Question

Is anyone in here vegan or vegetarian? We eat mostly organic (meat includes) but the hubby and I are about to test out being vegan for the next month. I’m curious what that’s going to do for my grocery budget. Should I plan for more? Or less?  

Answer 1

Working on this as well, trying to go vegan. Have made a lot of easy change overs such as butter and milk. Not as hard as I thought it would be. Processed food such as cookies and snacks will be harder for me

Comments

Tons of processed foods are "accidentally" vegan. Like oreos, lots of chips, even one kind of Doritos!  

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@rapping1575 Madhatter Truby I’ve been surprised at some of the ones I’ve found that are

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@calvo Me too, and some I wish that weren't, just so I wouldn't buy them! LOL

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@rapping1575 Madhatter Truby right?!  

Answer 2

Vegan and did not notice an increase. It gets pricey when looking for substitutes like cheeses and dips. Otherwise most of those can be made at home for much much cheaper

Answer 3

Cheaper. I make a lot of sunflower and cashew cheeses even. I noticed initial bill is up first couple of times when trying Whole Foods plant based. After that, it’s really low. Initially, you might be buying nutritional yeast, miso, nuts. Those will last you though. Our kids eat more processed. With all meals and snacks, I spend $125/week. I can recommend some meal plan blogs, etc If you need to get recipes in line. Meal plan

Comments

@sacha9 would love some recipe/ blog suggestions!  

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@hulky *Plant You is $7/month and figures up your breakfast, lunches and even your grocery list. I like her FB because she makes cute pics you can save in your phone for quick recipes. *Vegan 8 is great for beginners. She’s awesome. All free recipes. Has a cookbook. FB is good page *Clean Food Dirty Girl offers free recipes but also $25/month dinner plans. FB good page. There’s a few more favorites but I don’t want to overwhelm. Pinterest is great. Join Vegan Family Meal Planning on FB.  

Answer 4

I agree. If you avoid the substitutes and stick to fruits and vegetables that are in season, you may very well lower your bill.  

Answer 5

Plant-based is way way way cheaper I budget $220 for a month to feed all of us (three adults and two kids five times a week including lunches and snacks). but we don't splurge on the vegan fake stuff very often I do buy creamer and cheese only when it's on sale. I follow this and it seems to work really well if certain things like avocado are expensive I won't buy them but I always have nuts and seeds specifically sunflower seeds they're cheap and make the base of any sauce! Veggie On the Run

Comments

@tapdance ah! We are GF as well. My son and I both are allergic.  

Answer 6

I am! What is your current budget? I have a family off 5. We spend $600-$800 a month (but we eat a lot and I pack 3 lunches - plus after school Snacking gets the budget every time)

Comments

@boylan current budget is anywhere from $800-$1400 depending on a lot, honestly. We already eat super clean, high quality foods, not many processed. I’m a SAHM so I cook and prep for pretty much everything.  

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@hulky well the cost of meat is much higher than vegetables, so I bet you’ll be comparable or less. We eat very clean and vegan. Most of our expensive meals are few and far between because they are too rich

Answer 7

I’m vegetarian and I spend way less on groceries than my meat eating husband (which is why he buys his own lol). I was vegan for a year and that can be more expensive if you try to substitute everything but you don’t have to do that. Beans, tofu, veggies, rice, potatoes and pasta are the cheapest food you can buy

Answer 8

Honestly I don't spend too much on food as a vegetarian. I feel like meat gets quite expensive. It's also kept me from eating out quite a bit because it's hard to find vegetarian food I want.  

Answer 9

Toni Okamoto has a blog you can search for called Plant Based on a Budget. She has free meal plans for 1, 2, and 4. She had a book by the same name and more meal plans you can try. She aims for $25 per week, per person for her budget.  

Answer 10

I read an article that said it’s cheaper if you are making recipes from scratch and not buying packaged. For example if you buy a zucchini and spiral it yourself it is cheaper than buying a package of spiralized zucchini noodles, etc. I try to do a plant base diet but have no time to cook so it’s a challenge for me. But can be way cheaper if you can take the time and do all the recipes

Answer 11

I highly recommend edamame spaghetti, I’ve been getting it from Aldi and am hooked.  

