Following a vegan diet means eating plants and plant products, which may be made of fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts or seeds.
A vegan diet doesn’t contain foods that come from animals, such as meats, dairy, fish, eggs and honey.
There are many reasons to follow a vegan diet. Some people do so for ethical reasons, others for environmental ones. You might also choose a vegan diet to improve your health or save money.
Some people extend a vegan approach to other areas of their lives, avoiding products that contain parts of animals or result from animal testing. Some examples include leather, wool and certain cosmetics.
Compared with other options, like flexitarian or vegetarian diets, a vegan diet may require significant changes. But a well-planned vegan diet can be healthy and meet all your nutrition needs. It may be more difficult to meet certain requirements, and in this case, you might consider a supplement.
In this article, we’ll look at what you can eat on a vegan diet – and the best ways to fill any nutritional gaps left by cutting out animal products.
Foods you can eat on a vegan diet
Following a vegan diet involves eating plants and foods made from plant ingredients.
Whole-food options include:
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fruits
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vegetables
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mushrooms
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grains, such as corn, rice, oats and wheat
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pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils
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nuts
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seeds
Vegans can also eat processed foods that only contain plant ingredients. These include:
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tofu
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tempeh
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seitan
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nutritional yeast
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most breads
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most pastas
There are many plant-based alternatives to animal products. If a food is ‘plant-based’, it only contains ingredients that come from plants, so it’s suitable for a vegan diet.
You may find a range of plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy, including milk and yoghurt, at your local supermarket. It’s worth noting that some of these products are highly processed, so it’s important to check their labels.
Plant-based milks are particularly popular. When shopping for these, it’s best to opt for the non-organic versions. These are usually fortified with vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin D, which will help you meet your nutrition requirements.
A vegan diet can be very diverse. Whatever meal, flavour or nutrient you’re looking for, there’s usually a vegan-friendly way to have it.
Foods you can’t eat on a vegan diet
A vegan diet doesn’t include anything that comes from animals. These foods and ingredients include:
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meat, such as red meat, poultry, fish, seafood and edible insects
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dairy, including milk, yoghurt, butter, cream and cheese
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eggs
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gelatin
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honey
It can be tricky to tell at first glance whether a food is suitable for vegans. For instance, some foods that seem vegan – like salt and vinegar crisps or Quorn nuggets – might contain ingredients like milk powder or egg whites.
Also, some additives that manufacturers use in processed foods (for flavouring or colouring) originally come from an animal. This includes many E numbers.
You’ll want to keep a close eye on food labels to see if something is vegan-friendly. If you’re ever in doubt, a quick internet search will usually tell you whether the product is suitable.
Important note: Some foods are in a bit of a grey area. And whether someone following a vegan diet will eat them could depend on the person’s reasons for veganism.
For example, if someone is vegan because they don’t want to cause suffering, they might still eat bivalves, like oysters or mussels – some people argue that these creatures can’t feel pain.
Still, for the most part, a vegan diet reflects The Vegan Society’s definition: ‘In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.’ So, this is the definition we’re using throughout this article.
Sources of nutrients
As a vegan diet rules out some common food groups, you might wonder how people following this diet can meet all their nutrition needs.
If you’re eating a wide variety of whole plant foods and not relying on heavily processed ones, you’ll likely meet most nutrient recommendations. This is especially true for fibre, which most people in the UK aren’t getting enough of.
Still, the best sources of certain nutrients aren’t available on a vegan diet, so you may need to do a bit more planning in order to meet your needs. If you’re worried about filling the gaps, here are some helpful tips:
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Protein: There are lots of good vegan sources of protein. The best are nuts, seeds, quinoa and pulses. Soy-based foods, like tofu and tempeh, also contain significant amounts of protein, including all the amino acids your body needs.
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Calcium: You can find calcium in pulses, dried fruits, sesame and many leafy green vegetables. Also, some products are fortified with calcium, including some breads and plant milks.
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Iron: There’s iron in pulses, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, dried fruit and wholemeal flour. Some breakfast cereals are also fortified with iron.
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B12: This vitamin can be tricky to find in vegan-friendly foods. Luckily, it’s present in yeast extract and nutritional yeast. Plus, some foods, like certain breakfast cereals and soya drinks, are fortified with B12.
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Omega-3s: These fatty acids are harder to come by in plant foods, and they may not be as beneficial as those in oily fish. However, you’ll get some omega-3s from chia seeds, walnuts, rapeseed oil, flaxseed oil and seaweed.
If you’re worried about your omega-3 intake, you might opt for an algal oil supplement.
It’s also worth noting that a key reported health benefit of omega-3s is a lower risk of heart disease. A diet that consists of a variety of whole plant foods will lower this risk, too.
Learn more about plant-based protein sources.
What you can eat for different meals of the day?
If you’re following a vegan diet, you’ll likely be able to eat many of the same meals that non-vegans eat. With some swapping of ingredients, most dishes should still be on the menu.
Here are some simple options for different meals:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Tips for a healthy vegan diet
If you’re thinking about trying a vegan diet, here are some strategies for doing it in a healthy way:
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Aim for at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Eating only plant-based foods doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get your 5-a-day.
