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.
Jump to:
💌 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The nutritional information above is calculated automatically. The author of this post cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of this data.
Natalie
I'm definitely trying that pizza sauce tonight. Sounds delicious!
Tajda Ferko
Aww amazing! Hope you liked it!
Kayla
Love this! All these recipes are great for when I don't feel like cooking!
Kaitlin
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!
Michelle
Oh gosh, what a perfect combo for dinner!
Joshua
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!
Emily
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!
Anaiah
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!