One of the most significant challenges for a person who follows a vegan diet is getting sufficient protein. To help you get from foods the amount of this nutrient with an essential role in the body’s development and functioning, we provide four recipes for tasty high protein vegan meals.
What is protein?
Protein is a macronutrient involved in several chemical reactions that the body needs to build and repair damaged tissues and muscles, transport molecules, create energy and regulate hormonal levels.
How much protein do you need daily? Where can you get it from?
The average person needs around 1.0–1.6 grams per kg of body weight daily, translating into 70–113 grams for a person weighing 70 kg. This amount can vary depending on your physical activity level.
Plant-based foods are an excellent source of protein, and you can use them to create a balanced, diversified and customised to your taste vegan diet.
Which vegan food is highest in protein?
There are many plant-based proteins that you can include in your meals, from beans and lentils to vegetables, whole grains, tofu, seeds and nuts.
In the nuts category, for example, almonds are the richest in protein, containing 6 grams of protein per 28-30 gram serving, while in the seeds category, the same title goes to pumpkin seeds with 8.5 grams of protein per same serving size.
Grains also have a “protein champion”: Teff contains 4.9 grams of protein per 100-126 gram serving. In fruits and vegetables, guava has 4.5 grams of protein per 165-gram serving, and artichoke provides 2.5 grams for every 90 grams consumed.
Black and kidney beans, lentils and peas are the stars of the legumes category, each 80-93 grams of serving providing 8 grams of protein.
Vegans can obtain protein from seitan which contains 19 grams per 100 grams, and Tempeh which provides 13 grams per same serving size.
How can I get 100 grams of vegan protein a day?
To ensure an intake of 100 grams of protein daily, you must make and stick to several high-protein vegan meal plans.
The Internet is full of high-protein vegan recipes, and you can include the ones you like the most in your daily eating plan.
For example, you can try 32-grams-of-protein-breakfast made from scrambled tofu and teriyaki tempeh, prepare 30 grams-of-protein-lunch consisting of tofu edamame rice and cook a delicious vegan lentil bolognese dinner that will provide around 38 grams of protein.
All these recipes are available at Cheap Lazy Vegan.
Here are four more tasty high protein vegan meals for a delicious and diversified diet
Tofu, peppers and chickpeas breakfast – balanced and energy-filling first meal of the day
Ingredients for four servings:
280 grams pack of extra-firm tofu
1 orange capsicum, seeds removed, cut in halves and sliced
2 cans of 400 grams chickpeas
2 onions (320 grams), cut in halves and thinly sliced
1 red chilli, seeds removed and sliced
1 can of 400 grams of chopped tomatoes
240 grams of soya yoghurt
1-2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of tomato purée
2 tsp of vegetable bouillon powder
1 tsp of smoked paprika and additional for sprinkling
2 finely grated cloves of garlic
1 tsp of dried oregano
4 tbsp of chopped parsley
How to prepare it:
Place a deep frying pan over medium heat and put 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Add the onions, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir the onions. They should be soft and brown by now.
Put in the pan and mix the pepper, chickpeas, chilli, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, bouillon powder, oregano, paprika and the liquid from the cans. Cover again with the lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is slightly thick. Remove from the heat when done.
Separately, cut half of the tofu into slices. Fry them with half a spoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat until they become slightly golden. Put aside when ready.
Put the soya yoghurt and garlic cloves in a small bowl.
Serve the chickpeas and tomato mixture with the Tofu fry and the soya yoghurt sauce, sprinkling a bit of parsley and paprika on top.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.
Seitan and black bean stir-fry dinner – veggie mix with sweet and spicy sauce
Ingredients for four servings:
For the stir-fry
350 grams of marinated seitan pieces
300 grams of chopped pak choi
2 spring onions, sliced
1 red capsicum, cut into slices
2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of corn flour
Cooked rice or rice noodles to serve
For the sauce
400 grams of can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of peanut butter
75 grams of dark brown soft sugar
1 tsp of Chinese five-spice powder
50 ml of water
How to prepare it:
The sauce
Put half of the black beans and the rest of the sauce ingredients into a food processor and add the water and seasonings. Blend until the mixture becomes smooth.
Take it out of the blender and put it into a saucepan. Heat it for around 5 minutes or until it thickens.
The stir-fry
Drain the seitan pieces and dry them using kitchen towels. Toss them into a bowl, add the corn flour and set aside.
Put a wok on high temperature, and add a bit of olive oil and batches of seitan until the entire quantity is in the wok. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes until it becomes golden brown on the edges. Take the seitan out from the wok with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate.
Toss in the remaining olive oil, add the sliced capsicum, the rest of the black beans, the pak choi and the spring onion. Cook for about 3-4 minutes; put the seitan back into the wok, stir in the sauce and boil everything gently for one minute. Serve with cooked rice or rice noodles, as per preference.
Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.
Mushroom bhaji – great for midweek lunch or dinner
Ingredients for four servings:
500 grams of chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters
1 finely chopped onion
3 cloves of crushed garlic
one thumb-size piece of ginger, finely grated
one small bunch of coriander with the leaves roughly chopped and stalks finely chopped
2 tbsp of tomato purée
2 tsp of ground cumin
2 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of ground turmeric
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
100 ml of water
half of the lemon, juiced
cooked basmati rice and naans to serve
How to prepare it:
Put half of the oil in a deep frying pan, add the mushrooms, and fry them over medium-high temperature. Keep the mushrooms over heat for 5-10 minutes until moisture evaporates and they begin to caramelise. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and reduce the temperature. Add the remaining vegetable oil and cook the chopped onion with a pinch of salt until it softens (for about 10 minutes). Add the crushed garlic, ginger, and coriander stalks and cook for around 2-3 minutes.
Toss in the tomato purée, the fresh ginger and the coriander and cook for a few minutes. Add 100 ml of water and the cooked mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes; add the seasonings, and stir in the lemon juice and the coriander leaves.
Serve with basmati rice and naans.
Bon apétit!
Recipe adapted from Olive Magazine.
Mediterranean vegetable stew – the perfect choice for cold nights
Ingredients for four servings:
250 grams of ready-to-eat puy lentils
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium celery sticks, sliced
One red and one yellow capsicum, chopped
2 cans of 400 grams of tomatoes
2 courgettes, roughly sliced
1 finely chopped onion
3 sliced garlic cloves
250 ml of vegetable stock
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp of olive or rapeseed oil
1 tsp of smoked paprika
½ tsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp of dried thyme
Wild and white basmati rice, mash or quinoa, per serve
How to prepare it:
Heat the oil in a heavy-based, large pan over medium temperature. Lower the temperature and add the chopped onion. Cook and stir gently until the onion softens (for about 5-10 minutes). Toss in the carrots, celery sticks, garlic, paprika, ground cumin, thyme, the chopped capsicum, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, veggie stock, slices of courgettes and thyme sprigs. Stir consistently, cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 minutes.
Remove the thyme sprigs, stir in the ready-to-eat lentils and gently simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture is warm. Serve with wild and white basmati rice, mash or quinoa, as you prefer.
Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.
Ensuring the necessary protein intake is easy when following a vegan diet, as you can prepare numerous high-protein vegan meals. You can find more healthy recipes in the Recipes section of the site.
Enjoy!
