Going vegan is becoming more popular these days, and that means that there are many more suitable options on the market as well. The reasons behind eating vegan may vary, but most of them are commendable. Some people might want to avoid animal products to protest the killing and captivity of animals, while others may do it in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. Dairy allergies and a concern with the hormones in meat are also reasons that might cause one to choose a vegan lifestyle for good.
Whatever your reasons are, a vegan diet certainly limits your options drastically. Luckily, there are several vegan dishes, recipes, and snacks out there to fulfill all your cravings. There are several options available in grocery stores and even some restaurants, but buying already-cooked food could run expensive after a while.
If you’re looking to whip up some vegan snacks at home, look no further. Try out the recipes below, and you can easily get through the day without your stomach rumbling:
1. A Sweet Treat
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Fortunately for those who have a sweet tooth, sugar is vegan. Adding milk, butter, and other non-vegan ingredients is what makes most desserts a no-no on this particular diet. In order to make the perfect sweet snack that will suit your tastes and won’t break your diet, you might have to get a bit creative.
The following snack is just the thing a vegan need when they’re craving something sweet. While milk chocolate might not be vegan, the bittersweet, dark kind is. Make sure you read the ingredients on the back before finalizing your choice of chocolate; some brands have a dark version with just a tiny percentage of milk solids; others don’t.
All you have to do next is grab some regular digestives that use Toasted Sugar instead of lactose products, with the whole wheat flour providing the crispiness instead of eggs. Any vegan dark chocolate on top of these biscuits will be excellent for a quick dessert or pick-me-up.
You may choose to a meltdown that chocolate first and dip the digestives in it to get a smooth, even coating. Use a double boiler or a heatproof dish on top of a pan half-filled with hot water to achieve a smooth sauce without adding milk or cream. Jazz up the final result with some fruit like strawberries, raspberries, or bananas!
2. Vegan Wheat Thins
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If you’re in the mood for crackers but don’t have any, there’s no need to rush to the store every time. Both the store-bought and homemade versions rely on a vegan formula in order to gain that nuttiness and crunch. When you make your own crackers at home, you may be absolutely sure that no non-vegan ingredient is involved.
This recipe uses toasted wheat germ in order to make the texture grainy, with the secret ingredient turmeric giving a unique color and fragrance. You may use oil in this recipe, though some would say that butter gives a nutty flavor that would mask any overpowering wheat or malt essence. As we’re focused on a vegan snack, however, it’s probably better to experiment with different oils until you get the best results.
3. Spicy Popcorn
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Popcorn is an easy vegan snack that you can make in a few minutes, but it does tend to get boring after a while. If you weren’t vegan before and miss that buttery topping on your popcorn, there are some alternatives available.
To spice things up here, try out some unique additions. Drizzle the popcorn with olive oil and sprinkle with a spice blend. This consists of oregano, sesame seeds, tart sumac, thyme, etc. The blend itself is known as za’atar and hails from the Middle East.
If you like that combination, you can try out some more such as miso soup, roast chicken dinner, and Thai coconut curry. Simply do away with the butter, and these popcorn versions will be completely vegan.
You can check out all our popcorn flavors here, including Thai coconut curry, miso soup, and roast chicken dinner; those three are vegan if you swap out the butter. We recommend using olive oil for such substitutions, though you might prefer coconut oil for a more complex taste.
4. Baba Ghanoush
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Vegans may enjoy hummus, but baba ghanoush takes the flavor up a notch with the use of seared eggplant. With hummus, we first have to boil the chickpeas in order to make the dish from scratch. The alternative is buying pre-made hummus or canned chickpeas, which again might run expensive in the long run. Plus, if you want a really healthy snack, it’s always best to go homemade instead of risking the preservatives in canned items.
Slow-roasting the eggplant and then draining it results in a quicker snack, which is something we all require at times. A salad spinner will do away with the excess water in no time. Once that’s done, all you have to do is stir in your tahini plus some olive oil. You can even make your own tahini by grinding a few tablespoons of sesame seeds with olive oil.
The steps are much like hummus here, except you’re using eggplant instead of boiled chickpeas. Needless to say, the roasting and charring process is much quicker than boiling any vegetable or pulse. Once you’ve achieved a creamy consistency, the baba ghanoush could serve as a dip for pita bread or crunchy veggies.
5. Flavored Potato Chips
It might be easy to make potato chips at home, but they could be an unhealthy choice if deep-fried. Some store-bought chips might also contain flavorings that are derived from animal sources, so you definitely want to avoid those. Even the vegan offerings from the same brand are probably manufactured in the same factory, so you’ll risk contamination when relying on store-bought chips.
Follow your vegan heart and stay on the right side of the scales by making these roasted chips instead. The mushroom, thyme, and lemon additions will pack a flavorful punch, making sure you’re satisfied with just a few.
Slicing the potatoes very thinly and boiling them in vinegar plus water is part of the trick here. The vinegar is instrumental in keeping the chips from darkening while frying. The recipe uses custom seasoning, which also includes yeast. This gives a roasted chicken flavor, while the lemon zest, garlic, dried thyme, and mushroom give even more layers to the humble potato. All you have to do is toss the fried chips immediately in the seasoning to have a wholesome vegan snack.
