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    Home » Vegan Recipes

    The BEST Cheap & Lazy Vegan Recipes (Easy Lunch or Dinner, 5 Ingredients)

    Published: Jan 11, 2022 · Modified: May 6, 2022 by Tajda Ferko This post may contain affiliate links

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    The ultimate list of tried & tested lazy vegan recipes including simple dinner and lunch ideas. Made using few ingredients, perfect for lazy days when you don't feel like cooking a complicated meal.

    A collage of nine images showing various easy lazy vegan recipes.
    Jump to:
    • 💌 Why You’ll Love These Meals
    • 🌱 Lunch Ideas
    • 🍽️ Dinner Recipes
    • 🥣 15-minute vegan meals
    • 🍲 One-pot meals
    • ✋ 5 ingredients or Less
    • Tips
    • 🍴Recipe

    💌 Why You’ll Love These Meals

    My ultimate simple & lazy vegan recipes include:

    • 1 pot meals like pastas & soups
    • 15-minute meals
    • Simple vegan recipes using 5 ingredients or less
    • Lunch and dinner ideas
    • Cheap or low cost meal ideas
    • Gluten-free, nut-free & oil-free options

    Tip: Don’t be afraid to customize these simple meals! If you’re looking for cheap and lazy solutions, you probably don’t want to go out and buy tons of new ingredients. Use what you have at home or what’s easily accessible. 

    🌱 Lunch Ideas

    Soft Tofu Scramble

    A close-up image of scrambled soft tofu with various veggies.

    If you’re missing eggs, this one's for you. 100% beginner-friendly, made in 1 pan, and packed with protein. Gluten-free, oil-free, and so addicting! 

    Savoury Spinach Crepes

    Bright green spinach crepes on a plate with asparagus with tomato.

    Made in 10 minutes, this quick veg recipe can be prepped ahead and served with all your favorite veggies. Perfect on the go and can be made gluten-free. When paired with other toppings, it can be served as a dinner too.

    Chickpea Tuna Salad

    Vegan tuna sandwich with salad and other toppings.

    I love this recipe because you can batch make it on the weekend and serve it on bread each day. You won’t need any special equipment and you can easily customize it according to your taste. So easy and super filling!

    🍽️ Dinner Recipes

    Lazy Red Pepper Pasta

    Vegan roasted red pepper pasta in a bowl.

    Creamy without using any cream. Cheesy without using any cheese. Roasted flavour without any roasting. Our household is obsessed with this easy vegan weeknight meal. Cooking doesn’t get much easier than this. 

    20-min Taco Salad

    Close-up image of taco salad in a bowl.

    Can’t be bothered to cook an elaborate meal? Brimming with colour and flavour, my taco salad is made for those lazy days. No fancy ingredients are required. Can be made oil-free and gluten-free. 

    20-min Vegetable Chow mein

    Chopsticks grabbing lazy vegan chow mein on a plate.

    Low in saturated fat, packed with veggies and super easy to customise. This chow mein feeds the whole family and takes very little prep! Perfect for vegans, vegetarians, or anyone trying to eat less meat. It’s cheap but cheerful! 

    🥣 15-minute vegan meals

    Spinach Tofu Stir Fry

    Easy vegan tofu spinach stir-fry on a plate.

    All you need to make this spiced spinach tofu stir fry is 15 minutes and 1 pot. The perfect bright & warming vegan staple meal for a gloomy day. Works well when warmed up the next day and includes a gluten-free and soy-free option. 

    Easy Mac & Cheese

    A wooden spoon lifting simple vegan mac and cheese from a pan.

    This stovetop mac and cheese couldn’t possibly get any easier. It contains a secret portion of beans, but you won’t be able to taste them at all. Super creamy and made in 15 minutes. 

    Vegan Mi Goreng

    Two hands holding easy vegan mi goreng.

    This ultimate feel-good dish made with fried noodles & and staple veggies is a perfect vegan dinner for two. I promise you won’t be able to stop eating this one! Plus, it’s easy to customize in case you don’t have some of the ingredients. 

    🍲 One-pot meals

    Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup

    A bowl with vegan cream of chicken soup inside.

    This is not just a soup, it’s a proper, filling meal. A great way to use up any leftover veggies and pasta. Undetectably vegan, made using cheap and staple vegan ingredients. 

    Creamy Lemon Pasta

    Lazy vegan lemon pasta in a bowl.

    Hate doing the washing up? Who doesn’t, right?! This 30-minute pasta is made in 1 pot using just 7 simple ingredients. It’s creamy, zesty, and packed with flavour. Plus, you can throw in any extra veggies of your choice.

    Baked Feta Pasta

    TikTok famous baked feta pasta in a vegan version.

    A vegan take on this TikTok-famous dish. Perfect meal prep dish for the whole family, packed with protein and flavour. What’s even better, you won’t need an oven! Nut-free and can be made gluten-free.

    Easy Potato Rice

    Two bowls of vegan potato rice on a wooden surface.

    Ready in 30 minutes, flavourful, and kid-friendly. This vibrant dish is the perfect combo of creamy potatoes and fluffy rice. Can be enjoyed as a side or a main. 

