Word Count: 6843
Time to Read: 38 minutes
Contents
- Introduction
- How the Body Uses Protein
- How Much Protein Do I Need?
- Vegan Protein Sources
- Vegan Protein Supplements
- How to Design a Meal Plan
- High Protein Vegan Meal Plan for Men
- High Protein Vegan Meal Plan for Women
- Creating Your Own High Protein Vegan Meal Plan
- Summary
Introduction
Are you looking for a high protein vegan meal plan that you can build muscle on?
It’s a common misconception about veganism that if you want to be an athlete, you have to eat meat to get enough protein.
Just ask Carl Lewis, 10-time Olympic medalist and 10-time World Championship medalist who says that the first year he ate a vegan diet was his best year of track competition. Or you could ask former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, Mike Tyson. That’s right, he’s a vegan too.
So what’s the secret of these muscle-bound vegan athletes? Is their entire life one big gym or do they eat a pound of tofu every day?
The truth is, there are lots of sources of protein that you can integrate into your vegan diet and you don’t have to sacrifice taste or variety to do it.
Today, we’ll present you with a high protein vegan meal plan, with the building blocks to create your own vegan meal plan every week.
How the Body Uses Protein
When you workout or perform strenuous activities, your muscle fibers are actually being torn and damaged by the intense strain. Your body uses the protein you eat throughout the day to repair and replace damaged muscle fibers by fusing them together to form new muscle protein strands.
Your body then uses “satellite cells” to add more nuclei to the muscle cells which directly causes the cells to grow. It doesn’t matter if your protein comes from a cow or a chickpea, your body just recognizes it as protein.
How Much Protein Do I Need?
Excercise increases the body’s protein requirements.
In 2017 there was a huge meta-analysis on the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults.
The conclusion was this:
With protein supplementation, protein intakes at amounts greater than ~1.6 g/kg/day do not further contribute RET-induced gains in FFM.
However, some individuals seem to do better with higher levels of protein. This was mentioned by the authors of the study:
…it may be prudent to recommend ~2.2 g protein/kg/d for those seeking to maximise resistance training-induced gains in FFM.
So… it looks like in order to maximise performance on a plant-based diet the optimal amount of protein to consume is between 1.6 - 2.2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight.
Considering the fact that vegan protein sources are less bioavailable and contain less BCAAs than meat sources, it seems prudent to aim for the top end of this range.
Based on the above, here is an example of how to calculate protein requirements for an 80kg vegan:
80kg * 2.2g = 176g protein per day.
Vegan Protein Sources
If you want to be able to create your own high-protein vegan meal plan, then you need to know just which ingredients your protein will be coming from.
- Lentils - 9 grams per half cup
- Tofu - 10 grams of protein per cup
- Black Beans - 8 grams per half cup
- Quinoa - 8 grams per cup
- Amaranth - 7 grams per cup
- Soy Milk - 8 grams per cup
- Green Peas - 8 grams per cup
- Peanut Butter - 8 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Chickpeas (or hummus) - 8 grams per half cup
- Almonds - 7 grams per cup
- Black Eyed Peas - 8 grams per half cup
- Edamame - 8.5 grams per half cup
- Tempeh - 12 grams per cup
- Hemp Seeds - 13 grams in 3 tablespoons
This is by no means an exhaustive list of vegan protein sources, but you can clearly see how easy it is to get to your maximum daily protein on a vegan diet.
And of course, there is always protein powder. Plenty of meat eaters who hit the gym also supplement.
Vegan Protein Supplements
Although it is totally possible to get enough protein from whole food plant based sources in your diet, adding in a clean protein powder supplement makes it much easier to hit your macros.
We usually use Sunwarrior Warrior Blend in our recipes
Other good brands are:
How to Design a Meal Plan
If you want to succeed at following a meal plan, then it has to fit around your lifestyle.
There are lots of different ways to organise your meal plan depending on how you want to spend your time.
For our examples today we are going with 4 meals per day. Breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.
Lunch is always leftovers from the previous dinner. This is because most people will need to go to work during the day, and don’t have time for cooking.
Snacks are prepared at the beginning of the week and frozen for the same reason.
So in the end you just need 10 minutes in the morning to make breakfast, and another 20-30 minutes in the evening to cook dinner.
If you would like a different meal plan configuration that’s no problem. The Vegan.io meal planning algorithm is totally customizable. You can eat many times a day, follow any intermittent fasting schedule you can think of, eat most of you calories in the morning or evening, avoid gluten, soy or any other ingredient, and much more.
You can try out our vegan meal planner here for just $4.
