Feature Make vegan food prep easy with these handy apps & meal plans

Need help cooking up a nutritious, delicious plant-based meal plan? Take the guesswork out of “what’s for dinner” with these vegan food prep guides and apps.

Whether you’re new to eating plant-based, feeding a family, or fuelling your body towards specific fitness goals, planning healthy meals that fit your lifestyle doesn’t have to mean spending hours online or staring blankly into the fridge. 

Vegan food prep can be simple, satisfying and surprisingly stress-free, especially with a few handy tools to help streamline the process! There are plenty of apps and meal plans designed to take the guesswork out of cooking so you can stay nourished, energised, and motivated no matter where you’re at on your plant-based journey. 

From vegan recipe apps that instantly generate weekly family meal plans to fitness-focussed tools perfect for tailoring high-protein recipes to your macros, there’s a time-saving hack here for everyone. 

So grab your meal prep containers and get ready to fill up the fridge! If you’ve ever wished someone could just tell you what to cook (and save you literal hours in the kitchen), this one’s for you.

FREE plant-based meal plans to get your food sorted fast ✅

Packed with enough vegan meal prep recipes to keep you going for months, these ready-made weekly and monthly plans make it easier than ever to find your plant-based groove.

Whether you follow them to the letter or mix and match dishes to suit your tastes, these free meal plans are a fun way to bring ease and inspiration to your cooking.

🧡 VegKit’s month of meal inspo: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4

🌎 Vegan Easy’s 30-day meal plan: Monthly Menu

🍎 Doctors for Nutrition’s 7-day meal plan: Weekly Menu

Plant-based meal planning apps that do all the thinking for you

Generate a personalised recipe line-up with one of these plant-based meal planning apps! They’re designed to make every part of vegan meal prep easier – from creating a weekly menu of nutritionally balanced meals to simplifying your shopping list.🍋‍🟩 Pick Up Limes (7-day free trial; $50 annually)

With a library of over 1500 delicious, dietitian-approved vegan recipes and customisable meal plans tailored to your goals, Pick Up Limes makes plant-based living effortless. The app also offers intuitive nutrient-tracking tools (without any calorie-counting), a smart grocery list generator, and practical nutrition tips to support your goals. 

🍴 Forks Meal Planner ($96 annually)

From the team behind Forks Over Knives, this vegan meal planning tool delivers curated weekly menus and guided meal prep steps that you can customise to suit your household size, food preferences, and dietary needs. Every recipe is 100% whole-foods plant-based – making it easy to stay on track and feel great about what you’re eating.

🌈 Rainbow Plant Life Meal Planner (7-day free trial; $180 annually)

Created by cookbook author and YouTube chef Nisha Vora, the Rainbow Plant Life Meal Planner is perfect for busy people who want to cook flavourful, nourishing vegan meals without the stress. Each weekly plan includes seasonal recipes, a streamlined grocery list, batch cooking tips, and ‘emergency’ meal ideas for when life gets hectic. 

Fitness apps with vegan meal prep recipes & nutrition tracking

Ready to smash your fitness goals and thrive on a plant-based lifestyle? These fitness-focussed apps turn health-oriented meal planning into a seamless, personalised experience – serving up entire menus tailored specifically to your athletic goals and macros!

Whether you’re looking for high-protein vegan recipes to support muscle growth, aiming to focus on maintaining a healthy weight, or just want to improve your overall strength and stamina, these tools have got you covered. 

🌿 The Plantpower Meal Planner ($99 annually)

Cooked up by former couch potato and now plant-based ultramarathoner Rich Roll, The Plantpower Meal Planner is all about physical transformation through vibrant, nutrient-packed food. Expect an inspiring mix of flavourful recipes aimed at fuelling endurance, sharpening performance, and elevating your wellbeing.

