With busy schedules and late-nights in the library, cooking is never a priority at university. That being said, even with hectic timetables that doesn’t mean you have to rely on ready-meals and half-effort creations; there are plenty of meals you can quickly prepare that will last you multiple days if you cook in bulk. Here are 10 quick and easy vegetarian meals that won’t leave you disappointed or out of pocket:
Serves: Four
Preparation Time: Twenty minutes
Cooking Time: Eight minutes
Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp dried herbs de Provence
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1 red pepper, cubed
– 1 green pepper, cubed
– 1 large courgette [zucchini], thickly sliced
– 1/2 aubergine [eggplant], cubed
– 100g/ 3 1/2 oz/ 1 1/3 cups button mushrooms, thickly sliced
– 4 salad onions, halved
(For the dip)
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
– 4 tbsp mayonnaise
Method:
1. Put 12 wooden skewers in a bowl of water and leave to soak for 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, stir the herbs into the oil and toss with the vegetables. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
3. Make the dip by stirring the lemon juice and black pepper into the mayonnaise.
4. Preheat the grill to its highest setting.
5. Thread alternative vegetables onto the skewers and spread them out on a large grill tray.
6. Grill the kebabs for 4 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Serves: Four
Preparation Time: Ten minutes
Cooking Time: Ten-Fifteen minutes
Ingredients:
– 40g/ 1 oz/ 1/4 cup butter
– 6 eggs, lightly beaten
– 6 tsp double (heavy) cream
– 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
– 4 large tomatoes
– salt and black pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200c [180c fan]/ 400F/ gas 7.
2. Heat most of the butter in a pan until foaming, then stir in the eggs.
3. Cook gently, stirring thoroughly with a wooden spoon until lightly cooked with some liquid egg still left.
4. Stir in the cream and parsley, then season with salt and pepper.
5. Core the tomatoes and scoop a little of the flesh from inside, then spoon the egg into the cavity.
6. Place in a roasting tin and cook for around 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened, then serve.
Serves: Four
Preparation Time: Five minutes
Cooking Time: Thirty minutes
Ingredients:
– 1 litre/ 1 pint 15 fl. oz/ 4 cups good quality vegetable stock
– 4 tbsp olive oil
– 1 onion, finely chopped
– 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
– 10g/ 3 1/2 oz/ 1 cup asparagus spears, cut into short lengths
– 1 courgette [zucchini], sliced
– 200g/ 7 oz/ 1 cup paella rice
– 1 red pepper, sliced
– 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method:
1. Heat the stock in the saucepan.
2. Heat the olive oil in a paella pan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes without browning.
3. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, then stir in the vegetables and rice and a little seasoning.
4. Stir well to coat with the oil, then pour in the stock and stir once more.
5. Arrange the pepper slices on top and bring to a simmer, then cook without stirring for 10 minutes.
6. Cover the pan with foil or a lid, turn of the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
7. Uncover the pan and sprinkle over the parsley before serving.
Serves: 6-8
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
-2 leeks, sliced
-2 tbsp butter
-3 large eggs, beaten
-225ml/ 8fl. oz/ 1 cup double (heavy) cream
-100g/ 3 1/2 oz/ 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
-150g/ 5 1/2 oz/ 1 1/2 cups Gruyere, grated
-1 ready-made pastry case
-salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150C/ 300F/ Gas 2.
2. Fry the leeks in the butter with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes or until starting to soften.
3. Whisk the eggs with the double cream until smoothly combined, then stir in the leeks, tomatoes and half of the Gruyere. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry case and scatter the rest of the cheese on top.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until just set in the centre.
