As vegans, we love to cook, don’t we? However, cooking a great meal at home doesn’t always translate to having vegan high-protein vegan snacks when you need to take them with you. After all, when is the last time you tried to carry walnut lettuce wraps with you as you run your daily errands?
Yet there’s hope.
You can cook some great vegan high-protein snacks ahead of time to take with you, or if you don’t have time to cook, you can buy premade vegan snacks.
I know — if you’re a vegan, buying premade snacks doesn’t sound like a great option, does it? But I’ve included a few for the times when you’re hungry and don’t have the option of whipping up something in your kitchen.
Why Should Vegan Snacks Be High Protein?
Everyone needs protein to survive, and while many people believe that vegans don’t get enough of the important nutrient, that’s simply not true. According to The Vegetarian Resource Group, 10 to 12 percent of a vegan’s calories should come from protein.
And that’s pretty easy to do if you eat a diet filled with beans, grains, soy, nuts, and greens. That’s why the snacks listed below are filled with exactly these things.
Yes, plants can provide your body with sufficient protein.
No, you don’t have to eat animals or animal by-products to meet your daily requirements.
Clear enough?
If not, check out this video:
Our bodies need protein to make our hair, nails, muscles, and fingernails. Protein is made up of amino acids. And while our body makes many of them, it can’t produce nine. However, you can get them by eating a healthy, balanced vegan diet.
The Best Plant-Based Protein Sources
When thinking about making high-protein vegan snacks, you should know which plants offer the highest amounts of protein. That will make it easier for you to select the right ingredients for your snack.
Here are 10 of the highest plant-based proteins around.
1. It’s soy good
Soy products are a huge part of most vegan’s diets, and there is a good reason for that. Soy is one of the best sources of protein because your body can easily absorb it.
Here are four high-protein soy products:
- Firm tofu (1/2 cup) offers 10 grams of protein
- Edamame (1/2 cup) gives you 8.5 grams of protein
- Tempeh (1/2 cup) provides 15 grams of protein
- Soy milk offers 9 grams of protein per serving
2. The tiny bean
I don’t know about you, but I use lentils in almost everything I cook. They’re versatile, delicious, and offer a whopping 8.84 grams of protein for each half cup. They also contain lots of fiber, iron, and potassium.
3. High-protein chick
Chickpeas are another ingredient that makes an appearance in a lot of my dishes. They’re so versatile. You can roast them, include them in most Mediterranean dishes, or make hummus from them.
And you’ll get 7.25 grams of protein for every half cup that you eat.
4. Go nuts
Peanuts are a great source of protein and are easy to use for high-protein vegan snacks you can take anyplace you go. When you eat half of a cup, you’ll get 20.5 grams of protein.
5. Go nuts — again
Almonds are another nut that’s high in protein. You’ll get 16.5 grams of protein for every half cup that you eat. And you don’t only have to eat them raw. Grind them up to make almond flour and bake the best muffins and cakes around.
6. Can you eat that?
Spirulina is an algae that offers great nutrition, including protein. You can use it in high-protein snacks such as smoothies when you’re on the go. You’ll get eight grams of protein for every two tablespoons you use.
7. It’s so grainy
Quinoa is a grain that looks like a cross between rice and pasta, but it’s full of protein. Besides being a complete protein, this grain offers you eight grams of protein for half a cup. You can also use it as flour to make delicious high-protein vegan snacks.
Stay tuned for a quinoa recipe you would never have imagined!
8. Forget the chia pets
There are much better things to do with chia seeds, such as making high-protein vegan snacks. These seeds are a complete protein and offer two grams of protein for every tablespoon you eat.
9. Hemp this
Hemp seeds are another great source of protein for your vegan snacks. For every tablespoon you eat, you’ll get five grams of protein.
10. Ezekiel what?
When you eat a slice of Ezekiel bread, you’ll get four grams of protein for each slice. Make a peanut butter sandwich with a quarter cup of peanut butter, and that’s about 18 grams of protein!
Here’s a great recap of the best plant-based proteins in video form:
High-Protein Vegan Snack Recipes
Are you ready to learn how to make your own high-protein vegan snacks that you can take with you when you’re on the go?
Here are a few of our favorites.
Vegan protein muffins with chai and vanilla
This is one of those recipes that you’ll make time and time again because it’s so yummy. You can make a batch ahead and freeze them so you can grab one to take with you whenever you want a vegan high-protein snack on the go.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons of flax meal
- 3/4 cups and 2 tablespoons of warm water
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes plus extra for the topping
- 1 1/2 cups of oat flour
- 1/2 cup Plant Fusion vanilla chai protein powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 1/2 teaspoons of cardamom
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of allspice
- 1/2 teaspoons of clove
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cups of melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2/3 cups of coconut sugar
- 2/3 cups of unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cups of agave
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Directions:
Start by putting the flax meal and 1/2 cup of the warm water into a bowl. Stir to mix well and put the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Next, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with some of the coconut oil. Then, spread the coconut flakes on to a baking sheet and bake for 2-4 minutes or until they’re toasted.
