5-Day Vegan Meal Prep for Easy, Healthy, Plant-Based Eating

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just get more organized, meal prepping can help you eat healthier and reduce the stress of figuring out what you should eat during the week. It can be especially helpful if you follow a vegan diet, so you don’t get stuck on your lunch break without any nutritious plant-based options — because no, not all vegan food is healthy. That’s one reason we created this easy vegan meal-prep plan that’s filled with delicious, good-for-you vegan recipes.

 

Vegan Meal Prep for the Openfit Nutrition Plan Blue

This plan gives you five days of tasty, vegan meal prep ideas that fall into Openfit’s Nutrition Plan Blue, which gives you about 1,200–1,499 calories per day. If you usually eat more than that, you can still follow this plan — just add more food from the approved food groups in your day.

To keep your taste buds entertained, we created two menus for you to enjoy through the week. You can have them back to back, or space them out every other day (we like that option best for max variety).

First up is an overview of the two menus, and then we broke down all the details (like ingredients and cooking instructions) for each recipe below!

 

Menu 1 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Breakfast: Breakfast Tacos
(1 Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Other Carbohydrate)

Snack 1: Apple and Nut Butter, and Popcorn
(1 Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Fat, 1 Other Carbohydrate)

Lunch: Bok Choy Salad
(3 Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Fat)

Dinner: Roasted Veggies and Chickpeas
(1 Fruits & Vegetables, 2 Proteins, 1 Fat)

 

Menu 2 (Tuesday, Thursday)

Breakfast: Strawberry Banana Smoothie
(1½ Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Other Carbohydrate)

Snack 1: Open-Faced Greek Veggie Burger
(½ Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Fat, 1 Other Carbohydrate)

Lunch: Southwestern Salad
(2 Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Fat)

Dinner: Cauliflower Rice Risotto and Grapes
(2 Fruits & Vegetables, 1 Protein, 1 Fat)

 

Menu 1 Recipes

Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 5 oz. organic firm tofu, drained, crumbled
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and pepper (to taste; optional)
• 2 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cilantro or green onions (for garnish; optional)
• ⅓ cup salsa (fresh or pico de gallo)

Cooking Tips:

1. Sauté onion and pepper using nonstick spray. When onion is translucent, add tofu, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and salt and pepper (if desired). Cook 3–4 minutes.
2. Serve mixture in tortillas, and top with cilantro or green onions (if desired) and salsa.
3. Keep tofu scramble and tortillas separate until ready to serve.

 

Apple and Nut Butter, and Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 1 small apple
• 1½ tsp. nut butter
• 2½ cups popcorn (air-popped)

 

Bok Choy Salad

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce (divided use)
• ¾ cup mandarin orange slices in juice, drained, reserve liquid
• 2 Tbsp. reserved liquid (divided use)
• 3 oz. organic tempeh, sliced
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 cups (minimum) chopped raw bok choy
• 1 cup string beans or snow peas, steamed, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• ½ cup chopped jicama

To make salad:

1. Combine tempeh, mandarin slices, bok choy, string beans or peas, carrot, jicama, and dressing; toss gently to blend.

Roasted Veggies and Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• ⅓ medium eggplant, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1⅓ cups sliced zucchini
• ⅔ cup cooked chickpeas, chilled
• Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and pepper (to taste)
• Dried herbs or spices of your choice
• ⅔ cup cooked quinoa (or cooked brown rice)
• 1½ tsp. tahini
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. water

Serving Tips:

1. Serve veggies and beans with quinoa; top with tahini sauce.

To cook vegetables and chickpeas:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Arrange eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, and chickpeas in a single layer.
3. Season with salt and pepper and your choice of dried herbs or spices.
4. Cook 20 minutes, turning once, or until eggplant is soft.

To make tahini sauce:

1. Combine tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and water.

 

Menu 2 Recipes

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup cooked white beans, chilled*
• 2 Tbsp. dry old-fashioned rolled oats*
• ½ large ripe banana
• 7–8 frozen strawberries (or ½ cup frozen blueberries)
• 1 cup unsweetened rice milk (or 1¼ cups unsweetened hemp milk)
• 1 cup ice
• 1 dash cinnamon (to taste; optional)

Cooking Tips:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth.

*Substitute 1 scoop vegan protein powder for beans and oats (if desired).

 

Open-Faced Greek Veggie Burger

• 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• 5 kalamata olives, pitted, chopped
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp. dried oregano (optional)
• 1 slice whole-grain bread, toasted
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1 veggie burger patty, cooked

Cooking Tips:

1. Combine cucumber, olives, vinegar, and oregano; set aside.
2. Top whole-grain bread with, mustard, veggie burger patty, and cucumber mixture.

 

Southwestern Salad

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup black beans
• ⅓ cup cooked brown rice
• ¼ cup corn kernels
• ¼ cup chopped red onion
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• ½ cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 green onion, sliced
• Cilantro (to taste)
• 2 cups lettuce or arugula
• Hot sauce (Tabasco or Mexican only) (to taste; optional)

Cooking Tips:

1. Combine black beans, rice, corn, red onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, olive oil, lime juice, green onion, and cilantro.
2. Serve mixture on top of lettuce. Top with hot sauce (if desired).

 

Cauliflower Rice Risotto and Grapes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. organic soft tofu, drained
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil
• Sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
• Nonstick cooking spray
• ¼ cup onion
• 2½ cups cauliflower rice
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• 5 large spears asparagus, chopped
• 13 grapes

Cooking Tips:

1. In a blender, mix tofu, garlic, basil, and salt.
2. Use nonstick cooking spray to sauté onion and cauliflower rice 5–8 minutes until soft.
3. Remove from heat; stir in tofu mixture.
4. Use olive oil to sauté mushrooms and asparagus together for 7–10 minutes, or until done to your liking.
5. Serve on top of risotto, or stir to combine.
6. Enjoy grapes for dessert.

 

Photography by Anguel Dimov, AB Creative