If you are shopping for gifts for a vegan or are one yourself, you know that attention to detail is key.
Making sure you’re buying the right products — ones that are completely free from any hidden animal by-products — requires a lot of research and scanning of ingredient lists. I should know — I was fully vegan for about five years. And while I have since added a couple of things back into my diet, I still stick mostly to plant-based meals, so I know how complicated navigating the world of vegan products can be.
With the wisdom that can only be acquired through time and experience, I, along with some of my fully vegan or vegan-leaning colleagues, now have a long list of favorites that we think any vegan would love. So we did the hard work for you and compiled a list of some of the best vegan gifts. All you have to do is decide how you want to wrap it.
From snacks to cookbooks, here are the top items to gift any vegan loved ones in your life.
Ask any vegan what the secret to replicating that salty cheese flavor is and they’ll tell you it’s nutritional yeast. This popcorn, which features the ingredient, will have them reaching for handful after handful.
“I love Sweet Loren’s vegan cookies,” says associate editor Allie Wise. “I like them better than ‘regular cookies.’ They come in lots of flavors and are so easy to make that anyone can do it!” Some of the other flavors you can find are fudgy brownie and pumpkin spice.
These are like those cheesy puffs from your childhood but better! Not only are they vegan, but they’re also made from chickpeas, so they have added protein and fiber.
Editor Vivien Moon says that “a good olive oil is always a good gift,” and she likes this one. It’s perfect for drizzling over salads or veggies.
“Fine & Raw is one of my favorite chocolatiers and they just so happen to be plant-based,” says deputy managing editor Jess Bender. “This truffle gift set is a good introduction to the brand.”
Moon says that these vegan salty and sweet candy bars are some of her favorites. “I would love to get them as a gift because they genuinely taste delicious.”
One of the hardest parts of being vegan can be coming up with new, exciting meals each week. But Sakara’s meal service takes all the stress out of weekly meal prep. They can choose 3- or 5-day plans where they’ll receive breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
I tried some of the meals when a family member was signed up and couldn’t believe how tasty they were. And they’re mostly all plant-based! (Some do contain bee pollen and honey, so be sure to check the ingredients before you place your order for the week.)
Any vegan would appreciate a Purple Carrot gift card! They can choose from vegan grocery staples, ready-to-eat meals or meal kits, so they can cook up delicious dishes like black bean “crunchadillas,” cacio e pepe and more.
While associate partnerships editor Lauren Witonsky is not vegan herself, she can appreciate a good plant-based meal — and Spicy Moon is her favorite vegan restaurant in New York City. Your loved one can try it for themselves at home with this noodle kit, which comes with everything they need to make restaurant-worthy Dan Dan noodles.
Zucker’s is a classic New York bagel spot, and they just so happen to offer a vegan breakfast feast that you can get shipped straight to your loved one. It comes with all the classic bagel staples, vegan-ified, including three flavors of tofu cream cheese and plant-based “smoked salmon.”
Bender says that this cookbook is in “regular rotation” in her kitchen. “Bryant Terry has the most innovative approach to vegan cooking,” she adds.
Selling out
Lagusta’s Luscious is another one of Bender’s top spots for chocolate. While it’s currently too hot to ship their sweets, you can grab your loved one their cookbook, so they can make their own. Bender says it’s “a solid read.”
Associate editor Sierra Hoeger gifted this cookbook to a friend after she mentioned wanting to incorporate more vegan recipes into her diet. And it’s perfect for those hoping to eat plant-based “at times” or all of the time.
I’ve been following PlantYou on Instagram for a couple of years and I love seeing her easy and delicious vegan recipe videos. In this bestselling cookbook, she includes plenty of flavorful options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between.
I received this cookbook as a gift after being a longtime follower of Dana Shulz’s (aka Minimalist Baker) blog. All of the recipes are simple and quick, are 10 ingredients or less, are able to be made in one bowl and can be made in just 30 minutes or less. There are plenty of good options for weekly meal prep in here, too.
While this is not a strictly vegan cookbook, all of the recipes are vegetarian and the author often gives suggestions for how to make each one vegan. McKinnon has created some of my all-time favorite plant-based recipes and this book is filled with mouthwatering creations, including broccoli wontons with umami crisp, miso mushroom ragu and more.
Recipe creator, TV host and former TODAY staffer Samah Dada often stops by the show to share her delicious plant-based recipes. In this cookbook, she shares her veggie-filled, vegan takes on classic dishes like cacio e pepe, mac and cheese, caramel bars and more.
“I use this whenever I cook potatoes or want finely cut onions. It’s a product I use nearly daily, if not multiple times a day,” Moon says. It comes with a flexible finger guard that doubles as a blade cover to keep your fingers safe and the blade sharp.
I eat tofu on a nearly daily basis, so a tofu press has been on my list for a long time. The brand says that this gadget can extract the water in just 15 minutes, so you can prep perfectly crispy or sauteed tofu.
Nut milks are a staple in many vegan diets, which is why Moon says she has an at-home maker like this one on her personal wish list. Not only can it make oat, almond, soy and more alternative milks, but it can also make smoothies as well as hot beverages, according to the brand.
While this is definitely a splurge, if you’re looking to spoil your vegan family member or friend, there’s no better gift than a Vitamix. It has powerful blending capabilities, so the options of what they can make are practically endless. I have a similar version of this blender and have used it to make everything from nut-based “cheese” sauces (and they come out incredibly smooth) to hearty blended soups and even nut milks.
The Shop TODAY editors and writers search the internet to find the best products and sales out there across retailers. To find the best vegan gifts, we polled our editors — some of who are vegan and some of who occasionally eat plant-based meals — for their product picks. I, Emma Stessman, was previously vegan for five years and still eat a dairy-free, pescetarian diet, so I used many of my personal experiences to curate this gift guide.
Don’t forget to check out Shop TODAY’s other gift guides to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list, including foodies, the grillmaster, coffee lovers, book lovers and more.
