These lazy vegan recipes are perfect for when you're too tired, short on time, hate chopping, hate dishes, or are just too lazy to bother.
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What are lazy vegan recipes?
Lazy vegan recipes are perfect for when you’re too tired, short on time or ingredients, or when you just can’t be bothered to cook.
While it’s easy to make a meal from a meat-replacement product and some steamed vegetables, if you’re a vegan on a budget, eating these products regularly can get expensive.
And while vegan meal prep and preparing vegan freezer meals can help you save time, we’re not all good at planning ahead like that!
This collection of lazy vegan recipes will help you find something to eat when you’ve just come home after a long day and want something quick, simple and that won’t leave you with a bunch of dishes to do after.
The lazy vegan recipes in this collection are divided by type. If you need something super quick, check out the 15-minute meal section. If your fridge is looking bare, jump to the 5-ingredient or pantry staples sections. Don’t have a stove? I’ve included a no-cook vegan recipe section.
No matter what type of lazy you are, there’s sure to be some useful recipes here for you! Just use the table of contents at the top of the page to navigate around.
Lazy vegan ingredients to have on hand
Going to the supermarket can be a hassle sometimes, especially when you don’t even feel like cooking!
Keeping a selection of staple ingredients on hand are great for whipping up last-minute easy vegan pantry meals.
Canned foods: Beans and lentils are a vegan’s best friends. Canned tomato, vegetables, and soups will make your meal as easy as open and dump.
Frozen vegetables: A bag of frozen mixed vegetables can be used for soups, chili, curry or stir fry. They are just as, if not more, nutritious as fresh vegetables.
Pre-chopped veggies: These can be more expensive than chopping them yourself but can cut down on prep time considerably.
Soup stock: So-called kitchen sink soup, i.e. a soup made out of whatever you have in your fridge, is a great lazy vegan recipe. Keep some vegetable stock, either bottled or stock cubes on hand for a quick and comforting dinner.
Dry goods: Pasta, rice and a whole grain or two in your pantry will make the base of a hearty meal that will keep you full.
Simple condiments: A few of your favourite herbs, spices and seasonings for adding flavour. Garlic and onion powder if you don’t like chopping; smoked paprika, chili powder and curry powder are versatile. Soy sauce and hot sauce are simple ways to add lots of flavour.
15-minute vegan meals
Pita pizzas
I lived off pita pizzas when I was in college. Take a piece of pita bread, spread on some tomato sauce, add your favourite pizza toppings and some vegan cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and there's your dinner!
Creamy vegan pasta
This creamy vegan pasta recipe is a game-changer! The 3-ingredient sauce is quickly blended up then poured over cooked pasta. It's legit the creamiest vegan pasta sauce ever!
Stuffed sweet potatoes or jacket potatoes
Did you know that you can quickly "bake" a potato or sweet potato in the microwave? They bake super quick and when they're ready you can stuff them with your favourite fillings. Try Southwest-style with canned beans, corn, diced tomatoes, guac and vegan sour cream.
Avocado pasta salad
Eat the rainbow with this avocado pasta salad! A creamy sauce is made from blended avocado, dill, and horseradish or Dijon mustard. Toss with pasta and your favourite colourful vegetables.
Fajitas
Fajitas and tacos are always a great, quick meal when you can use raw ingredients or ones that only need to be quickly sautéed. This recipe calls for king trumpet mushrooms but oyster mushrooms work just as well.
Mediterranean couscous salad
Couscous is a quick-cooking pasta and a great neutral base for a wide variety of ingredients and seasonings. This salad combines toasted couscous with fresh Mediterranean vegetables and a simple vinaigrette.
Stir fry
I often make stir fry as a quick weeknight meal. They can be made with a selection of your favourite fresh vegetables or, as in this recipe, with frozen vegetables. Serve your stir fry over rice for a healthy and hearty meal.
Chickpea salad sandwich
Chickpea salad sandwiches is a classic lazy vegan recipe. Just smash up some chickpeas with vegan mayo and your typical chicken or tuna salad ingredients. Spread it between bread, in a bun or in a wrap.
