Vegan Grocery Shopping & FREE grocery list

Staring on your plant-based journey and need some help? I’ve complied vegan shopping tips and some of my favorite products. You can also download my free Vegan Grocery Staples list!

If you haven’t read my Going Vegan post yet, check it out. In it, I introduce some basics for those who are interested in starting to go vegan or want to add more plant-based meals to their diet.

Today I’ll be sharing what to look for when vegan shopping and my favorite animal product alternatives to aid you in your plant-based journey.

Jump to:

• What to look for when shopping
• Shopping for Plant-Based Alternatives
• Cheese Alternatives
• Mac & Cheese (because you know it deserves its own category)
• Creamy Vegan Sauces
• Vegan Mayo
• Veggie Burgers
• Poultry Alternatives
• Beef Alternatives
• Pork Alternatives
• Fish Alternatives
• Butter Alternatives
• FREE Grocery List
• Other helpful vegan posts

What to look for when shopping

Animal ingredients can be found in many packaged foods but shopping does not have to be difficult when going plant-based.

The first thing I recommend doing is getting familiar with some of the names that are used for animal ingredients. Some words are obviously easy like cheese, egg, or milk but some others can be a bit trickier.

Check and see if these words are on the label:

• casein/caseinate – milk protein
• whey – milk by-product
• gelatin – bones, connective tissue, or organs of animals
• lard/tallow – animal fat
•  the color “120” on ingredient lists – used to make something red, is actually derived from the cochineal beetle. How gross is that?

Don’t be fooled if you see “non-dairy” or “lactose-free” on the packaging. It could still contain casein which is the protein in milk (where lactose is milk sugar).

You can also tell if a product contains animal ingredients if the nutrition label contains cholesterol because only animals contain cholesterol.

One of the easiest ways that I realized I could find out if something has milk in it is to look for allergy information. Many products now have to label any allergen and because milk is a common allergy, it is usually listed right on the package under the nutrition info.*

Large retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s offer many vegan products and they are prominently labeled. Trader Joe’s has a large V to indicate vegan. Even Target is offering many plant-based packaged foods.

Vegan shopping is only confusing in the beginning. Once you get to know the names of animal products and where to look for them, it’s like second nature.

Shopping for Plant-Based Alternatives

Although I recommend sticking to whole foods like veggies, nuts, beans, and whole grains for most of your diet, we’re all human (and busy ones at that) so packaged foods will make our way into our diets at times too. They can make life simpler and it’s always good to have a few vegan alternatives on hand if you’re in a pinch.

Besides knowing what to look for on labels,  I think it’s very beneficial to know which products are fully plant-based when going to the grocery store. I’ve listed some recommendations for some of my favorite alternatives to their animal-based counterparts.

Keep in mind, everyone has different tastes and although these are products that both myself and my husband enjoy. If you’re not into one of them, try out a few till you find one that is right for you.

Vegan Milk

There are so many different kinds of non-dairy milk out there. Some that you might have heard of such as soy or almond but there are others out there now such as:

• Cashew
• Coconut
• Flax
• Hazelnut
• Hemp
• Oat
• Rice
• Soy
• Walnut

Some of my favorite dairy-free milk comes from Elmhurst which has no added ingredients like thickening agents. They only have nuts and water.

Cheese Alternatives

I’m sharing some of my recipes because they’re just as good (if not better than some store-bought items).

• Nutritional Yeast
• Chao
• Miyoko’s
• Violife
• Treeline
• Daiya
• Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
• Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
• My Vegan Parmesan (I put this on everything)
• My Vegan Queso (this stuff is good!)
• My Port Wine Cheese Ball (great for parties!)
• My Tofu Feta Cheese
• My Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Mac & Cheese (because you know it deserves its own category)

Again, sharing some of my recipes because they’re darn tasty

• Daiya Deluxe Cheddar Mac & Cheese 
• Amy’s Vegan Mac & Cheese 
• My Creamy Vegan Cashew Mac & Cheese
• My Vegan Baked Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
• My Buffalo Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
• My Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Creamy Vegan Sauces

• Daiya Delux Alfredo
• My Easy “Alfredo” – totally like alfredo sauce! I use this on pasta or zucchini noodles
• Cauliflower Alfredo (creamy and healthy though maybe not as cheesy)
• Rich & Creamy Pumpkin Pasta – baked and comforting
• My Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Sauce – creamy and delicious

Vegan Mayo

• Just Mayo 
• Veganaise

Veggie Burgers

• Hilary’s
• Gardein Black Bean Burger
• Gardein ultimate beefless burger

Poultry Alternatives

• Gardein Crispy Tenders
• Nuggs
• MorningStar Farms Chik’n Nuggets (make sure you get the vegan ones)
• Gardein Chick’n Scallopini (gluten-free)
• Gardein Chick’n Sliders
• Gardein Stuffed Turky
• My Popcorn Tofu is like vegan chick’n nuggets
• My Buffalo soy curls
• My Vegan Chicken Salad
• My Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

Beef Alternatives

• Gardein Ground Beefless Crumbles
• Gardein Beefless Strips
• Beyond Meat Crumbles
• Field Roast Roasts
• My Vegan Mongolian Beef made with soy curls
• My Walnut Meat Tacos

Pork Alternatives

• Upton’s Naturals Jackfruit 
• Smoky Maple Bacon Marinated Tempeh
• Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon
• Phoney Baloney’s Coconut Bacon

Fish Alternatives

• Vegan crab cakes recipe
• Gardein Golden Fishless Filet
• Zeastar
• Good Catch
• Gardein Crabless Cakes
• Sophie’s Vegan Fish Products

Butter Alternatives

• Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• Miyoko’s Butter
• Or I substitute coconut oil or olive oil

FREE Grocery List

Download my free grocery list which is included in my Vegan Made Easy Guide!

Click here or the image below to:

• Hit the grocery stores like a champ thanks to our pre-made shopping list so you don’t forget an item
• Have all of your meals organized for the week so you don’t have to think about it last minute with our meal plan template
• Make mealtimes so easy with my top meal planning tips so you’re spending less time in the kitchen on weeknights
• Ensure you’re getting the right nutrition with my with my handy Vegan Nutrient Guide
• Get healthy food on the table fast even if it’s almost 7pm and you’ve got no clue what to make thanks to my top 5 easy vegan dinner recipes

Other helpful vegan posts

• Going Vegan 101
• Plant-Based Nutrition Basics
• Vegan Meal Planning
• Vegan Meal Prep
• Vegan Kitchen Staples
• Plant-Based Kitchen Tools
• Free 5-Day Vegan Meal Plan