High Protein Vegan Meal Plan for Men
- Height: 184cm
- Weight: 80kg
- Activity level: Moderate (Desk job but 4 days gym, 2 days cardio per week)
- Age: 36
- Goal: Body recomposition (lose fat while maintaining size and strength)
Based on the above stats, the Vegan.io algorithm calculates a base metabolic rate of 2840 calories. The base metabolic rate is the amount of calories required to maintain weight.
We will pick 2 priority workout days per week. These are the days that we will train the muscle groups that we need to improve the most. On those days we will eat more calories.
On the two other workout days, we will consume our base metabolic rate.
Finally, on the three “off days” we will eat less calories.
Sunday
Meal Prep
Today you can make the following snacks for later in the week:
- Make the Vegan No-Bake Protein Bars and freeze
- Make the No Bake High Protein Chocolate & Pumpkin Seed Brownies and freeze
Rest day
Calories: 2547
Protein: 165g
Carbs: 307g
Fat: 103g
Total cooking time: 90 minutes
Breakfast
Chai Smoothie Bowl
Protein: 48g
Fat: 14g
Carbs: 90g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 41g
Lunch
Soba and Tofu in Ginger Broth
Protein: 56g
Fat: 25g
Carbs: 117g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 14g
Snack
No Bake High Protein Chocolate & Pump...
Protein: 40g
Fat: 36g
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 16g
Dinner
Sushi Bowl with Shiitake, Baby Corn a...
Protein: 21g
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 69g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 8g
Monday
Primary workout day
Today is a primary workout day, so we boost carbs to overeat and fuel muscle growth and recovery.
Calories: 3484
Protein: 196g
Carbs: 449g
Fat: 127g
Total cooking time: 40 minutes
Breakfast
Chickpea Protein Shake
Protein: 59g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 128g
Fiber: 30g
Sugar: 22g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Sushi Bowl with Shiitake, Baby Corn a...
Protein: 32g
Fat: 42g
Carbs: 104g
Fiber: 23g
Sugar: 12g
Snack
Vegan No-Bake Protein Bars
Protein: 51g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 63g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 36g
Dinner
Yellow Split Peas with Spinach and Ch...
Protein: 56g
Fat: 34g
Carbs: 158g
Fiber: 60g
Sugar: 30g
Tuesday
Cardio Day
Calories: 3619
Protein: 151g
Carbs: 356g
Fat: 83g
Total cooking time: 35 minutes
Breakfast
Blueberry Hemp Pear Porridge
Protein: 26g
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 117g
Fiber: 20g
Sugar: 24g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Yellow Split Peas with Spinach and Ch...
Protein: 30g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 84g
Fiber: 32g
Sugar: 16g
Snack
Vegan No-Bake Protein Bars
Protein: 51g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 63g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 36g
Dinner
Udon Tempeh Stir Fry with Broccoli
Protein: 42g
Fat: 23g
Carbs: 87g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 18g
Wednesday
Seconday Workout Day
Calories: 2988
Protein: 203g
Carbs: 397g
Fat: 89g
Total cooking time: 20 minutes
Breakfast
Chickpea Protein Shake
Protein: 59g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 128g
Fiber: 30g
Sugar: 22g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Udon Tempeh Stir Fry with Broccoli
Protein: 42g
Fat: 23g
Carbs: 87g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 18g
Snack
Vegan No-Bake Protein Bars
Protein: 51g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 63g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 36g
Dinner
Soba Noodles Japanese Style with Mush...
Protein: 50g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 116g
Fiber: 16g
Sugar: 10g
Thursday
Cardio Day
Calories: 2561
Protein: 147g
Carbs: 299g
Fat: 107g
Total cooking time: 25 minutes
Breakfast
Lime, Avocado, Kiwi and Grapefruit Sm...
Protein: 32g
Fat: 31g
Carbs: 68g
Fiber: 16g
Sugar: 23g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Soba Noodles Japanese Style with Mush...
Protein: 44g
Fat: 16g
Carbs: 102g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 9g
Snack
No Bake High Protein Chocolate & Pump...
Protein: 40g
Fat: 36g
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 16g
Dinner
Quinoa Power Bowl
Protein: 32g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 102g
Fiber: 22g
Sugar: 16g
Friday
Secondary Workout Day
Calories: 2871
Protein: 165g
Carbs: 341g
Fat: 116g
Total cooking time: 35 minutes
Breakfast
Banana Protein Smoothie Bowl with Hem...
Protein: 70g
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 92g
Fiber: 16g
Sugar: 40g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Quinoa Power Bowl
Protein: 32g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 102g
Fiber: 22g
Sugar: 16g
Snack
No Bake High Protein Chocolate & Pump...
