Vegan dinners are incredibly versatile, offering a wide range of options from comforting soups to hearty pasta dishes and light salads. They can be customized to suit various dietary needs, including gluten-free and low-carb preferences. Plant-based foods like beans, lentils, and rice are generally more affordable than meat and dairy, making vegan dinners a budget-friendly choice. This guide explores a variety of cheap and healthy vegan meal ideas, providing inspiration for both seasoned vegans and those new to plant-based eating.
Exploring the World of Vegan Cuisine
Vegan dinners typically center around whole foods such as grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, offering endless combinations of seasonings, textures, and flavors. Vegan dinners can be a great way to experiment with new flavors and cuisines, utilizing different spices, herbs, and cooking techniques to create delicious and nutritious meals.
Budget-Friendly Vegan Dinner Recipes
Soups and Stews
- Kidney Bean Curry: A rescue recipe for when there's nothing in the fridge or when you fancy something cheap, this curry is delicious, filling, healthy, and vegan-friendly.
- Black Bean & Tortilla Soup: Make the most of any tins of black beans in your cupboards and make this easy and satisfying soup. Serve with coriander, avocado, feta, and pumpkin seeds.
- Satay Noodle Soup: Prepare an easy veggie noodle bowl in 25 minutes with mostly storecupboard ingredients. A simple budget meal that's filling and vegan-friendly.
- Easy Vegan Pho: Make our easy vegan noodle soup for a warming midweek meal. This low-calorie recipe can be spiced up according to taste with a side serving of sriracha.
- Lentil & Cardamom Soup: Cheap and cheerful red lentils are jazzed up with coconut milk and plenty of spices in this quick and warming soup recipe.
- Red Lentil Carrot Soup: Its ultra-nourishing combination of carrots, lentils, tomatoes, spices, and vegetable bouillon delivers healthy carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and more. Ready in a few easy steps and 30 minutes.
- Vegan Lentil Soup: Green lentils simmer in vegetable bouillon with diced veggies until tender, making a hydrating and wholesome soup you can count on.
- Miso Mushroom & Tofu Noodle Soup: Rustle up this miso, mushroom and tofu noodle soup with just six simple ingredients.
- Warm up from the inside out with this Red Lentil Carrot Soup! Its ultra-nourishing combination of carrots, lentils, tomatoes, spices, and vegetable bouillon delivers healthy carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and more. Best of all, it’s ready in a few easy steps and 30 minutes.
- If you think miso soup is just for Japanese restaurants, think again! It’s surprisingly simple to prep and made with pocketbook-friendly ingredients like miso paste, collard greens, tofu, and red chili flakes. A must-make!
Curries and Dahls
- Roasted Aubergine & Tomato Curry: Slightly sweet with added richness from the coconut milk, this simple vegan curry is a winner. It's also freezable if you need a quick midweek fix.
- Spinach, Sweet Potato & Lentil Dhal: A comforting vegan one-pot recipe that counts for 3 of your 5-a-day! You can't go wrong with this iron-rich, low-fat, low-calorie supper.
- Sweet Potato & Peanut Curry: Cook this tasty, budget-friendly vegan curry for an easy family dinner. With spinach and sweet potato, it boasts two of your five-a-day and it’s under 400 calories.
- Hearty, rich, and bursting with warm and fragrant spices, this Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry with coconut milk is a satisfying and nutritious meal that's guaranteed to delight your taste buds!
Salads and Bowls
- Vegan Salad Bowl: Whip up an easy vegan salad, with beans, radish, pickled cabbage, and couscous. Bursting with flavor, it makes a satisfying dinner or lunch on the go.
- Spinach Falafel & Hummus Bowl: Make this easy vegan salad bowl, with homemade spinach falafels and hummus served alongside pitta and salad. It's packed with nutrients for a healthy supper.
- Vegan Chickpea Curry Jacket Potatoes: Get some protein into a vegan diet with this tasty chickpea curry jacket. It's an easy midweek meal, or filling lunch that packs a lot of flavor.
- Featuring lentil taco meat (recipe below), this Vegan Burrito Bowl is one of my go-to easy vegan dinner recipes. It’s fresh, wholesome, and delicious!
- Nothing hits quite like a classic Caesar, and this Vegan Caesar Salad is no exception! Made with sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon, and capers, the vegan dressing is an easy-to-prep and better-for-you option. Crispy chickpeas top the salad, adding a delightful crunch and extra nutrition. Do yourself a favor and make a double batch of this salad. It’s great for meal prep!
