A collection of 12 of my favorite Vegan Pantry Recipes that use simple ingredients you likely have stocked in your pantry or freezer!
These simple recipes are great when you don't have fresh produce available or if you are on a budget but still want some creative plant-based recipes to make at home.
I truly hope you find this list helpful with all that is going on in the world. While this list is NOT intended to get you to rush out to the grocery store today, hopefully it will give you some creative ideas of recipes you can make with the ingredients you already have at home! It includes a mix of whole food plant-based recipes and some more indulgent desserts. If there is any time we need a little sugar & chocolate in our life, it is now!
What are good vegan pantry & freezer ingredients?
Before we jump into the recipes, here is a quick run-down of the pantry staples I always have on hand in my house that are great to use in this recipe.
While this list is pretty comprehensive, it should give you a good idea of the items I use to cook many of the recipes on this blog.
You won't need ALL of these ingredients to make every recipe here, but it's a great list to reference the next time you go to the grocery store.
Legumes:
- Black beans
- Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas)
- Cannellini Beans (white beans)
- Lentils
Pasta and Grains:
- Whole wheat, chickpea, or brown rice pasta
- Quinoa
- Farro
- Brown Rice/White Rice/ Wild Rice medley
- Oats
Nuts & Seeds:
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Hemp Seeds
- Nut butter (almond and cashew are my favorites!)
- Chia seeds
- Ground flax seeds
- Cashews, almonds, pecans
Additional canned items:
- Canned tomatoes or canned tomato sauce
- Coconut milk
- Canned vegetables (green beans, corn)
- Canned fruit (peaches, mango, applesauce)
- Tomato paste
- Salsa
Baking Supplies:
- All-purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Baking powder & baking soda
- Sugar (brown, white, coconut)
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- Yeast (for baking)
- Vegan chocolate
Other Pantry Staples:
- Nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper
- Spices like cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano
- Vegetable stock
- Boxed plant-based milks like almond, soy, and hemp
- Shelf staple produce like potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, squash (spaghetti, butternut), lemons, etc.
- Cooking oil like olive, coconut, avocado
- Bread or wraps
- Apple cider vinegar
- Soy sauce
Frozen Foods:
- Frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, edamame, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
- Frozen fruit (bananas, blueberries, raspberries, mango, etc)
- Extra-Firm Tofu (can be frozen in a freezer-safe bag for up to 1 month!)
What if I don't have one of these ingredients?
That's okay! The point here is to get creative with what you do have. A lot of these recipes are easily adaptable. For example, in the black bean burger recipe below you can sub any bean 1:1. Or in the fruit crisp, sub in any fruit (I've tried it with only frozen berries and it's great!).
As always, if you ever have substitution questions, leave a comment on the blog post so I can try to help.
12 Vegan Pantry Meals
Breakfast Ideas:
Vegan Chocolate Chip Pancakes.
Believe it or not, making homemade pancakes can be made from pantry ingredients! This recipe requires 10 ingredients and, if you don't have chocolate on hand, still tastes good as a plain whole wheat pancake recipe.
Swap in whatever boxed milk you have or make your own from any nuts or seeds you have in the house. Also, any flour works for this recipe!
Maple Almond Butter Granola. This recipe is 100% pantry-friendly. While I used almond butter and sliced almonds, it would even work with peanut butter, cashew butter, or any nut/seed butter you have on hand!
Tastes great as a healthy snack, as a homemade cereal, or on top of any fresh ingredients or yogurt you may have.
Lunch & Dinner Ideas:
Vegan Fried Rice. Fried rice is one of those easy meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less! It has 10 simple ingredients and can easily be made with any frozen veggies you have on hand.
The only unusual required ingredient in this recipe is rice wine vinegar. Since you only use ½ Tbsp, if you don't have it, just replace it with extra soy sauce!
Black Bean Quinoa Burger. The patties in this recipe are made entirely from pantry staples and carrots added in for a veggie twist. If you don't have fresh carrots on hand, either replace them with frozen or switch up for another vegetable.
Canned/frozen green beans or spinach would work great as a replacement for carrots in this recipe. Also, no black beans? Try this recipe with another bean!
Vegan Gnocchi. I don't know about you, but all this extra time at home feels like the perfect excuse to take on a new cooking project.
This is the perfect recipe to turn to if you stocked up on potatoes and have flour on hand, but can't find any pasta. Making homemade gnocchi only requires 3 simple ingredients and will go with any canned sauce!
Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce. This vegan tomato cream sauce only contains 7 ingredients and the main ingredient is canned tomatoes!
P.S.- it does call for fresh red pepper, but just omit this if you don't have it on hand and replace it with extra canned tomatoes or even tomato paste. The sauce still turns out delicious!
Vegan Lentil Tacos.. The base of this recipe really only requires 3 ingredients- dried lentils, veggie broth, and taco seasoning.
Add in any fresh veggies you have on hand or omit them altogether and replace them with beans to keep this recipe entirely pantry-friendly. While I make my own homemade pico de gallo, canned salsa also goes great on these tacos!
Creamy Truffle Mushroom Pasta. One of my FAVORITE recipes on SGTO is this pasta with truffle sauce. The sauce is made from cashews making it nutritious and great for using up any nuts you have on hand.
If you don't have mushrooms, simply omit them for a delicious creamy vegan pasta sauce. Also, while this recipe calls for truffle salt and truffle oil- it can be replaced with regular olive oil and salt for a luxurious alfredo sauce without the truffle flavor.
Mushroom Wild Rice Soup. Have a ton of rice on hand and not sure what to do with it? Make soup!
This soup can be made with any rice variety (just check out the recipe for instructions) and is so simple and delicious.
P.S.- no fresh mushrooms? Swap out for dried mushrooms (just soak them before using) or omit them and replace them with any canned beans you have on hand instead. (Just add in the beans at the end of cooking, not the beginning or they will get too mushy)
Vegan Potato Latkes. If you're anything like me, then potatoes are a staple in your home! These potato latkes are unique because they don't require fresh eggs.
All you need is potatoes, flour, oil, ground flax, and seasoning to make the perfect fried potato pancake.
P.S.- while I topped mine with a jar of applesauce, these latkes can also be made into a complete dinner if topped with beans and frozen veggies. YUM!
Easy Desserts
Fruit Crisp. Have a bunch of frozen fruit on hand and not sure what to make with it? It's time to make a vegan fruit crisp!
I used blueberries and nectarines in this recipe, but any frozen berry or frozen stone fruit works. After the frozen fruit, the recipe calls for a lot of other pantry staples like oats, coconut oil, coconut sugar, and cornstarch.
Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies. This is my go-to cookie recipe! No sprinkles? Simply omit them for vegan sugar cookies or even add in chocolate for a fun twist.
I truly hope this list of Vegan Pantry Recipes helps you remove some stress and uncertainty from your life right now! We all need to eat and cooking plant meals at home is the perfect way to bring joy into your life right now. Enjoy!
-TSG
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