Weekly vegan menu: 7 days of meals with a shopping list

Who is this vegan menu for, and who is it not for?

This menu is designed for healthy adults who want to follow a well-planned 100% plant-based diet. It can help you organise your week, combine plant protein sources and add variety to your meals. For complete guidance on micronutrients, see our guide to vegetarian and vegan diets. See “Easy vegan meals for the week”.

It has not been calculated for pregnancy, breastfeeding or anyone under 18. It is also not suitable for people with diabetes treated with insulin or medicines that can make blood sugar drop too low, chronic kidney disease, or a current or past eating disorder. If you have a condition that requires a specific dietary plan, such as coeliac disease, a diagnosed allergy, or heart or liver failure, follow your own plan. It is also not adapted for intestinal malabsorption or for a low-FODMAP phase, which limits certain fermentable carbohydrates. It contains soy almost every day and tree nuts. If you are allergic to soy, you will find an alternative under “Helpful swaps”.

This is not a weight-loss plan. If your goal is to lose fat while maintaining muscle, see our guide to a vegetarian diet for weight loss. It also does not include a fixed calorie count, because each person’s needs vary according to their body, age and activity level. The meals follow the healthy plate method so that each one is satisfying and balanced.

The weekly vegan menu, meal by meal

Seven days of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, with easy-to-find ingredients and simple cooking methods. There are legumes or soy at lunch or dinner every day. See “Vegetarian dinners”.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Calcium-fortified soy drink with rolled oats, chia seeds, chopped walnuts and sliced kiwi	Chickpea salad with yellow, green and red pepper, onion, fresh coriander, avocado, and a lemon and extra-virgin olive oil dressing	Cauliflower and potato purée served with tofu cubes sautéed with garlic and parsley
Tuesday	Wholemeal toast with extra-virgin olive oil, crushed ripe tomato and hummus with sesame seeds	“Couscous” made from grated broccoli with roasted squash, oven-baked carrot and cooked lentils	Vegan bolognese made with textured soy sautéed with onion, garlic, carrot and fresh tomato, served with cooked quinoa
Wednesday	Plain, unsweetened, calcium-fortified soy yoghurt with chopped strawberries, ground flaxseeds and almonds	Brown rice stir-fried with vegetables (onion, carrot and green pepper), chopped almonds and turmeric	Chickpea tempeh stir-fried with broccoli, carrot and mushrooms, with cumin and soy sauce, served with roasted potato cubes
Thursday	Wholemeal toast with mashed avocado, firm tofu grilled with sweet paprika, and herbal tea or coffee	Lentil stew with oven-roasted squash, mixed vegetables, cumin and a touch of fresh chives	Oven-roasted vegetables (courgette, aubergine, peppers and onion) with crumbled tofu sautéed with turmeric and brown rice
Friday	Warm porridge made with oats cooked in calcium-fortified soy drink, cinnamon, grated apple and peanut butter	Wholemeal fusilli salad with sautéed chard, diced courgette, cubed mango and oregano	Mixed-vegetable stir-fry (onion, carrot, red and green pepper, courgette and mushrooms) with lentils and couscous
Saturday	Wholemeal toast with tahini, banana slices and hemp seeds · green tea or coffee	Salad of “couscous” made from sautéed cauliflower with carrot, yellow pepper, roasted squash, lamb’s lettuce, quinoa and avocado	Textured soy stew with chard, onion and cherry tomatoes, curry and cumin, served with brown rice
Sunday	Plain, unsweetened soy yoghurt with buckwheat or oat flakes, fresh blueberries and walnuts	Boiled savoy cabbage, sautéed and served with red beans stewed with leek, carrot and pimentón de la Vera	Rice noodle stir-fry with strips of assorted-colour peppers and tofu cubes marinated in soy sauce, garlic, parsley and turmeric

The shopping list for the whole week

Approximate quantities for one person for seven days, grouped by supermarket section.

Fruit and vegetables

• Vegetables for cooking and roasting: broccoli (1 head), cauliflower (1 medium head), squash (1 kg), courgettes (2), aubergine (1) and red, green and yellow peppers (4 in total). Complete your shop with carrots (1 kg), onions (1 kg), leek (1 bunch), savoy cabbage or white cabbage (500 g) and fresh mushrooms (250 g).
• Tomatoes: ripe tomatoes (1 kg) and cherry tomatoes (250 g).
• Leafy greens: fresh chard (1 bunch, 400 g) and lamb’s lettuce (1 bag, 100 g).
• Fruit: bananas (4), kiwis (4), apples (3), oranges or mandarins (1 kg), strawberries or blueberries (250 g) and mango (1 ripe).
• Herbs and plant fats: ripe avocados (3), garlic (1 net), lemons (500 g), fresh coriander and fresh chives.

