5 Easy Vegan Meals To Cook At Home
Whether you agree with the vegan doctrine or not, the truth is that we could all stand to eat far less meat and dairy, both for our own health as well as the planet’s. As veganism has become far more popular, the number of vegan recipes has increased massively and it’s never been easier to make delicious, wholesome meals at home that avoid the forbidden fruits (excuse the pun) of the omnivore lifestyle. The trouble is, sometimes these recipes are complicated and involve the use of expensive ingredients or loads of spices that you might not necessarily have in the cupboard. That’s why this is a list of easy vegan meals that can be assembled fairly easily without too much effort.
I want to stress that, even though these dishes don’t involve the use of animal products, that doesn’t mean they’re exclusively designed with vegans in mind; these are tasty, easy vegan meals that are ideal for anyone, vegan or not.
Beetroot soup
Beautifully simple, undeniably delicious. Making this great soup requires minimal effort, only requiring beetroot, onion, garlic, vegetable oil, vegetable stock and salt and pepper. Roast the veg together in the oil, salt and pepper, blend into pulp, add the stock and boil. Easy. Admittedly, if you’re not much of a beetroot fan then this might not be the choice for you but, if you’re partial to the beating purple heart, then this is a great option for you to make a proper wintry, earthy dinner.
Spinach, Tomatoes and Mushrooms on Toast
Another very simple dish, there are few greater pleasures than chomping down on some fried veggies on some crusty bread. This is literally a case of frying up the ingredients, toasting up some bread (smothered in a plant-based butter if you have one) and enjoying. Obviously the choices of vegetables can vary if you don’t like one, although I can’t recommend including spinach enough, especially for an iron boost if you follow a fully vegan lifestyle.
Vegetable curry
You can’t go wrong with a curry. I know it may be frowned upon, but I will always opt for a jar of curry sauce as I don’t trust my own ability to make a good one, and it also means I don’t have to buy an inordinate number of spices. I find Patak’s is the best brand for a good sauce, and a majority of them are vegan. After choosing a sauce (I usually go for Rogan Josh or Madras) it’s then a simple case of choosing what vegetables to put in. I would recommend onions and peppers as the base veggies but, after that, go crazy: mushrooms, green beans, peas, whatever you want really. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, add a meat replacement such as Quorn (check to see if it’s vegan) or Fry’s Family Farm chicken strips. Making a curry like this is certainly one of the easiest of easy vegan meals.
Three-Bean-Chilli
Three-bean-chilli is slightly more time consuming and requires more ingredients, but these ingredients are not too expensive and you get plenty of portions that you can whack in the fridge or freezer for another day. Fry up onion, peppers and garlic and then add chopped tomatoes, green lentils and whatever variety of beans you like. Usually I go for kidney beans, chickpeas and butter beans, but you really can use whatever you like as long as you include the lentils as this is the substance of the chilli. Beans are packed full of protein, making this another ideal vegan meal.
Black Bean Burritos
Certainly the most fiddley of my easy vegan meals, but these black bean burritos are still not too difficult and make a wonderful treat food. Fry up an onion, a green pepper, a green chilli and then add a tin of black beans in chilli sauce. Reduce this down and then scoop it into tortilla wraps – check that these are vegan, as sometimes they contain milk powder. You can add some grated vegan cheese to the inside of the wrap and on top at this point if you fancy it, but it often doesn’t melt which can really ruin the whole thing. Once wrapped up, whether cheesed or not, definitely add some more green chilli to the top to get that extra spice. Bake until crispy and enjoy.
