5 Hacks For Making A Plant-Based Diet More Budget-Friendly

by Melissa Copeland

If I had a cashew for every time I heard the old “I’d like to go vegan but it’s just so expensive” excuse, I’d be bathing in cashew cream. There’s a pervasive myth that a vegan diet is not only more expensive and complicated than the standard American diet, but that you need to do all your grocery shopping in special organic-only health food stores or from the dedicated vegetarian fridge at your local supermarket (the “but my supermarket doesn’t have vegan options” excuse is another one that drives me up the wall).

It’s easy to see how many people perceive veganism as expensive. For those who are transitioning from a standard American diet toward a plant-based one, the fake ground meat crumbles and vegan cheeses often seem like the easy way to eat less meat while still cooking your favorite and familiar recipes—but these products are expensive, and if you base your diet around them, the costs will quickly add up.

What’s not true, however, is that your supermarket doesn’t have vegan options. The pillars of a healthy, hearty and delicious vegan diet are beans, rice, and vegetables (and maybe nutritional yeast and bananas). These can be some of the cheapest items in your supermarket, and—like I do in all my recipes—you can doctor them up with seasonings, sauces, and cooking methods that make them anything but boring. Seriously, you’ll never look at a chickpea the same way again—chickpea breakfast sandwich, anyone?

Here, I’m going to give you some of my favorite money- and time-saving tips and tricks for eating a healthy, delicious vegan on a budget. Many of them may seem obvious because they are—grocery shopping and food prep is not rocket science. But if you’re looking to reduce your grocery bill and save time in the kitchen, you might need to change some habits and approach shopping and cooking a bit differently.