Easy after work vegetarian meals

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In a bit of a rut. Work full time and it can be very stressful.

Looking for quick meals to serve 2. I’ve got loads of recipe books, but they mostly serve 4 and I don’t really like leftovers.

Thanks in advance!

Baked feta with bread of choice and a side salad? Ooh YES - a dream meal!

Lots of nice ideas here thank you. Must admit, risotto is actually a faff I don't mind having after work because I find the stirring quite soothing!

When you get that air fryer, baked feta is a great, easy and quick one....!

Agree re risotto. Its the slicing, peeling and roasting butternut I am less keen on! Probably why I often default to pea! But saw a a suggestion to add blue cheese and thyme so I see this in my and ds' future next time dh is out!

I like egg fried rice using the precooked rice sachets, a couple of eggs, a pile of frozen veg and a handful of cashew nuts for an emergency meal.

Pasta with pesto is prob too obvious to mention, but I will.

Baked potato with cheese and beans. Spuds 10 mins in microwave then a metal skewer though centre and oven or air fryer till cooked - usually 15 mins in my wee oven. The Stagg veggie chilli in a can is good, or I buy various mixed beans in chilli sauce tins and use one of them.

Welsh rarebit is my favourite solo meal and takes no time at all. I like the spicy cheese mix on a baked spud too.

At my very laziest and if I'm peckish rather than hungry, I have cheeses, crackers, fruit slices, olives and pickles, etc as a grazing plate and scoff the lot in front of the telly. Delicious little nibbly things, as its known in our house.

Toad in the hole with broccoli ans sprouts is my quick after work dinner.

Or couscous with a red pepper sauce tofu

Or you can buy frozen butternut squash and use as needed. And I thought I was mardy…

My go to quick vegi meals for 2 are:

Stir fry - buy fresh noodles and a packet sauce and stir fry with quorn pieces and whatever veggies you fancy.

Tofu satay - griddle some tofu (the smoked stuff is lovely) and make a quick satay sauce with peanut butter, chilli jame, soy sauce and some coconut milk. Serve with rice.

Quick chilli - vegi mince, chopped onion and garlic, tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce, some chopped tomatoes and some chipotle paste. Serve with cheese, sour cream, avocado and rice/ tortillas.

Block of feta, pack of piccolo tomatoes. Place in baking dish, add extra virgin olive oil and a few cloves of garlic in their skins. Bake in the oven until browned. Seve with crusty bread.

I make halloumi fajita wraps in about 10 mins. Just fry some onions and peppers. Then throw in some chopped halloumi, cut up cherry tomatoes and a handful of sweetcorn with some fajita seasoning. Then put into wraps with some sour cream/natural yogurt/mayonnaise depending on what we have in the fridge.

Also halloumi pasta. Fry some onions, halloumi and chilli flakes. Add some passata/chopped tomatoes and reduce whilst some pasta is cooking. Sometimes throw in some peas or red pepper too. Max 20 mins.

Soup recipe. Roughly chop and fry one onion and one green pepper for a couple of mins. Add some chilli powder. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and 400ml of veg stock. Half a tin of kidney beans. Reduce for 10 mins. Blend. Add the other half of the kidney beans and some tinned sweetcorn. Maybe closer to 30 mins because of the time it takes to reduce but no more and very little effort if you have a hand blender.

I love this, definitely doesn't take as long as it says to cook but I do cheat and use shop bought chilli oil. I load it with more veggies too. I do lots of variations of noodles as they're so quick.

I also love a pitta or naan bread pizza with a salad, or a toastie or panini with a bowl of soup.

Falafel bowls. Shop bought falafel, hummus, cous cous and salad/olives/pitta

Fajita bowls or wraps using frozen peppers and sliced halloumi, for the bowls I use microwave rice and add sweetcorn, coriander, salsa, jalepenos etc.

French toast/eggy bread with fried mushrooms is another of my late night meals.

Garlic mushrooms on sourdough toast.

Fry mushrooms and crushed garlic cloves in butter, at end of cooking add freshly ground black pepper and chopped fresh parsley. Serve on sourdough toast (possibly with soup if you're very hungry?).

I feel like a lot of posts are just full-blown recipes, even if they sound delicious.

https://www.healthyfood.com/healthy-recipes/sesame-tofu-and-mango-with-spicy-ginger-dressing/

For a very quick meal, I’ll make paneer and vegetable tikka kebabs using the Waitrose Green Tikka paste (which is very nice). I literally just put the paste on and put them in the oven for 20 minutes.

The recipe boxes are genuinely quite good for two people (Mindful Chef, Hello Fresh etc).

I think you're being a teeny bit daft about reducing menus for 4 - if you plan your week, you can find something else to make out of that gigantic butternut squash another night etc, and who has ever been inconvencienced by a half tube of tomato puree in the fridge?

Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food book has loads of small-scale easy meals, big veg section too.

@SpaceOP Pea, blue cheese and thyme risotto sounds brilliant.

@Baldieheid Yes to pickies and yes to 'posh' cheese on toast.

Yes to mushrooms on toast too.

The tofu and mango thing looks great.

I may be being 'daft' but I've also said nothing at all about not wanting a bit of tomato puree knocking around. I don't always/often want to cook a recipe that's twice as big as I need. Sometimes I do that, but that's not what I made this thread for.

I have loads of Nigel Slater books, but he mostly puts me right off with his vintage bowls and obsession with the perfect ripe tomato.

Also, if I never have to cook or eat another stir fry again, that's fine by me.

Tikka kebabs are a good idea. I do halloumi/vege ones quite a bit, but haven't done spiced paneer ones for years.

Sometimes, I have a bowl of shreddies for dinner. It really does get that lazy here.

Thanks for your honesty.

If alone, I sometimes opt for scotch pancakes (bought) with Greek yoghurt and berries for dinner.

And who the heck wants to do battle with a butternut when they leave the house in the dark, get home in the dark, might have had a stressful day and still value their fingers?

I like to cook, and I do plan leftovers that can be developed into another meal ( big tray of roast veg on a Sunday does us a few days) but I remember realising that not every meal has to be interesting or nutritionally balanced.
Sometimes it's okay to buy a pizza on the way home. It's just one meal in a whole week. If I want crumpets with butter, that's what I have.

Thought I’d share one of my easiest meals. Won’t win any prizes for innovation but is very delicious.

Cook pasta. Add a tub of fresh pesto, a packet of chopped baby spinach leaves, some toasted pine nuts (I buy them ready toasted and freeze them) and a spoonful of creme fraiche. Shedload of black pepper. Cheese.

That sounds excellent!

I made this yesterday, was super easy and really filling
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/hearty-pasta-soup

I've got the lollipop app, it's great to find recipes, tailor them to the serving you want and then it even orders what you need from sainsburys for you. I've discovered some great recipes this way.

Cut sweet potatoes into wedges and air fry. Rinse chick peas and saute until they start popping. I add chilli flakes to the oil. Sometimes, I also add cherry tomatoes. Put chickpeas and sweet potatoes into a bowl and add tahina.

That sounds delicious, it sounds like it might work with some crème fraiche also.