Peanut noodle salad
Thai-style peanut sauce is one of the most delicious sauces ever invented. It's delicious over noodles like this Thai noodle salad recipe, and also good over roasted vegetables or Buddha bowls.
Fried rice
When you've got some leftover rice, fried rice is a super quick meal. Avoid chopping by pulsing the veggies in a food processor or by using a bag of frozen vegetables.
Spinach pasta
This vibrant green pasta sauce is super quick to make and can be made with either fresh or frozen spinach.
Curry
Curry is delicious with pretty much any vegetable. I like to make curry when I have a lot of vegetable odds and ends left over in my fridge. This recipe uses a bag of frozen vegetables for a very easy and speedy curry.
Chili garlic noodles
Slurpy udon noodles in a garlicky and spicy chili sauce? Sign me up! This recipe makes a double batch of sauce so you can have an even quicker meal the next day.
Burgers
These super easy bean-based burgers come together really quickly. They're smoky and spicy with bbq sauce and sriracha. Slap 'em between two buns with your favourite burger toppings.
Five-ingredient recipes
Pea soup
I like making this soup in the spring with fresh peas from my garden but it can also be made with frozen peas any time of the year. It's thick and creamy and perfect for dipping your crusty bread in!
Chili
This recipe ticks a lot of boxes for lazy vegans! It's quick, only five ingredients, made in one pot and uses staple ingredients. It's also a great base to add in anything else you like in your chili.
BBQ Tofu
Lazy vegans like me don't bother pressing our tofu. Just fry it up and dump over some sauce. Serve this BBQ tofu over rice or alongside some steamed veggies.
Potato latkes or zucchini fritters
Grate up some potatoes or zucchini, combine with flour, baking powder and seasoning. Fry them up and top with applesauce or vegan sour cream. Easy and delicious!
Pumpkin or squash soup
This recipe calls for pumpkin, but any kind of orange squash would work too. The pumpkin is blended with red lentils for a hearty and protein-rich meal.
Taquitos
Simple taquitos stuffed with refried beans and cheese. Make them your own with your choice of toppings. I'd skip the homemade cheese in this recipe and just buy your favourite brand.
Hummus pasta
Hummus isn't just a dip or a spread. It's also a salad dressing and a pasta sauce! This lazy vegan recipe uses sun dried tomatoes but you could swap them out for some steamed broccoli or fried mushrooms.
Chickpea flour omelette
Chickpea flour and water are all you need to make an egg-free omelette. Add in whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Vegetable tagliatelle
Gaz Oakley never lets us down with his flavour-packed and innovative vegan recipes. This tagliatelle combines cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and vegan pesto for a flavour-packed pasta dish.
Enchiladas
Tortillas, a jar of enchilada sauce and your choice of fillings, in this case tofu and black beans, are all you need to make a pan of delicious vegan enchiladas! My favourite filling is black beans and sweet potato or a can of pumpkin puree.
Burgers
Just black beans, oats and salsa is all you need for these easy burger patties! Add buns and your favourite toppings for a quick and easy burger night.
Stuffed peppers
Stuffed peppers are simple to make and can easily be adapted depending on what grain you have in your pantry. Instead of peppers, stuff a zucchini, eggplant or sweet potato.
Meatballs
Make these 5-ingredient vegan meatballs for your spaghetti, a meatball sub or serve them in tomato sauce along with some garlic bread or some steamed veggies.
One pot vegan meals
Rice and beans
Rice and beans are a vegan staple. Toasted rice cooked in a spiced tomato sauce and some pinto beans thrown in is all you need for a super healthy and filling meal.
Curry lentil soup
This creamy and comforting curry-spiced lentil soup is one of our most popular lazy vegan recipes. Hearty, protein-packed lentils, spinach and root vegetables are served in a lip-smacking coconut curry broth.
Cabbage soup
This is one of our most economical lazy vegan recipes. You get a huge pot for just pennies a bowl. It features cabbage, beans and potatoes in a slightly smoky broth.
Ratatouille spaghetti
This veggie-packed pasta is like summer in a bowl with zucchini, eggplant, red pepper and tomatoes. The pasta is cooked in the same pot so that it can absorb all the wonderful flavour of the veggies.