Put the oat flour, cinnamon, protein powder, ginger, cardamom, clove, allspice, and salt in a bowl and mix. Set it aside for a minute.
In a different bowl, whisk together four tablespoons of the remaining water and two tablespoons of the coconut oil, and baking powder. Stir until the ingredients are mixed well and fizzy. Next, add the rest of the coconut oil, apple sauce, vanilla, and agave and mix with an electric mixer until it’s combined. Then, beat in the chilled flax eggs and beat again.
Pour the dry ingredients into the mixture and combine. This will make a thick batter.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, only filling them 3/4 inches full. Sprinkle more coconut flakes on top of each one. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and then transfer to a wire rack until they’re completely cooled.
Spicy garlic oven-roasted chickpeas
If you’re a chickpea nut like I am, this will quickly become one of your go-to recipes. Who says vegans can’t get that satisfying crunch when eating high-protein vegan snacks?
Ingredients:
- 2 15-ounce cans of drained chickpeas (or you can make them fresh after soaking them overnight)
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon of paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- Sea salt to taste
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then put the chickpeas in a strainer lined with a paper towel. Let it sit there and air dry for 10 to 15 minutes. Once they’re dry, put the chickpeas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle them with olive oil, making sure they’re all coated. Sprinkle them with salt.
Cook the chickpeas for 20 to 25 minutes. To keep them from burning, stir them every five minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when they’re golden brown. Don’t worry if a couple of them pop — that means you’re doing it right!
In a bowl, mix the rest of the sea salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and cayenne. Once you have roasted the chickpeas, toss them in the spice mixture to coat. These taste best when fresh out of the oven.
Quinoa brittle
Who would have ever thought to put quinoa and brittle in the same recipe? The Minimalist Baker, that’s who. This is the perfect high-protein vegan snack that you can take with you just about any place.
Here’s how to make it.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup uncooked white quinoa
- 3/4 cup of chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1/2 cup of maple syrup
Directions:
Start by preheating the oven to 324 degrees and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Be sure to cover the entire surface. Next, add the quinoa, pecans, chia seeds, oats, and salt to a mixer bowl and combine.
Then using a small saucepan, add the maple syrup and coconut oil. Warm it for a couple of minutes until it’s warm. Stir it while it’s warming to ensure that it’s completely combined. Pour over the dry ingredients on the baking sheet and spread it into an even layer. If any edges are left uncovered, they will burn, so be sure to cover everything completely.
Bake this for 15 minutes. Then, spin the pan around and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, watching carefully to ensure it doesn’t burn. When it’s fragrant and a uniform golden brown, it’s ready. Let the pan cool completely and then break the mixture into bite-sized pieces.
You can keep this high-protein vegan snack in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a month.
Walnut dark chocolate chunk protein bites
If you like your protein combined with a little sweetness, this recipe will make your mouth water. The bites are small and will travel with you whenever you have to step out.
Here’s how to make these delicious protein bites.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup of rolled oats or oat flour
- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
- 1/3 cup of hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup of walnut pieces, divided
- 1/4 cup of vanilla protein powder
- 1/2 cup chopped pitted Medjool dates (soak them in 1/2 cup of warm water for 5 minutes)
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons of walnut butter or any other nut or seed butter except peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- A pinch of sea salt
- 1/3 cup of dark chocolate pieces, chopped
Directions:
Combine the oats, chia and hemp seeds, and 1/4 cup of the walnuts in a food processor and combine until it resembles flour. Move to a large bowl and add the protein powder.
Next, add the soaking dates (along with the water) to the food processor and pulse until they’re broken down. Add all of the ingredients except for the remaining walnuts and dark chocolate. Blend until everything is mixed together and smooth.
Add the flour mixture gradually until it’s mixed well with the wet ingredients. If you don’t have room in your food processor, do this in a large mixing bowl. The final result should look like dough. Stir in the walnut and chocolate pieces.
Form a large ball with the dough, wrap it, and then refrigerate it for 20 minutes. After that, divide the dough into 10 to 12 pieces and form little balls with it. You can store them in the fridge or put some in the freezer for when you want to grab a high-protein vegan snack.
Here are a few more high-protein vegan snacks:
Premade high-protein vegan snacks
Sometimes you just need to grab a snack on the road, and that can be distressing for many vegans because we like to eat healthily. Here is a list of some premade high-protein vegan snacks that won’t bust your healthy diet.
- Vegan meatless jerky
- Protein shake
- Crunch chickpeas (if you don’t have time to make your own)
- Kale chips
- Dry roasted edamame
- Wasabi peas
- Protein bars
- Seaweed snacks
It’s Really Possible: High-Protein Vegan Snacks on the Go
Just because you’re a vegan, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy healthy snacks on the go. Yes, we like to cook meals at home or dine in our favorite vegan restaurants, but let’s be honest. Sometimes, we just need to grab a quick snack. Why not make some of these recipes and put them in your freezer for times like this?
Do you have a favorite high-protein vegan snack recipe you’d like to tell us about? Please leave us the details in the comments below!
Featured Image: Pixabay, via stevepb
Last update on 2021-04-13 at 21:22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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