Super quick vegan recipes

[economymode]

Hi all,

At home with 9 wk old dc3 and struggling to think of really quick meal ideas. Other than making a big batch of soup at the weekend. And houmous.

The baby doesn't nap properly and takes ages to go down in the evening. So meals need to be really quick to prep while I have 10 minutes with 2 hands!

I have so many cook books, which are great for when I have more time to cook.

Any suggestions? Don't have to be exciting, but of good nutritional value and tasty! And super quick to make.

Any good salad combos you can recommend? I don't want to rely on Linda mcC sausages and falafel in pittas!

I have plenty of packet lentils/tins of beans but struggling for inspiration. All the stuff I used to make before the baby took a while to cook and if I want to eat before 9.30/10 pm, they're not really an option!

I will be checking replies even if I don't post straight away!

Thank you

[longdiling]

For lunch today I had noodles with green veg and a dressing made of a tbs peanut butter, some soy sauce, some sesame oil, coriander and lime juice all blitzed together. It took about 5 minutes to make.

My favourite vegan meal so far has been a jambalaya thingy - onion, pepper, garlic, cherry tomatoes all softened. Add chilli and smoked paprika, then orzo pasta and stock. Really quick and lovely.

I also really like bulgur wheat with roast veg and mixed seeds and a dressing made with wholegrain mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

[antimatter]

Can you buy ready chopped onions? They are in cans, frozen or freshly chopped (saw the last type in Tesco).

In a pot cook 1 cup of red lentils 9with at least 2 cups of water) until mushy with 1/2 tsp of salt.
Fry onions until brown, at the end ass 1 tbsp of tumeric and 1 tbsp of black mustard seeds for 2 min.
Add fried onion mix to cooked lentils.
Water it more if you want soup.
Eat with cooked rice or re-hydrated couscous with less watery dhal.

[economymode]

Mmm, longdiling those sound good. I'm just rubbish at concocting my own ideas and they all end up tasting the same.

I have chopped onions antimatter. My dhsl always tastes bland. Any tips?!

These are good though. Just want a few things I can prep without having to think.

[longdiling]

I often buy the packs of pre chopped soup/casserole veg now too. You can just add some red lentils to them to make a thick soup/veg stew.

Ready roll pastry with some sun dried tomato paste and roast veg is what I'm planning on tonight.

[OnyK]

Buy a vegan curry sauce.
Heat the sauce. Bung in a tin of chickpeas, a few lumps of frozen spinach (or fresh, microwaved) and some sliced mushrooms. Cook for 10 mins. Serve with rice and/or parathas (the frozen ones are vegan).

Buy some vegan pesto.
Roast some veg (peppers, squash, onions etc). Cook pasta, stir through with pesto and roasted veg. Top with some pine nuts for added crunch.

[IamHappy1976]

Baked bean curry? Recipe on (ooops) Netmums. DD and I have decided to give it a go as it includes her favourite foods - beans and curry!

[Friendinneed2016]

Chickpea peas mixed with a little olive oil and paprika and put into the oven on a baking tray for 20 mins. Chop red onions and mix with red wine vinegar. Mash an avacado and squeeze lime Juice in and a dollop of harrisa paste. Sounds a lot but only takes a few mins prep. Chuck it all into a wrap and it's sooooo nice!

[Friendinneed2016]

Also do some good stir in sauces for pasta. Could bung in some veg.

Avacado pasta is good. Avacado, garlic, basil, lime juice into a blender and its a lovely creamy sauce for pasta.


Vegan burgers? Frys do a chicken style one or if you don't like meat alternatives good life do a carrot and nut one. Takes minutes.

[Slimmingsnake]

Quorn are selling fish less vegan fingers....oh god.yummy.3 for 100 cals.im addicted ..In Tesco...goes well with a spud and salad...I buy large bags of broccoli and add a whole bag to a bag of sir fry veg,some peanuts ,toms garlic onions all in the wok....in the oven is tofu cubed ,all goes together with a nan bread and feeds a family of 6... I vary it with rice or noodles ,or buy a huge bag of Mediterranean veg any supermarket and bake,then boil pasta add sauce ,mix,back in oven with grated vegan chesse from sainsburys.pototes sliced,layered with onion,raw.in a greased dish.sainsburys grated cheese and Alpro soya cream ,all layered up and baked..bloody lovely..one small tub of vegan cream does for 6 of us...

[economymode]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I do have burgers etc in the freezer but don't want to rely on them.

Definitely some good ones to try on here. Chickpea wrap on the menu for the weekend! Got everything I need for that, I think.

Love my cookbooks but struggling to find meals that are quick enough to prepare, so all ideas are appreciated.

Thank you everyone!

[Slimmingsnake]

Sainsburys grated chesse ,I mean the vegan one in the free from section ,as is vegan.

[RoseDeGambrinus]

Pasta with ready sliced black olives, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and garlic. With a pinch of chilli flakes.

