Looking for a cheap easy vegan meal plan? In this post I share how to enjoy a whole food plant based diet for $29/week shopping at Trader Joe’s!

This is my cheapest plant based meal plan for shopping at Trader Joe’s. Keep reading to watch my video tutorial and get a free printable meal plan and shopping list.

Note: Before making any changes to your diet based on this cheap easy vegan meal plan, please consult your physician.

YouTube video about this cheapest plant based meal plan

View this video tutorial about this vegan meal plan:

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$29 Cheap easy vegan meal plan for Trader Joe’s

I like shopping at Trader Joe’s because they offer a variety of plant based ingredients at a reasonable price. It’s a one stop shop for budget meal plans.

This cheap easy vegan meal plan costs $29 per week and includes a variety of healthy plant based meals. This is also a great meal plan for weight loss because it’s mostly fat free and packed with fiber.

Free printable shopping list and recipes

Here’s a PDF version of this cheap easy vegan meal plan and shopping list. Save it to your bookmarks and print it for your recipe binder:

• View PDF: $29 Cheapest Plant Based Meal Plan Trader Joes

Bentgo meal prep containers

My recommended brand of meal prep containers is Bentgo. They offer a 60-piece set of meal prep containers which includes 1, 2, and 3-compartments with lids.

• Shop Bentgo meal prep containers on Amazon

No chop ingredients

I chose the Trader Joe’s Mirepoix Mix and Garden Vegetable Hash products to make these no-chop vegan recipes, meaning you just dump the ingredients into a mixing bowl or stock pot and they are ready to serve or cook.

They also include a variety of vegetables which makes them great for a budget meal plan because you don’t have to purchase each individual ingredients and can still get a variety of nutrition and flavor into each meal.

• 11 Trader Joe’s Mirepoix recipes

Daily Dozen food

This meal plan was created with the Daily Dozen in mind. Because it is one of the cheapest plant based meal plans I’ve made, there are some compromises made.

For example, there are no seeds in this meal plan, which are part of the Daily Dozen recommendations.

Additionally, I chose to add peanut butter instead of almond butter because of costs. This means, if you don’t use almond butter, there are also no nuts in this meal plan.

If you have any extra available in your food budget, I recommend purchasing a food product which contains both nuts and seeds to make this a full Daily Dozen meal plan.

I did choose a variety of vegetables to compensate for the missing Daily Dozen ingredients.

• Beginners Guide to Daily Dozen Meal Prep

Trader Joe’s groceries

Vegetables are packed with nutrition, so at the very least this cheap easy vegan meal plan is still packed with a variety of nutrition, despite not including all Daily Dozen recommendations.

For example, the Garden Vegetable Hash includes a variety of vegetables, both cruciferous and regular. And, both dinners include cruciferous vegetables as well as a variety of other vegetables.

I’ve included the approximate Daily Dozen servings for each meal below the recipes for easy reference.

• Daily food checklist: Here’s what to eat every day

Daniel Fast meal prep

This plant based meal prep is perfect for Daniel Fasting! It’s packed with whole food plant based ingredients and is very easy to prepare.

• Quick start guide to Daniel Fasting

Vegan dump meals

Many of the meals in this cheap meal plan are vegan dump meals, meaning you just open packages and dump them out to prepare each meal.

• 36 vegan freezer meals for $50 from Trader Joe’s groceries

No chop meals

Many of the meals in this meal plan are considered “no chop meals”, meaning you don’t have to use a knife and cutting board to prepare each meal.

• For example, each breakfast you just smear peanut butter onto rice cakes and place a peeled banana on top.
• Lunch 1 if uses an already chopped vegetable mix which you simply dump into a bowl with garbanzo beans to prepare.
• Lunch 2 is bean tacos which only requires opening a can of refried beans and smearing them onto corn tortillas before cooking in a skillet – there’s no chopping involved!
• And, Dinner 1 is a simple vegetable soup which uses an already prepared mix of vegetable mirepoix that you don’t have to chop.

