In this article, I’ll share my go-to vegan staples for beginners.
This is the type of list I would have searched for a decade ago, when I first went vegan.
Seasoned vegans often don’t have to think twice about what to buy at the grocery store. But shopping, or stocking up a pantry, refrigerator, or freezer tends to feel way more daunting when you’re new to this lifestyle. At least it did for me.
I remember how overwhelming it can feel as a beginning vegan to see a never-ending list of plant foods you should eat.
That’s why in this article, I’ve decided to only include the vegan foods that make a regular appearance in my own pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
My hope is that this list of vegan staples for beginners makes it easier for you to get started on a vegan diet.
Table of contents
- A few key points to keep in mind
- Foods that vegans do not eat
- Vegan pantry staples
- Vegan refrigerator staples
- Vegan freezer staples
A few key points to keep in mind
When putting together this list, I’ll assume you’re starting completely from scratch.
More likely than not, you’ll probably already have some of the items on this list in your kitchen. In which case, you can simply scratch those off your list.
Everyone has their personal preferences. No two vegan diets will be exactly the same. So feel free to customize this list to your liking. Ignore any items you don’t like, and add those you do.
Regardless of your personal preferences, here are a few points I encourage all beginning vegans (and veggie-curious) to keep in mind.
- The less processed a food, the better: aim to make minimally processed foods the bulk of your diet. That is, foods without a label. When foods do have a label, favor those with the shortest ingredients list possible.
- Aim for a variety of colors: foods of different colors often contain different nutrients and beneficial plant compounds. Including a wide array of colors on your plate is one of the easiest ways to achieve a well-balanced, varied diet.
- Include fortified plant milks and yogurts: plant milks and yogurts fortified with calcium and vitamin D make it much easier to meet your recommendations for these nutrients.
- Don’t forget about iron-rich foods: vegetarians and vegans tend to have lower iron levels than meat-eaters. So make sure to stock up on these iron-rich plant foods.
- Keep large quantities of nuts or seeds in the freezer: this will keep them fresher for longer, and avoid spoiling. We keep only what we’ll be using that week in the pantry, and refill as needed.
- Don’t skimp out on a few supplements: a well-balanced vegan diet will meet most of your nutrient needs. However, all vegans should take a vitamin B12 supplement. Vitamin D, iodine, and long-chain omega-3 supplements are likely also beneficial.
Check out this vegan meal planner for more specific tips on how to combine these foods and supplements to achieve a well-balanced vegan plate.
Focus on progress, not perfection
As a beginner, it’s best to focus on progress rather than perfection. While you can consider the tips above the ideal, it’s ok if you don’t reach them from the get-go.
For instance, there’s no arguing that minimally-processed vegan foods are better for your health. But it’s absolutely okay to include more processed vegan alternatives to your favorite animal-based foods if it makes your initial transition easier.
So if you love Ben & Jerry’s, get dairy-free Ben & Jerry’s instead. And if you miss shredded cheese on your pizza, try a Daiya shreds instead.
You can absolutely include these more processed foods to your list of vegan staples for beginners even if they aren’t explicitly listed in the sections below.
You’ll have plenty of time to favor minimally processed foods once you’ve got the basics of a vegan diet under your belt!
In sum: The tips above should give you an idea of how to achieve a nutrient-rich, well-balanced vegan diet. This may not always be easy to do as a beginner. So start slowly, and focus on progress rather than perfection.
What do vegans not eat?
In this article, we’ll extensively cover various foods that vegans do eat.
But since this is an article for beginning vegans, I thought It may be helpful to have a quick recap of what vegans choose not to eat.
These animal-based foods are not included in a vegan diet:
- Meat: red meat, poultry, and their by-products such as tallow, lard, etc.
- Seafood: fish and shellfish.
- Dairy: milk, cheese, butter, ghee, cream, yogurt, ice cream.
- Eggs: whole, egg powder, egg whites and all other foods containing eggs.
- Gelatin: such as in jell-o, candies, marshmallows, etc.
- Bee products: honey, bee pollen, beeswax, or royal jelly.
- Animal-based ingredients: such as casein, whey, lactose, milk powder, milk solids, collagen, lanolin, rennet, shellac, and (non-vegetable) glycerin.
You can quickly check whether a food contains these ingredients by reading its label.
A label could contain none of these foods but “may contain traces of” them. Most vegans consider these foods still to be vegan.
“May contain traces of” is typically a warning that a food has been produced in a facility that also produces non-vegan foods. As such, there is a risk that traces of the non-vegan ingredients unintentionally make their way into the vegan foods.
This is particularly relevant for people that are allergic to such ingredients. In such cases, even trace amounts of them may trigger an allergic reaction.
However, for our purposes, these foods can still be considered vegan since they were not intended to contain animal-based ingredients to begin with.