Protein: 40g
Fat: 36g
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 16g
Dinner
Chickpea Tikka Masala with Zucchini
Protein: 23g
Fat: 27g
Carbs: 113g
Fiber: 15g
Sugar: 24g
Saturday
Primary Workout Day
Calories: 3350
Protein: 169g
Carbs: 377g
Fat: 156g
Total cooking time: 75 minutes
Breakfast
Spinach and Sweet Potato Tofu Scramble
Protein: 47g
Fat: 41g
Carbs: 61g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 11g
Lunch
Chickpea Tikka Masala with Zucchini
Protein: 30g
Fat: 36g
Carbs: 150g
Fiber: 20g
Sugar: 32g
Snack
Summer Roll with Fruit and Peanut Butter
Protein: 16g
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 94g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 70g
Dinner
Keto Fried Cauliflower Rice
Protein: 74g
Fat: 50g
Carbs: 76g
Fiber: 16g
Sugar: 22g
Shopping List
Below is a screenshot of the shopping list inside the Vegan.io app.
The numbers next to each ingredient are the days when they are required.
In the app it’s possible to click the dropdown arrows to see what meals each ingredient is required in, how much, what day and all the possible substitute ingredients in case you can’t find it.
It might seem like there is a LOT of stuff to buy. This is true, but only on the first week. Most of the ingredients last for a long time and only need to be replaced occassionally.
Generally you’ll do all of your weekly shopping in the fresh produce isle of the supermarket.
Screenshot
And here’s how this meal plan looks inside of Vegan.io
Get your own custom meal plan here, for just $4.
High Protein Vegan Meal Plan for Women
- Height: 160cm
- Weight: 65kg
- Activity level: Moderate (Desk job but 4 days gym, 2 days cardio per week)
- Age: 28
- Goal: Lose weight
Based on the above stats, the Vegan.io algorithm calculates a base metabolic rate of 2158 calories. The base metabolic rate is the amount of calories required to maintain weight.
In order to lose weight we will need to under-eat by around 10%. Vegan.io calculates this calorie target to be 1943.
However, we are going to cycle carbs to try stop the body adjusting to our lower calorie intake.
We will pick 2 priority workout days per week. These are the days that we will train the hardest. On those days we will eat our maintenance calorie requirement, with more carbs.
On the two other workout days, we will consume less carbs, eating closer to our weight loss target.
Finally, on the three “off days” we will eat far less carbs and total calories, aiming for closer to a 20% calorie deficit.
Sunday
Meal Prep
Today you can make the following snacks for later in the week:
- Make the Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites and freeze
Rest day
Calories: 1816
Protein: 102g
Carbs: 221g
Fat: 76g
Total cooking time: 50 minutes
Breakfast
Berry and Banana Protein Smoothie
Protein: 39g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 66g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 33g
Lunch
Raw Red Cabbage and Walnuts Salad
Protein: 9g
Fat: 33g
Carbs: 51g
Fiber: 13g
Sugar: 31g
Dinner
Potato Stew with Green Beans and Roas...
Protein: 20g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 95g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 23g
Monday
Primary workout day
Today is a primary workout day, so we boost carbs to overeat and fuel muscle growth and recovery.
Calories: 2272
Protein: 128g
Carbs: 329g
Fat: 64g
Total cooking time: 45 minutes
Breakfast
Pink Protein Chai Smoothie
Protein: 54g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 109g
Fiber: 19g
Sugar: 53g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Potato Stew with Green Beans and Roas...
Protein: 20g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 95g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 23g
Snack
Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites
Protein: 32g
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 52g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 2g
Dinner
Brown Lentil Salad with Bell Pepper a...
Protein: 24g
Fat: 15g
Carbs: 83g
Fiber: 17g
Sugar: 18g
Tuesday
Cardio Day
Calories: 1805
Protein: 119g
Carbs: 249g
Fat: 48g
Total cooking time: 40 minutes
Breakfast
Baby Spinach Black Berry Protein Smoo...
Protein: 53g
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 56g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 28g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Brown Lentil Salad with Bell Pepper a...
