Grocery List: your first vegan shopping trip

This Grocery List is brought to you by The Militant Vegan and The Veganist 🤝

Your first vegan grocery list from The Militant Vegan and The Veganist

🍎 Fruit

The foundation of every balanced diet.

💡 Frozen fruit is harvested and frozen immediately, making it more affordable while retaining nutrients just as well as, or even better than, fresh fruit stored for long periods.

3 different types of fresh fruit (e.g. bananas, apples, pears, oranges, grapes, or kiwi)
2 types of frozen berries (e.g. blueberries, raspberries, or a mixed berry blend)

🥦 Vegetables

Vegetables should be on your plate every day.

💡 Frozen vegetables are harvested and frozen immediately, retaining nutrients just as well as, or even better than, fresh vegetables stored for long periods.

4–6 types of fresh vegetables (e.g. bell peppers, carrots, beetroot, bok choy, cucumber, zucchini, or spinach)
2 types of frozen vegetables (e.g. broccoli, peas, leaf spinach, or Asian-style vegetable mix)
Tomato basics (tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and/or passata)

🌾 Filling Side Dishes & Whole Grains

Provide energy, fiber, and keep you full for a long time.

Oats (or spelt flakes, oat bran, amaranth flakes, millet flakes, or buckwheat flakes)
Whole grain bread or whole grain rolls
Whole wheat pasta (or lentil, chickpea, or pea pasta)
Brown rice (or whole grain rice, bulgur, quinoa, or couscous)
Potatoes or sweet potatoes (alternatively, low-fat frozen fries with less than 5 g of fat per 100 g)

🍜 Tofu

One of the most versatile and affordable sources of protein.

💡 Delicious raw, pan-fried, or thinly sliced on bread.

2–3 packs of plain tofu
1–2 packs of smoked tofu
Optional: seasoned tofu (e.g. curry, basil, rosso, or sesame)

→ If you are allergic to soy, there is also chickpea-based tofu. You can also find simple and healthy soy alternatives in our Allergy Guide on How-Vegan.Com ✨

💪 Additional Protein Sources

For more protein-rich variety in everyday life.

Tempeh (fermented soybeans or other legumes with a slightly nutty flavor; available in large supermarkets/health food stores and often cheaper in Asian grocery stores)

✨ With the code BEVEGAN, you get super delicious tempeh from FOURTASTE with 10% off. (Sponsored, but genuinely a heartfelt recommendation!)

2–4 different vegan meat alternatives (💡 Try to choose vegan meat alternatives that contain more protein than fat per 100 g. More information is available for free in the Protein Guide on How-Vegan.Com)
Optional: seitan or lupin products

🫘 Soy & Pea Mince

Extremely affordable, high in protein, and has a long shelf life.

💡 These are dried soy or pea proteins. Simply soak them in hot vegetable broth or soy sauce, squeeze out the excess liquid, and cook them like ground meat or sliced meat. Available in large supermarkets and health food stores.

Soy mince
Soy strips or soy chunks
Pea mince or pea strips

🥛 Plant-based Dairy Alternatives

The easy alternative to cow's milk products.

💡 Soy products are especially high in protein and are perfect for everyday use.

2 plant-based milks (e.g. unsweetened soy, oat, pea, or almond milk)
2 cartons of plant-based cooking cream (e.g. soy, oat, or pea cream)
1–2 cups of soy yogurt (plain, sweetened, or skyr-style)

🧀 Cheese Alternatives

💡 Many beginners first look for alternatives to cheese. We generally recommend vegan cheese from supermarkets only as an occasional option, but not for everyday use.

We replace cheese on bread with slices of tofu and tempeh in a variety of flavors, as well as nut and bean spreads. We make our own vegan pizza cheese from soy cream, nutritional yeast, and nut butters.