Legumes, grains and starchy vegetables

• Canned or dried legumes: cooked chickpeas (2 cans, 400 g each), cooked lentils (2 cans, 400 g each) and cooked red kidney beans (1 can, 400 g).
• Whole grains and cereals: brown rice (500 g), quinoa (250 g), wholewheat couscous (250 g) and wholewheat fusilli (250 g). Add rice noodles (200 g) and wholegrain rolled oats (500 g).
• Starchy vegetables and bread: potatoes (1.5 kg) and wholemeal bread (1 loaf, sliced and frozen).

Plant proteins

• Plain firm tofu (3 blocks, 250 g each).
• Chickpea or soy tempeh (1 pack, 200 g).
• Fine textured soy (1 pack, 250 g).

Nuts, seeds and store-cupboard ingredients

• Nuts and seeds: shelled walnuts (150 g), raw or roasted unsalted almonds (150 g), chia seeds (100 g) and ground flaxseeds (100 g). Add toasted sesame seeds (100 g) and hulled hemp seeds (100 g).
• Seed and nut butters: 100% sesame tahini and 100% peanut butter with no added sugar or oils.
• Fats, condiments and spices: extra-virgin olive oil (1 l), low-salt soy sauce (tamari or shoyu), ground cumin, turmeric and curry. Also include cinnamon, dried oregano, sweet paprika and pimentón de la Vera, and iodised salt.

Plant-based drinks and yoghurts

• Unsweetened soy drink, fortified with calcium and vitamin D (3 l).
• Plain unsweetened soy yoghurts, fortified with calcium (1 pack of 4).

How can you get enough protein throughout the day?

You do not need to combine legumes and grains in the same meal. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the United States, if you eat a varied diet and meet your energy needs, you get the essential amino acids over the course of the day [1].

The practical approach is to include a protein-rich food in every meal, such as lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, tempeh or textured soy. Whole grains, nuts and seeds provide the rest [1]. Aim to eat legumes at least four times a week, and ideally every day [2].

Why do you need a vitamin B12 supplement?

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is made by certain bacteria, not by plants. No unfortified plant food provides it reliably. That includes tempeh, miso, seaweeds such as spirulina or nori, and unfortified nutritional yeast. Much of the B12-like content in these foods consists of similar forms that do not act in the body, so they do not prevent deficiency [1].

A supplement is the simplest and most reliable way to maintain adequate levels if you eat a vegan diet [1]. For adults, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) sets an adequate daily intake of vitamin B12 [3]. The intestine absorbs only part of each dose [3]. Your dietitian-nutritionist or doctor will advise you on the dose and frequency, whether daily or weekly.

Vitamin B12 is the one part of a vegan diet that should never be left to chance.

How can you make better use of iron and calcium from plant foods?

Iron from plant foods (non-haem iron) is absorbed less well than iron from meat, and absorption depends a lot on what you eat with it. Vitamin C in the same meal helps its absorption [1] [4]. Some substances found in tea, coffee and certain plant foods reduce it [1] [4]. That is why the menu pairs legumes with raw pepper, tomato, lemon dressings and citrus fruit for dessert.

You can get calcium without dairy from well-absorbed sources. These include calcium-fortified soy drinks and yoghurts, tofu set with calcium salts, broccoli, tahini and almonds [1]. You can get iodine by cooking with iodised salt instead of regular salt [1].

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

The same questions come up almost every week in consultations, as do the same stumbling blocks. These are the ones we see most often when people are starting out.

• Meals without a protein source. A simple salad or pasta with tomato, without legumes, tofu or tempeh, does not provide enough protein.
• Vegan burgers and sausages every day. They can be convenient, but they are often high in salt and refined flour.
• Skipping the supplement because you do not feel any different. B12 deficiency takes time to show symptoms.
• Having coffee or tea too close to meals. Have them between meals, away from your legume-based meal.
• Taking supplements just in case. Talk to your dietitian-nutritionist or doctor; they will tell you whether you need any.

What can you cook ahead to save time during the week?

To avoid spending hours in the kitchen every day, cook in batches (batch cooking) at the weekend.

• Roast the vegetables. Roast the diced squash, aubergine, courgettes and peppers together on one tray with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Store them in glass containers in the fridge for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
• Cook the whole grains. Make one batch of brown rice and another of quinoa. Once well drained and stored in the fridge, they keep for four or five days.
• Make the purée ahead. Cook Monday’s cauliflower and potato purée and store it in an airtight container. At dinner time, you will only need to heat it and brown the tofu in a pan.