Discover how to plan healthy, plant-based, budget-friendly meals the whole family will love. Expert tips, meal ideas, and cheap, easy recipes inside!
Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Meals for the Whole Family: Healthy, Easy & Delicious
Eating healthy on a budget doesn’t have to be hard—or boring. Whether you’re a seasoned vegan or just trying to eat more plant-based meals, planning nutritious, affordable family dinners can feel overwhelming. But with a little strategy and the right recipes, you can serve meals that are healthy, plant-based, kid-approved, and wallet-friendly. In this post, we’ll share expert tips on plant-based meal planning, simple recipes even picky eaters will enjoy, and clever ways to shop smart and save big—all while keeping your family full and happy.
As a plant-based dietitian, I get so many questions about how expensive it’s going to be to feed a family (or themselves) a plant-based diet. Indeed, there are a lot of stumbling blocks people face when they want to go more plant-based, including lack of time and cooking skills, to name a few. But one of the main reasons people may be fearful of eating a plant-based diet boils down to one simple factor: cost. It’s a huge concern, as this eating style is health-promoting and cancer and disease protective, as a plant-based diet is filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. In fact, a recent AICR survey found that 35% of Americans who said their diets were not very healthy cited cost as being the most important factor getting in the way.
It’s easy to see why we might think healthy, plant-filled eating is synonymous with high cost. Tiny packages of “superfoods”, like berries, nuts, and spices seem to carry a hefty price tag for such a small amount, especially compared to fast food drive-throughs boasting dollar menus. It’s true that many less healthful foods carry discount prices, such as liters of soda, giant bags of chips, and high-fat ground beef, giving the impression that healthy foods will absolutely break your food budget. But let’s dig a little bit deeper into the costs of eating more plant-based.
Many plant-based foods are amazingly easy on the pocket book. Take dried beans, a bag of brown rice, and a jar of peanut butter, for example, which all contribute a wealth of important nutrients for a tiny price. In contrast, generally the animal proteins—steak, chicken, pork, fish—are the most costly contributions to the meal. In fact, a recent study found that people who adopt a more plant-based diet, such as a vegetarian diet, save an average of $750 per year on groceries, compared to those who eat meat-heavy diets. You can indeed develop a robust healthy grocery list on a budget, filled with seasonal plant-based ingredients. Whether you’re cooking for a family, or looking for easy meals for two on a budget, you can manage purchasing more plant-based groceries on a budget.
The bottom line: You can have your healthy, plant-fueled diet without breaking the bank. Here are my top 6 tips for eating plant-based on a budget.
How to Make Budget-Friendly Healthy Meals for the Family
1. Power up on Legumes
You won’t find a better protein bargain than legumes—which include pulses (dried beans, lentils, peas), soy foods, and peanuts. Just one serving of these plant-based super stars packs in protein, fiber, minerals, vitamins, and even phytochemicals linked with disease protection. And there are so many ways you can highlight these inexpensive protein-rich foods on your menu. Simmer a pot of Instant Pot Black Beans for dinner, pack up PB&Js for lunchtime, and enjoy Tofu Mushrooms Tacos for a quick, easy meal. Learn more about pulses here.
2. Make it a Whole Grains Bonanza
Simple, unprocessed whole grains—oats, wheat berries, and brown rice—are economical choices for side dishes, casseroles, and stews. They also contribute plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals to your day. So, go ahead and include them at each meal, such as Carrot Cake Overnight Oats for breakfast, Black Beans and Rice Bowl for lunch, and Zucchini Lentil Curry with simmered whole grains for dinner. Learn more about whole grains here.
3. Select Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
When aiming for your recommended fruit (1 ½ – 2 cups per day) and vegetable (2 – 3 cups per day) intake, you can save money by focusing on seasonal produce rather than costly out-of-season produce that must be shipped great distances. That means oranges and chard in the winter, asparagus and strawberries in the spring, peaches and tomatoes in the summer, and squash and apples in the fall.
4. Preserve Dollars with Preserved Produce
Fresh is not always best! Since the beginning of time, humans have been preserving their summer harvests of plants for sustenance during the off-season. And you can save money by following suit. Choose frozen or canned (unsweetened and unsalted) fruits and vegetables, such as berries, tomatoes, corn, and peas to fill in your menu. Try to include them in a yummy Tortilla Soup, Vegan Mac and Cheese with Peas, or Provencal Bean Salad.
5. Grow Some Food
You can seriously cut your grocery bill by growing some of your own food. If you have a yard, replace some of the landscaping with edible plants, such as fruit trees and a container vegetable garden. If you don’t have a garden, start with a pot of herbs or a summer tomato plant. Get my free home gardening toolkit here.
6. Enjoy Some Powerful Plants in Small Amounts
It may seem like certain foods, like hemp seeds, walnuts, and turmeric are too costly to fit in your budget, but think again. A single serving of these foods is tiny—an ounce of nuts or seeds, a teaspoon of spice—meaning that they contribute a powerful kick for a relatively modest price. Add one special food to your weekly shopping trip to fit them into your budget and create a disease-protective pantry. Try them in Banana Bread, Quinoa Power Bowls, and Chia Puddings.
Top 10 Budget-Friendly Recipes for the Family
Farmers Market Tempeh Hash with Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini
Vegan California Burrito Bowl
Tuscan Kale and White Bean Savory Pie
Swiss Chard Salad with Oranges and Citrus Vinaigrette
Mississippi Caviar
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Pistachios
Vegan Bolognese with Lentils and Walnuts
Vegan Jambalaya with Red Beans and Okra
Corn and Potato Boil
Easy Vegetable Fajitas
Image: Vegan Refried Beans
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