- It’s always a great time for this Baby Kale Salad! This crunchy and zesty Black Bean and Corn Salad is plant-based perfection! It’s ready in a few beginner-friendly steps and is a nutritious side dish, perfect for your favorite Mexican-inspired meals. Reimagine your favorite summer fruit with this Watermelon & Peach Salad! Tossed with a lime vinaigrette, it is fresh, cooling, vibrant, and rated 5 stars for a reason. Crunchy, wholesome, and brimming with complete plant protein, this Edamame Salad is always a great idea! Enjoy it as a side or top it with stir-fried or roasted tofu for a lip-smacking, powerhouse meal. Curly kale is massaged with mango guacamole before being tossed with shredded carrots, red cabbage, and black beans. Also known as Texas or Harlem caviar, Black Eyed Pea Salad is a protein-rich bean salad. It gets more flavorful by the day, making it great for meal prep and make-ahead entertaining.
Pasta Dishes
- Squash & Spinach Fusilli with Pecans: You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy this colourful low-fat, low-calorie squash and spinach pasta topped with pecans. It's tasty as well as healthy.
- Creamy Pasta with Seared Mushrooms Scallops: Bring a restaurant-quality meal to your home kitchen with this recipe.
- Add some fiery flair to your favorite pastas with this Arrabbiata sauce! It’s ready in a few simple steps and made with everyday ingredients like garlic, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and pasta.
- Satisfy Alfredo cravings, vegan style, with this Mushroom Alfredo Pasta!
- Designed after the classic Roman pasta dish, this Vegan Carbonara Pasta will transport your taste buds to the Italian capital city. No egg yolks or pasta are used here - a creamy and cheesy soy milk sauce coats the noodles, and smoky tofu bits add smoky, meaty flavor. It’s so good you’ll think it’s traditional! Buon appetito!
- Featuring vegan sausage, hearty pasta, and vibrant veggies, Instant Pot Vegan Sausage Pasta is ready in a snap, ultra-tasty, and wholesome.
- If salty and briny flavors are your jam, you must try this Vegan Pasta Puttanesca!
Other Main Courses
- Teriyaki Tofu: Marinade tofu with teriyaki sauce and serve with broccoli and noodles or rice to make this easy veggie midweek meal. It takes under 30 minutes to make.
- Confit Tomatoes with Creamy Beans: Enjoy confit tomatoes on a bed of garlicky cannellini beans and toasted sourdough to make this easy warming and satisfying vegan supper for two.
- Black Bean Chilli: This flavorsome vegetarian chilli is great for casual entertaining - just lay everything out and let people add their own toppings.
- Double Bean & Roasted Pepper Chilli: This warming vegetarian chilli is a low-fat, healthy option that packs in the veggies and flavor. Serve with Tabasco sauce, soured cream or yoghurt.
- Falafel Burgers: A healthy burger that's filling too. These are great for anyone after a satisfying bite low in calories.
- Carrot Pilaf with Coriander Chutney: Try this healthy pilaf filled for an easy midweek meal. With cashew nuts, veg and spices, it's not only tasty but budget-friendly too. Top with coriander chutney.
- Easy lentil tacos take just 10 minutes to make.
- This Vegan Lentil Meatloaf is the ultimate healthy comfort food! Made with hearty and nutritious lentils, savory mushrooms, veggies, seasonings, and a tasty balsamic and ketchup glaze, it’s satisfying yet simple to make.
- Save money and know what you’re eating by passing on the faux meat and making this Lentil Taco Meat instead!
- Transform taco night with these colorful Tempeh Tacos!
- Do you love empanadas but think they’re only for omnivores? Think again! These Vegan Mushroom Empanadas feature a buttery, flaky crust and savory and rich mushroom filling while being made with all plant-based ingredients!
- Tender and naturally sweet cauliflower shines in a lemon caper gravy, making this Instant Pot Cauliflower Piccata a fantastic veggie-forward main dish. Serve it with pasta, toasted bread, or vegan mashed potatoes for a complete meal.
- Not only can you enjoy carnitas on a plant-based diet, but the dish is totally delicious and surprisingly simple to prep. Mushrooms are simmered with aromatics, jalapeños, and citrus until tender. Give them a quick shred and enjoy the carnitas on tortillas with your favorite toppings. Talk about tasty Mushroom Carnitas Tacos worthy of dreaming about!
- Make a large batch of these Vegan Meatballs and enjoy them as you would traditional: on pasta, in subs, or as a toothpick appetizer!
- These Vegan Fish Tacos have a solid 5-star rating for a reason. They’re easy to make, topped with a creamy slaw, and great for family meals, entertaining, and more.
- Tofu is one of my favorite budget-friendly plant-based proteins because it is adaptable to nearly any flavor, incredibly budget-friendly, and contains complete protein. Whether you’re a tofu convert or new to the protein, Hearty Tofu Chili is a great way to enjoy it.
