Essential Grocer’s List for New Plant-Based Eaters
Knowing what to get in the grocery store when you’ve just gone plant-based is no small task. So much of what’s sold contains animal by-products in them, even products you’d never think would need them. There are so many alternative milks, it’s impossible to know which one is best. And what protein should you start cooking with? What sugar treats are available to satisfy your sweet tooth?
This list is designed to give you some basic ingredients to help you along your plant-based journey. While it certainly isn’t complete, it is made with the beginner plant-based eater in mind, for someone who perhaps isn’t as familiar with vegan ingredients as a seasoned vegan eater might be. I hope you find it useful and have some adventures in the kitchen with a whole new set of delightful ingredients to play with.
Alternative Milks
This is truly the golden age of milk alternatives. The dairy aisle is now awash with milks of all sources and varieties, with more surely on the way. Though the variety is a wonderful thing, selecting the right one can be overwhelming. My article on alternative milks helps explain the difference between each as well as what nutritional properties each has.
The most common ones to find are soy, almond, and oat milk. Coconut milk can often be found in cans in the Asian food aisle or with other international foods. Their flavors are all distinct, and not all will have the same texture, flavor, or nutritional properties you’re looking for. Don’t let this scare you! With all these new milks to play with, you may find different uses for each one depending on the dish you’re making (whether for a creamy soup, a sauce, or a vegan ice cream!).
Quinoa, Lentils, and other Whole Grains
Whole grains should be a crucial part of any diet. This is no different for plant-based eaters. Because they’re all a great source of protein (quinoa is a complete protein!) and go well in a variety of dishes, you’ll always want to have some on hand. They can be great for salads, soups, or even creating patties to mimic hamburgers and meatballs.
Beans
Though beans might seem boring to you now, there’s much you can do with them besides add them into a soup or as a side at a BBQ. Being another good source of protein, beans can both accompany a dish as well as be the star of the show. They’re even good in desserts!
What kind you get will depend on what meals you plan on making that week. But even if you don’t have your meals planned out, you can’t go wrong with whatever you feel like trying out that week, be it the dry version or canned.
Nutritional Yeast
Lovingly called “nooch” by vegans, these yellow flakes are some of the healthiest things to add to your diet. Though nooch looks a bit like fish food, nutritional yeast adds great flavor and umami to dishes where you would typically use animal-based ingredients (cheese in particular). It’s also full of nutrients our bodies need, and most brands pump it with Vitamin B12, an essential vitamin that vegans are particularly prone to lacking (it’s usually found in animal products).
If you’re unsure of how to apply nutritional yeast to your dishes, check out this article on how to use nutritional yeast.
Tofu
Not everyone may love tofu on the first go around, and that’s okay. Read this article on doing more with your tofu for ideas on how to cook with it. As a plant-based protein, it’s wonderfully versatile, despite how boring it may seem in the package.
There are different kinds of tofu to play around with depending on the meal you’re trying to make.
Silken tofu is the softest, moistest version. This is great for going in soups, as a substitute for eggs in baked goods, or for making a vegan custard.
Extra-firm tofu is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Though it is still wet and partially mushy, this form of tofu holds together better. You’ll use this if you want to sauté slabs of tofu that hold together, or for other dishes where you’re looking for your tofu to hold its shape.
Firm tofu is the perfect medium between these two. Still just firm enough to hold together, but not as solid as extra-firm, this tofu is great for making tofu cheeses.
Olive Oil
A plant-based diet is one that doesn’t use animal fats or dairy milk for flavoring or cooking. Before you let this get you down, take a good look at the olive oils your grocery store offers. Though it may seem silly at first, olive oils can taste different depending on where the olives were grown and in what conditions the olive trees grew. While there are several from California that are delicious, many Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, and Greece especially) produce stupendous olive oils that can take your meals to another level. Specialty food stores may also offer unique olive oils that go great as garnishes. Take this opportunity to explore the wonderful world of olive oils and play around with a few to see what kind you prefer.
