Top 12 Pantry and Kitchen Essentials for Veganuary

So you signed up for veganuary this year and are super pumped to get the year started. Only problem is, what the hell do you actually eat now that you’re a plant eater ? Well, my first recommendation would be to sign up at the official veganuary site. They have tons of free resources and a huge community to help you out.

May be you’re not in the mood to make anything official or are looking to take things at your own pace, in that case this list of pantry essentials will really help you get started. These are things that I cannot imagine living without. I’ve been vegan for 4 years and vegetarian for my entire life before that. So you best believe this list is an accurate reflection of what’s in my pantry at all times.

(This is a live post, it will be updated 3 sections at a time to keep it concurrent with my instagram posts).

Dates, Nuts and Seeds

Dates, nuts and seeds make for great snacks. There’s so many easy truffle, breakfast bar recipes that you can make and store with nuts and dates. In addition to that, you’ll also find yourself reaching for nuts and seeds as a base for a variety of sauces, creams and even for making cheese and desserts. These little nutrition powerhouses are truly so versatile and I cannot imagine even a day of my life without them in my pantry. Here’s some recipes from my favorite creators that involve nuts, dates and seeds. They are not affiliate links and neither me nor the author of these recipes are getting paid from these mentions. These are just my personal favorites.

Beans and Lentils

Any legumes including beans and lentils are a must-have in any vegan’s kitchen. You can buy them either canned or dried. If you buy them dried, you might have to soak them overnight and pressure cook them before using. If using canned, you just have to drain the liquid and rinse the beans/lentils and you’re good to go. There are so many different ways to incorporate these wonderful group of foods into your diet. They are protein and fiber rich, they also provide a ton of other nutritional benefits. Here’s some of my favorite bean/lentil rich foods from all over the world. Once again, the recipes are from some of my favorite creators, neither them nor I have any paid collaboration in place.

Grains, Pasta and Noodles

This group of foods is where it’s at. Whether it be rice, quinoa, millets, barley or any other form of grain.. you can use them in a million different forms. Easiest way to consume them is to cook them and eat with a side dish like Dal Tadka from above or to toss it into a salad for some complex carb goodness.

Pastas and noodles are so quick to cook and they pretty much take on any flavor / sauce you add to them. I also personally love making pasta or noodle salads with a variety of beans, nuts and greens doused in tasty dressings. Here’s some ideas to get you started:

Spices, Seasonings and Sauces

It’s almost a crime to eat unseasoned food. Many people start out by eating plain unseasoned tofu and then complain how they don’t like it at all. Well lucky for you, you never have to experience that because you will stock up your pantry with a 100 different spices and sauces. Any true seasoned cook will quite literally have multiple cabinets filled with spices, seasoning and sauces. Let me get you started with a couple things that you can buy and use immediately.

Spices

Sweeter spices : cinnamon powder, cardamom powder
Savory spices : coriander powder, cumin Powder, smoked paprika (not spicy), black pepper, cayenne chili powder (spicy), turmeric powder, garlic powder, onion powder
Herbs: oregano, thyme, rosemary
Elite List : whole mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, whole dried red chilli peppers, bay leaves, cloves, whole cinnamon, whole cardamom, saffron strands.

Seasonings

Seasonings are generally a combination of different spices in particular proportions. Seasonings is what gives certain dishes their signature taste. Think Biriyani or Chana Masala or Taco meat etc. Here’s a minimal list of seasonings that will come in handy.

Garam Masala : Amazing seasoning for Indian dishes
Taco Seasoning : Can be used to season mushrooms or tofu or any veggies for a nice mexican kick
Barbecue Seasoning : Sprinkle some of this into whatever you’re making and get immediately transported to barbecue heaven.