Answer 12

I am vegan! I spend about $50 every two weeks for my bf and I. :) He eats meat and will buy that separately.  

Answer 13

Can some of y’all post or message some beginner friendly recipes of vegan plant based

Comments

@piccoloist84175 thanks

Answer 14

Been vegan for 20years. I feel like it is but I don’t really have anything to compare it to since I have been for so long. I am trying to stick to $400 month for me and 2 kiddos who are plant based (not totally vegan but only eat what’s in the few packaged items I buy).  

Answer 15

We’ve been vegan for three months now. You can do it very economically. I got most of our organic produce at Aldi. There are a lot of processed vegan foods available but they come at a cost (premade burgers, meatballs, cheese, etc). I try to do most of our meals from whole ingredients. It’s way cheaper to buy beans, lentils, grains in bulk and cook it yourself. There are a lot of easy, simple recipes on Pinterest. When I find a recipe we really like, I usually double it and use it for lunches/leftovers that week

Answer 16

I’ll post some of our favorites.  
https://pin.it/pxkjkwdyh2zrae

Comments

Also, if a recipe calls for any kind of dairy milk, I just swap it out for cashew mile or coconut milk

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If you like Indian, this is the bomb. Swapped coconut cream for the yogurt  
https://pin.it/bbbm3y35vlwshb

Answer 17

Seriously rice, quinoa, beans, avo, chickpeas, peppers and onions. I can make so many different meals out of them and super cheap. I use canned beans and chickpeas $0. 89 a can!  

Answer 18

I've been vegan for over 30 years. As. long as you stay away from the expensive meat substitutes you'll be amazed at what you save. Of course, just starting out, there is a tendency to want something familiar, nut that will change. I always say go vegan for your health, the environment, and the animals. But looking at some of the grocery bills I see, and the cost for meat I have to add . . And for the paycheck. Good luck.  

Comments

I was coming to say this. We ditched meat almost 5 years ago. If you stick to whole foods, it's pretty low cost. If you want a lot of "fake meat" you can spend a small (or not so small) fortune.  

Answer 19

Our spend for me and my boyfriend on primarily vegan, sometimes vegetarian diet is under $70 per week at Aldi. Walmart would be about $100 per week. Instant Pot and Air Fryer make it possible lol. We splurged for the Super Bowl and bought expensive Beyond Burgers, but when I actually plan our meals, it’s actually been less expensive than I thought it would be

Answer 20

Became vegetarian in november, and eat crazy clean. our budget didnt change because we up'd veggies and carbs

Answer 21

Vegan, coming up on my 1 year anniversary. Whole foods are cheaper than processed foods (meat, condiments, some mylks, etc. ) I mostly buy store brands, some things I have to buy name brand, I buy some organic things. Mostly shop at Walmart and Fry's. I spend anywhere from $50 to $150 a week. It's me, my husband and my 2. 5 year old daughter.  

Answer 22

We use Morningstar farms

Answer 23

I am a pescatarian. I eat only local fish or shrimp or clams (I live 20 min from Key Largo). My groceries are far less then when I ate meat. I do not eat processed “meats” or tofu etc. just whole foods and grains. I also eat gluten free. And spend about $250-300 month for my husband and I

Answer 24

My weekly groceries are significantly cheaper when we cook vegan meals.  

Answer 25

Would love more vegan or vegetarian clean eating recipes . I would love to incorporate more meatless into our meal plan!  

Answer 26

I’m vegan (mostly plant based vegan). It will 100% depend on what type of vegan diet you plan to eat. If you’re getting lots of meat and cheese substitutes, prepackaged vegan goodies, etc it’ll be pricey, although maybe not anyone then you’re used to. If you’re cooking more plant based from scratch it should be cheaper. We definitely spend less a month being vegan than when we were omni’s. It will also depend what you plan to cook and how many staple ingredients you have on hand (I use a ton of spices, vinegars, flours, etc and those can be pricey to stock up on in the beginning. ) What I spend the most on is raw nuts as I make a lot of nut based sauces.  