Skillet enchiladas
All the flavours of enchiladas but deconstructed and without any rolling.
Shakshuka
This bean shakshuka is perfect for dipping crusty bread into. I like that this recipe doesn't use tofu to try to replicate the eggs.
Mexican quinoa
I've made this recipe many times and it's always delicious. Veggies, quinoa and a couple of spices, this one-pot meal is super easy.
Chickpea spinach pilaf
This is one of my go-to weeknight meals. Seasoned with garam masala, cumin and turmeric, this recipe has simple ingredients but a lot of flavour. Note: there is an error in this recipe, the rice should be uncooked not cooked.
Chili
This "meaty" vegan chili calls for beans and TVP. If you haven't tried cocoa powder in savoury recipes before, this chili is perfect to give it a try.
Ramen
Toss the seasoning packet and cook your ramen noodles directly in a creamy miso-based broth. Add in some veggies for this upgraded version of instant noodles.
Chickpea stew
Soups, stews and chilis are no-brainer one-pot meals. Basically anything can go into the pot. This recipe cleverly uses tahini to add a bit of flavour and creaminess.
Chili macaroni
With mostly canned and dry goods, this recipe ticks both the one-pot and pantry staple boxes.
No chop recipes
Chickpea curry
Indian recipes often call for a lot of mincing of onion, ginger and garlic. But with limited space or limited tools, it's not always easy for everyone. This recipe was created to be as simple as opening a few cans and tossing it all in the pot.
Kimchi fried rice
This recipe from The Korean Vegan is sure to be full of flavour and spice with kimchi, a two-ingredient sauce and some frozen vegetables. All you need is a pair of scissors.
Vegetable soup
Loaded with veggies, beans and tomato this soup is as comforting as it is easy.
Dumplings
This clever recipe calls for seasoning mashed tofu and wrapping it in rice paper. The dumplings can then be air fried or pan fried until golden brown.
Hoppin' John
Black-eyed peas are not just for new year. Make this dump-and-go recipe any time of the year. This recipe calls for an Instant Pot, but can be made on the stove top too.
Buffalo veggies
Chickpeas and frozen veggies are cooked up and tossed in a spicy buffalo "wing" sauce. Serve over rice or mashed or baked potatoes.
Jambalaya
This recipe uses a lot of frozen vegetables and canned goods. Technically, it calls for chopping some kale but that can easily be replaced with pre-chopped bagged kale, spinach or chard.
Vegan sheet pan dinners
Herbed potato, asparagus and chickpeas
A few veggies tossed in Mediterranean herbs and spices and roasted to perfection. Hearty enough to serve as-is or alongside some quinoa, rice or your favourite grain.
Southwestern sheet pan dinner
This spiced sheet pan dinner can be served with nachos or used as a filling for tortillas.
Mediterranean sheet pan dinner
Marinated tofu, kalamata olives, vegan feta and some Mediterranean veggies with an optional creamy tahini-yogurt sauce make this a delicious and summery one-pan dinner.
Gnocchi
Did you know you can cook gnocchi in the oven? Cook them together with some peppers and tomatoes and finish with a grating of vegan Parmesan.
Quesadillas
Making quesadillas one-by-one is a time-consuming process. This recipe makes eight quesadillas all at once.
Hash browns
You could eat this potato and greens-based sheet pan meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Sheet pan shawarma
Cauliflower, chickpeas and tempeh seasoned with Middle Eastern-inspired spices. Wrap it in a pita or serve with rice.
Curried sweet potato and chickpeas
Sweet potato and warming spices are a match made in heaven. Combined with cabbage and chickpeas and served alongside some leafy greens, this is a delicious autumn-inspired meal.
Teriyaki tofu
Just tofu, a mix of veggies and a bottle of teriyaki sauce are all that's needed to make this super quick recipe. It only needs 10 minutes of prep time!
Maple-tahini vegetables
Maple-tahini is a versatile dressing for bowls, salads and vegetables. Here it is the perfect compliment to one-pan roasted potatoes, cauliflower, and chickpeas.
No cook meals
Mediterranean wraps
Fresh vegetables, smashed chickpeas and a vegan tzatziki sauce make these wraps an explosion of flavours and colours. Serve them in a tortilla or in a pita.
