A roundup of healthy, wholesome meals that are 100% plant-based and easy on your budget! Plan a week of nutrition eats with this delicious roundup of cost effective, yet tasty recipes from around the web. Real food ingredients, creative dishes, and no animal products in sight!
As a follow-up to my very popular 10 Healthy Meals on a Budget roundup (still one of the most viewed posts on my site!!), I decided to create another roundup with only plant-based foods!
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive and plant-based meals can be some of the most budget friendly options out there. Meat is EXPENSIVE and you won’t find it in any of these delicious, nutritious meals. In fact, my family has tried all these recipes and even the most stubborn of meat-lovers liked them!
In addition to the tasty recipes, I’ve also highlighted the budget-friendly foods that are in each one to give you some inspiration for other meals!
This week, menu planning is on me! 😉
18 Plant-Based Meals on a Budget
Budget ingredients: pasta, coconut milk
Vegan Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Budget ingredients: beans, veggie broth, celery, carrots, garlic, onions
Grain-Free Pasta and Bean Balls
Budget ingredients: pasta, canned beans, tomato sauce
Vegetable Barley Soup | Watch What You Eat
Budget ingredient: barley
Budget ingredients: lentils, onion, garlic
Easy Instant Pot Italian Veggie Soup
Budget ingredients: frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, veggie broth
10 Minute ‘Better Than Campbell’s’ Tomato Soup
Budget ingredients: canned tomatoes, tomato paste, tofu, frozen veggies
2-Ingredient Butternut Squash Gnocchi
Budget ingredient: butternut squash, flour
Black Bean Quinoa Chili | Eat Healthy Eat Happy
Budget ingredients: black beans, quinoa
Butternut Squash Stew with Tomatoes, Quinoa, and White Beans | Avocado Pesto
Budget ingredients: quinoa, beans, winter squash
Forbidden Black Rice and Mango Salad
Budget ingredients: rice, avocados
Easy Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Budget ingredients: split peas, broth, diced tomatoes
Black Bean Salsa Burgers with Crispy Potato Rounds | Veggie Inspired Journey
Budget ingredients: black beans, oats, potatoes
Bell Pepper and Chickpea Tacos | Veggie Inspired Journey
Budget ingredient: chickpeas
Creamy Instant Pot Vegan Beef & Shells
Budget ingredients: pasta, grape tomatoes, frozen meatless crumbles, marinara sauce
Vegan Instant Pot ChickPEA Noodle Soup
Budget ingredients: pasta, chickpeas, carrots, celery, kale
Creamy Raw Tomato Avocado Pasta
Budget ingredients: tomatoes, avocados, pasta
Quick Curried Vegetable Brown Rice Bowls | Eat Healthy Eat Happy
Budget ingredients: brown rice, frozen vegetables
What are your favorite budget friendly foods?
Do you plan out a budget for food shopping every week/month?
What meal from above do you most want to try?
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89 responses to “18 Plant-Based Meals on a Budget”
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All of these recipes look so great! They just go to show you don’t have to eat poorly if you’re on a budget! xo
EXACTLY!! No excuses. 😉
I could definitely fit more plant based meals into my daily lifestyle! Chicken is pretty costly sometimes so it’s great to have other healthy meat-free options! great roundup!
Thanks Rachel! These are great options for cheaper, easy meals during the week!
Frozen veggies + lentils are my go-to on busy nights when I need to throw something together! I also love frozen fruit — especially berries — because they’re SO much cheaper than their fresh counterpart (even if they’re in season!). Great round up!
Yes!! Frozen fruit is a go to for me too! Especially for fruits that are out of season….so much cheaper!!
Such a a great follow up post. Loving these healthy and veggie packed ideas!
Thanks Katie! Me too! So many great weeknight options!
This is an awesome list! Those sweet potato nachos are especially calling to me <3 I'm terrible about budgeting for food, why must fruit be so expensive darn it!? But potatoes are definitely my favorite bang for your buck food!
RIGHT?! They look SO GOOD.
Great list!!! Budget is a huge benefit of eating plant-based! 🙂
YES! So much cheaper to eliminate expensive meats!
This is so great Kaila. Please do more posts like this! I’ve been trying to plan my meals for the week so I don’t go overboard at the supermarket.
I definitely will! Love making these posts for you guys!
I really want to try the lentil burgers and the carrot noodles! We also like a curried lentil recipe that we eat with rice for a meatless, budget friendly dinner. My kids like tofu so we’ll have to check out the tofu recipe too.
Everything in this roundup is calling my name! LOL Carrot noodles are definitely on my “to make” list!
Yummm! This made me feel hungry… and I just ate! Haha. I’ve tried chickpea burger in the past. I’ll try it with lentils next time. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yes! The lentils are such a fun twist!
Totally bookmarking your site! Some beautiful recipes here! Thanks!!
Thank you so much!
So many beautiful meals here! Thanks for sharing – pinned 🙂
Thank you! I appreciate that!
you have made my day. yummy!
