If you didn’t know, I live just outside Portland, Oregon. We just got word that due to the virus circulating in the community, gatherings of 250+ people are to be canceled. We aren’t sure if the schools are going to be closed soon as well, or really what is coming in the next several weeks or months.
A few weeks ago after the first case was confirmed in my town, I decided to start an emergency food supply. Just in case we are asked to stay home for a few weeks, or one of us gets sick. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated by the lack of information that I could find doing a google search for vegan emergency food, and that is why I have decided to write this post today.
I will share my vegan food supply list, and I have even included a free printable that is clean and clear. I hope you find it helpful, if this sort of thing is on your mind right now like it is my own.
If you have any food items to add to my list, please help by sharing it in the comments below for everyone to read! And if you think it would be helpful for me to come up with some super simple, budget friendly meals using these ingredients, please let me know in the comments as well.
I have focused on food alone, and am certainly not an expert on Disaster/Emergency Preparedness. Other things I personally have stocked up on are Tylenol and Ibuprofen, as well as the normal toilet paper and other essential items. But please seek out a different source on what else to have on hand, I am only an expert on the food side of things. 🙂
This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
Click here for the free printable list.
Vegan Foods to stock up on
GRAINS
- Oats: quick or rolled, flavored packets work too
- Grits or Malt O Meal
- Brown or white rice
- Quinoa
- Farro
- Bulgur
- Millet
- Cornmeal
- Pasta
- Ramen noodles
- Rice noodles
- Granola
- Cereal/Muesli
- Couscous
- Flour, all kinds
- Vital wheat gluten
- Bread with long shelf life
- Crunchy taco shells
BEANS/LEGUMES
- Canned beans: black, pinto, chickpea
- Canned refried beans
- Dried beans of all kinds
- Split peas
- Red/brown lentils
- Canned green peas
- Shelf stable tofu (Mori Nu brand)
- Soybeans
- TVP (textured vegetable protein)
- Soy curls
VEGETABLES
- Canned corn
- Canned green beans
- Canned carrots
- Canned olives
- Pickles
- Sauerkraut
- Artichokes
- Canned tomatoes- diced, tomato sauce and paste
- Potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)
- Potatoes/sweet potatoes and yams- will last for quite some time if stored in a dark cool place
- Freeze dried veggies: kale, broccoli, and more
- Canned greens like spinach, collard greens
FRUIT
- Canned fruit: peaches, pears, oranges, pineapple
- Applesauces
- Dried fruits: raisins, dates, apricots and more
- Freeze dried fruit: blueberries, strawberries, mango, apples and more
- Stock up on apples and green bananas that will last for several weeks
NUTS & SEEDS
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Sunflower seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Flax seeds and ground flaxseeds
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Shelf stable nut milks
OTHER
- Olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil
- Lemon juice
- Canned soups/chili
- Prepared food pouches: curries, rice, whole grains (Trader Joe’s has some options, as well as Target and other stores)
- Better than Bouillon
- Nutritional yeast
- Spices you like: curry, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and more
- Salt
- Vegan protein powder
- Sweeteners: sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup
- BBQ sauce, ketchup, hot sauce
- Marinara sauce
- Soy sauce
- Coffee, if you drink it
SNACKS
- Popcorn
- Crackers
- Vegan chips: tortilla, other chips
- Salsa
- Pretzels
- Granola bars
- Energy bars: Clif, Luna, Larabar
- Oreos and other vegan treats!
- Jam or jelly
- Dark chocolate
- Vegan chocolate chips
- Chocolatey-chip teddy grahams
- Trail mix
- Vegan Seitan Jerky
DON’T FORGET YOUR PETS!
- Pet food
- Pet treats
- Cat litter
- Anything else your pet might need
+ stock up on whatever vitamins you usually take, especially Vitamin B12.
COLD ITEMS
Since the coronavirus is not a typical disaster where the power should go out, a chest freezer is helpful. My refrigerator and normal freezer are pretty packed with my family of 5, but I may go buy a chest freezer and fill it with extra food. If you have space in your refrigerator, freezer or have a chest freezer, here are some food items to think about stocking up on.
- Vegan “meats”. I like Gardein brand, as well as Trader Joe’s frozen meals and “meats”. My kids are addicted to chickenless nuggets, so I will stock up on several boxes of these! Don’t forget sandwich “meats” as well.
- Vegan cheese, sliced and shredded to add to meals
- Vegan mayo, vegan butter like earth balance, coffee creamer
- Breads: Most breads/buns/tortillas won’t last too long, but freeze them and you’re good to go.
- Apples, pears, avocados, carrots and other produce that will last a while in the refrigerator
- Fresh bags of kale or spinach can be sent straight to the freezer and used later for adding to recipes or steaming. Or use for smoothies.
