Fancy going vegan for January but unsure what to cook or one of the family has decided to go vegan and you’re in a bit of a spin? Perhaps you want to eat more plant-based meals and cut down on your meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption. Whatever the reason, we’re here to help, with a whole collection of really tasty vegan recipes you’ll want to cook time and again. From light meals to mains, we’ve even added some indulgent desserts to inspire you.
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Vegan pizza
Now that you can find a vegan substitute for mozzarella cheese, pizza just got back on the menu. In this recipe for pizza with Brussels sprouts and lemon, there’s a homemade pizza dough to make. But you can easily buy a ciabatta or pizza mix to which you just add water. Just double check the pack ingredients to ensure they are all vegan.
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Cauliflower dhansak
Dhansak is a Parsi dish, combining elements of Persian and Gujarati cuisines. It’s normally made with lamb, but this vegan version is lentil-based with loads of vegetables. It’s quite hot, but the addition of coconut yogurt cools it down. Best of all, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare and the dish is ready in 40. Any leftovers are great cold for your lunchbox.
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Vegan Caesar salad
There’s no need to stop eating your favorite dishes once you start following a vegan diet as most recipes can be adapted. This vegan protein-packed Caesar salad is a great example of how non-traditional ingredients like baked tempeh and creamy cashew dressing can be wonderfully evocative of the real deal.
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Juna ‘jackfruit tuna’ pasta
Jackfruit is much-loved in the vegan community. It’s the large fruit of a tree grown in the tropics and has the consistency of chicken. It is quite bland, so can take on different flavors well. In this recipe, seaweed flakes, soy and lemon are added to enhance the taste, which makes it a little tuna-like. Note that jackfruit hardly contains any protein, so don’t consider it as a meat substitute. You can now find it in cans, which makes everything easier.
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Breakfast burritos
A breakfast (or lunch) burrito is a really easy and filling idea to kickstart your day or to take to work for lunch. This recipe is tofu-based, with the addition of fried plantain, onion and peppers and is served with a punchy tomato salsa. You could also use this recipe as your basic idea, then add vegetables of your choosing, such as sweetcorn, black beans, diced green peppers and arugula.
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Roasted tomato pasta with chili and garlic
This recipe will make everyone’s mouth water. Cherry tomatoes are roasted in lots of olive oil and garlic, then transformed into a rich sauce with a tiny hint of chili while your pasta is cooking. There’s very little hands-on time in the recipe, which will be on the table in under an hour. Whether you use a vegan Parmesan substitute or omit it completely, this dish will still be a winner.
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Pearl barley and kale broth
This is a simple soup that’s packed with lots of comforting flavor, perfect for a cold day. For a vegan version, simply omit the pancetta and the Parmesan or swap it for a vegan cheese. Make a big batch so there’s always something for lunch with a good hunk of crusty bread. It will keep for up to three days in the fridge.
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Pasta with chickpeas
It’s very important on a vegan diet to have sufficient protein and for vegans this takes the form of nuts, soya products and pulses, such as chickpeas. It’s an easy way to add protein to any vegetable stews or soups and you can add spices, nuts and dried fruit for extra flavor and texture as in this Persian-inspired recipe. Paired with tomatoes, spinach and broccoli, you’ll have a filling, nourishing meal ready in no time.
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Moroccan sweet potatoes
This recipe takes the humble baked potato to a new, vegan level. It’s a comforting and satisfying meal, perfect for the colder months and we promise you won’t even miss the butter. Although the ingredient list is lengthy, it’s a very simple recipe and once you’ve made the tahini dressing, it will keep in the fridge for a week and can be used in a whole host of other vegan recipes.
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Satay noodle stir-fry
A super-easy stir-fry which is ready in around 15 minutes, this noodle dish is perfect for an after-work supper. It’s the peanut butter in the sauce which makes it taste so great, along with some greens. Do try tracking down straight-to-wok noodles – they make easy work of any stir-fry.
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Bean and pasta broth
A hearty, warming soup loaded with beans and pasta makes a perfect packed lunch and it’s so simple to make. No need to soak beans overnight, but simply open a can. You could add extra vegetables, such as sautéed carrot, onion and celery and some spinach at the end to wilt down in the hot soup. Just omit the Parmesan in this recipe and add a vegan cheese, if you like.
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Cheesy lattice pie
A few years ago, making a vegan cheesy pie would have been impossible, but now that cheese alternatives are much easier to find, you can give this one a go. Most shop-bought pastry not labeled as ‘all butter’ is usually vegan, but double check the pack to be sure. Just serve this with your favorite vegetables.
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Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili
Spaghetti con aglio, olio e peperoncino is an Italian classic. Ready in around 10 minutes, it could well become one of your favorite recipes, whether you’re eating a vegan diet or not. Like most great Italian dishes, the key is in the simplicity of the dish and good quality Italian pasta. Choose a good dry pasta brand as cheaper pastas are made with inferior flour and may turn out soggy or make your own.
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Thai red pepper soup
This is such a great soup made pretty much from store cupboard ingredients – roasted peppers in a jar, Thai red curry paste and coconut milk. It’s topped with a tasty mix of seeds and coconut. Though the recipe says to mix the seeds in egg white, just replace it with 2tbsp of sunflower or olive oil.