Other Oils
And it doesn’t stop there. Avocado oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil, and others are completely plant-based. They can vastly enrich your dishes and make cooking an exploratory journey of flavors.
Plant-Based Butters
There are situations however, in baking particularly, where butter is needed. Thankfully, we live in an age where plant-based alternatives abound.
This being said, not all plant-based butters are alike. What works for some dishes may not be completely appropriate for others. What’s more, certain plant-based butters are created from creaming nuts, making them inedible for those with a nut allergy.
Below are various plant-based butters I’ve worked with:
Earth Balance: A great run-of-the-mill plant-based butter for sautéing ingredients in is Earth Balance. Once of the more affordable varieties, Earth Balance butters are essentially a conglomeration of oils: palm, canola, soybean, flax, and olive oil. The texture is closer to margarine than it is butter. For baking purposes, Earth Balance is great in cookies. However, it changes the texture of a pie crust considerably, and not always for the better.
Miyoko’s European-style Plant-based butter: Miyoko products are becoming increasingly more popular, and that’s great news for us! It’s my favorite brand for baking. Made with coconut oil, cultured cashew milk, sunflower oil, and sea salt, this butter alternative captures what’s wonderful about dairy butter - wonderfully spreadable, enriching, and tasty. Being that they use cashews in several of their products however, not all of their butters will be suitable for everyone.
Country Crock Plant Butter: A common brand in any grocery store, the Country Crock plant-based butters tend to be blends of oils with some of them using olive oil, others avocado oil. The result is a spreadable stick that’s great for baking and cooking.
Plant-Based Cheeses
Not very long ago, the only ‘cheese’ flavoring vegans had access to was that provided by nutritional yeast (see above). As plant-based eating becomes more popular however, the options for plant-based cheeses has grown exponentially. Now there are several vegan cheeses available in most supermarkets.
Much like plant-based butters (see above), not all will be suitable to your needs. Some cheeses are made from nuts, for instance. There are a variety of plant-based mozzarellas and cheddars and not all of them taste the same. Try some out and see which ones offer the flavor you’re looking for in your dish.
Fresh Fruits and Veggies
One of the best features about eating plant-based is doing more with your fruits and vegetables. It’s the basis of what plant-based eating means.
This is a great time to discover seasonal, local produce. It’s the cream of the crop, the most nutritional and flavorful. Farmers markets are great establishments to support if you’re able. But even if there’s nothing close by, a good supermarket will know what produce to highlight in given seasons, giving you an idea of what produce to cook with that week.
Frozen Fruits and Veggies
It might seem strange to advocate for something frozen and packaged, particularly when produce is the foundation of eating vegan. But sadly good produce doesn’t stay fresh forever. Sometimes, by the time the produce has landed on the shelves, it’s already halfway through its lifespan, hardly giving us any time at all to enjoy it.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually picked right when the produce is at its freshest, at its nutritionally best. When frozen, it keeps these properties right up to the moment we decide to cook with it. For that reason, there might be moments where frozen produce is an easier, more sustainable option. This is also true if there are fruits and veggies you’d like to cook with that just aren’t in season at the moment.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
Just because you’ve decided to eat plant-based doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favorite sweets. And though many chocolate products are made with milk or other dairy products, not all of them are. In fact, some are made 100% dairy-free, making them a great option for making desserts.
Guittard sells a couple versions of (clearly labeled) dairy-free chips that are great for baking or snacking, and aren’t as high in added sugar. A win win!
Oat Milk Queso
Last but not least, it would be a sad world indeed if a plant-based eater had to forgo the wonder that is nachos. Thankfully, there are a cohort of great plant-based queso cheeses to try out that will make nacho night just as delectable as it was when it was topped with dairy cheese and meat. Add some black beans, pickled onions and jalapeños, and maybe some shredded jackfruit and you’ve got yourself a fantastic vegan delicacy!
Naturally, the more you cook plant-based, the better you’ll be at knowing where to find what you need and select what works for you. Know that while eating vegan may feel restrictive at first, you have a whole new world of new ingredients to explore and enjoy. Before long, you’ll see just how vibrant your grocery list becomes!