizza sauce. Plan accordingly on the shopping list if you choose to make your own.
2. Top with 6 thin slices zucchini, about ⅙ of a regular sized zucchini.
3. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of your favorite dairy free cheese (I like the Miyoko mozzarella, I freeze it, thaw for a few minutes, then grate it into shreds).
4. Toast in a toaster oven on medium toast setting.
   • You can also bake it in the oven at 400°F/ 205°C for 5-7 minutes or until cheese browns at the edges.

Veggie: 5 round slices cucumber

Fruit: 5 strawberries

Snack: ¼ cup trail mix

• I include store bought pre-mixed trail mix in the shopping list, but feel free to buy each item separately and make your own. I do this from time to time, but for ease I sometimes buy it as well.

Treat: 1 Brownie Batter Bite

Day #3

Prep needed:

• Make crispy chickpeas (use again on day 5).
• Prepare cream cheese and hummus if using homemade.

Main: Cream cheese and banana bagel

• Take half of your favorite kind of bagel, spread 2 tablespoons of your favorite dairy free cream cheese on top.
  • You can make your own vegan cream cheese if you prefer but for ease I included store bought in the shopping list, I like the one by Kite Hill. Plan accordingly if you make your own.
• Top with thin slices of banana (about ⅓ of a banana).

Veggie: 5 baby carrots and ¼ cup hummus

• You can make your own hummus if you prefer, but for ease I included store bought in the shopping list. Plan accordingly if you make your own.

Fruit: 4 slices apple (about ¼ a whole apple)

Snack: ¼ cup crispy chickpeas

• Follow the recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
• You can make them simple with salt, or use the spices and seasonings used when making the ranch dressing above. Add whatever you prefer to taste.
• If you really don’t want to make these, then sub with another crispy snack of choice. Plan accordingly in the shopping list as it includes the ingredients to make them.

Treat: 1 Brownie Batter Bite

Day #4

Prep needed:

• Cut celery (if you didn’t cut enough earlier in the week)
• Wash grapes

Main: Creamy avocado sandwich

1. Take 1 piece of your favorite bread, and cut it in half.
2. Spread ¼ cup mashed avocado over one of the halves.
3. Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt, and cover with the other half.

Veggie: Ants on a log

1. Take 1 celery stick and cut it into 3 smaller pieces.
2. Fill each piece with 1 teaspoon nut butter of choice (3 teaspoons total).
3. Top each with 5 raisins or other dried berry, so you need a total of 15 raisins or other dried berries.

Fruit: 8 Grapes

Snack: 6 Crackers (I like Simple Mills) and 6 small pieces of your favorite dairy free cheese (I like the Follow Your Heart Provolone). If you buy sliced cheese, cut it into 6 smaller pieces.

Treat: 1 Brownie Batter Bite

Day #5

Prep needed:

• Wash and cut fruit if it isn’t already done.

Main: Rice cake open “face” sandwich with nut butter

1. Take 1 rice cake, spread 2 tablespoons nut butter over the top.
2. Use about 2 tablespoons trail mix to make a face, kids love doing this part too!

Veggie: 5 baby carrots and 2-3 tablespoons ranch on the side (use the Ranch made on day 1)

Fruit: Fruit kabobs

1. Use the leftover fruit from the week to make your own kabobs
2. Use about 2 pieces of each: banana, strawberries, apple, grapes.
3. Simply thread each piece of cut fruit on a wooden kebab stick.
4. If your child is young, cut off the pointy edge. Kids love putting these together!