Sauces

Sauces are one of those magic ingredients that can immediately transform a boring dish into something extremely gourmet. Here’s some of my all time favorites

Hot Sauces : Tabasco, Sri Racha, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Asian Sauces & Pastes : Soy Sauce, Mirin, Gochujang, Miso Paste, Thai Red/Green Curry Paste, Teriyaki Sauce
Other Condiments/Sauces : Ketchup, Mustard, Vegan Mayo, Marinara, Vegan Pesto

Pretty much any vegan recipe you find online will be well seasoned. If it’s not, run as fast as you can. Here’s some recipes I know and trust :

Tofu, Tempeh and Mock Meats

This category is the easy source of protein that you can add to pretty much any meal you’re making. Tofu and tempeh are both made from soy beans and are excellent source of protein and nutrition. And no, soy does not give you man boobs, it’s safe for consumption for everyone unless you have soy allergy. Mock meats are generally made from a combination of vital wheat gluten flour (essentially gluten islolated from wheat flour) and soy protein isolates. These ingredients allow to recreate the rubbery texture and the bite of animal based products. While I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on mock meats for your nutrition, they are a fun addition to one’s cooking repertoire. Here’s some recipes for inspiration:

Supplements

Regardless of your dietary choices, most people are being recommended to take Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 supplements. If you’re not vegan, chances are you’re getting your vitamins from fortified milk and dairy foods. You can choose fortified vegan milks to get supplemented, but I highly recommend talking to your doctor and figuring out the best way forward. The worst thing we can do to ourselves is form a deficiency when it can be avoided. I highly recommend keeping your doctor in loop with your lifestyle changes and monitoring your health as you transition. It’s unreasonable to expect a smooth transition without taking proper measures. I feel like a mom cautioning my kids here, but I love you all and don’t want anyone to have health related complications 🙂

Oats, Chia Seeds and Bread

I’m literally writing this section while eating a warm bowl of oats for breakfast. And guess what’s in my oats ? Nuts, seeds, dates and cinnamon… when I said this is an essentials list, I wasn’t kidding.

My bowl of oats might seem too simple, but yours doesn’t have to be. While oats are a wildly popular choice of breakfast (you’ll find them in smoothies, breakfast bars, bliss balls etc), chia seeds and bread are equally famous. If you’re looking for some inspiration for breakfast, I gotchu. Here’s some of my favorite recipes for you to try:

Plant Milks and Creamers

There’s so many plant milks available in the market, it’s almost overwhelming at the beginning. Oats, soy, almond, cashew, flax, rice, coconut, … I can name a few thousand more and then compounded by a gazillion brands out there. So if all you want is a darn milk to put in your coffee, choosing from all these options can seem very daunting. But fear not, that’s what I’m here for. Store bought oat milk is generally my go-to for chai and lattes. It froths up very nicely and has emulsified fats that make your drink taste incredible. My second preference is soy milk. It also is very neutral and goes very well in coffees and teas. You can start with these two and then explore all the other milks in your own time. May be you’ll like almond milk better than any other milk out there, that’s for you to explore and find out 🙂

You can find plant milks in almost any grocery store these days. My favorite brands for oat milk are Oatly (buy full fat for Indian Chai, trust me on this) and Chobani.

Here’s a couple brands I enjoy, these aren’t affiliated links as usual.

Store bought plant milks may contain emulsified fats like sunflower oil to emulate the fat in dairy and also have certain stabilizers and gums to make them heat resistant. Some people are not a fan of these additives and they prefer making their own nut milks at home. If you decide to go that route, there’s a lot of recipes out there to help you out.

Just keep in mind that oat milk made at home will inevitably be a bit slimy and if you heat it, it can get really slimy and unpleasant. Nut milk are better that way, but they also don’t do well with heat. They might split and no one likes split milk in their coffee.

My hack for enjoying coffees and teas with homemade milks would be to gently heat the milk (don’t boil it) either in microwave or on stove top. Then pour out the milk into your black tea or coffee.

Here’s a couple of homemade milk recipes:

If you’re a creamer kind of a person, then you have a ton of vegan creamers available in the market for purchase. Start with neutrals like oat, cashew or soy based creamers as coconut creamers tend to have a little bit of coconut after taste sometimes.

Sweeteners

Most sweeteners are vegan by default. Honey is an exception. Honey is not considered vegan because it is produced by an animal for it’s own purpose, humans have no business taking it away from the poor bees. Many people don’t realize this, but there’s quite a bit of cruelty involved in honey harvesting. The wings of the Queen Bee are snipped to prevent her from changing colonies and the honey is replaced with sugar syrup which causes a lot of issues for the bees. If you’re intrigued, I encourage you to read more about it and make up your own mind. But let’s talk about what to replace honey with in cooking. Maple syrup and agave nectar are great alternatives. They have the same viscosity as honey and taste incredible.

