“It’s easier than ever to find an abundance of vegan foods in grocery stores. Here are some of my favorites.”

It’s easier than ever to find an abundance of vegan foods in grocery stores, and although I’m not strictly vegan, I do enjoy eating plant-based most of the time. The key to eating well, especially on busy work days when you don’t have time to prepare a meal from scratch, is keeping the pantry well-stocked with delicious options to satisfy every craving, from crunchy to creamy, and savory to sweet. 

Here are some of my favorite vegan pantry staples, including snacks for when I’m feeling peckish and ingredients to whip up a quick healthy meal in a matter of minutes. 

Spring & Mulberry Dark Chocolate

These 72% dark chocolate bars are my favorite because they’re sweetened with fibrous ground dates in lieu of refined sugar for a lower glycemic index, and prettily embellished with dried fruits, herbs, flowers, and nuts. Creative flavors include Mulberry Fennel and Mango Chili, and all bars are vegan except for Lavender Rose, which includes a sprinkle of bee pollen. Cacao is sourced directly from a regenerative organic farming cooperative in Ghana and the dates are an upcycled, otherwise unsellable blend from Woodspur Farms in Coachella. These are great for snacking on the go, and make lovely gifts as well, with packaging in a rainbow of recyclable colors. 

Big Spoon Roasters Nut Butter

Nut butters are ubiquitous, but nobody has flavors as creative as North Carolina’s Big Spoon Roasters. A few flavors are sweetened with honey, but most are vegan, including Fiji ginger almond butter and Thai curry peanut and cashew butter. The latter is great with noodles, and any of their nut butters will make a gourmet PB&J riff. They’re great in smoothies, overnight oats, and I’m guilty of eating spoonfuls straight from the jar. Because they don’t use any hydrogenated oils or other stabilizers, the nut butters do separate, but you just have to put a little muscle into stirring the oil back in. Everything is made in small batches from carefully and transparently sourced ingredients and packaged in recyclable glass jars. They even donate a community blend of surplus nut butter to local charities and hunger relief organizations in Durham.

Confetti Snacks Veggie Chips

Singaporean founder Betty Lu wanted to make eating vegetables more fun, and these upcycled imperfect veggie chips satisfy every sweet, salty, and crunchy craving. Each bag is a medley of red and purple radishes, carrots, purple sweet potato, okra, and shiitake mushrooms, all dehydrated and baked at low heat rather than extruded or fried to preserve the nutritional content. Flavors like green curry and teriyaki BBQ are inspired by Lu’s Asian heritage, although I’m partial to the black truffle chips when I’m feeling fancy. Plus, Confetti Snacks works with global humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross, the Hunger Project, and UNICEF to donate chips to communities in need.

Pacha Sourdough Buckwheat Tortillas

These two-ingredient buckwheat tortillas are made with just sprouted buckwheat and sea salt, and also happen to be grain-free and gluten-free. I love how they are super pliable and have a subtle tang thanks to fermentation with wild yeast. Sprouting the buckwheat makes nutrients more bioavailable and fermentation makes it easier to digest. Pacha sources buckwheat that’s farmed and milled in the Midwest, where it’s used as a cover crop in regenerative agriculture practices. Buckwheat is an excellent cover crop because it can optimize soil health, slow erosion, attract pollinators, and improve biodiversity on farms. Personally, I love using these tortillas as a vehicle to eat all manner of leftovers. Just toast the tortillas in a pan and make fusion tacos, from Thai curry to stir-fry.

Lotus Foods Ramen

These high-quality, shelf-stable ramen cakes cook in just four to seven minutes, making for a quick and easy meal. Like tortillas, they are a great way to reimagine leftovers. I’ve enjoyed the organic forbidden rice ramen, and organic millet & brown rice ramen, but the new wide white rice ramen noodles are my current favorite, made with just organic white rice. They’re twice as wide as typical ramen, with an especially bouncy, toothsome bite. Lotus Foods sources rice directly from smallholder farmers, giving them access to international markets, paying organic and Fair Trade premiums to increase incomes and empower women. They also teach a More Crop Per Drop® regenerative method of rice-growing to boost yields, save water, and improve soil health without agrochemicals.

LesserEvil Popcorn

Popcorn with champagne is my favorite highbrow-lowbrow girl dinner, and I was so sad when United Airlines removed LesserEvil from their snackboxes. Luckily, it’s easy to find my favorite popcorn in grocery stores and online so I can always get my fix. These USDA organic kernels are popped in coconut oil for a light but satisfying crunch. A couple flavors (Oh My Ghee! and Real Organic Cheddar) are not vegan, but most flavors are, including my two favorites – Himalayan Pink Salt and Himalayan Gold, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the rich umami flavor of butter. The bags are made with sustainable NEO plastics, which break down in landfills, and can be converted to renewable biogas.