Cheap vegan lunch ideas for 20 people on a budget

[Fushia123]

Ideas for a cheap vegan lunch for 20 people
21 replies
Fushia123 · 04/04/2026 23:25
Have offered to make a simple lunch for up to 20 people. Think activist action day in between delivering leaflets. Some will be vegan and I’ll be serving up in the host’s kitchen. Not confident about cooking rice for so many, and have come up with…
2x slow cookers of vegan chilli
1x large pan of vegan soup
Chunks of bread to serve with both.
No dessert required.
Have since realised that by offering to cook, I’ve offered to foot the bill too.
Any ideas how I can make these cheaply or other ideas gratefully received

Those sound good and pretty much as cheap as you'll get- to make as cheap as possible are you confident buying bulk bags of dried beans and soaking beforehand rather than tins as this will save you some money? A trip to the supermarket or greengrocers at closing time to pick up cheap veg for the soup? For spices for the chilli the Asian or middle eastern grocers is often a good stop to pick up cheap big bags. Could you perhaps do jacket potatoes instead of bread for the chilli (you can precook at home then wrap in foil and just warm through at hosts). In fact you could do jacket potatoes and baked beans (and vegan cheese I guess although it's gross IMO) as a second dish?

Or the other classic staple to feed a vegan crowd cheaply is daal, slow cooked lentils with spices and some coconut milk for creaminess is great... Or you could turn the soup into a minestrone if you want to make more substantial by adding some pasta pieces and beans?

I would just add make sure you don't forget to season your food, whether you go with the chilli or the daal or soup - there is a big risk with cheap hearty vegan dishes in particular that they can be really bland, particularly if you've gone easy on the herbs and spices for cost reasons or if you're trying to balance in individual preferences - don't forget if you've made a huge vat of something you need to add much more than the little pinch of salt you'd do if it was a dish for one person, obviously you don't want it too salty either but allow enough time to taste and adjust the seasoning before serving and maybe make sure the host has table salt and pepper available?

Great ideas thank you - it sounds as though you are well practiced at something similar. Good point about seasoning. Thank you!

Lunch was great thank you!
Vegan chilli with baked potatoes
Leek, celery, carrot and chickpea soup with bread and butter.
Most food went and some wanted seconds.