Serves: 1
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking times: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
-2 medium leaves of kale, washed and dried, stems removed and roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
-1 tablespoon cilantro, roughly chopped
-2 teaspoons seeded and finely chopped fresh jalapeño (optional)
-Pinch of ground cumin
-Dash of chili powder
-Dash of sea salt
-½ cup cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
-1 small (8 inch) whole wheat tortilla
-½ small avocado, pitted and sliced into strips lengthwise
-1 tablespoon chopped red onion
-1 to 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
Method:
In a bowl, combine the kale, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, chili powder and sea salt. Mix well and set the bowl aside to marinate.
Warm the beans and minced garlic with a couple of tablespoons of water. You can do this in your smallest sauce pan on the stove over medium-low heat (sauté the garlic in a drizzle of olive oil before adding the beans) or in a bowl in the microwave. Add little splashes of water as necessary. Use a fork to mash up the beans a little and add salt to taste, if necessary.
Warm the tortilla in a skillet or in the microwave for a few seconds. Top the tortilla with the black bean mixture, sliced avocado and marinated kale (you may end up with more kale than will fit in your burrito, which you can serve on the side as a salad). Top with red onion and feta.
Roll up the burrito by first folding the tortilla over from the bottom to partially cover the beans and greens, then fold in the 2 sides; finish rolling and put the burrito seam side down on a plate. Slice in half, if desired, and serve with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt on the side if you’d like. This is one of my favorite easy vegetarian meals.
Serves: Six
Preparation Time: 10/15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
– 350g/2 oz/ 3 cups dried gnocchi pasta
– 300g/ 1 1 oz broccoli florets
– 90ml/ 6 tbsp olive oil
– 1 large garlic clove, crushed
– 2.5-5ml/ 1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes
– 185g/6 1/2 cup artichoke hearts in oil, drained
– salt and freshly ground black epper
– 15ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish
– grated Pecorino, for sprinking (optional)
Method:
1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet until it is all dente. Add the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and saute the garlic and chilli flakes for 1 minute.
3. Add the pasta, broccoli and artichoke hearts and cook for 2 minutes until hot. Add a little of the reserved pasta water if the mixture seems a little dry. Season and sprinkle with the parsley and Pecorino, if using.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
-4 courgettes [zucchinis]
-Extra virgin olive oil
-200g/ 6 1/2 oz/ 3/4 cup ricotta
-1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
-1 tbsp basil, finely chopped
-1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
-4 tbsp vegetarian Parmesan, grated
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F/ gas 6.
2. Slice the courgettes in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh, leaving the sides intact.
3. Finely dice the flesh. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and cook the courgette flesh until tender. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool.
4. Once cool, stir into the ricotta and herbs, then season well.
5. Use a spoon to stuff the mixture into the courgettes, drizzle with oil and sprinkle over the Parmesan.
6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the courgettes are tender and bubbling.
Serves: Four
Preparation Time: Ten minutes
Cooking Time: Twenty-Five minutes
Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 40g/ 1 oz butter
– 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 bunch asparagus, woody ends snapped off
– 320g/ 11 oz/ 1 1/3 cups risotto rice
– 100ml/ 3 1/2 fl. oz/ 1/2 cup dry white wine
– 1 litre/ 2 1/4 pints/ 41/4 cups vegetable stock
– 3 tbsp butter
– 120g/ 4 oz/ 1/2 cup vegetarian Parmesan, grated
– 1 lemon, juiced and grated zest
– salt and black pepper
Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
– 200g spaghetti
– 3 tbsp creme friache
– 60g cheese, finely greated
– 3 piece of sun-dried tomatoes, firmly chopped
– 120g lentils
Salt
Pepper
Fresh basil, to serve (optional)
Serves: 8
Preparation Time: 5 minutes (this is an one of the easy vegetarian meals that takes no time to prep).
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
– 80g chopped onion
– 3 tbsp pesto
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 2 tbsp grated cheese
– 400g pasta
– Salt
– Pepper
Method:
1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium low heat. Add pesto, onion, salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes, or until onions are soft.
3. In a large bowl, mix pesto mixture into pasta. Stir in grated cheese. Serve.
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