Gain Muscle with this Vegan Diet

The most comfortable option to obtain protein without eating meat and thus, be able to gain muscle without skipping your vegan diet is to include seeds and nuts.
Gain Muscle with this Vegan Diet
Carlos Fabián Avila

Reviewed and approved by Doctor Carlos Fabián Avila.

Written by Okairy Zuñiga

Last update: 31 August, 2023

Are you looking for an environmentally friendly lifestyle that benefits your health and the rest of the beings that inhabit this planet? Have you decided to take a vegan diet? Are you having problems gaining muscle and want a solution that matches your values?

Don’t worry. You don’t need to eat meat to gain muscle, just include some simple changes in your diet .
Discover how to gain muscle with this vegan diet and achieve that well-toned body without many complications.

What is this vegan diet to gain muscle?

This diet depends on two simple recipes that you can combine with the rest of your food without problems. If you are satisfied, then you do not need to eat anything else.

The smoothie should be included in your breakfast and dinner , while the salad should be the main course of your meal. By themselves, they are very well balanced recipes that will not cause nutritional imbalance.

However, we recommend you follow this diet for a maximum of 4 weeks because you can get bored easily. If you prefer, you can alternate a week of this diet with a week of your usual meals. You’ll see that the menu is quite rich.

Read also: Build Muscle Mass and Burn Fat with These Quick Tips

Smoothie to gain muscle

Strawberry smoothie to gain muscle

This smoothie is very complete because it already includes natural fats of good quality, protein, fruits and vegetables. To help you finish the one-month term with the vegan diet, keep protein powders of different flavors on hand. In this way, you can play with the flavor and avoid getting bored.

Ingredients

  • 1 ice cube
  • 6 medium strawberries, washed and disinfected
  • 1 cup of baby spinach leaves washed and disinfected (30 g)
  • 1 tablespoon of protein powder, the flavor of your preference (15 g)
  • 10 almonds
  • 1 tablespoon of almond or organic and vegan peanut butter (20 g)
  • 1 cup of coconut milk (250 ml)

Preparation

  • Blend everything and drink immediately.

Vegan salad to gain muscle

Vegan salad with tofu

This salad is really delicious because of the spices it includes. That helps a lot to stay attached to the regimen. In any case, if you get bored, you can change the spices for other varieties or aromatic herbs.

The only thing you should avoid is adding processed dressings and sauces with too much salt and preservatives. If you prefer to accompany your salad with a dressing, you can prepare one at home with the juice of some fresh fruit and a little oil.
You can also play around and try oils from different sources: avocado, sesame, fine herbs, etc.

Visit this article: Create Your Own Aromatic Garden

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of water (15 ml)
  • A pinch of dry thyme
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (5 g)
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil (16 g)
  • ½ cup of white onion cut into small cubes (110 g)
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • ½ block of firm tofu cut into cubes.
  • 1 cup of washed and disinfected spinach leaves (30 g)
  • 1 avocado cut into slices

Preparation

  • First, in a dish or deep bowl add water, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper and let stand.
  • Then, in a frying pan, heat the olive oil.
  • When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes or until they have a smooth texture.
  • After, add the tofu cubes and sauté for about 10 minutes.
  • Then, add the mixture of water with spices and stir well with the help of a small spoon.
  • After, add the spinach leaves and stir for about two minutes.
  • Remove from heat and serve.
  • Garnish with slices of avocado.

As you can see, these two recipes are really appetizing, simple, and very economical because you may already have several of the ingredients.

Include seeds and nuts in all your snacks

Dried fruits and nuts

These two ingredients contain high quality protein that helps replace the one you do not get from meat. In addition, they are so simple to carry that you have no excuse to leave them at home, and they leave you satisfied with a minimal amount.
Some options are:
  • ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds, which  gives you 15 grams of protein.
  • ¼ cup of almonds, which gives you 10 grams of protein.
  • 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, which give you 12 grams of protein.

All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Morton RW., Murphy KT., McKellar SR., Schoenfeld BJ., et al., A systematic review, meta analysis and meta regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med, 2018. 52 (6): 376-384.
  • Velmurugan BK., Rathinasamy B., Lohanathan BP., Thiyagarajan V., Weng CF., Neuroprotective role of phytochemicals. Molecules, 2018.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.