Want to go vegan, but think it might be expensive? Here’s our guide on How to Eat Vegan On a Budget in 5 Steps! We will walk through the easy ways to have a fulfilling and satisfying vegan journey that still tastes absolutely delicious.
Do you know what just occurred to me?! I’ve never shared with you guys why I went vegan! I’ll probably share it for my next vegan anniversary, but one of the questions that always comes up is,
“Is going/being vegan expensive?”
I’m happy to say that the answer is no. Well, at least the simple answer is no. When I went vegan (Gav went vegan around the same time as I did) our grocery bill actually cut in half. Yes, we were still eating absolutely delicious meals! Being vegan can be very affordable without cutting back on any flavour, but it can also be expensive if you focus on items/practices that aren’t budget-friendly. Today I want to show you how by implementing these 5 super easy steps, you can easily go vegan on a budget!
How to Eat Vegan On a Budget in 5 Steps
Eat Exactly Like You’ve Been Eating Before, Except Vegan.
Sounds pretty easy, right? That’s because it is. One of the most important tips for people that are just transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is to eat (please read this in context) like you’ve been eating before. Just replace the non-vegan parts of your meals! Let me explain a bit more. There’s a large temptation when going vegan to completely overhaul your entire diet. So suddenly, for example, when you’ve always eaten rice, you’ve decided to cut that out and now only eat quinoa because a video told you to.I promise you, that not only is this not necessary when you’re completely switching diets, but it can also end up being pretty expensive and wasteful for you. Instead of buying a long list of brand new foods you’ve never eaten before, and a result, probably won’t eat, finish or even like, start small. Start by swapping your chicken for tofu for example, or even beans. Or your other proteins for other things. Your cow’s milk for nut milk. This means if you love pasta eat pasta but make it vegan, the same thing for burgers, or even tacos! By using the same base ingredients in your pantry along with a few new vegan ingredients, you’ll save yourself a lot!
Shop Smart & in Wholesale.
When deciding to buy certain items, shop smart and in bulk! Let’s use nuts as an example. Nuts tend to be a key staple in a lot of vegan recipes. Whether it’s walnut meats, cashew cheese, cashew creams or even nut milk, you’re probably going to be using them a lot! Nuts cost up to 3x more in the supermarket than on bulk websites or in bulk stores, and since they last long anyway, it makes way more sense to buy them this way!
Go Easy on the Convenience Foods.
This next step is an easy but important step. Don’t rely heavily on processed vegan foods. Now I’m not saying you can’t have any, we always have like one or two in our fridge/freezer. But to rely on these are your main vegan sources will definitely cost you a pretty penny. It’s not because they’re vegan, it’s because they’re convenience foods ! I find whenever I explain this one to people, a big “ah!” goes off. This goes for whether you’re going non-vegan or vegan frozen tv dinners, frozen pizzas, frozen cheesecakes etc. If you’re buying a lot of them, it’s going to cost you. So find a balance. Stick to mainly fresh foods and maybe only buy a few of these a month.
Meal Prep, meal prep, meal prep.
You don’t have to feel like you have to eat the same thing every day. In fact, you don’t even have to meal prep everything on a Sunday and eat it throughout the week. You can make meals that have large serving sizes and mix the days that you eat them (which is what I tend to do). For example, you can make stews , soups , curries , pancakes , tofu scramble, chia puddings – the list goes on. They’re all pretty simple, tend to be one pot, and make multiple servings so you automatically meal prep.
Long story short, meal prep saves money because you’re using the same ingredients to make many servings of a dish, and you’re less likely to order takeout just because there’s no food in your house. Just ensure you’re making meal prep work for YOU else it might have an opposite effect for you. Whatever you’re meal prepping, ensure that it maintains its taste over the next couple of days. For example, I’m not a huge fan of meal prepping salads for the week ahead. What I will do instead is keep the ingredients handy so that the prep of the salad is simple, then I’ll prep it the night before.
Stock up on beans and pulses.
I PROMISE – Beans, Legumes & Pulses are SO yummy!! Don’t limit your view of them. They are great sources of iron, protein, and vitamins, are cheap and store for a really long time. They’re also so versatile! I’m talking anything from hummus to falafels to dips to curries to so much more. In fact, canned beans etc are actually pretty convenient so if you want to go even more budget, you can buy dried beans/pulses/legumes and cook them yourself.
Whenever I have my inevitable “ugh, there is nothing to eat!” moment, I remind myself to check the pantry. I inevitably find some lentils or beans and get to thinking. Actually, this is exactly how dishes like my Lentil Curry Soup were born! I commit myself to look again. Usually, there are dried lentils or beans. It always brightens my day. If we’re talking more about affordability, canned beans are a convenience food. Buying dried lentils or beans are significantly cheaper.
Bonus
Bonus section! If you guys want even more information:
Check out my 25 Budget-Friendly Vegan Recipes ! I share even more tips there as well as some amazing and tasty budget-friendly recipes.
Check out Gav’s (my husband) post about how he went vegetarian for a month , and the useful tips he learned ( spoiler alert : he implements tip #1!)
This Slow Cooker Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup is the soup of your dreams. It’s so warm & cozy and perfectly spiced! It freezes incredibly well, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser .
Thanks to Crockpot™ for sponsoring this blog post! Thanks so much to you for supporting the brands who support Jessica in the Kitchen! All texts and opinions are my own.