- Frozen fruit and vegetables, stock up!
Great list! And a family needs a rotation plan for their pantry and freezer as well as a plan to protect dried foods, (which often come in thin plastic bags), from pests like mice and bugs. For canned food rotation, I have a number of the FIFO can racks which rolls the oldest can to the front. Grains and dried foods need to be stored in lidded mouse resistant bins, with labels on the bins. While mice don’t get in often, it’s a hassle to have to dispose of food if mice take a bite out of the packaging. And while we are on the topic, be sure to store a means to purify water, have some way to cook without electricity, and a few manual can openers. Disasters happen everywhere and more and more people are experiencing lengthy power outages, so plan ahead for those, too.
Great list! Very helpful! Thinking of modifying to “use by dates” maybe on the shelf? I will probably forget, especially if I repackage! Bought hand vacuumed to seal jars but it’s not working. Guess I need to buy Food Saver with attachment?
Love your cooking Nora! God Bless and thanks for sharing.
I have also loved your recipes as they have certainly helped me as a new vegan! As I’m redoing our emergency kits I was struggling to figure out what to put in them, this is absolutely perfect! Thank you so much Nora!
Hi Alyssa! I’m glad this information is helpful for you! Thank you for taking your time to share!
Thank you so much for creating this list. As a newbie vegan, I am finding it very hard to even find some of the staples needed for our daily diets. Let alone stock up for an emergency food supply. This list is perfect. Last time Portland went into a lockdown I couldn’t even find dried beans and then I didn’t even rely on them! Again, I cannot tell you how appreciative I am of this list.
I’m so glad you find it helpful! I know back in March or April I felt the same way, so I came up with this list for myself and then decided to share it. I live near Portland, too and things are shut down again so it’s time to get a little creative with food again. Stay safe!
Thank you for this very comprehensive and helpful list.
You’re welcome!
I live outside of Portland as well! (Hillsboro). I have been baking your vegan cookies and cakes for awhile now. I love your recipes! They are easy to make and the results are delicious! This is an especially good time to bake as a healthy way to feel creative. And everyone in the house is appreciative. Thank you!
Oh wow, I live in Hillsboro, too! Small world. 🙂 I’m so glad you are loving the recipes, thank you so much! We are doing a lot of baking as well, though I’m going to run out of flour soon and can’t seem to find any right now!
Thank you so much Nora! I love all your recipes! You have helped made vegan easy!! ?
You’re welcome! So glad to hear that!
I would love to see some easy recipes using these ingredients!
Yes, this! Please!
I had just made the switch to a vegan diet a week before everything shut down here in Washington and I’m happy to say I was able to grab a lot of the things on your list. So far this quite time at home is allowing me to try some great new recipes.
Don’t forget your B12 supplement!
Thank you for this reminder!
Was looking for something like this!!! I’m local too!! Just shared it on my social media!!! Take care!!!
You take care too!
Unless there’s vegan versions that I don’t know about, canned refried beans aren’t vegan. They use lard ? but if its something else and I’m mistaken, then I’m sorry.
Trader Joe’s refried beans are vegan, and as long as they say “vegetarian” they don’t contain lard. I can find many brands that are vegan, just check the labels. 🙂
Here in Canada president’s choice has a refried bean with no added fat of any kind.
The Taco Bell brand refried beans are vegan too.
If you live near a Publix, their Gardin products are buy one get one free until Wednesday March 17, 2020. We already stocked up on them too. Thank you for all the wonderful advice.
You are so welcome, and thank you for this tip!
I’ve been looking for a list like this for two weeks. I didn’t find anything so I did my best to put something together. This just showed up in my Google feed. I missed a number of items that would be helpful to have. Thank you for this! All the best to you and your family.
I wish I had thought of it sooner! Thank you, and I hope you stay healthy and well during this time!
Thanks for this list! We aren’t vegan but definitely use a lot of this stuff. Would love some recipes using these ingredients. Thanks!
Thank you for addressing this, Nora! I also appreciate the other comments that add to this great resource.
First, Thank you so much for this post and list. Not only am I located in Florida were we are preparing for this but I will also be preparing for hurricane season soon. Great list. Second, I would love to see recipes from items on this list, maybe a daily meal planner so we can gauge quantities?
I love the the budget bytes blog. She recently did a list of 15 pantry meals and many of them are vegan or easily veganized. Also the book vegan unplugged is a great resource.
That’s great! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this amazingly detailed list. I’d add vinegar (acv; basalmic; red wine; rice wine) to the list (great for homemade dressings); dried herbs;, and suggest raw (unroasted) sesame seeds which can be made into tahini. Sending healthy vibes into the universe ?❤️.
Thank you for this helpful and useful information! Great list and ideas, and very welcomed.