Check out my Beginners Vegan Meal Prep page for cooking tutorials!

$29 plant based grocery list

Here’s a grocery list for Trader Joe’s for one week:

Breakfast

• $1.99 1 package Brown Rice Cake Thins
• $2.49 1 jar Peanut Butter
• $3.22 14 Bananas

Lunches

• $0.89 1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans
• $4.99 1 container Garden Vegetable Hash Mix
• $1.19 1 15 oz can Refried Beans
• $.99 1 package Corn Tortillas
• $2.29 1 jar Salsa Authentica or Verde

Dinners

• $2.49 1 bag Broccoli & Cauliflower Duo
• $3.99 1 3 lb bag Potatoes, any kind
• $0.89 1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans (optional)
• $3.49 1 14.5 oz package Mirepoix Mix
• $1.09 1 15 oz can Great Northern Beans

Total approximate cost (as of April 30, 2024):

$29.11 (or $30 if using optional Garbanzo Beans)

Cheapest plant based meal plan

Here’s the simple recipes for this Trader Joe’s vegan meal plan:

Breakfast 1: PB Rice Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 package Brown Rice Cake Thins
• 1 jar Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
• 14 Bananas

Directions

1. Enjoy a simple no-cook breakfast with Brown Rice Cakes smeared with 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter and topped with sliced Bananas.
2. If you have cinnamon powder, sprinkle on top for extra flavor.

Serving suggestions

One package of Brown Rice Cakes includes 30 rice cakes, and one jar of Organic Peanut Butter includes 14 servings. This means you can enjoy about 4 rice thins for breakfast or with lunch almost every day of the week.

Daily Dozen

This breakfasts gives you the following Daily Dozen (for two rice cake servings):

• 2 Whole grains
• 2 Fruits
• 2 Legumes or 2 Nuts

Substitutions

Try almond butter instead of peanut butter to get a serving of nuts into each day. Almond butter costs $3.50 more per jar.

Try berry fruit preserves instead of bananas to get berries into each day. Berry preserves costs $.77 more than bananas.

Breakfast 2: Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Make a simple smoothie by combining 2 bananas with 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 1/2 cups water into a blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds and pour into a serving glass. Add any other flavorings, such as vanilla extract or cacao powder. Serve rice cakes with lunch salad.

Lunch 1: Chickpea Vegetable Salad

Serve this hearty vegetable and bean salad for lunch 3 days this week.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans, drained
• 1 container Garden Vegetable Hash Mix
• 5 teaspoons vinegar, lemon juice, or favorite dressing
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine drained garbanzo beans with vegetable has mix. Toss well.
2. Pour over your favorite salad dressing, vinegar, lemon juice or other seasonings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Portion into 3-4 meal prep containers for easy grab-and-go lunches throughout the week.

Serving suggestions

• Enjoy this salad cold, straight from the refrigerator.
• Instead of a salad, sauté the vegetable hash in a skillet for 3-5 minutes. Add drained garbanzo beans and serve hot.
• Serve with rice cakes if they weren’t consumed for breakfast.

Daily Dozen

This lunch gives you the following Daily Dozen per meal (portioned into 3 meals):

• 1 Cruciferous Vegetable
• 1 Vegetable
• 1 Legumes

Substitutions

• Substitute any bean you prefer.
• Use pinto beans and saute this mixture to serve hot over corn tortillas for tacos.

Lunch 2: Bean Tacos with Salsa

Watch this short video on YouTube

Enjoy bean tacos with salsa for 4 days this week.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can Refried Beans
• 1 package Corn Tortillas
• 1 jar Salsa Authentica or Verde

Directions

1. Warm tortillas on a hot skillet, in air fryer for 1 minute, or in microwave.
2. Open can of refried beans. Smear 2 tablespoons beans onto a warm corn tortilla. Fold in half to make a taco, or place another tortilla on top to make a double decker taco, or roll into a tube to make a taquito.
3. Place into a skillet and heat on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook other side until desired doneness.
4. Repeat with remaining tortillas and beans.
5. Serve hot with 1 serving salsa.