Roasting vegetables is good when you've got a baby and can't stand around waiting for onions to fry. Most of my recipes with them include cheese, but they are also nice with lentils or chickpeas and a good squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the oil. Plus any herb you might have.

[economymode]

I've heard good things about Sainsbury's vegan cheese. Don't often go there but will look out for it when I'm next there.

[YesThisIsMe]

Placemarking for the visit of a non-cheese eating vegetarian guest.

[antimatter]

If you use red onions for my recipe it's even tastier and I often use 3-4 red onions, fry them gently until they caramelize slightly. I love onions!!!!
Think of onions as garnish more than anything else

I also use Himalayan pink salt for this dish if possible or at least rock salt as both give much richer taste than an ordinary table salt.

You could add few tomatoes to the boiling dhal as well, 5 min is enough for them. You don't want them to fall apart but equally not to be raw.

I use rice bran oil in my cooking but oil flavour isn't that crucial.
It's always important to fry curry spices slightly with onion, both powdered or whole. They would taste raw otherwise.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

This may be too much of a cheat but the new Heinz Creations range is really good. They do a Mexican chilli, a lentil kind of Dahl, chickpea tagine and maybe others but they are really tasty, so easy to just serve with a pouch of microwaved rice or cous cous or on a baked potatoes etc.

[ivykaty44]

I made a bean and lentil chilli on Monday and at the same time made a Tuscan bean soup. Both were in bulk.

I made mash potato to pop in Tupperware to heat up and have with the soup, comfort food.

Both can be prepared in 10-15 minutes and then it four evening GS covered two different meals

[antimatter]

I agree that latest Heinz canned beans of various flavours are really nice.

I also make couscous with ready made simple vinagret, you just need to pour boiling water over couscous and after 3-4 min a good helping of vinagret. \It makes it much nicer to eat. I am adding chopped cucumber and feta cheese to it but anything you fancy in a salad would be nice. It can last up to 3 days in a fridge.

[Rueben]

Creamy avocado pasta. Takes roughly 15 mins (although it may be better suited for a lunch meal).
Blend 2 avocados, basil, garlic and lemon in a food processor for the sauce. Cook your pasta, and then add some cherry tomatoes. Done

[Cineraria]

Chickpea flour (gram flour) was really useful when I was in a similar situation. It's a decent source of iron and protein and can be mixed with cold water to pancake batter consistency and fried to make a pancake, wrap or even a vegan omelette/frittata with a few veg added. I am keen to try it for French toast too but haven't yet.

It could also be mixed into a pile of veg (ready chopped frozen or tinned is fine) and a little lemon juice and chilli, plus any herbs or spices you like, to a fairly stiff dough and then shallow or deep fried. They are great served with baked sweet potato fries which you can buy ready cut to save time and cook while you do the fritters.

Stuffed mushroom is also nice. Quick to make but needs 20 minutes in the oven but then so do most ready made foods. Just mix a tablespoon of almond butter, or any nut butter, with plenty of chopped spinach and press it into a big Portobello mushroom then cook for 20 minutes on 200°C. If you want to make it more fancy (I did this for Christmas lunch or when veggie MiL comes for Sunday lunch), you could cover the top in a piece of Jus-rol puff pastry and call it a Wellington.

I like the Tarla Dalal website for quick eggless veggie dishes, not just Indian, and can usually substitute out the dairy quite easily. There is a section on quick dishes in the menu and she does some pretty impressive microwave alternatives to dishes that normally take a bit of work.

[Cineraria]

Chickpea flour (gram flour) was really useful when I was in a similar situation. It's a decent source of iron and protein and can be mixed with cold water to pancake batter consistency and fried to make a pancake, wrap or even a vegan omelette/frittata with a few veg added. I am keen to try it for French toast too but haven't yet.

It could also be mixed into a pile of veg (ready chopped frozen or tinned is fine) and a little lemon juice and chilli, plus any herbs or spices you like, to a fairly stiff dough and then shallow or deep fried. They are great served with baked sweet potato fries which you can buy ready cut to save time and cook while you do the fritters.

Stuffed mushroom is also nice. Quick to make but needs 20 minutes in the oven but then so do most ready made foods. Just mix a tablespoon of almond butter, or any nut butter, with plenty of chopped spinach and press it into a big Portobello mushroom then cook for 20 minutes on 200°C. If you want to make it more fancy (I did this for Christmas lunch or when veggie MiL comes for Sunday lunch), you could cover the top in a piece of Jus-rol puff pastry and call it a Wellington.

I like the Tarla Dalal website for quick eggless veggie dishes, not just Indian, and can usually substitute out the dairy quite easily. There is a section on quick dishes in the menu and she does some pretty impressive microwave alternatives to dishes that normally take a bit of work.

[economymode]

Thank you everyone! Definitely going to give avocado pasta a try.

And as long as the prep is quick, I don't mind 20 mins or so in the oven.

I actually have a bag of chickpea flour that I haven't got round to using, thanks cinearia.