After the tossing, you can choose to bake the chips or give them a turn in the microwave. Many try to avoid using a microwave now, so it’s up to you to decide on this step.
You can also look online for even more ideas for seasonings, or make up your own mixes. Go for a simple tangy salt and vinegar blend, or choose between ranch and barbeque options. For the barbeque flavor, a blend of smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and chili powder would do. One teaspoon of each would do, or you can mix up the ingredients according to your taste.
You can also get a delicious ranch flavoring by mixing a teaspoon each of dried dill weed, onion powder, and crushed dried parsley. Add a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of garlic powder to complete the experience.
6. Simple Applesauce
We’ll round off with one of the simplest ideas for vegan snacking, albeit also one of the most nutritious. If you have a lot of apples or just want to use up what’s left, cook up some applesauce. You can work on preserving the flavor for when the fruit is out of season. This recipe calls for apple cider vinegar as well, along with leaving the apples unskinned. The combination helps to brighten the result, add more flavor, and fulfill you for a longer period of time.
You can also add a few more tweaks, such as adding a tiny bit of rosewater. Roses and apples come from the same family, so this addition will intensify the flavor. An apple compote will also come in handy at times. Simply freeze the applesauce or the compote and use it in quick desserts when you’re short of time.
We also recommend adding a dash of cinnamon to the applesauce or apple compote. Cinnamon and apple are a heavenly classic combination, and you’ll get the nutrients of both healthy ingredients at once. While some recipes for applesauce might call for some sugar, we don’t think it’s really necessary. The sugar in the apples themselves is more than enough to give a sweet, satisfying taste.
Applesauce is an excellent snack for vegans, especially if they’re trying to get others interested in the same lifestyle. It contains loads of nutrients, especially if you leave the skin on. You can also freeze it for later, put it in a jar for baby food, or have a few spoonsful whenever you’re feeling like some dessert.
However, it must be noted that there are some concerns with the apple skins absorbing pesticides and/or insecticides from the fields. If buying organic isn’t an option at all times, you can try this neat trick: soak the apples in a tub of water with about half a cup of vinegar. Rinse them off after half an hour, and you can enjoy your apples with the skin and without any fears! The vinegar will also add a crisp and tangy taste to the apples, which is always a plus in our book.
Pros and Cons of Vegan Diet
| Pros | Cons |
| A vegan diet is abundant in fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and folate while being low in calories as well as saturated fats. | The vegetarian diet is sometimes alluded to as the strictest stringent plant-based eating. If you follow these diet habits and already consume a regular American diet, you may expect to remove the majority of items from your usual weekly plate. That amount of limitation may be too harsh for some folks. |
| Many classic dishes, however, are incompatible with a vegan diet. As a result, when you first start this diet, you may want to get inventive and explore unfamiliar items. | Veganism can be nutritious, however, there are a few dietary inadequacies to be aware of. Researchers discovered that vegan diets are often deficient in calcium, which is needed for bone development, muscular contraction, as well as other vital activities. |
| A vegan lifestyle may lead to weight loss, according to research. Of course, simply being vegan does not result in weight loss. However, when you embrace this way of living, you remove a lot of items that are heavy in carbs and cholesterol. | Vegans must become habituated to attentively examining nutritional info and component lists, particularly if they prefer to eat processed products. Foods that you would think are devoid of animal by-products may include gelatin, whey, casein, honey, or even other foods that are not vegan-compliant. |
| Adopting a vegan lifestyle may lead to significant savings on groceries. However, whether or not you obtain this advantage is dependent on what you consume prior to embracing this dietary plan and what you decide to eat afterward. | Buyers can check the item description when purchasing vegan-friendly cuisine. However, whether you dine at someone’s house or at a restaurant, you won’t be able to see the list of ingredients. As a result, folks who follow a vegan diet may find it difficult to eat out. |
| Some people follow a vegan diet since they believe it is healthier for the environment. Environmentalists are increasingly concerned about the environmental damage of cattle and livestock production techniques. | A vegetarian lifestyle is likely to result in health advantages and a healthy weight, but it is not a certainty. For instance, if you’re attempting to lose weight, you should still be cautious of the items you eat and the average amount you consume. |
| Since no creatures are injured or slaughtered in the production of vegan-friendly goods, many people adopt this lifestyle out of sensitivity for animal abuse. | Friends, relatives, colleagues, and other contacts may question people’s dietary selections. Although veganism is becoming more mainstream and plant-based meals are more commonly accessible, you may still be challenged and pushed regarding your motives for adopting this way. |
Conclusion
Each of the above snacks is packed with flavor and relatively easy to make. You can whip up a batch of these for your next party or freeze them in case of an emergency. However, you decide to use these ideas, they’ll probably be enough to stave off your hunger and fulfill you at the same time. Going vegan doesn’t have to limit you to bland foods. You might even consider sharing some of these snacks and seeing if your family or friends would adopt the same lifestyle too!
Of course, sometimes you just want to lead a healthy lifestyle without limiting yourself to a certain type. Eliminating food groups completely might not be the best idea for everyone, so there are some organic and healthy snacks that you may try out in addition to some vegan options.