Snack: ¼ cup crispy chickpeas (made on day 3)

Treat: 1 Brownie Batter Bite

Meal Prepping Tips

Here are some tips, tricks and notes to help make these easy vegan lunch recipes:

• Plan ideas that reuse ingredients; this keeps costs low, makes make prep easy, and reduces waste!
• Feel free to swap out any fruit or veggie I suggest for another, just make sure to change it up in the shopping list and also note if I use it anywhere else so you are keeping it consistent.
  • On Day 5, I used the leftover fruit from the week to make a fun fruit kabob. So carry over any substitutions to that as well.
• Even if you don’t build the actual lunchboxes ahead of time you should still prep as much as you can in advance, such as making any sauce or snack recipes, and washing and cutting produce.
• For the easiest lunches every you can choose to buy pre-made food if there is a brand or kind your little prefers. Read the notes for each day carefully.
• Easy to prepare lunches mean easy enough for kids to help! Have everything ready to go, then have the kids load their lunchboxes. This also helps make them more accountable for their lunch and helps them feel empowered.
• You will have some extras of things, save them for after school snacks on another day or incorporate in your dinners!
• Make it fun! If you’re feeling fancy, using a cookie cutter to cut shapes help get the little excited.

What to Put in a Vegan Lunch

There are so many options when it comes to packed vegan lunches, the key is to change it up with flavors and textures to be creative so it doesn’t get boring. This vegan lunch menu is a good place to start, but you’ll want to branch out to other ideas to keep it interesting.

• Start with the favorite fruits and veggies and expand from there.
• Keeping balance in mind, make sure you have a fruit, a veggie, protein and grains. Plus I always throw in a little treat.
• Get variety, even in staples.
  • Take a PB&J for instance. Swap out the nut butter for almond, peanut, cashew, and even sunflower seed butter.
  • You can also swap out the jelly for different flavors or even bananas or maple syrup. If you aren’t completely vegan you can even use honey.

Common Questions

How long do meal prep meals last in the fridge?

It depends on exactly what food you use and how fresh it is to start off. If your ingredients are fresh, meal prepped lunches should last for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

How do you plan a school lunch?

Come up with a list of food prep ideas (see the above post for a menu idea!) and try to use a lot of repeat ingredients to keep it easy. Choose at least 1 food from each category of fruit, veggie, protein, grain, and a treat.

What are the benefits of meal prepping?

Planning ahead and even doing meal prep work has many benefits including saving money, healthier options than takeout, less stress since the work is done, and reduced food waste!

What foods do vegans eat for lunch?

Anything from sandwiches, salads, soups, grain bowls, noodles, and more! It’s easy to fill up with a variety of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, etc.

More Vegan Meal Plans

In addition to the meal prepping ideas for lunch listed above, I also have meal plans that are a huge hit as well, check out some of the collection:

Vegan Lunch Menu with Grocery List

Sophia DeSantis

This vegan lunch menu has a whole week of lunch recipes with a full grocery list to take the stress out of planning lunches! Perfect for school or work.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course 30 Minutes or Less, Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Calories 861 kcal

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Breads, Grains, etc.

• 1 tortilla , gluten free if needed
• 1 pita bread , gluten free if needed
• ½ bagel , gluten free if needed
• 1 slice bread , gluten free if needed

(Non) Dairy

• 1 cup unsweetened plain cashew or almond milk
• ¼ cup your favorite dairy free cheese to top pizza (I like Follow Your Heart, Violife or Miyoko)
• 1 slice your favorite dairy free cheese (I like Follow Your Heart Provolone flavor)
• 2 tablespoons your favorite dairy free cream cheese (I like Miyoko or Kite Hill)

Snacks:

• ¼ cup pretzels
• 6 tablespoons trail mix
• 6 crackers of choice
• 1 rice cake

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Notes

• Nutrition info is an average for each meal. Takes into account only using ½ cup of the homemade Ranch dressing. There are other things that are not used in full but for ease I accounted for all of it in the nutrition.
• Prep time is an average for each meal.
• This is for 1 week of lunches for 1 person, adjust for how many people you are making lunches for.

Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 861kcalCarbohydrates: 119gProtein: 26gFat: 35gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0gMonounsaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgFiber: 54gSugar: 32g

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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