A long-lasting vegan grocery list is essential during the quarantine. Grocery shopping is stressful right now. An invisible virus is loose on the streets! We have to manage our distance from other people, avoid touching our faces, and masks have become a major fashion accessory. Meanwhile, people are still standing too close and everything is out-of-stock in grocery stores. What a time to be alive, eh? When the shelter in place began here, in California, it filled me with anxiety, and I struggled to make a plan for anything. Friends, my pantry was filled with bad decisions, wine, and Oreo’s.
Take a Deep Breath. We are still going through a very difficult time and trying to figure this out day by day.
If you’re struggling to balance your vegan grocery list with lasting staples and whole foods during this uncertain time, you’re not alone. Many of us are struggling to do the same, especially folks who follow special health-specific diets. If you’re following a plant-based diet, stock your kitchen with dry pantry staples. Get vegan alternatives to use daily, but also enough fruits and vegetables to make up the majority of your meals. You could reduce the amount of time you spend in a grocery store and still get balance in your meals.
Here’s my list of perishable and non-perishable food options to keep you stocked up on meals while offering you a variety of foods to cook.
Vegan Grocery List
Pantry Staples
- Rice or other grains
- Canned or dried beans
- Nutritional Yeast
- Pasta
- Flour
- Nuts and seeds
- Canned tomatoes
- Canned sauces
- Veggie broth
- Tofu
- Non-dairy milk
- Coconut oil or butter alternative
This list of pantry staples should be enough base ingredients to hold you over for a few weeks at a time. An excellent vegan grocery list will prevent you from having to run another grocery trip. Your base ingredients are grains like rice, grits, oats, or quinoa. Canned or dried beans are also a versatile base. You can choose whichever beans you enjoy eating the most.
Ingredients such as nutritional yeast, flour, pasta, and tofu are all ingredients that can bulk up meals. Making your vegan groceries stretch longer and your meals more filling and satisfying. With these ingredients, you can make baked goods for breakfast, tofu stirfries, hearty pasta dinners, and whatever favorites that your family likes.
You can use coconut oil and your favorite butter alternative for baking or sautéing. Make plenty of creamy sauces, non-dairy milk, and desserts with nuts and seeds.
Fresh Produce
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Celery
- Bell peppers
- Leeks
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Squash
- Apples
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Melons
This vegan grocery list is composed of the heartiest and the most long-lasting fruits and vegetables that you can buy. Get even more mileage out of your produce with these 5 Ways To Keep Your Fruits and Vegetables Fresher Longer. Make stews, soups, stirfry, roasted veggies, and casseroles all from a simple list of veggies that have a long shelf life. This list will keep you stocked up for weeks.
This is a time to find comfort in bowls of soup or to have fun experimenting.
Many of these vegetables can be frozen to make your version of a frozen dinner. You’d use up those perishable items before it’s too late. Apples and oranges both last a long time and can easily be used in baked goods such as oatmeal, pies, and crumbles.
Sadly, I had to leave bananas out as they are certainly not a long-lasting fruit. But you could always buy them and freeze ahead of time for smoothies or banana bread.
SUPER TIP
Buying melons at various stages of ripening ensures that you can have a sweet treat throughout the weeks to come! There is an abundance of long-lasting pantry staples and produce to get you through these weeks to come. The quarantine is a good time to find comfort in bowls of soup and pasta or to have fun experimenting. Bake that apple pie you never got around to making. Try out different recipes and find new favorites!
Rest easy in knowing that your pantry and fridge are full, and you don’t have to go back out to grocery stores. This list will tide you over for a few weeks and lessen the grocery shopping stress. Take it easy friends.
