5 Easy Plant-based Weeknight Dinner Ideas

March 12, 2019

Whether you’re vegan or not, we all need a quick dinner sometimes. Cooking a healthy and delicious meal doesn’t have to be a chore. These five recipes are a breeze to whip up and can be customized to include ingredients that you already have in your fridge.

Easy Plant-based Weeknight Dinners

1. Kimchi Fried Rice

This recipe is easily veganized, and super delicious. Omit the fried egg on top and make sure you’re using a kimchi that doesn’t contain fish sauce (Wildbrine is a good option). Have extra veggies you want to throw in? Go for it! I usually do.

2. Tofu Scramble

Who doesn’t love brinner? (Breakfast for dinner – in case you were confused.) Toss in some sweet peppers, a little zucchini, a few mushrooms, or whatever else you have on hand! Then pop a couple slices of bread in the toaster and you’re well on your way to an easy brinner.

3. Easy Green Curry

1 can coconut milk (400mL)
1/2 cup vegetable stock
½ onion
3-4 Tbsp green curry paste
1 tsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup chopped basil leaves
1 ½ cups chopped assorted vegetables (zucchini, peppers, carrots, snow peas, eggplant, etc.)
½ cup chopped tofu
Cooked rice or quinoa, for serving

Start cooking your rice or quinoa as per package instructions
In a deep pan, brown chopped onion with a touch of oil
Once the onion is browned, add a little vegetable stock into the pan and mix it with the curry paste.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the vegetable are tender. (~15 minutes)
Serve over your grain

4. Ramen

Soup is great for low maintenance dinners and can be customized with whatever veggies you like. Ramen can be as fast as: broth, noodles, frozen vegetables, chopped tofu. That doesn’t necessarily make for the most exciting dinner though. Check out our guide to building a delicious bowl of vegan ramen and learn what add ins can make your ramen worthy of a second bowl.

5. Vegan Mac

A comforting classic. Mac and cheese doesn’t have to be full of dairy or powder that looks radioactive. You can even add in veggies! Does adding veggies into your mac go against all your beliefs? Alright, have a side salad or chop up some veggies sticks. Check out this sassy guide to creating your own batch of vegan mac and cheese.

Bonus Idea: Meal Prep Ingredients

On the weekend (or whenever you have time) prep some ingredients like grains, beans, roasted vegetables, pan fried tofu, salad dressing, etc. and have them at the ready during the week to repurpose into different meals. You can switch up sauces and condiments, and add in different fresh ingredients to keep it interesting. This is a great way to eat healthy and save time!

Fiona

When Fiona's not spending her time as a social media and content coordinator at SPUD.ca, you can find her playing with her kitten, tending to many house plants, or messing around in the kitchen creating new plant-based recipes for her blog, Plantily.com