Protein: 20g
Fat: 13g
Carbs: 69g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 15g
Snack
Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites
Protein: 32g
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 52g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 2g
Dinner
Sticky Miso Rice with Teriyaki Tempeh
Protein: 16g
Fat: 9g
Carbs: 72g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 5g
Wednesday
Seconday Workout Day
Calories: 1944
Protein: 133g
Carbs: 242g
Fat: 61g
Total cooking time: 25 minutes
Breakfast
Kale Smoothie with Blueberry
Protein: 58g
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 54g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 28g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Sticky Miso Rice with Teriyaki Tempeh
Protein: 16g
Fat: 9g
Carbs: 72g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 5g
Snack
Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites
Protein: 32g
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 52g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 2g
Dinner
Pad Thai
Protein: 29g
Fat: 20g
Carbs: 66g
Fiber: 6g
Sugar: 6g
Thursday
Cardio Day
Calories: 1820
Protein: 105g
Carbs: 265g
Fat: 50g
Total cooking time: 40 minutes
Breakfast
High Protein Apple Pie Smoothie
Protein: 30g
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 80g
Fiber: 10g
Sugar: 48g
Snack
Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites
Protein: 32g
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 52g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 2g
Dinner
Soba Noodles with Sugar Snap Peas and...
Protein: 20g
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 88g
Fiber: 8g
Sugar: 14g
Friday
Secondary Workout Day
Calories: 2075
Protein: 121g
Carbs: 283g
Fat: 67g
Total cooking time: 25 minutes
Breakfast
Blueberry Banana Rice Cake Mousse Hig...
Protein: 35g
Fat: 23g
Carbs: 58g
Fiber: 11g
Sugar: 23g
Lunch (from leftovers)
Soba Noodles with Sugar Snap Peas and...
Protein: 20g
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 88g
Fiber: 8g
Sugar: 14g
Snack
Vanilla Breakfast Protein Bites
Protein: 32g
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 52g
Fiber: 14g
Sugar: 2g
Dinner
Cauliflower with White Beans and Toma...
Protein: 35g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 88g
Fiber: 25g
Sugar: 21g
Saturday
Primary Workout Day
Calories: 2307
Protein: 112g
Carbs: 337g
Fat: 73g
Total cooking time: 35 minutes
Breakfast
Porridge with Raspberries
Protein: 18g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 93g
Fiber: 16g
Sugar: 26g
Lunch
Cauliflower with White Beans and Toma...
Protein: 45g
Fat: 23g
Carbs: 113g
Fiber: 32g
Sugar: 27g
Snack
Hummus with Carrot Sticks
Protein: 19g
Fat: 21g
Carbs: 47g
Fiber: 18g
Sugar: 9g
Dinner
Asian Soba Noodle Soup
Protein: 37g
Fat: 16g
Carbs: 100g
Fiber: 9g
Sugar: 12g
Shopping List
Below is a screenshot of the shopping list inside the Vegan.io app.
The numbers next to each ingredient are the days when they are required.
In the app it’s possible to click the dropdown arrows to see what meals each ingredient is required in, how much, what day and all the possible substitute ingredients in case you can’t find it.
It might seem like there is a LOT of stuff to buy. This is true, but only on the first week. Most of the ingredients last for a long time and only need to be replaced occassionally.
Generally you’ll do all of your weekly shopping in the fresh produce isle of the supermarket.
Screenshot
And here’s how this meal plan looks inside of Vegan.io
Get your own custom meal plan here for just $4.
Creating Your Own High Protein Vegan Meal Plan
The Hard Way
We have a page full of high protein vegan recipes. You can filter by breakfast, smoothies, dinner and more.
Pick out recipes for breakfast, snack and dinner every day, and adjust the serving size so that you will get enough calories and protein.
Make a note of all the ingredients and add them together into a shopping list.
If you are cooking for more than one person then just add your protein requirements together before calculating the recipe servings.
The Easy Way
Let Vegan.io do all the hard work for you.
When you signup you will need tell us your date of birth, activity level, gender, height, weight, etc. We will use that to calculate your carb, fat and protein requirements.
If you have multiple people following the meal plan you can add their details too.
You will also be required to complete a short questionaire to let us know if you have any allergies, what kitchen equipment you have, how much time you have for cooking, etc.
Our algorithm will use all of this data to create the perfect meal plan for your needs, along with nutritional breakdowns and an interactive shopping list.
We’ll be launching integrations with Instacart and Amazon Fresh soon, to deliver ingredients directly to your door.
Signup for our meal planner here
Here’s a sample vegan meal plan and grocery list
Summary
People who have never attempted to try a vegan diet will always be quick to tell you that you can’t get enough protein to be healthy as a vegan. The truth is, you can get plenty of protein, and you can do it without the harmful saturated fats, toxins, and calories that you get from red meat sources.
If you want to pack on the muscles and strength, don’t give up your vegan diet for the protein of chicken and beef. With nuts, beans, greens, and seeds you can get more protein than you could possibly need without weighing your body down with trans fats and toxins.
Don’t wait another day to start on your path to the body you want. Try our high protein vegan meal plan and start flexing those muscles!