The 10 Dishes We're Loving from the Purple Carrot Summer Menu

If your idea of a hot girl summer is keeping your house cool by leaving the oven off, Purple Carrot’s summer menu is right up your alley.

A plant-based meal delivery service based in Massachusetts, Purple Carrot has been making it easier for people to enjoy plant-based meals since 2014. The service offers a variety of meal options, including meal kits (with a “less prep” option), microwaveable prepared meals, and ready-to-heat frozen meals. 

The company also offers a “Plantry” where you can pick up packaged goods such as vegan cheeses, meatless salami, raw desserts, beverages, and other items to enjoy outdoors. 

Purple Carrot is currently in the middle of its “Hot Vegan Summer,” with a menu of barbecue-inspired options to help plant eaters feel more included in the festivities of the season. “For every season, we leverage seasonal ingredients, but as you can imagine, summer is our favorite,” Renée Gabbett, Culinary Director at Purple Carrot, tells VegNews. 

RELATED: Purple Carrot’s Vegan Meals Are a Game-Changer Whether You Love or Hate Cooking. Here’s Why.

Purple Carrots summer menu

The process of crafting Purple Carrot’s menus begins with brainstorming sessions where the culinary team discusses trends, seasonal produce, and their culinary inspirations. 

Purple Carrot

This leads to a deep dive into the kitchen, crafting diverse recipes that highlight the best of summer produce while accommodating various dietary needs and preferences. “The hard part is picking which 16 to keep each week,” Gabbett says.

Here are 10 dishes we will be bringing to barbecues (or quietly enjoying in our own kitchen) for the rest of summer.

Prepared foods

For the summer, Purple Carrot wanted to zero in on perfecting classic sides while making them broadly appealing.

“Our goal was to make the best macaroni and potato salads that anyone can enjoy, and I think we did it,” Gabbett says. “They have sold out every week.” 

To give everyone a chance to try them, Purple Carrot is keeping these two prepared salads on the menu for September. In addition to these two classic dishes, the summer menu is filled with some other exciting prepared options. 

Purple Carrot

1Creamy potato salad

One of the most popular dishes on the menu, the Creamy Potato Salad is a must-try with a touch of Dijon mustard and pickled mustard seeds that cut through the creamy mayo dressing.
get it here

Purple Carrot

2Mom’s macaroni salad

Another hit among the new sides, this classic macaroni salad has been reimagined with celery, carrots, and red bell peppers that give the tender noodles a crunchy counterpoint.
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Purple Carrot

3Creamy mac and cheese

This indulgent side dish offers all the comfort of traditional mac and cheese and comes loaded with nutty nutritional yeast for that signature cheesy flavor. 
get it here

Purple Carrot

4Dad’s famous baked beans

A three-bean blend (kidney, pinto, and Great Northern) gives this dish body while a touch of tamarind gives it a tang. 
get it here

Purple Carrot

5Mexican street corn salad

This vibrant salad features sweet corn, roasted poblano peppers, and cilantro, which gets slathered in a chipotle mayo and Parmesan sauce to give it that signature elote flair. 
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6Chipotle corn and black bean salad

Capturing the flavors of Southwestern cuisine, this protein-packed salad is loaded with corn, black beans, red bell peppers, and white quinoa.
get it here

Purple Carrot

7Summer quinoa salad with black-eyed peas

Quinoa is dotted with radishes, carrots, celery, and toasted pumpkin seeds in this hearty side dish that’s made more texturally interesting with the addition of black-eyed peas. 
get it here

Meal kits

These summer meal kits take just a little more time in the kitchen but, in our opinion, they are totally with it. Each has an option of either two or four servings per kit. 

Purple Carrot

8Greek summer pilaf 

This dish offers a Mediterranean flair with a quinoa pilaf, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), cannellini beans, and carrots, which you can choose to either grill or roast. 
get it here

Purple Carrot

9Chicago-style hot dog

The first hot dog on Purple Carrot’s platform, this iconic Chicago handheld features Upton’s Naturals Up Dog, topped with yellow mustard, sweet relish, yellow onion, dill pickle spears, Roma tomato, sport peppers, poppy seeds, and celery salt. 
get it here

Purple Carrot

10New England ‘lobstah’ roll

Briny hearts of palm take the place of lobster for this classic summer sandwich, rounded out with caper-and-dill spiked mayo on a toasted bun alongside garlic fries. This one is available only until July 29. 
get it here

Looking forward to the fall

While summer is still in full swing, Purple Carrot is already looking ahead to fall with dishes that focus on convenience. 

“We are excited to get people back into their busy routines, without the hassle of meal planning, or sacrificing eating balanced, tasty food,” Gabbett says. 

The fall menu will feature convenient breakfast options such as heat-and-eat breakfast burritos with Just Egg, roasted potatoes, and vegan cheese, as well as ready-to-eat chia and overnight oats with fresh peaches, blueberries, and cinnamon. 

For dinner, customers can expect quick, nutritious meals such as Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Broccolini & Crispy Chickpeas, and Jackfruit Gyros with Quick Pickles & Tzatziki.

Purple Carrot

These carefully planned meals emerge from extensive—and, by the sounds of it, very delicious—research. “Our culinary team lives and breathes food, we talk about it constantly,” Gabbett says. “We host monthly inspiration dinners to learn about new foods, attend plant-based conferences, food shows, and workshops to meet and talk with other food thinkers.”

Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.