Over 20 simple recipes and tips for healthy meals & snacks you can prep ahead and take for lunch or enjoy for dinner. Vegan meal prep ideas to make your week a little bit healthier, easier, and more delicious. 

 

Healthy vegan plant based meal prep ideas from salads to soups to bowls.

With a fresh new year approaching, and possibly a little overindulging over the past few months, I know many of us are looking forward to eating better. One thing that really helps me is to get the junk out of the house and take a little time to prepare healthy meals and snacks. That way instead of reaching into the cookie jar when I’m in a hurry, it’s just as easy to grab something nourishing… like a cup of soup or a homemade superfood energy bar. 

I’ll save meal prep breakfast ideas for another post and keep this one too lunches and snacks so it’s not too lengthy. Depending on the size of your family, these recipes work for dinner as well as lunch. Let’s take a look at some of  my favorite vegan meal prep ideas! 

Healthy vegan meal prep ideas include energy balls, salad, pasta salad, and cut veggies.

Foods To Prep Ahead

  • A soup and/or salad 
  • Quinoa, dried beans, or lentils 
  • A batch of muffins or energy bars/balls
  • Wash and chop veggies and fruit to grab and go 
  • A homemade salad dressing like Lemon Tahini Dressing

An Instant Pot pressure cooker filled with cooked quinoa. Making dried beans and quinoa on meal prep day.

Helpful Meal Prep Supplies

There are a few products that are musts for me when meal prepping. Please note these are Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission when you shop through them (thank you).

Vegan Meal Prep Bowls & Main Dishes 

Vegan rice paper spring or summer rolls with peanut sauce.

Veggie Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce stay fresh in an airtight container for 2-3 days. 

A glass meal prep container with rice and a yellow chickpea curry.

Pack this Easy Yellow Curry with Roasted Veggies in glass containers with rice and microwave for lunch. 

A bean and rice burrito served with guacamole is a great option for vegan meal prep.

Make-Ahead Bean and Rice Burritos are a family favorite! 

A beautiful Greek inspired meal prep bowl with hummus and pita bread.

Greek-Inspired Bowls are perfect to pack in glass meal prep containers for lunch and are delicious cold. 

Burrito bowls with peppers, beans, lettuce, and guacamole for an easy vegan meal prep lunch.

Sheet Pan Fajita Bowls can be packed in glass containers and reheated for lunch. Be sure to keep the guac separate! 

Roasted sheet pan vegetable Buddha Bowls with quinoa, falafel, and tahini sauce!

Sheet Pan Buddha Bowls with Tahini Sauce and Falafel are loaded with nutrition and these veggies reheat beautifully. 

Chana Masala Indian chickpea curry with rice is a hearty and delicious vegan meal prep bowl idea.

Chana Masala is my very favorite Indian dish! 

Meal Prep Salads 

Cold salads are a great option for meal prep, especially if you are taking lunch to work or school and don’t have access to a microwave. The trick is to keep your meal prep salads lettuce-free to avoid a sad wilted lunch. For recipes that do call for greens, don’t add them in during meal prep, but add them on top of the rest of the salad before heading out. 

A beautiful healthy Mediterranean lentil salad with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, bell pepper, and green lentils.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad is colorful, flavorful, and loaded with nutrition. This lettuce-free salad won’t get soggy quickly, but you can assemble the salad and bring dressing in a small jar to keep it fresh all week. 

Asian cabbage salad with edamame and sesame ginger dressing for lunch.

Asian Cabbage Salad with Ginger Sesame Dressing is one of my favorite lunches ever! It’s good for a few days dressed, but you can make it last longer by bringing the dressing on the side. Bring an avocado on the side too. 

A big bowl of quinoa chickpea salad is a great option for a vegan meal prep lunch.

This Chickpea Quinoa Salad is packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and veggies to keep you satisfied. 

Greek salad with chickpeas

Chickpea Greek Salad  is another lettuce-free, hearty, flavorful, colorful salad perfect for meal prep. 

Easy Meal Prep Soups 

I love to make a big pot of soup or chili to eat for lunch throughout the week. I have them at home and send them in hot containers with the girls in their lunch boxes. You can also freeze individual portions in mason jars, or freeze a whole batch for later. When freezing, don’t forget to leave some room at the top for expansion. Here are some of my favorites. 

Hearty vegetarian vegan chili with quinoa and sweet potato.

Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili is so hearty and delicious, and takes about 10 minutes to prepare. Pack it in a thermos to go with an avocado on the side. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, try this slow cooker version. 

Bright healthy lemon lentil soup with carrots and turmeric.

Lemony Lentil Soup is a great freezer-friendly recipe made with healthy ingredients like turmeric and lemons. 

A bowl of vegan Minestrone soup with white beans and vegetables is perfect for healthy meal prep day.

Instant Pot Minestrone is a family favorite (omit the pasta as it can get mushy after a day or two). 

Energy Bars and Balls 

I love when we have nutritious sweet treats around to grab after the gym or for Yummy Hubby to take to work.  

Homemade energy bar squares for vegan meal prep.

Superfood Energy Bars are perfect for vegan meal prep days. 

A hand holds one chocolate bliss ball made with dates, cacao and nuts.

Chocolate Bliss Balls are just the right amount of sweet. For kids, try these Nut-Free No Bake Energy Balls. 

Smoothies

Did you know you can prep smoothies ahead to grab on your way out the door? 

A little girl holds a homemade acai bowl.

Find out how to freeze Smoothies and Acai Bowls here! 

Get your greens in with these make-ahead Green & Glowing Smoothies! 

Meal Prep Baked Goods 

Homemade vegan gluten free banana blueberry muffins made with oat flour sit on a cooling wrack.

I like to add a batch of muffins to meal prep days if I have time. They are great for school snack and easy to freeze for later. These Banana Oat Muffins are super wholesome and get rave reviews. Vegan Banana Bread is another fun snack option.