As a vegan you don’t have to worry about your protein intake, unless you are maybe 1) undereating, 2) mostly eating starchy foods such as rice and potatoes and very little beans, legumes, nuts or seeds, and 3) if you are a fruitarian or raw food, then it can be harder to get an adequate amount of protein.

And also, if you do want to build muscle then having a higher protein intake is recommended.  (Read my post HERE about if you should take protein powder as a vegan)

If you eat varied and include lots of legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, some plant based milk, maybe some tofu/soya/tempeh, then protein shouldn’t be a problem.

However, if you do want to eat more protein or want some high protein meal ideas… then below are some of my best tips!

If you want some meal ideas for low carb vegan meals, i have a post about there HERE

Or if you want cheap vegan eats, post HERE(snacks) and HERE (Main meals)

Breakfast/snacks

Tofu scramble with beans and potatoes (can either be  breakfast/snack/ or main meal!) (Recipe HERE)

Soya yoghurt mixed with vegan protein powder, roasted nuts and seeds (or peanut butter) & fruit

Oatmeal with protein powder, nuts/seeds & plant based milk. (Note, you don’t need to use protein powder!)

Smoothie with oats, banana, protein powder(optional), oat milk & nut butter

Chia pudding with oatmilk & almonds/peanuts -> Can add cacao, berries, vanilla etc for flavouring!

Rice cakes with hummus and fried tofu (& adding some paprika or cucumber on top for extra crunch!)

Roasted chickpeas or edmame beans (Recipe HERE)

Chickpea cookie dough (recipe HERE)

Baked beans on toast (optional, with tofu scramble)

(Note, you can also combine the snacks such as a smoothie as well as rice cakes with tofu, or make chia pudding with chickpea cookie dough, etc)

Lunch/Dinner

Quinoa with fried tofu and vegetables

Quinoa salad with sweet potato, corn, edmame beans, chickpeas, sunflower seeds & salad & dressing

Salad with tempeh/tofu/soya meat, roasted chickpeas, seeds, avocado and a dressing based on soya yoghurt

Tacos with soya meat, black beans, avocado, corn and roasted potatoes & salsa, soya yoghurt (either use home made tortilla bread, nachos, or regular store bought tortillas)

Lentil soup with chickpeas, tofu & veggies, served with quinoa or some form of grain. (Add some vegan creme fraiche or soya yoghurt on top!)

Bean pasta with soy meat and tomato sauce and veggies

Stuffed paprika with a mix of seitan, brown rice or quinoa, vegan cheese, black beans, a bit of oat cream & serve with salad

Spring rolls with tempeh/seitan/tofu with vegetables and peanut butter dipping sauce

Home made burgers example black bean burgers, chickpea burgers, or why not use a store bought soya burger. Top with avocado, tomatoes, salad, vegan yoghurt as a base for sauce.

Buddha bowls with a bunch of lentils, beans, quinoa, tofu & salad & maybe some rice or potatoes, is a way to get alot of protein in one meal.

 

Some of the foods with most protein are (in no particular order!): 
Seitan (as long as you aren’t gluten intolerant), quinoa, chickpeas, black beans, lentils, green peas, nuts & seeds (particularly chia seeds, pumpkins, almonds & peanuts (even if they’re techincally not a nut), nut butters, tofu/tempeh/soya products, buckwheat, oats, amaranth, plant based milk

Hemp seeds & spirulina have quite alot of protein, however as you only eat such small amounts of these i wouldn’t count them as your protein source.

Most vegetables have a little protein, however they shouldn’t be your first source of protein and instead eating more legumes, grains, nuts, seeds etc

Also note, store bought soya products can often give 18-22g protein per serving in example a burger or serving of fake meat. So that is an easy (but not always cheap) way to get alot of protein in a small portion, because with beans and lentils and grains you often need a higher volume and bigger amount to get the same amount of protein. Example, 100g quinoa will give you 14g protein and chickpeas give 7g protein per 100g (cooked), compared to a soya burger is around 15-20g per 100g (and portion wise is alot smaller in volume). 

HOWEVER, i would say just eat the fake meat/store bought products as extra and try eat beans, lentils, grains, nuts primarily as they also have alot more vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, beta-glucans etc than premade soya products.

If you eat alot of beans, grains, lentils, it can lead to alot of bloating, and you can read more about fiber and bloating as sa vegan HERE

Also read more about food comparison HERE (I.E comparing meat with vegan protein sources)