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Sweet potato noodles with a creamy peanut satay sauce
This is an easy stir-fry with a home-made nutty satay sauce. It’s all very simple and ready in around 30 minutes. The sweet potato noodles are spiralized, but if you don’t have a spiralizer, good kitchen stores sell julienne peelers, which are inexpensive and create a long matchstick effect which works just as well and is quick. This recipe is also gluten-free.
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Vegetarian tagine
This is a fab vegetarian tagine, which also happens to be vegan. Middle Eastern cooking lends itself perfectly to vegan eating, with its heavy use of vegetables, pulses, spices, dried fruit and nuts. This version has a butternut squash base, with zucchini, tomatoes and chickpeas. Plenty of fragrant spices are added, with dried cherries, orange and apricots. You can also make it a day before (don’t add the okra until serving).
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Vegan mac ‘n’ cheese
This mac ‘n’ cheese is tangy, creamy and cheesy, but it contains no cheese. It’s achieved by a clever combination of ingredients, which create a vegan version of a comfort food classic. It takes just over an hour to make, but you can also freeze it or prepare the filling a few hours ahead, then just add the crunchy breadcrumbs and bake.
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Black and kidney bean chili
Midweek meals don’t come quicker than this. It’s pretty much a store cupboard recipe which is ready in 20 minutes. Even better, it freezes well so you can make a massive batch, then freeze it in portions. Make it a little more special by serving it with guacamole, some natural coconut yogurt and tortilla chips.
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Thai curries
Most of your favorite Thai curry recipes can be adapted to a vegan diet because the base is coconut milk or cream and there’s no dairy involved. Instead of adding chicken or prawns, just replace with tofu, which is much tastier if you shallow fry it first, then add at the end, so it has more texture. If you have more time, a tofu massaman curry is full of flavor, made with a homemade paste and a hint of peanuts.
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Fettuccine with spring vegetables
If you’re looking for a light, healthy pasta dish, which just happens to be vegan, this is for you. The sauce is simply olive oil mixed with a little of the pasta cooking water with a hint of chili and garlic. You can finish it off with a flourish by adding a spoonful of black olive tapenade or just lots of lovely fresh basil.
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Tomato soup with kale pesto
This rich, tomato soup is a great winter warmer. You can make it into a hearty meal by adding cannellini beans and small pasta shapes, too. The kale pesto adds a final wow factor, but omit the Parmesan from the recipe and replace it with a further tablespoon of pine nuts. Add a drizzle of your favorite olive oil and some crusty bread to serve.
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Jackfruit curry
Jackfruit has a slightly meaty texture, so it adds a welcome texture to a vegan curry. This punchy sauce of spices, garlic, ginger and chilies is cooled down with coconut and sweetened with tomato passata. You buy the jackfruit canned, so there’s very little preparation here and only 30 minutes’ cooking time. If it’s still a little spicy for some, serve some coconut yogurt on the side.
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Orzo with crispy cabbage, lemon and pine nuts
This is a perfect lunchbox recipe which keeps in the fridge for three days and is way better than any shop-bought vegan lunch you’ll find. Orzo is a small pasta, but you can easily replace it with macaroni too. Just don’t add the Parmesan at the end for a vegan meal (or you could use vegan Parmesan), but instead add a little extra drizzle of olive oil.
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Shiitake and cashew black bean stir fry
An easy and speedy stir-fry, which you can make even quicker by buying a jar of black bean sauce rather than making your own from scratch. The cashew nuts add the essential protein while the shiitake mushrooms add that umami, meaty flavor even die-hard meat-lovers will enjoy.
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Kimchi burger
Vegans can eat burgers too! This recipe is tempeh-based, which is a meat protein substitute, similar to tofu (you can use tofu if you can’t find tempeh). The kimchi in the recipe is homemade, which is worth a go if you have time, but now you can find good quality kimchi in jars in the supermarket, which transforms it into a much speedier meal.
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Fudgy espresso brownies
A brownie can still taste great and be vegan and it’s one of the easier plant-based bakes to make. There’s still plenty of chocolate but the butter’s replaced by a light oil such as sunflower, so they are still moist and fudgy. What are you waiting for?
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Tropical pavlova
If you’re looking for a vegan show-stopper dessert, look no further than the recipe for a tropical pavlova, topped with pineapple, kiwi fruit and passion fruit. How to make a meringue without egg whites? It’s called aquafaba – the liquid from a can of drained chickpeas. Trust us, it will beat up into peaks when you add the sugar gradually, just like an egg white meringue.
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Blueberry and macadamia cheesecake
Cheesecake may be stretching it a bit as this recipe doesn’t contain cheese, but it does have the indulgent creaminess of a proper cheesecake. The crunchy base is made with macadamia nuts, dates, coconut and pumpkin seeds, while the creamy filling is based on macadamias, though you could use cashews. Topped with a tart sauce of blueberries and dates, it’s a winner.
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Chocolate caramel tart
This gorgeous tart looks like a real labor of love, but actually it’s far easier to make than you think and is ready in around an hour. The cooked pastry case is spread with a layer of lightly salted caramel, which we all love, then topped with a dark chocolate filling, which you then simply leave to set.
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Peanut butter pudding
Incredibly indulgent, creamy and satisfying, you won’t even guess this peanut butter pudding is vegan. Combining all of our favorite ingredients – peanut butter, chocolate and salted caramel – you can make both the puddings and the sorbet and freeze until ready to serve. The dark chocolate sorbet is delicious on its own too.