    ✋ 5 ingredients or Less

    3 Ingredient Vegan Pancakes

    Four vegan pancakes on a plate topped off with banana.

    Possibly the easiest pancakes in the world! So versatile, refined sugar-free & an ideal way to use up overripe bananas. Easy, cheap & so versatile.

    Spicy Bean Burgers

    4-ingredient vegan bean burgers on a plate.

    You’ll never make an easier meal than this 4-ingredient burger. I love how clever, easy & flavourful this recipe is. Whip it together in minutes, then enjoy it on a bun with all your favourite toppings. 

    5-minute Green Pizza Sauce

    Slices of green pizza on a flat grey surface.

    Made with 5 ingredients (plus salt & water), this pizza sauce is so versatile. Toss it in salads, spread it on bread, use it as a filling or dipping sauce. The options are countless! Studded with basil & tangy lemon juice. 

    Tips

    • Make big portions, then reheat the food the next few days
    • Love them or hate them, microwaves can make meal prep significantly easier
    • Plan ahead! Making a weekly menu can save you so much stress and reduce food waste
    • While you’re thinking about big dinner recipes, don’t forget about breakfast and lunch
    • Portion & freeze some of your favourite meals 
    • Have a meal prep day! I love to make several meals on Sundays, then portion them and eat them throughout the week

    Enjoyed my list of cheap & lazy vegan recipes? Check out more beginner-friendly vegan mains and desserts!

    🍴Recipe

    The BEST Cheap & Lazy Vegan Recipes

    Enjoy this super easy, creamy red pepper pasta to satisfy all your cravings.
    5 from 25 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 3
    Calories: 555kcal
    Author: Tajda Ferko

    Equipment

    • Hand mixer

    Ingredients

    Sauce

    • 680 g grilled red peppers (this is the equivalent of 400g of roasted red peppers once drained)
    • 1½ tablespoon peanut butter use peanut butter containing only 100% peanut (no added salt, oil or sugar)
    • ½ cup plant milk unsweetened
    • 10 leaves basil or other herb like parsley or chives

    Seasoning

    • A pinch salt
    • 2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
    • A pinch black pepper optional

    Pasta

    • 360 g wholewheat pasta

    Instructions

    • Grab your favourite roasted red peppers in a jar. Rinse with tap water, drain the oil (or save the oil for later if desired) and add peppers to a medium-sized pan.
    • Then add salt, black pepper (optional), garlic powder, nutritional yeast, peanut butter and plant milk. 
    • Use a hand mixer to mix all the ingredients until smooth.
    • In the meantime, bring water to a boil and cook your favourite pasta according to instructions on the packet.
    •  Once your sauce is smooth, it’s time to heat it up.
    • Let the sauce come to a gentle boil (this should take no more than 5 minutes) to reduce it slightly and then remove from heat.
    • Pour the sauce over your cooked pasta. Mix well and serve with chopped fresh basil (or other herbs).

    Notes

    - Always use smooth peanut butter with no added salt, oil or sugar.
    - Make this gluten free or low carb by serving with your favourite gluten free pasta or veg-based pasta.
    - When serving, make sure to crunch up the basil in your hands or chop it thinly to help release all the flavour.
    - Extra delicious when served with roasted pine nuts.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 555kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 921mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 7097IU | Vitamin C: 289mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 6mg

    Disclaimer: The nutritional information above is calculated automatically. The author of this post cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of this data.

    Tried This Recipe? Tag Me Today!Mention @MyVeganMinimalist or tag #MyVeganMinimalist!

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    Comments

    1. Natalie

      January 17, 2022 at 2:20 pm

      5 stars
      I'm definitely trying that pizza sauce tonight. Sounds delicious!

      Reply
      • Tajda Ferko

        January 24, 2022 at 3:20 pm

        Aww amazing! Hope you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Kayla

      January 17, 2022 at 4:11 pm

      5 stars
      Love this! All these recipes are great for when I don't feel like cooking!

      Reply
    3. Kaitlin

      January 17, 2022 at 8:49 pm

      5 stars
      I loved the 3 ingredient pancakes and meal-prep them by flash freezing, then transferring them to a freezer safe ziploc for other days.

      The green sauce was also amazing. It’s also good for a savory breakfast toast!

      Reply
    4. Michelle

      January 17, 2022 at 9:12 pm

      5 stars
      Oh gosh, what a perfect combo for dinner!

      Reply
    5. Joshua

      January 18, 2022 at 6:49 am

      5 stars
      This is a great selection of easy vegan meals! I don't have much time to cook or even that much knowledge in the kitchen. These lazy vegan recipes will be my go-to when my wife's not home to cook!

      Reply
    6. Emily

      January 18, 2022 at 4:11 pm

      5 stars
      I love all these options for easy meals when I don't feel like putting in a ton of effort to cook! Thanks for putting this together!

      Reply
    7. Anaiah

      January 18, 2022 at 6:38 pm

      5 stars
      I love everything on this list! Can't wait to try them ALL. These cheap and lazy vegan recipes will come in handy. Thanks for putting it together!

      Reply

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    Hi there! I'm Tajda (pronounced tide-ah) and I'm here to take you on a delicious plant-based journey! My recipes are easy to make, affordable, and always vegan.

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