I pretty much live off of beans, pasta, and tacos. I’m not the biggest rice enjoyer, but sometimes I’ll have rice.

Tacos are especially good because they’re so customizable, delicious, nutritious, and ultimately filling. Of course, you don’t need a lot of money to make tacos either. Usually, I go with either refried beans (check and make sure they don’t have lard when you’re buying them), pinto beans, or black beans, and I’ll put it in a tortilla with pico, lettuce, taco sauce, and maybe some rice and corn. It gets the job done, and all of the ingredients are definitely low in price.

Also, a bonus tip: if you’re ever craving something with a “meaty” texture but do not want to dish out cash on expensive mock products, mushrooms will be your best friend, especially those portabellas.

Homemade seitan is extremely cheap per gram of protein. Takes maybe 15-20 mins to make.

I find that substituting form is far cheaper than substituting flavor
Take a burger for example, burgers that aim to taste like “the real thing” (impossible burger etc.) are very expensive, whereas the humble bean burger is very cheap to make
Both go very well in a bun with fries on the side

I haven’t personally found a (good) cheap/easy enough to make at home substitute for mozzarella cheese but a good way to get used to not have my favorite cravings is to indulge in something else

Like “fine I’m not having that, but I’m gonna drown in fries”

You’ll stop craving carnist ‘food’ over time, I promise! I think the best bet is to find recipes you like that are not trying to replicate something but are delicious as their own thing.

Plant milks are the only thing I buy regularly, but I’m not sure I would really consider that a substitute. People make their own for very cheap but I don’t use enough that it feels worth it to me. I go through a small container a week for two people, just to splash in our coffee.

Honey replacement = Agave syrup / agave nectar.

There are a lot of branded cheese alternatives, and recipes online to turn silken tofu into a cheese imitation.

i’m still working at becoming a vegan; but beans (black, pinto & peruvian) have been doing a lot of heavy lifting for me and they’re versatile.

for me a big part was being ok with certain substitutes being more of a luxury treat and once in a while buy. i sometimes get vegan ‘cheese’ shreds if they’re on sale or if i’m really wanting that gooey texture in a quesadilla or grilled sandwich but it’s not one of my staples and i use it sparingly. you’ll stop craving cheese over time and it will change how you view gooeyness as an ingredient. also nutritional yeast is your best friend for a cheesy flavor (very tasty in pasta dishes), it lasts a while and is very good for you!

i think it’s good to reorient away from replacement products in the beginning to other enjoyable things so then there’s less viewing them as continued staples especially if they’re not affordable. this can be fun cause you can use ingredients and make recipes you’ve never tried! and it can be exciting to learn and find out what your vegan staple meals look like for you.

like others in the thread i get lots of different beans (chickpea, pinto, black, red kidney, white kidney, lima, and fava) which lend themselves to a bunch of different recipes and flavor profiles. when i make anything where beans are the star of the show i usually use two cans at a time because with rice or bread, that makes a good leftover that lasts a while (for two people). i usually focus on recipes that give good leftovers a majority of the time since i have low energy for cooking regularly.

These are pretty good

Start saving your aquafaba. Chickpeas are cheap and you can make an amazing variety with it

instant pot + dried legumes

curries, chilis, rice and beans. Beans beans beans.

smoked tofu has worked great for me as a cheese substitute