15 Grain-Packed Vegan Meals

Grains, or cereals, are seeds and grasses that are grown to eat. Many popular grains are oats, rice, quinoa, millet, and bulgur.

This food source provides us with fiber, vitamins, and minerals and can help us to control blood pressure and cholesterol as well as keep our hearts healthy.

Whole-grain foods are a great addition to a healthy balanced diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, most people in the USA don’t get enough whole grains in their diets.

With these delicious and inventive OGP recipes packed with grains, there is little excuse not to introduce some into your plant-based diet in the most delicious way.

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 20,000 delicious recipes, it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help you get healthy! 

1. Oatmeal Pancakes

Source: Oatmeal Pancakes

These light and fluffy vegan Oatmeal Pancakes by Nele Liivlaid are simple and really easy to make. They are perfect blender pancakes for those lazy and mindful weekend/day mornings. Whip up an indulgent, yet healthful, breakfast in no time.

2. Savory Mushroom Oats

Source: Savory Mushroom Oats

This hearty recipe is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This Savory Mushroom Oats recipe by Meredith Youngson is easy to make, uniquely delicious, and low in fat. The perfect combination for a healthy, warm meal on a cold day.

3. Fermented Carrot Cake Oats

Source: Fermented Carrot Cake Oats

Oats are a great way to start any day, but these Fermented Carrot Cake Oats by Mitra Shirmohammadi are just amazing. As the oats start to ferment, the water will get absorbed, leaving you with oats that are soft and rather mushy in texture. You can either cook them or enjoy them raw, mixed with almond milk, your natural sweetener of choice, nuts, seeds, or other desired toppings.

4. Spicy Chipotle Rice and Beans

Source: Spicy Chipotle Rice and Beans

This is not just your typical beans and rice. This recipe for Spicy Chipotle Rice and Beans by Kristen Genton adds lots more flavor for not much more work. This will definitely jazz up your weekly beans and rice. It’s great on its own, but in tacos or burritos, it would shine!

5. Breakfast Rice Pudding

Source: Breakfast Rice Pudding

Finding yourself with a huge amount of plain cooked rice but you’d rather not go for fried rice again? If you like your breakfast to be filling and healthy, this Breakfast Rice Pudding by Celine Steen is a good option that’s also fairly fast to prepare.

6. Pineapple Fried Rice

Source: Pineapple Fried Rice

This Pineapple Fried Rice by Best Friends is sweet and savory and wonderful for a weeknight dinner! You can use canned or fresh pineapple and a generous helping of tofu makes it protein-packed. Cook the rice in a delicious homemade sauce and serve it with a sprinkling of green onion.

7. Quinoa and Spiced Blueberry Bircher

Source: Quinoa and Spiced Blueberry Bircher

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it gives your body fuel and energy to get you ready for the long day ahead! This recipe for Quinoa and Spiced Blueberry Bircher by Tiana Haines is gluten-free, and dairy-free, and is a great on-the-go breakfast that leaves you feeling satisfied for longer.

8. High Protein Meal Prep Meatballs with Quinoa

Source: High Protein Meal Prep Meatballs with Quinoa

This High Protein Meal Prep Meatballs with Quinoa by Patrica Granek is perfect for an easy, family meal. Made with quinoa, black beans, and mushrooms, these meatballs have great texture and don’t fall apart. It’s a super delicious, nutritious, and totally kid-friendly recipe.

9. One Pot Quinoa Dish

Source: One Pot Quinoa Dish

When you come home late, you probably want a healthy dinner that you can make quickly and requires minimal dishwashing. This One Pot Quinoa Dish recipe by Sara Oliveira is the solution. It is super fast to make, easy, and nutritionally balanced!

10. Carrot Bulgur Porridge

Source: Carrot Bulgur Porridge

Hearty porridges are the perfect start to cold mornings. Bulgar is an ancient grain with a chewy texture, making it a great candidate for a breakfast that’ll keep you full until lunchtime. It’s sweetened naturally and topped with fruit, with the addition of carrots for extra nutritional value. Check out this Carrot Bulgur Porridge by Gunjan Dudani!

11. Mixed Roasted Vegetable Bulgur

Source: Mixed Roasted Vegetable Bulgur

Hearty porridges are the perfect start to cold mornings. Bulgar is an ancient grain with a chewy texture, making it a great candidate for a breakfast that’ll keep you full until lunchtime. This recipe for Mixed Roasted Vegetable Bulgur by Gunjan Dudani is sweetened naturally and topped with fruit. The carrots give extra nutritional value.

12. Mushroom and Kale Burgers

Source: Mushroom and Kale Burgers

These Mushroom and Kale Burgers by Denise Perrault are rich in umami mushroom flavor with the texture of bulgur, almonds, and power-packed kale. These baked, plant-based burgers are best if chilled for a few hours before baking. They are well-suited for making a day ahead to have ready on hand.

13. Barley, Lentil, and Herb-Roasted Butternut Squash-Stuffed Eggplant

Source: Barley, Lentil, and Herb-Roasted Butternut Squash-Stuffed Eggplant

This recipe for Barley, Lentil, and Herb-Roasted Butternut Squash-Stuffed Eggplant by Frankie DeNell features nutty, chewy hulled barley, protein-packed lentils, tender baby kale, herb-roasted butternut squash, and sweet, perfectly tart,  dried cranberries. With balanced flavors and a well-rounded nutrient profile, this dish is nourishing, filling, and flavorful. It highlights seasonal produce with a savory-sweet bite.

14. Nourishing Barley Minestrone Soup

Source: Nourishing Barley Minestrone Soup

This Nourishing Barley Minestrone Soup by Laine Rudolfa is truly heartwarming! It’s filled with hearty veggies like potatoes, carrots, and kale. Barley adds a good dose of minerals and will keep you satisfied for longer.

15. Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon

Source: Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon

This Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon by Zsu Dever is warm, and chock full of good-for-you ingredients like Porcini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, and leeks. This tasty dish also includes barley bacon. Barley is nice and chewy when first cooked and lightly crispy when fried in some oil, making it a wonderful stand-in for bacon.

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Source: Watermelon-Sorghum Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer, and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals, and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
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• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!