In sum: Vegans avoid eating animals and foods derived from them. Meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin, and honey are not typically part of a vegan diet.
Vegan staples for your pantry
Here’s a sneak peak at the vegan foods I personally keep on hand in our vegan pantry. Keep in mind that I’ve been a vegan for a long time, and am a registered dietitian.
I try to keep things simple. Despite this, I may keep a wider variety of foods than you’re accustomed to. That said, you absolutely don’t need to purchase them all to have a well-balanced diet.
Simply start with a few of the ones you already enjoy eating. You can always add to them over time.
Vegan protein
- Nuts: walnuts, cashews, and pecans are our family’s favorites. I keep a small quantity in the pantry and the rest in the freezer to extend their freshness.
- Nut butters: my kiddos love peanut butter (in true dutch child fashion). I prefer hazelnut or almond butter. Keep these in the refrigerator if you eat them slowly. Our stash barely lasts 1-2 weeks, so we keep them in the pantry.
- Dried lentils, peas and beans: we have a stock of dried red, green, and brown lentils, chickpeas, black beans, red kidney beans, white beans, and black-eyed peas on hand. I use an electric pressure cooker to cook them quickly.
- Canned beans and peas: I keep a few cans of chickpeas and black beans on hand, in case I forgot to make beans from scratch. We often also have refried beans and white beans in tomato sauce on hand for quick meals.
Fruit & vegetables
- Dried fruit: raisins, dried coconut flakes, dates, and dried apricots are our favorites.
- Canned vegetables: corn kernels, mini corn, canned tomatoes are used on a weekly basis.
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Onions: red, yellow, and shallots.
- Garlic
- Fresh fruits & vegetables: bananas, apples, tangerines, tomatoes, sweet peppers, squash, cucumbers, avocados, lemons, limes etc. We keep these on our kitchen counter and replenish them on a weekly basis.
- Fresh herbs: we keep these potted on the windowsill. This provides cheap access to fresh herbs year-round. That is, if I remember to water them on time!
Minimally-processed grains
- Oats: we use these every week to make oatmeal, cookies, energy balls, and homemade granola.
- Quinoa: we make cooked quinoa mostly as a side-dish. We also like puffed quinoa as a way to add a whole grain topping to homemade soups.
- Rice: we have a variety of options. Red and brown rice as a side, arborio rice to make risotto, sushi rice for sushi rolls, and white rice to make fried rice. We also keep rice noodles and rice sheets to make spring rolls.
- Pasta: I favor whole wheat whenever possible. Our most-used types include spaghetti, lasagna, penne, and couscous.
- Corn kernels: my kiddos love homemade popcorn, which is super easy to make at home, using a skillet, dried corn, and a bit of oil. We season it with some salt and nutritional yeast.
- Cornmeal: we use this to make polenta.
Vegan dairy substitutes
- Canned coconut milk: we mostly add it to soups, dahls, and curries.
- Fortified plant beverages: my family enjoys calcium- and vitamin D-fortified soy and oat barista beverages. These do need to be refrigerated once opened.
Oils & condiments
- Extra-virgin olive oil: this is the type of oil we use for almost everything.
- Sesame oil: we use this mostly for asian-inspired recipes that require a touch of sesame flavor.
- Balsamic vinegar
- Rice vinegar: to make sushi rice.
- Soy sauce or tamari: we try to purchase a low-sodium version whenever it’s available.
- A variety of herbs & spices: we only keep small quantities of the ones we use most in the pantry. The rest is kept in the freezer, to extend their freshness.
- Vegetable stock: we opt for a low-sodium dehydrated variety whenever possible.
- Salsa, jalapeno peppers, and capers: these all get refrigerated once opened.
Vegan baking goods
- Flour: we go through flour very quickly. We use it to make pancakes, poffertjes (small dutch pancakes), homemade cookies, tortillas, bread, bagels, and pretzels.
- Coconut oil: we use this mostly for baked goods.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Maple syrup: we use this as a topping for pancakes, when baking, and to make salad dressings. This gets refrigerated once opened.
- Dark chocolate flakes: we use these as topping on bread (it’s a dutch thing!) as well as to add a touch of sweetness to unflavored yogurt and baked goods.
- Raw sugar: for baking.
- Baking powder
- Instant yeast
- Vanilla essence
Vegan snacks & sweets
We don’t usually buy many pre-made snacks. For budgetary and nutrition reasons, I typically like to make my own. When we do, these are the pre-made snacks we are most likely to have on hand.
- Nut & fruit bars: something along the lines of Nakd bars.
- Fruit jujubes: something like these fruit minis from Bearsnacks.
- Fruit leather: something resembling Bear fruit rolls.
- Vegan protein bars: like Trek bars or Clif bars.
- Corn or rice crackers: to which we tend to add nut butter or hummus, topped with ground flaxseeds.