Greek salad
I love Greek salad in the summer, when tomatoes are the most flavourful. You can make the tofu feta in this recipe or just use a store-bought vegan feta.
Gazpacho
Gazpacho is the classic "it's too hot to turn on the oven recipe". All you need is a blender. This recipe uses a combo of tomato and watermelon for a soft, summery gazpacho.
Lentil salad
Lentils make for a hearty and filling salad. Use canned lentils and toss them with your choice of vegetables and drizzle over a simple vinaigrette.
Hummus sandwich
I love hummus sandwiches for a quick dinner. Just spread some hummus on bread, add your favourite veggies and sprouts.
Ramen noodle salad
Uncooked ramen noodles give a good crunch to this salad. A bag of coleslaw mix, canned mandarins and frozen edamame dressed with an Asian-inspired vinaigrette make this unique salad.
Zoodles
There are so many ways that zoodles can be prepared, just check out my vegan zoodle recipes collection. This recipe tosses zoodles in a creamy and spicy avocado-based sauce.
Spring/summer rolls
Get yourself some rice paper wrappers and fill them with your favourite fresh vegetables. A spicy peanut sauce on the side for dipping and you have a very healthy and tasty no-cook vegan dinner!
Rice noodles
This recipe is not technically no-cook but all you need is a kettle or some hot water from the tap. Just pour hot water over the noodles and they'll soften. Then you can toss them in your favourite sauce with some fresh veggies.
Black-eyed pea salad
This colourful salad just needs fresh veggies and a couple cans of black-eyed peas.
Slow cooker and Instant Pot vegan recipes
Instant pot
I have already put together the most epic Instant Pot recipe collection! More than 60 recipes categorized by type and ingredient to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
Slow cooker lentil soup
Just 10 minutes of prep then throw it all into the slow cooker. This recipe is also freezer-friendly so make a big batch and freeze the rest for later.
Slow cooker barley vegetable soup
There's nothing more comforting in the winter than a big bowl of barley vegetable soup. Even better when it's already ready and you can just sit down and eat!
Slow cooker vegetable bean soup
Dried beans are much more economical than canned beans and when you've got a slow cooker, you can easily just throw them in a walk away.
Slow cooker cauliflower lentil curry
This aromatic curry doesn't call for a long list of exotic spices. You can even swap out the fresh cauliflower for frozen.
Slow cooker gumbo
Canned beans stand in for meat and asparagus for okra (but you can use okra if you want) in this dump and go slow cooker version of the Southern classic.
Slow cooker sweet potato curry
Slow cooking makes you dishes much more flavourful by giving all the ingredients time to release their flavours and mingle. This sweet potato curry sounds super delicious!
Slow cooker jackfruit carnitas
In order to really bring out the "meatiness" of jackfruit, it needs to be cooked for a long time. A slow cooker is ideal for this. Toss the jackfruit in with loads of spices and you'll have a tender and delicious vegan meat!
Slow cooker beans and rice
Beans, rice, chunky salsa and a couple spices are all that's called for in this super cheap and easy lazy vegan recipe.
Vegan pantry meals
I've already compiled a collection of more than 60 vegan pantry recipes. These recipes are designed to make use of things you might already have in your kitchen or freezer so you don't have to make a trip to the supermarket.
Lazy Vegan Recipes
Ingredients
Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad
- 250 grams (9 oz) of your favourite pasta - $0.34
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil - $0.20
- ¼ cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar - $0.40
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano - $0.03
- ½ teaspoon salt - $0.02
- 1 small clove of garlic grated or minced - $0.03
- 2 cucumbers sliced - $0.60
- ½ a red onion diced - $0.18
- 500 grams (18 oz) cherry tomatoes halved or quartered - $1.99
- 275 grams (10 oz) kalamata or other back olive - $1.64
- 1 can (390 grams / 14 oz) artichoke hearts - $1.85
- 2 cups (400 grams) chickpeas - $0.30
Instructions
- Cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
- Combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and garlic to make a vinaigrette.
- Combine the pasta with the remaining ingredients, pour over the vinaigrette and toss well.
Notes
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