Not to overwhelm you, but processed white sugar is technically not vegan because it’s filtered through animal bone char. Some brands have started marking whether their sugar is vegan friendly or not. Raw cane sugar, brown sugar, blackstrap molasses are all vegan friendly and can be used per usual.

Cooking Oils and Butters

There are a ton of vegan friendly cooking oils that I bet you’re already familiar with. Olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil etc are just a few to name. I’d personally recommend carrying atleast 2 oils with you. A neutral oil like canola oil for sauteeing and deep frying purposes and a flavorful oil like olive oil that can be used in salads and sauce preparations. If you’re looking to expand your oil collection, I’d recommend adding mustard seed oil and toasted sesame seed oils. These oils have strong presence and they add a ton of flavor to the recipes that call for them.

Fermented Foods

Fermented foods literally make me believe me in magic. Our invisible microorganism friends happily swish their wands around and give the food back with it’s flavor enhanced by a 1000 times. Not only that, fermentation enhances the nutritional benefits of the same foods. consuming fermented foods help in maintaining a good gut health. So here’s some basics that you should definitely carry in your kitchen and enjoy.

Yogurt

There’s many vegan yogurts out there in market. If you like enjoying yogurt for breakfast, there’s a ton of flavor-infused yogurts like these offered by the brand silk. These yogurts generally have a ton of added sugar, so my preference is buying unsweetened and unflavored yogurt like this one from forager.

If you’re Indian or if you like to cook a lot of Indian dishes, then forager yogurt will be your best friend. It has that slight tang that desi curd has. Once you add in your seasonings for the dish, you’ll be surprised at how close to the real deal this yogurt can taste. Here’s some recipe inspiration for you:

You can also set your own vegan yogurt at home, just like dairy yogurt. You can use a teaspoon of vegan or non-vegan yogurt as the starter or use probiotic capsules to get the fermentation started the first time. Checkout the recipes below if you’re curious about setting your own yogurt.

Peanut Yogurt – Very thick curd just how south Indians like it
Coconut Yogurt

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is fermented shredded cabbage. It can be found in many grocery stores in US or one can make it themselves at home. I tend to buy sauerkraut to save myself some time and effort. I like adding sauerkraut to my salads for a little tangy umami, I also love making myself a kick-ass reuben sandwich with tons of sauerkraut and vegan mayo.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a Korean preparation of fermented vegetables. Vegetables like cabbage, carrots, daikon radishes are fermented in a super umami chili paste and enjoyed. There are many variations of kimchi and some versions are more easily available in US grocery stores. Kimchi traditionally contains non-vegan ingredients like fish sauce. If you’re buying from a market, be sure to look for vegan friendly kimchi.

I love Kimchi and I can eat it everyday for the rest of my life and not get tired of it. I put it into dumplings, make several korean dishes like kimchi pancakes, kimchi chigae etc. Checkout the links below for some recipe inspiration.

Frozen Foods

Believe it or not, frozen foods can be the difference between ordering out vs eating at home many times. Both budget wise and health wise, relying on frozen foods is a smarter choice than ordering out many times a week IMO.

Frozen Veggies – I shamelessly pack my freezer with various combinations of frozen vegetables. I have Asian vegetable mix, Sambar vegetable mix, fried rice vegetable mix, etc. I can cut down the prep time for my dishes to 15 mins by simply relying on these pre-cut vegetables. If you’re just getting used to cooking regularly at home, my top tip would be to stock up as many frozen veggies as you can. Thank me later.

Frozen meals – Frozen burger patties, veggie balls, falafels, Just Egg omlette folds etc are all stocked up in my freezer at all times. I reach for these when I just can’t be bothered to cook from scratch. The convenience of microwaving a bunch of veggie balls and throwing it into my basic spaghetti marinara is unbeatable. Many grocery stores including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods etc., carry many vegan frozen foods. Take your time and explore those aisles and try out some of them.

That brings us to the end of this series. Even though it has become more of a book at this point, I hope it’s a resource you can return to again and again as you need suggestions or a little help. If you don’t already follow me on instagram, what are you even doing ? I’d love to connect with you personally and become best buddies. Hit me up BFF!

Good luck with your transition into vegan lifestyle. There’s a lot more to it than just stocking up your pantry, but baby steps!