- Vegan chocolate: we particularly like chocolate-covered nuts!
- Vegan cookies: we like vegan stroopwafels and Punselie’s cookies (again, typically-dutch!)
- Veggie instant ramen noodles: the type of processed noodles you just add water and flavoring to and wait a few minutes before eating. Not the most nutrient-rich, but definitely quick and tasty treat.
- Chips: our favorites are kettle chips!
In sum: There are many vegan foods I could list in this section. However, this is a collection of the vegan pantry staples that are we most commonly order and use in my vegan household.
Vegan staples for your refrigerator
I aim to fill our refrigerator at the beginning of the week, and get it back to empty by the end of the week.
Condiments are the only foods that don’t get completely used up and restocked on a weekly basis.
This ensures I don’t order more food than we truly need, helping minimize food waste. It also helps keep us on budget.
Vegan protein
- Tofu: I look for calcium-set tofu as it’s a better source of plant-based calcium. We also like smoked tofu for sandwiches, or a protein-rich topping to instant ramen noodles.
- Tempeh: we use it for sandwiches, topping to noodles, or in fried rice.
- Meat alternatives: our favorites are vegan burgers, plant-based minced meats, vegan schnitzels, and the odd plant-based cold cut.
- Hummus: I sometimes make my own, and sometimes purchase it pre-made.
- Seeds: chia, flax, and hemp are the ones we use most often. We buy them whole, and grind them as needed to increase absorption. We keep them in the freezer when whole, and in the fridge once ground to prolong freshness.
- Tahini: we use this in some recipes, and to make homemade hummus from time to time. We typically go through a jar very slowly, hence why we keep it in the refrigerator to prevent premature spoiling..
Fruit & vegetables
- Fresh fruit & vegetables: broccoli or cauliflower, fresh spinach, rucola, lettuce, grapes, berries, etc. We keep these refrigerated and replenish them on a weekly basis.
Baked goods
- Bread & tortillas: stock up on these if you don’t have the time or energy to make your own. We tend to keep these in the refrigerator rather than the pantry to extend their shelf life.
- Croissant dough: we buy vegan croissant dough that you roll and bake yourself. One day I may try to make my own, but that day has not come yet!
Dairy substitutes
- Plant-based butter
- Fortified plant-based milks: you’ll need to refrigerate these plant-based milks once you open them.
- Vegan cheeses: we use these mostly as toppings to pizza, quesadillas, nachos, croque-monsieurs, or when as a stuffing for vegan croissants.
- Vegan yogurt: we prefer unflavored varieties, which we top with chocolate flakes, fresh fruit and/or jam. This way, we can control the amount of sugar in them ourselves. But we’re not opposed to buying flavored yogurt from time to time, which always makes the kiddos happy!
- Vegan sour cream: we mainly use this for nachos, or on top of chili.
Condiments & others
- Nutritional yeast: we keep ours in the refrigerator so it stays fresh for longer.
- Miso
- Sriracha
- Ketchup
- (Dijon) mustard
- Vegan mayo
- Maple syrup (once open)
- Salsa, jalapeno peppers, and capers (once open)
- Kombucha
- Beer & alcohol-free beer
In sum: My vegan refrigerator works on an ebb and flow basis. It’s filled with most of these vegan staples at the beginning of the week. We aim to eat all of them within the week, so that it’s ready to get filled up again come the following week.
Vegan staples for your freezer
Like most of my friends here in the Netherlands, we have a very small freezer. Due to space limitations, we don’t have space to have a second freezer nearby, so our freezer stash tends to be limited.
- Fresh fruits & vegetables we keep refrigerated and replenish regularly: broccoli, spinach, kale, green peas, frozen raspberries, mango and/or blueberries.
- Pre-made meal options: we keep vegan dumplings and vegan spring rolls on hand for when we’re too tired to make a meal. These are easy to combine with fresh vegetables for a quick vegan meal.
- Leftovers: these also come in handy when we’re unable to cook a meal from scratch.
- Vegan proteins: tofu (yes, it can be frozen), cooked beans, and edamame beans.
- Vegan ice cream
- Extra herbs, spices, nuts, and seeds: we buy these in bulk, and keep extras in the freezer to extend their shelf-life.
In sum: These are some of the vegan freezer staples I encourage you to buy if you have a small freezer like mine. If yours is bigger, feel free to buy an even larger variety of frozen foods to fill it up.
To sum it all up
These vegan staples for beginners are easy to combine to make nutrient-rich vegan meals.
Don’t let yourself get intimidated by the length of this list. Feel free to start with only a few basics. You can always add to them as you become more accustomed to a vegan diet over time.
If you’re keen on more nutrition tips, make sure to check out my advice on how to build a simple, cheap, and time-saving vegan grocery list.