Answer 27

I’m 100% plant-based. My recommendations to save money are not to use meat substitutes as those are still pricey, but instead follow vegan recipes. Chickpeas, beans, lentils etc are REALLY cheap. Find a service that provides recipes for a month and lean in. Maybe buy ‘treats’ once a week so you’re not cooking new things every day and bulk cook. Make up curry for 2-3 nights and pop the others in the freezer. You’ve got this!  

Answer 28

Here. Challenge22. com

Answer 29

I wouldn’t go straight to vegan. We eat mostly vegetarian. I think the start up cost is more (depending on how much meat you buy now) because you’ll be buying a lot of things you don’t usually buy to make sure you get your protein, but after that, it’s definitely cheaper.  

Answer 30

Yep! Vegetarian. It’s just me and my 2 year old daughter. I do about $100/week in groceries and that leaves me plenty of room for fun snacks/a cheap bottle of wine/etc. we don’t specifically look for organic or anything other than vegetarian, so that helps on cost. We love veggie tacos, pasta, chili, paninis, veggie burgers, smoothies, pancakes, all sorts of good stuff. It’s affordable, healthy and filling for both adults and kids.  

Answer 31

I find it cheaper than what i used to buy in comparison to quality meat prices

Answer 32

We save sooooo much money not eating meat, processed foods and we don't buy replacement "meats".  

Comments

@nub the replacement meats are def expensive you’re exactly right

Answer 33

The replacement products can be expensive, but otherwise its cheaper. At least for me :)

Answer 34

Thanks everyone for all the comments and thoughts. Definitely won’t have many replacements, something about that just seems strange to me! Lol A good friend of mine recommended I bulk make a lot of black bean burger patties and freeze them since they can be a bit of a process. Probably will stick to beans, nuts, quinoa, and nut butters for proteins. Definitely will be making cashew cheese sauces for things because those are delish!  

Answer 35

Plant based vegan for 20 years now. Stick with Whole Foods. So many things you can make for cheap. Veggie stew, chili, lentil loaf, tacos, pot pies. So many hearty good things to eat. Don’t worry so much about proteins. All plant matter has protein.  

Answer 36

I would probably not just jump into Vegan without stretching your vegetarian muscles. Try eating vegetarian, leaning towards vegan. Also, try not to sub your meat cravings with soybean products. If you're concerned about the rainforest and such, they are also being razed for soybean production as much as meat production.  

Comments

@nozicka I cannot eat dairy as it is, so that’s a no go for me.  

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@hulky, I'm not sure what you mean. So, you don't eat dairy already. But you have been eating eggs and meat before this, correct? I just meant don't stress too much if you occasionally have eggs or meat while transitioning to vegan. Also, the rainforests don't like a soybean centric diet.  

Answer 37

Eat whole food plant based no oil and you will have a very small budget !  

Answer 38

Good luck

Answer 39

I feel like it’s cheeper as well

Answer 40

My family eats mostly vegan, although my kids and hubby sometimes eat meat. I budget the same amount as if I was eating meat just cuz I like to splurge on vegan specialty items like mac n cheese, ice cream, vegan cheese etc sometimes.  

Answer 41

We are vegetarian and as vegan as we can be with kids who are neither. We save a lot of money now that we don’t buy meat. Every once in a while we buy the beyond meat for burgers when they are on sale. Costco has a package of them that’s affordable.  

Answer 42

Less if you’re eating just plants, about the same if you’re eating processed vegan

Answer 43

I work for winc. We have cheap prices, i had a lady come thru yesterday. Her normal budget is about 75$ a week she said. Her and her son (out of 5) are going vegan for a week. She spent over $140 on food for the family. Increasing her budget by 65$ unless you buy plant based Meats most of the meats are just full of fillers

Answer 44

At first it can be more expensive to get some staples on hand. After that I found it much cheaper. I followed the clean food dirty girl meal plans.  

Answer 45

Lots of staples, which tend to be cheaper than meat. Rice, dry or canned beans, potatoes (regular and sweet). With those three staples you can do a lot of different things. Good luck!