Serving suggestions

• Prepare all tacos at one time and divide into meal prep containers for easy grab-and-go lunches.
• This recipe makes 12 tacos. Enjoy this lunch 3-4 days of the week, serving 3 or 4 tacos per day.
• If you have any oil, fry these tacos in about 1-2 teaspoons oil per taco.
• If you have any cabbage, serve these with shredded cabbage.
• Combine refried beans with salsa before stuffing tacos. This will make it even easier to serve at lunchtime.

Daily Dozen

This lunch gives you the following Daily Dozen per meal (portioned into 4 meals):

• 4 Whole Grains (or Vegetables if you consider corn tortillas vegetables)
• 1 Legumes
• 1 Vegetables (from the salsa)

Dinner 1: Vegetable Bean Soup

Enjoy a hearty vegetable soup for dinner 3-4 days this week.

Ingredients

• 1/2 bag Potatoes, any kind
• 1 package Mirepoix Mix
• 1 15 oz can Great Northern Beans
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Prepare potatoes by rinsing with fresh water. Dice into quarters. Open can of beans and drain water.
2. Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add mirepoix vegetables and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add potatoes and drained beans. Add any seasonings, oil and bay leaves you have already. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour 4-6 cups water, enough to cover over vegetables.
5. Simmer on medium high heat for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
6. Enjoy hot, or let cool and puree soup in a blender or what immersion blender. Reheat after blending before serving.

Serving suggestions

• Serve this soup with any bread or tortilla chips you already have.

Daily Dozen

This dinner gives you the following Daily Dozen per meal:

• 1 Cruciferous Vegetables
• 2-3 Vegetables
• 1 Legumes

Substitutions

Substitute any beans, such as garbanzo beans, pinto beans or black beans.

Substitute yams or sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes.

Dinner 2: Roasted Vegetables & Chickpeas

Enjoy a hearty meal of vegetables for dinner 3-4 days this week.

Ingredients

• 1 bag Broccoli & Cauliflower Duo
• 1 1/2 lbs (1/2 of bag) Potatoes, any kind
• 1 can Garbanzo beans, drained (optional)
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Get a large baking sheet or baking dish.
2. Prepare vegetables by rinsing with fresh water and breaking into bite sized florets.
3. Prepare potatoes by rinsing with fresh water and chop into bite sized pieces (if desired).
4. Place prepared potatoes onto baking sheet or dish. Toss with any seasonings or oil you have already, if desired.
5. Place into preheated oven and roast uncovered for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and add water, vegetables and beans (if using). Toss with desired seasonings and 1 tablespoon oil (if desired and available).
7. Roast all together for another 20 minutes, or until desired doneness. Serve hot with your favorite seasonings or dipping sauces.

Serving suggestions

• Roast cauliflower and potatoes all at one time, then reheat to serve for remaining dinners.
• Use an air fryer and air fry potatoes first for about 10 minutes at 400º. Then, add vegetables and beans and air fryer all together for another 10 minutes. Do this each dinnertime for freshly roasted vegetables.
• Prick whole potatoes 6 times with a fork or skewer before roasting.

Daily Dozen

This dinner gives you the following Daily Dozen per meal:

• 1-2 Cruciferous Vegetables
• 1-2 Vegetables
• 1 Legume (if using)

Free printable shopping list and recipes

Here’s a PDF version of this cheapest plant based meal plan and shopping list. Save it to your bookmarks and print it for your recipe binder:

• View PDF: $29 Cheapest Plant Based Meal Plan Trader Joes

Further reading:

• Shop Bentgo meal prep containers on Amazon
• 10 best kitchen tools for weekly meal prep