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When you’re replacing meat or dairy, you don’t have to use highly processed alternatives. Try swapping in a whole food instead, for a more nutrient-rich option.
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Pulses, nuts and seeds are great to have on hand. They’re versatile, working well in meals and on their own as a snack. Plus, they can provide good amounts of healthy fat and protein.
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Leafy greens – like broccoli, kale, spring greens and cabbage – are top sources of nutrients that can be hard to find elsewhere, so they’re especially useful to have in your fridge.
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Stock up on tinned and frozen vegetables if you have the space. They’re easy to add to a variety of dishes, and they can help you prepare healthy meals quickly.
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Keep an eye out for fortified foods. Certain breads, cereals and plant-based milks and yoghurts contain added nutrients that are tricky to get from other vegan-friendly foods.
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Make sure you’re drinking plenty of fluids. This is especially important if switching to a vegan diet means that you’re eating more fibre than you used to.
If you’re just starting out and finding it difficult, you could try cutting out animal products one at a time, rather than all at once. Small changes can be easier to sustain than big ones.
Useful food swaps
Many different swaps can make your meals vegan-friendly.
Why not try replacing:
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eggs in baking with aquafaba (the liquid from tinned chickpeas)
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butter in baking with oil or mashed banana
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scrambled eggs with scrambled firm tofu
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beef mince with lentils or other pulses
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pork or chicken with jackfruit
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mayonnaise with avocado or hummus
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grated cheese as a topping with nutritional yeast
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honey with maple syrup or sugar
Benefits of a vegan diet
A vegan diet has many potential benefits. Cutting out foods and drinks that come from animals reduces the impact of farming, a practice that can be seen as harmful and exploitative.
Evidence also suggests that a vegan diet has far less of an environmental impact than a diet that includes animal products.
But it’s not just animals and the environment that stand to benefit. A healthy vegan diet can benefit our bodies, too.
Some studies have suggested that vegan diets can help with weight management. And for people with diabetes or a risk of cardiovascular disease, this eating pattern could reduce the risk of metabolic health problems.
However, this research also points out that a vegan diet could lead to bone problems, which goes to show that it’s important to find good sources of calcium.
Finally, some recent research suggests that a vegan diet can benefit your gut microbiome – the community of microbes living in your digestive tract – compared with a vegetarian or omnivorous diet.
The large study found that a vegan diet was more highly associated with certain microbes linked to favourable cardiometabolic markers, compared with the other diets.
We already knew that eating a diverse range of plants each week was good for your gut and your overall health. So, making this a focus of your vegan diet seems to be a great way to support your health.
Frequently asked questions
Here are answers to some common questions about specific foods and veganism.
Can vegans eat bread?
For the most part, yes. It’s important to check the ingredients, though, because some breads contain egg, milk or honey.
Can vegans eat pizza?
Most pizzas aren’t suitable because they contain cheese. And like other types of bread, some pizza doughs contain non-vegan ingredients.
Luckily, there’s a growing range of vegan-friendly options in supermarkets and at pizzerias. And if you have time, you might make your own plant-based pizza at home.
Can vegans eat chocolate?
Some chocolate is suitable – it’s important to check labels for ingredients such as milk and butter. The darker the chocolate, the likelier it is to be vegan-friendly.
There’s an increasing number of vegan-friendly chocolate products out there, and you might find them in the free-from section of the supermarket.
Can vegans eat fish?
No. Fish are living creatures and therefore aren’t suitable for a vegan diet.
As we mentioned earlier, some people argue that bivalves, like oysters and mussels, are suitable because their limited nervous systems prevent them from experiencing pain.
However, eating certain creatures goes against a traditional vegan approach. Most vegans wouldn’t consider bivalves an option.
Can vegans eat eggs?
Not really, no. Eggs are an animal product and therefore fall under the category of foods that aren’t allowed in a vegan diet.
Some vegans might be happy to eat eggs from their pet chickens, for example. But others might say that this isn’t a strictly vegan thing to do.
Can vegans eat honey?
As bees produce honey, it’s not suitable for a traditional vegan diet.
And while some might consider beekeeping to benefit the environment, The Vegan Society suggests that as well as being exploitative and harmful to bees, the honey industry damages our environment through breeding practices and international importing.
Summary
Vegans only eat foods that are plant-based. While this might seem limiting, there are plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds to provide lots of variety for a healthy and delicious diet.
It can take a bit more planning to meet all your nutrient needs on a vegan diet. However, several potential health benefits are linked to this way of eating, including support for your gut microbiome.
To learn more about other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
Sources
Definition of veganism. (n.d.). Link.
Evidence of a vegan diet for health benefits and risks — an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational and clinical studies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. (2022). Link.
Food additives. (2025). Link.
Gut microbiome signatures of vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diets and associated health outcomes across 21,561 individuals. Nature Microbiology. (2025). Link.
How to avoid buying non-vegan products. (2015). Link.
How to get more fibre into your diet. (2022). Link.
The honey industry. (n.d.). Link.
The vegan diet. (2022). Link.
Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts. Nature Food. (2023). Link.