- These Vegan Chicken Nuggets taste just like the classic version - crispy, savory, and meaty - while being 100% plant-based!
- If you like vegan burgers, you’ll adore these Hearty Zucchini Burgers! Made with zucchini, toasted pumpkin seeds, beans, and quinoa, they make an easy vegan meal you can enjoy year-round.
- Enjoy a remake of a classic seaside meal with these Vegan Crab Cakes! These tender and flaky cakes are made with hearts of palm and chickpeas, two easy-to-find ingredients that are good for you and easy to work with.
- Growing up in the South, fried chicken was a must. So, naturally, I created a vegan alternative when I transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle!
- Packed full of good-for-you black beans, nuts, and seeds, these Black Bean Hemp Burgers are a nutritious, feel-good meal that nourishes you from the inside out. They’re made in a few simple steps and store well, making them also great for meal prep!
- Treat your crew to a playful but secretly wholesome dinner with these Vegan Nachos!
- BBQ tempeh elevates your lunchtime sandwich from okay to yay! It adds sweet zest, complete plant protein, and serious staying power. Add creamy sliced avocado, juicy tomatoes, and romaine lettuce to complete the experience.
Side Dishes
- The BEST Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries are perfectly crispy and tender, thanks to my super easy, no-fail method.
- The Best Corn Ribs, with 4 easy cooking methods: broiling, baking, air frying, and grilling.
- Tender and meaty Grilled Eggplant is one of my favorite grilled veggies!
- This delicious Sweet Potato Hummus is savory and bold, with the perfect amount of sweetness. Slow baked sweet potatoes give it rich flavor and extra creamy texture.
- No vegan side dish repertoire is complete without Vegan Mashed Potatoes! These fluffy and buttery smashers are a tasty favorite comfort food classic, minus the animal ingredients. They’re so good that even meat-eaters love them!
- Sweet potatoes are kind of a big deal around here, and these perfect Roasted Sweet Potatoes are no exception! They are tender, caramelized, and seasoned to delicious perfection.
- If you’ve never made Air Fryer Green Beans, consider this your sign! They’re exceptionally tender and sweet, so good that picky eaters may even forget they’re gobbling up veggies.
- Cabbage is an affordable, easy-to-prep, and delicious veggie. This recipe is seasoned with the savory Middle Eastern spice, Za’atar, making it a flavorful but seriously simple side.
- The pressure cooker cooks dried beans into tender perfection in less than 45 minutes, making it one of my favorite ways to prepare this incredibly budget-friendly legume. In this Instant Pot White Beans recipe, the white beans are seasoned with garlic, onions, rosemary, and lemon juice. They’re downright delicious!
- Don’t sleep on humble, but oh-so-tasty carrots! You only need a handful of common seasonings and 15 minutes to make this Air Fryer Carrots recipe.
- Easy roasted vegetables and creamy avocado dressing shine in this Vegan Pasta Salad, making a satisfying, tasty, and wholesome lunch or potluck addition.
- This 100% plant-based Chickpea Tuna Salad is creamy, hearty, and briny, with all the flavor and satisfaction of classic tuna salad.
Breakfast Dishes
- Air-fryer mushrooms on toast: Make this speedy brunch or lunch in the air-fryer and serve on its own, or include as part of a bigger breakfast spread
Desserts
- Classic, comforting, melty, and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies?! Sign me up! These buttery, chewy, gooey cookies are simply exceptional.
- Treat your chocolate cravings and taste buds to an indulgent but better-for-you dessert with this Vegan Chocolate Mousse.
- This Vegan Pound Cake proves that this classic baked good doesn’t need to be made with butter and eggs to be exceptional.
- Save money and eat better with homemade Avocado Pineapple Popsicles! These naturally-sweetened cooling pops feature fresh fruit, creamy avocado, lime, and agave.
- Chewy, sweet, and crunchy, Vegan Rice Crispy Treats satisfy cravings for the classic treat while being 100% plant-based.
- Though it may appear intimidating, this Strawberry Sorbet is made with everyday ingredients in a few incredibly easy steps. Just add frozen strawberries, agave nectar, and lemon to a food processor, blend, freeze, and enjoy!
Tips for Affordable Vegan Eating
- Plan your meals: Planning meals ahead of time can help you avoid impulse purchases and reduce food waste.
- Buy in bulk: Stock up on staples like beans, lentils, rice, and oats when they are on sale.
- Cook at home: Eating out can be expensive, so try to cook most of your meals at home.
- Use seasonal produce: Fruits and vegetables that are in season are usually cheaper and more flavorful.
- Grow your own food: If you have space, consider growing your own herbs, vegetables, or fruits.
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