💪 Centr (7-day free trial; $152 annually)

Chris Hemsworth’s all-in-one fitness app, Centr, allows you to make your meal plan fully vegan, with plenty of plant-rich recipes to keep you powered up and recovering well from your workouts. Many of the trainers are vego as well – which is no surprise, given Hemsworth himself embraced a plant-based diet while training for one of his films to build his thunderous Thor physique!

🏋️‍♀️ Plantfit ($308 annually)

Created by personal trainer Naturally Stefanie, Plantfit empowers women to take charge of their fitness with personalised meal plans and gym guides. Set your macros, explore a whole library of vegan recipes, and generate instant shopping lists! With Stefanie’s uplifting, no-restriction approach, Plantfit makes it easy to eat well, feel strong, and enjoy every bite.

🥕 Eat This Much (free plan available; premium plan $60 annually)

Put your plant-based cooking on autopilot with Eat This Much – an intuitive meal planner that creates custom vegan menus based on your macro goals, budget, and schedule. With easy-to-follow recipes, automated grocery lists, and even pantry tracking functionality, this app makes healthy plant-powered eating feel effortless and efficient. 

Best macro tracking apps in Australia for a plant-based diet

If you enjoy coming up with your own meal plans but still want to keep an eye on your overall nutrition – whether in the pursuit of specific physical targets or simply to get a better understanding of how to balance your plate – that’s where a macro tracking app can come in handy.

There are heaps of apps out there, but some are better than others at recognising plant-based foods. Thanks to their vast databases of vegan ingredients and products available in Australia, we’ve found that these macro trackers in particular are the most veg-friendly:

📖 Easy Diet Diary (free)

An Australian-made favourite trusted by dietitians, Easy Diet Diary makes tracking your meals and understanding their nutritional content a breeze. 

🎯 Cronometer (free plan available; premium plan $110 annually)

Cronometer is a comprehensive nutrition tool that monitors both your macros and micronutrients – ideal for ensuring your diet is balanced and complete.

Ⓜ️ MacroFactor (7-day free trial; premium plan $72 annually)

Smart and adaptive, MacroFactor helps you fine-tune your vegan nutrition goals with individualised tracking tools and clear progress updates.

🤸‍♂️ MyFitnessPal (free plan available; premium plan $80 annually)

One of the most widely used apps globally, MyFitnessPal is a great entry-level option for logging plant-based meals and getting a full picture of your nutrition.

Don’t feel like cooking? Get vegan meals delivered to your door!

No, we’re not just talking about the usual takeout apps like DoorDash or UberEats (though they’ve got plenty of plant-based gems too). We’re talking about these amazing vegan and vegetarian meal prep delivery services that are just a few clicks away from filling your fridge with wholesome plant-based meals.

Sure, ordering ready-made meals every day might not fit the budget (if only!), but they’re worth considering as a supplement or occasional shortcut. During a busy week, having a healthy, chef-made dinner ready to go – with no prep required – can feel like an absolute lifesaver. 

You’re ready to prep plant-based meals like a pro 💪

With these apps, meal plans, and emergency tips in your toolkit, you’re all set. Your weekly cooking routine is about to become easier and more plant-packed than ever! And remember: Meal prepping is all about finding a flexible routine that works for you. The ultimate goal is to cook smarter, not harder!

Need a quick win? Keep a stash of speedy recipes like these 15-minute vegan meals or a hearty plant-based pasta bookmarked for when time is tight. 

And if you want expert advice tailored just for you, having a chat with a plant-based dietitian can make all the difference in reaching your goals and feeling your best.

Above all, enjoy the process: The more you meal prep, the faster you’ll find your rhythm and confidence in plant-based cooking. And even better, you’ll free up heaps of time and energy throughout the week – giving you space to slow down and truly savour all the delicious food you’ve made for your future self 😉

Happy prepping, friends – and more importantly, happy eating!   

Hot tip: Before you dive in, use our easy vegan grocery list to make sure you’re stocked up on all the plant-based staples!