#tastytuesday
Thanks Katie!
Inspiring dishes! Thanks for linking up to #Tastytuesdays
Thanks dear!
Yum! Thanks for this post! We’ve been trying to cut our grocery budget back to save for our wedding and all of these recipes sound delicious! I pinned it!
So welcome! Enjoy the recipes!
Yummy! I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and appreciate anyone who shares great plant based recipes. I am going to try a few of these, but I already know they will be great.
No problem! I’m glad you like this post!
It is more expensive to eat healthfully, but these tips look great!
But it doesn’t have to be! These recipes prove that! 🙂
Answering your questions in reverse order, because I remembered the last one first: I most want to try that vegetable barley soup. It looks absolutely pure and refreshingly light. Beans, lentils and grains are my favorite budget-planning foods. So many ways to use them! As for a monthly food budget, no, we don’t do that now, but after retirement, we will probably have to, so I’m gearing up for the change.
Thanks for providing this list and all the links. An excellent resource.
Doesn’t the barley soup look amazing?! I want to try that too!
I found you through Bloggers Spotlight linky and glad I did. These look so good!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hi Kaila,
What a great array of budget friendly recipes that all look so healthy and tasty. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!
So welcome! Enjoy!
Got my eye on the lentil and kale burgers. They look soooo good!
You will LOVE them! Such a yummy recipe!
Awesome roundup! Such great healthy options. The Asian carrot noodles look delish! Thank you for linking up with us at Funtastic Friday. Hope to see you back next week.
Thanks for stopping by!
Ooh, I really want to try the cauliflower sloppy joes! 🙂 As a vegetarian trying to get out of debt, I appreciate this post and will be pinning! 🙂 Now if only I could get my husband to like lentils! 😉
That is one of my all time favorite recipes! So easy and delicious! Let me know if you try it!
All of these look wonderful! The question is where do you begin?
SO TRUE!
So many great recipes! Can’t wait to try them out, Pinned & Yummed!!
Thanks Angela!
So many delicious ideas! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thank you!
What a fantastic collection for a budget, thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
So welcome! Enjoy!
Those all look fantastic! Beans and tofu are certainly economical and healthy meals. Thanks for linking up today for meatless Monday
So welcome! Loved you post from today!
These look great. Thanks for sharing them!
Thanks for stopping by Rachel!
We do a lot of plant based meals. And there are several here that I want to try! Eggs, potatoes and veggies are some of the foods that we use often, they are inexpensive and you can work with them in many ways. Thanks for putting these together, pinned them to come back to time and time again!
Thanks Nikki! Enjoy all the deliciousness!
Lots of great recipes. My husband and I eat a lot of plant based meals. Always looking for new recipes. Thanks for sharing with everybody!
So welcome! Glad I could help you find some new dishes!
This is such a great list you out together Kaila – the Barley soup looks so good and yes, black beans are so good for you and budget friendly:)
Thanks Ilka! These recipes are all so good!
I LOVE this post. Not only are these awesome sauce recipes budget-friendly, but they all sound like they are fairly simple & come together quickly. This will help make menu planning easy for me, especially for lunches.
I especially like the sound of the Sweet Potato Nachos!!!
Thank you for posting this Kaila =)
Of course! Did you see my alfredo recipe yesterday? You’d looooove that!
back again because I love this post – I will be making these things!
#tastytuesday
Aww thanks so much for stopping by again!
[…] 15 Plant-Based Meals on a Budget • Healthy Helper […]
Loved it!! I especially love how the stuffed peppers look…and I have never tried them Vegan before, but defintely will now! Thank you for sharing your wonderful creativity with us at Friday Favorites! I hope you will join us again this week! Hugs- Christine at Must Love Home
I love those stuffed peppers! Especially because they’re GRILLED instead of baked liked normal! Such a fun twist.
Great list. It’s so true that plant based meals don’t need to be expensive yet so many people think they are. #freefromfridays
Thanks for stopping by Emma!!
What a great resource! Thanks for joining in with #CookBlogShare this week x
So welcome!
What a super selection here!
Budget tips are always so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing this at Savoring Saturdays last week. Hope your week has been great.
Gotta love healthy eats that are CHEAP!
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Please link up your newest posts & you might just be featured again next month.
Thanks again
Angie
Thank you!
This is a great post! We just recently started participating in Meatless Mondays at my house and I’ve already noticed it’s saved us a pretty penny at the grocery store.
Pinned this and will definitely we making some of these recipes.
You’ll really enjoy all of these!!
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My boys are big fans of whole wheat pasta with frozen mixed veggies and pesto sauce. It’s tough to have vegetarian meals when you have picky eaters! I sure do try but typically I’m the only one who eats them.
I LOVE pesto too! That sounds like a great meal!!
I’m trying to eat more plant based meals – these look great! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner Party.
Love this! Definitely shows that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming.
Thanks for stopping by!!