With the help of our in-house dietitians, we’ve created a shopping basket that includes a list of ingredients and recipes for students who are looking to cut back on their weekly food spend.
Download our three-course student menu
At The Vegan Society, we want to show students that it’s possible to follow a budget-friendly and balanced vegan diet without compromising on taste. To help us on this mission, our in-house dietitians have taken the average weekly food shop cost and created a free weekly basket with some recipe ideas – enjoy!
Try a recipe from our basket below or download our three-course student menu.
| Ingredient | Average price |
|---|---|
| Protein | |
| Red lentils (500g) | £1.32 |
| Kidney beans (400g) | 58p |
| Chickpeas (400g) | 54p |
| Baked beans (400g) | 47p |
| Starch | |
| Brown rice (1kg) | £1.79 |
| Soya & linseed bread (500g) | £1.52 |
| Wholewheat wraps (8) | £1.13 |
| Porridge oats (1kg) | 96p |
| Fruit and Veg | |
| Tinned tomatoes (400g) x 2 | 64p |
| Carrots (1kg) | 50p |
| Sweet potatoes (1kg) | £1.02 |
| Onions (1kg) | 90p |
| Frozen spinach (900g) | £1.68 |
| Bananas (1kg) | 84p |
| Single pepper | 51p |
| Fats | |
| Walnuts (200g) | £2.44 |
| Rapeseed oil (500ml) | £3.34 |
| Vegan spread (500g) | £1.85 |
| Dairy alternatives | |
| Soya milk (1L) | 98p |
| Other | |
| Low salt stock | £1.63 |
| Cumin (37-43g) | 83g |
| Smoked paprika (48g) | 81p |
| Garam masala (100g) | 93p |
| Turmeric (45g) | 83p |
| Chilli powder (44g) | £1 |
| Garlic powder (100g) | 81p |
| Total | £29.83 |
Example recipes
Overnight oats (1 serving)
- Place the oats, soya milk and walnuts in a mason jar or suitable container with a sealed lid and mix well. Put in the fridge overnight.
- Simply chop or mash a banana in with the mixture the next morning, ready to eat. Add more soya milk if preferred.
Beans on toast (1 serving)
- Pour the baked beans into a small pan and cook them according to the directions on the tin.
- While the beans are cooking, toast the bread before buttering it with the vegan spread.
- Remove the beans from the heat and spoon them evenly on to each slice of toast before serving.
Carrot and lentil soup (1 serving)
- Dice the onion and carrot and place in a pan with lentils.
- Add the stock and bring to boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover and leave for 15 mins.
Baked sweet potato with chilli (2 servings)
- Stab the sweet potato and place in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 30 minutes.
- Dice the onion, carrot and pepper and fry in a little oil.
- Add the spices and reduce the heat. Continue frying for 2 minutes.
- Crush the walnuts and add to the pan. Mix well and then drain the kidney beans, rinse and add these to the pan.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, cover and heat on a low heat for 10 minutes.
- If making for one: serve half of the chilli with the sweet potato and save the other half for tomorrow.
Chickpea and spinach curry and rice (2 servings)
- Dice the onion and heat the oil in a pan. Fry the onion until soft.
- Add the spices and continue frying for 2 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and mix well.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and spinach, cover and reduce the heat. Leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Wash the rice and place in a pot. Cover with boiling water about 1 cm above the rice. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat, leaving to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Burritos
- Reheat the leftover chilli and lay out the wrap on a plate.
- Spoon the hot chilli into the middle of the wrap and fold the ends over the filling, then fold in the sides. Optionally, toast the burrito in the oven for extra crunch.
Free youth membership
We are pleased to announce that we are now offering FREE Youth Membership for those under 26. We want to continue to amplify the voices of young people in the vegan community, and to encourage young people to be part of the generation that makes kind and healthy food choices to bring hope for the future.
For more tips and resources on how to live an affordable vegan lifestyle, visit our Live Vegan for Less campaign page and follow the hashtag #LiveVeganForLess on socials.