💡 In our guides on How-Vegan.Com, especially “How to replace foods with vegan alternatives”, you'll find tips on how we replace cheese in everyday life with healthy and simple recipes. If you still want to buy vegan cheese from the supermarket, be aware that it is often nutritionally poor, as it frequently consists mainly of coconut oil, which contains large amounts of saturated fat but no protein or calcium.

There are also more nutritious vegan cheeses made from soy, cashews, and other nuts. Look for these types of vegan cheese instead. You are more likely to find them in organic grocery stores and health food stores.

1–2 vegan cheese alternatives (sliced cheese, shredded cheese, or cream cheese)
1–2 vegan cheese alternatives made from nuts or soy (sliced cheese, shredded cheese, or cream cheese, available at organic grocery stores)

→ Shopping list for homemade vegan cheese:

Plant-based cream + plant-based milk
White almond butter or cashew butter
Cornstarch
Nutritional yeast
Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika powder

→ RECIPE (The recipe is in German, but you can either recognize it based on the video or translate the accompanying text using tools like ChatGPT)

🥜 Nut Butters

Perfect for creamy sauces, desserts, or sweet spreads.

White or brown almond butter
Tahini (sesame paste)
Peanut butter (unsweetened; optional)
Cashew butter (optional)

🥤 Protein Powder

An easy way to incorporate more protein into your daily diet.

💡 Ideal for shakes, porridge, yogurt, baking, or cooking. We use the vegan protein powder from our partner Nutri-Plus (Code: VEGANIST, -10%).

1 vegan protein powder

🫛 Legumes

True nutritional powerhouses for the whole family.

💡 Dried or, even more conveniently, pre-cooked in cans. Perfect for curries, tomato sauces, bowls, or creamy spreads.

Chickpeas
Lentils (e.g. brown or red)
Kidney beans
White or black beans
Optional: Frozen edamame

🧂 Spices & Kitchen Essentials

These ingredients make vegan cooking truly delicious.

Nutritional yeast (highly nutritious with a nutty, cheesy flavor; available in large supermarkets and health food stores)
Kala Namak (black salt; the “egg salt” for vegan scrambled eggs → available at organic grocery stores, Asian grocery stores, or online)
Soy sauce (adds umami flavor)
Vegetable stock (cubes or powder)
Herb salt
Lemon juice (herb salt and lemon juice make quick dips with soy yogurt especially delicious)
Pizza seasoning
For sweetening: agave syrup, rice syrup, maple syrup, or date syrup

🫒 Fats & Oils

Canola oil (for frying), Alba oil (canola oil with a buttery flavor)
Olive oil (for salads and cold dishes)

🍿 Snacks

So you won't be tempted to compromise your values for animals while you're out and about.

Trail mix or mixed nuts
Puffed rice cakes, corn cakes, chickpea cakes, lentil cakes (organic grocery stores/health food stores)
Popcorn or popcorn kernels to make your own
1–2 favorite vegan snacks: vegan protein bars, fruit bars, dried fruit, or vegan snack sausages

💊 Supplements

Are part of a well-planned vegan diet.

Vitamin B12 → We use the supplements from our partner Nutri-Plus, use our code VEGANIST to get -10% :)

→ We've summarized how we take these supplements in our Supplement Guide on How-Vegan.Com.

Additional supplements as needed → see our free Supplement Guide on How-Vegan.Com

🧴 Everyday Vegan Essentials

Veganism doesn't stop with food.

💡 Cosmetics, sunscreen, personal care products, and many other everyday items are also readily available in vegan and cruelty-free versions.

Vegan sunscreen
Vegan toothpaste
Vegan shampoo or body wash

What does “May contain traces of” mean?

The statement “May contain traces of …” is primarily intended to protect people with allergies. It means that the food was produced or packaged in a facility where these ingredients are also processed.

👉 “May contain traces of milk or eggs” is therefore an allergen warning, not an indication of whether a product is vegan.

So, if a food contains no animal-derived ingredients, it is still considered vegan, even if the label states: “May contain traces of milk, eggs, or other allergens.”