Slow Cooker Vegan Pumpkin Soup
It’s been way too long since I’ve made a slow cooker soup! I’m a huge fan of making flavours really meld together (hence my endless collection of soups & chilis on the blog) and this soup is no exception. It’s been raining here almost daily and I am loving cosying up with a bowl of this. It’s warm, cosy and perfect for fall.
I made this soup in my Crockpot™ 4.5-Quart Lift & Serve Slow Cooker , which needless to say, from the colour alone, I’m obsessed with!!
Our very first slow cooker was a Crockpot™. It was my mother in law’s own, and she lent it to us when we just married. I was hooke d – I think I made Chili every night for like two weeks straight for Gav and I. I love that we have our own Crockpot™ now, and I’m sure she is too because I was able to give her hers back!
One of my favourite things about this new Crockpot™ design is the lift lid and I’m SO glad that this is now a thing! It’s like the perfect holder for your cover and is perfect if you’re serving this to several people too. I also love the size because since it’s just the two of us, it works really well for our needs. I could definitely also see us bringing this to our parents’ house for a family dinner night and it being the right amount of space for our family.
For more savory pumpkin recipes, try my creamy pumpkin soup and pumpkin chili .
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Soup
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this soup. Scroll down to the recipe card for measurements.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the vegan butter to the crockpot, along with all of the ingredients.
- Cook. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Stir in the lime juice and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Blend. Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender to your desired consistency. Taste test and adjust the seasonings as necessary.
- Enjoy. Serve and garnish as desired. I love extra coconut milk, parsley, and a touch of cayenne pepper.
- I highly recommend thoroughly blending this soup when you’re finished. It gives the flavours a chance to truly meld together for a flavour bomb. If you don’t have an immersion blender , you can use a regular blender – just let it cool a little bit first if you have a glass blender and ensure your blender is safe to use for that.
- If you don’t have or can’t find a raw pumpkin, you can sub the same amount of pumpkin purée! Just use 40 ounces of pumpkin purée instead.
- The best sides. This soup is filled with fibre and good fats so it’s a filling soup that tastes incredible with a slice of avocado and even some toast or garlic bread.
- Add more spices. Some great additions would be cinnamon and nutmeg for a warmer flavour profile. You can also add some red pepper flakes.
- Use lite coconut milk. For a lower fat soup, you can use lite coconut milk or even boxed coconut milk, or any other vegan milk too. Just taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
- You can also easily double this soup, or half it!
Proper Storage
- Fridge. This soup tastes even better the next day when all the flavours meld together! Just store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. This vegan pumpkin soup freezes so well! When thawing, it’ll separate, so just blend again with your immersion blender or in a blender!
Apart from how delicious this soup is, I also wanted to share the incredible initiative that Crockpot™ is having. Crockpot™ is partnering with Feeding America during Hunger Action Month to “Feed it forward, one meal at a time” and I’m also partnering alongside them by making my own donation! It’s not lost on me the incredible blessing it is to be able to have a home-cooked meal especially in these times, and I love their initiative to try and help change that for those who can’t.
During Hunger Action Month (that’s up to the end of this month!), they will be donating $25,000 to help provide food and nourishment to those who need it most. Please check out this link to donate too if you can! Thank you so much friends!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oil or butter
- 1 medium onion , diced (or half a large red onion)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2.5 lbs pumpkin , weight after peeled, seeds are removed and chopped into 1 to 2 inch cubes (you can also swap the same weight of pumpkin puree!)
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper , optional – use less if you don’t like spice
- 2 cups vegetable broth , high quality
- 1 can coconut milk , 13.4 ounces
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
Instructions
- Turn your Crockpot™ on and to warm while you prep the ingredients.
- Add in the oil or vegan butter.
- Add in the onion, garlic, pumpkin, allspice, sea salt, ground black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, vegetable broth and the coconut milk. Stir to combine.
- Set the Crockpot™ to high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours and let the veggies cook down together. At the end, stir in the lime juice and let it cook for about 5 more minutes.
- Turn your slow cooker off and using your immersion blender, blend all the ingredients together until fully smooth. If you don’t have a blender you can carefully transfer the soup to a blender to blend completely.
- Taste and add salt and pepper to taste if necessary. The salt will depend on how salty your vegetable broth is.
- Serve into bowls and top with garnish – I love extra coconut milk, parsley or even a touch more cayenne on top (optional). Enjoy!!
Notes
- I highly recommend thoroughly blending this soup when you’re finished. It gives the flavours a chance to truly meld together for a flavour bomb. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender – just let it cool a little bit first if you have a glass blender and ensure your blender is safe to use for that.
- If you don’t have or can’t find raw pumpkin, you can sub the same amount of pumpkin purée! Just use 40 ounces of pumpkin purée instead.
- This soup is filled with fiber and good fats so it’s a filling soup that tastes incredible with a slice of avocado and even some toast or garlic bread.
- Some great additions would be cinnamon and nutmeg for a warmer flavour profile. You can also add some red pepper flakes.
- This soup tastes even better the next day when all the flavours meld together! It’s definitely one you’ll be making all season long and will be looking forward to for every cosy season to come.
- For a lower fat soup, you can use lite coconut milk or even boxed coconut milk, or any other vegan milk too. Just taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
- This soup freezes so well! When thawing, it’ll separate, so just blend again with your immersion blender or in a blender!
- You can also easily double this soup, or half it!
